Over the past several years Sony’s FS7 has firmly established itself as a go-to video camera for news broadcast and documentary work. With the release of the new PXW-FX9, Sony's created a product that represents a significant evolutionary step forward for the line.
The FX9 boasts a number of important upgrades that users of the higher-end Sony video cameras have been asking for, as well as a few that likely exceeded their hopes and expectations. For church film teams who’ve been utilizing the popular FS7 and FS7M2 for switch hitting between IMAG and filmmaking applications, the new FX9 offers a number of new and improved technologies that could open up even more creative and usability options.
In this hands-on review, we'll put the Sony FX9 camera through its paces, examine how it stacks up and even improves on an industry standard, and explore which church video ministries could benefit most from those improvements.
The S-Cinetone color science also represents a monster step forward for Sony, and for some cinematographers will be the biggest reason to upgrade.
Under the Hood
The most striking upgrade from the FS7 is Sony’s decision to build the FX9 around a 6K Full-Frame CMOS sensor, which outputs to an oversampled DCI 4K or UHD 4K image. The idea behind this approach is that a larger, higher-resolution sensor can capture more light and produce cleaner images than would be otherwise possible using smaller sensors.
The FX9’s sensor is capable of filming in standard 24p and 30p, and capturing UHD 4K/60p and HD/180p.The camera features up to 10-bit 4:2:2 color sampling for higher image fidelity, while also boasting more than 15 stops of dynamic range.
Sony has also addressed one of the primary concerns of its video camera userbase with the inclusion of Dual Base ISO technology for the sensor, which allows the camera to capture the cleanest possible images at both ISO 800 and ISO 4,000. This makes filming in lower-light settings far more practical and dependable for documentary and newsgathering applications.
With the introduction of a FastHybrid Autofocus system, FX9 users can enjoy the vastly improved face detection and even eye detection technology employed in the popular Sony Alpha camera for the first time. Internal gyroscope information is also recorded to each clip, allowing shots to be stabilized in post-production with Sony’s Catalyst software.
Another significant upgrade for the FX9 is the inclusion of Sony's new S-Cinetone color science, inspired by their flagship Venice digital cinema camera. This new look puts a higher emphasis on softening the mid-tones and producing more aesthetically pleasing skin tones.
User favorite features from the FS7/FS7M2 like locking E-mount lens mounts, dual XQD card slots and variable electronic ND have all been ported over to the FX9, while still employing the same basic form factor and general button layout. Small but welcome improvements like a dedicated “clear” button for the variable make the utilization of these features even easier to use in the field.
Despite a vast array of output controls, the FX9 is actually one of the best ‘Full Auto’ cameras we’ve ever tested. Great auto exposure, audio leveling, auto variable ND and next-gen auto focus make it easier than ever to run-and-gun in a variety of quickly changing settings.
The video ports on the FX9 have been significantly expanded to include 12G-SDI and HDMI ports for 4K monitoring, 3G-SDI for additional HD monitoring, and timecode and genlock for multicam broadcast applications. Professional audio ports include dual XLR audio inputs, plus an additional two channels of input when using Sony's wireless audio system, with phantom power and full manual control over all four channels.
The FX9 ships with a BP-U35 Battery to get started with, but serious professionals will want to budget for additional batteries as the BP-U35 only lasted about 65 minutes or so in our testing.
SHOULDER-CENTRIC
As we began putting the Sony FX9 through our tests for this review, one of the things we were reminded of is how the camera is designed almost exclusively to film in shoulder mounted configuration. Many videographers prefer this shooting style for a number of great reasons, and Sony has been wise not to abandon this firmly established user base with their approach to the new camera.
The FX9’s viewfinder is good for shoulder mount with hood loupe, and the top handle and right angled rod-mount system for the viewfinder is designed to adjust for comfortable positioning when holding the camera on your right shoulder. The side handle retains the familiar form factor and layout from the FS7, with the welcomed addition of a quick release for adjusting the handle angle.
While the camera’s weight and overall form factor feels solid and reliable in this shoulder-mounted configuration, videographers who prefer to film in other configurations like underslung modes may want to consider larger external monitors and an Easyrig-style setup to get the most out of using the FX9 in this manner.
THE BIG (BIG) PICTURE
As readers familiar with Sony can probably already guess, the footage coming of the Full-Frame 6K sensor, down-sampled to 4K, looks very, very good. The wider field of view and shallower depth of field produced by the sensor really does make a serious impact on the resulting imagery.
Just as importantly, the new S-Cinetone color science also represents a monster step forward for Sony, and for some cinematographers will be the biggest reason to upgrade. The FX9’s Variable ND technology is another standout technology that’s exclusive to Sony’s mid- to upper-end video cameras, and something that is shockingly still exclusive to the brand.
We’ll admit that we were a little skeptical about Sony’s claim of dual base ISOs, and whether the higher ISO would be as good as the base 800 ISO. In our testing, however, the ISO 4,000 imagery looks extremely clean with very little discernable loss of latitude. This lower-light capture technology is also a big step forward from the FS7, which really had a hard time capturing useable footage in darker settings.
Another standout technology that surprised us in our tests was just how far the auto-focus performance has come, especially when using the Sony PZ 28-135 G OSS lens. When testing in run-and-gun settings we were very impressed with how responsive the system was, even in sub-optimal lighting.
The audio capture performance on the FX9 is absolutely top notch, with users able to set up four individual tracks to accompany each video clip. As you'd imagine from Sony, the sound fidelity is top notch, and the pre-amps are rock solid.
The audio capture performance on the FX9 is absolutely top notch, with users able to set up four individual tracks to accompany each video clip.
On the slightly disappointing side is that filming in RAW with the FX9 requires the additional Sony XDCA-FX9 Extension Unit to output the signal, and another external recorder to record the signal.
The FX9 is a tool for serious professionals, and it has a lot of power under the hood to customize its settings to work exactly how users need for their specific workflow. With that in mind, the menu system is correspondingly complex and seems optimized for dialing in the best use case setting and getting to work, rather than for continually adjusting settings on the fly.
THE FX9 FOR MINISTRY
Ultimately, the Sony FX9 is best understood in the context of its unique position in the marketplace. It’s designed specifically for broadcast and documentary cinematographers who strongly prefer an ENG-style, shoulder-mounted approach to videography and who film that way most days of the week.
This design aesthetic has also produced one of the best ‘Full Auto’ cameras we’ve ever tested. Great auto exposure, audio leveling, auto variable ND and next-gen auto focus make it easier than ever to run-and-gun in a variety of quickly changing settings, while all the while making it far more likely what you captured will be useable in post.
From an IMAG broadcast perspective, the Sony FX9’s ability to get a high-quality 4K signal from the sensor set to full frame or from the Super-35 sized crop is the kind of ability that gives ministries far more options for utilizing different kinds of glass, or to adjust the ranges of their current lenses for different setups. The camera’s vast array of output terminals makes it one of the easiest on the market to utilize for weekday video production and weekend broadcast work.
With that in mind, while the FX9 would certainly be more than good enough for making professional-level documentaries, if your team’s purchasing a camera exclusively for filmmaking Sony’s new FX6, with its higher frame rates, RAW output and smaller form factor, might be a better fit.
However, if switch hitting between high quality ENG-style videography applications and multicam broadcast or IMAG system integration is what your ministry needs most, the FX9 is likely an easy first round draft choice
