Sony FX6 FAQ

These FAQs and tips are mainly from our good friend and colleague, Alister Chapman.  We have been privileged to have Alister in for several seminars at Z Systems over the years.  If you haven’t checked out his blog and websites, you really should.  Here are some links:

https://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ – His blog on cameras, news, tutorials, and production techniques

https://www.alisterchapman.com/ – His personal website

He also does these amazing expeditions to Norway to shoot the Northern Lights, storm chasing in the US, and others.  These are a great way to shoot and learn advanced video techniques while having a very unique trip!  http://www.xdcam-user.com/northern-lights-expeditions-to-norway/

Thanks, Alister, for sharing all of your knowledge!

• What will be in the box?
• Will there be a kit with a lens?
• What one lens would you recommend?
• What Cards should I get?
• Does the Auto Focus work when using S&Q?
• Does the camera reboot when changing frame rates?
• How quickly does the FX6 start or reboot?
• Does it have clear image zoom?
• Could I use Clear Image Zoom in UHD/4K to work with super 35mm lenses?
• Can you use both the SDI and HDMI at the same time?
• How long do batteries last?
• Can you use LUT’s when shooting at high frame rates?
• Does it have a LANC port?
• Can I see all 4 audio channels on the screen at once?
• Does it have Clear Scan or ECS shutter?

Q. What will be in the box?

A. I believe the box will contain: Camera, Top Handle, Hand Grip, LCD + LCD Shade, 1x BPU-35 battery, charger, power supply. You will need to supply: A suitable lens and recording media, either CF Express Type A or SD v30/v60/v90 (I recommend v90). The camera can act as a card reader if you don’t have a reader for the CF Express cards or SD cards, there is a normal USB-C connector on the rear.

Q. Will there be a kit with a lens?

A. I have been led to believe that there won’t be a kit with a bundled lens from Sony. However some dealers may choose to put together a bundle deal or package for you.

Q. What one lens would you recommend?

A. This is a tough one to answer as it depends on what you need. The Sony 28-135mm power zoom is a great lens, but it’s bigger than the camera! The Sony 24-70 f2.8 GM is a beautiful lens and one of the lenses I have on my FX9 almost all the time. But if I had to pick just one lens it would probably be the Sony 24-105mm f4. You get a decent zoom range and good optical quality. f4 on a full frame sensor gives reasonably shallow depth of field.

Q. What Cards should I get?

A. See my other post about this by clicking here.

Q. Does the Auto Focus work when using S&Q?

A. Yes, in most cases it does, but only when the S&Q frame rate is a neat multiple of the base frame rate. If the cameras base frame rate is set to 23.98p, 30p or 60p then it works at UHD 120fps or HD 240fps, but not at 100 or 200fps. If the camera base rate is set to 25p or 50p then the AF only works at UHD 100fps or HD 200fps but it doesn’t work at UHD 120fps or HD 240fps.

Q. Does the camera reboot when changing frame rates?

A. The FX6 reboots when you switch between base frame rates except when switching between 25p and 50p or between 29.97p and 59.94p. When in S&Q it does not reboot when changing frame rates. It’s only base frame rate changes that cause a reboot (about 3 seconds).

Q. How quickly does the FX6 start or reboot?

A. Very quickly. It takes under 3 seconds to start from off. You can actually start recording in around 2 seconds, before some of the LCD overlays have finished coming on.

Q. Does it have clear image zoom?

A. Yes it does. I didn’t spot this initially as it’s buried in the technical section of the menus. In UHD it provides a 1.5x zoom, in HD a 2x zoom.

Q. Could I use Clear Image Zoom in UHD/4K to work with super 35mm lenses?

A. Short answer is yes. The longer answer is maybe. As you need to typically use between 1.4x and 1.5x zoom there is a small but noticeable loss of image quality. It’s slight, but the images are a bit softer and look a touch more processed. Any noise becomes more noticeable as the noise grain gets bigger. It’s not horrid, but the image definitely loses a little of the crispness and clarity that it normally has. This isn’t really a surprise as by the time you have zoomed in by 1.4x you are upscaling around 3.2K to 4K. You could use it if you really need to, but it’s a shame to use it as it just takes the edge off what are otherwise exceptionally good images, it’s definitely not comparable to the FX9’s proper 4K s35 mode. I will put together some example images soon.

Q. Can you use both the SDI and HDMI at the same time?

A. Absolutely, yes. And you can even have HD on the HDMI and UHD on the SDI if you want.

Q. How long do the batteries last?

A. The supplied BP-U35 battery will run the camera for a bit over 90 minutes. A BP-U60 will run it for between 2.5 and 3 hours.

Q. Can you use LUT’s when shooting at high frame rates?

A. Yes, LUT’s in CineEI seem to work at all frame rates and resolutions. I have yet to find a case where they do not work, including user LUT’s.

Q. Does it have a LANC port?

A. Yes, it has two. One 2.5mm mini jack that the handgrip plugs into (same as the FS5 or FS7). Plus the larger USB style multi-port that the FX9 remote handrip uses.

Q. Can I see all 4 audio channels on the screen at once?

A. Not normally. Normally only channels 1 and 2 are displayed on the LCD screen. To see channels 3 and 4 you use status page 3 where you can see all 4 channels and use the touch screen to adjust the recording levels for channels 3 and 4. This is also where you will find the volume control.

Q. Does it have Clear Scan or ECS shutter?

A. Yes it does, this is very useful for shooting computer monitors or other screens and eliminating any rolling bands that may move up and down the screen. ECS is in the shooting menu under Shutter.