Sony FX2

Richard Sibley reviews Sony's latest addition to its FX line - a cinema camera that prioritises high-resolution stills alongside video

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Three months after its launch, the Sony FX2 continues to be a topic of heated debate among photographers and videographers. Positioned as the cinema camera equivalent to the A7 IV, it represents Sony's attempt to create a hybrid tool for content creators who need both high-resolution stills and professional video features. However, timing hasn't been kind to the FX2, with significant releases from Canon and Nikon arriving shortly after to shake up this competitive segment.

The FX2 sits in an interesting position within Sony's expanding FX lineup. Where the FX3 serves as the video-centric counterpart to the A7S III, and the FX30 mirrors the A6700 for APS-C users, the FX2 brings the A7 IV's 33-megapixel sensor into a cinema-focused body. Crucially for photographers, it also features a mechanical shutter, a feature the FX30 lacks, relying solely on an electronic shutter instead. This makes the FX2 a more appealing option than the FX30 for photographers. It's a logical expansion of the range, even if the initial reaction was somewhat muted from those eagerly awaiting a successor to the FX3.

Features

At first glance, the FX2 appears virtually identical to its FX3 sibling, sharing the same compact cinema-camera form factor, with a slew of 1/4” mounting points. However, several key differences set it apart, most notably the articulated electronic viewfinder that crowns the camera body.

The heart of the FX2 is the same 33MP full-frame BSI CMOS sensor found in the A7 IV, delivering a 7008x4672-pixel resolution for still images. The sensor data is fed to Sony's BIONZ XR engine, which handles the processing demands of both stills and video capture. However, unlike the A7 IV, the FX2 adds an Al processing unit for subject recognition, as also used by other recent Sony cameras.