The Sony ILME‑FX30 is a compact Cinema Line camera designed for creators who want cinematic image quality in a lightweight, affordable body. It delivers stunning 4K footage oversampled from a 6K sensor, advanced autofocus with real‑time tracking, and professional filmmaking tools packed into a small, rugged chassis. Ideal for indie filmmakers, content creators, and anyone stepping into the world of cinema production.

A Cinema Line camera that fits in a backpack

The smallest Cinema Line body, with an APS-C sensor, 4K at up to 120 frames per second and over 14 EV of dynamic range. The XLR-H1 handle can be added later.

CINEMA LINE4K/120P14+ EVDUAL BASE ISO

Two card slots

Both slots take CFexpress Type A and SD. Record to two cards at once, swap them on the fly, or keep proxies separate from the main footage.

Sound and picture without the handle

The body carries 3.5 mm input and output plus the Multi Interface shoe for Sony’s wireless microphones. The XLR-H1 stays a decision you can make later.

The image comes from a 6K area

The sensor is read at 6K and only then downsampled to 4K. Noise drops and the shadows keep more detail — exactly where an APS-C sensor shows it most.

Dual base ISO

Two native sensitivities keep the image clean by day and at dusk, without reaching for gain.

User LUTs and Cine EI

Load your own LUTs into the camera; Cine EI gives the exposure workflow film sets expect.

Stabilisation and active cooling

In-body stabilisation holds the handheld shot and the fan allows long takes without overheating.

Timecode via adapter

With the VMC-BNCM1 adapter the FX30 shares a common timecode with the other cameras on set.

The FX30 captures stunning footage with 6K oversampling and a true cinematic look. Thanks to its compact size, you can take it anywhere, and its sophisticated autofocus and stabilization features let you focus on composition rather than the complexities of crew and equipment.

Sony’s award-winning Cinema Line series of cameras sets the standard for filmmaking with stunning cinematic imagery, high performance, and a highly efficient workflow. Enjoy seamless shooting with S-Cinetone™ and S-Log3 for a wide dynamic range, plus many other features. The compact FX30 camera makes filmmaking more accessible to aspiring creators than ever before.

Designed for visual storytelling

The FX30’s S-Cinetone picture profile gives you a beautiful cinematic look straight out of the camera. Features like Dual Base ISO and Cine EI are designed to deliver stunning images for film production and workflows.

Building on the Cinema Line tradition

The outstanding Cinema Line series of cinematic cameras draws on decades of experience in the film industry and is powered by Sony’s sophisticated new technologies, which represent the cutting edge of digital imaging.

Advanced technology for outstanding resolution

The FX30’s back-illuminated Exmor™ R APS-C CMOS sensor captures unforgettable images with outstanding resolution and a shallow depth of field. 6K oversampling condenses a vast amount of information into 4K recording and output, and the BIONZ XR™ processor enables natural gradations, realistic color reproduction, low noise, and other image quality enhancements.

Super 35 mm Sensor

The FX30 is designed as a camera that grows with you, offering many of Sony’s technical innovations—including advanced features such as timecode support and S-Log3—while remaining relatively affordable. By utilizing a newly developed APS-C/Super 35 mm sensor, Sony was able to offer the same recording specifications:

• UHD 4K up to 120p

• 10-bit internal recording

• S-Log3/S-Gamut3

• 16-bit RAW output

• Standard ISO range of 100–32,000

• Dual base ISO (800 / 2500)

Be aware of the crop factor. The FX30 performs 6K upscaling from a sensor area that represents a nearly imperceptible 1.04× crop. This will work for 4K at 10-bit in any recording mode up to 60 fps.
For 120 fps, a 1.6× crop of the Super 35 mm area is now available. This is in addition to the standard APS-C/Super 35 mm system crop.
To make all of this possible, the FX30 uses the latest BIONZ XR image processor, which enables all these new features found in other new camera models.
You can also use the FX30 to capture still images if you prefer; the 26 MP resolution is great for that.

Compared to the FX3

, the FX30 is much more affordable than the FX3, making it an attractive option for many people. Those considering the FX3 may find that the FX30 meets all their needs and more, without being more expensive—and it’s much more compact, too. But what do you gain by switching to the FX3, and what do you lose if you choose the FX30?

The FX3, of course, has a larger full-frame sensor than the FX30’s APS-C sensor. This usually means the FX3 will have better dynamic range and low-light performance; however, Sony has apparently worked some magic with the FX30.

By using a 6K image area and downsampling, image noise is minimized. This can improve low-light performance and allows shadows to retain more detail. Further testing is needed, but the results are very promising.

Although both models share the same native ISO range and dual base ISO specifications, the FX30 has a rated dynamic range of 14+ stops—still very good, but slightly lower than that of its full-frame siblings.

As mentioned earlier, compared to the FX3, the FX30 must crop an already cropped sensor to achieve 120p recording. The FX3 crops, but only by a factor of 1.1× relative to a full-frame image, while the FX30 crops an additional 1.6× beyond its already cropped format. This is certainly not a deal-breaker—it’s just something you need to be aware of if you plan to make extensive use of the slow-motion recording capabilities.

Interestingly, the FX30 gains some features that aren’t currently available on the FX3, such as breathing compensation.

Other than that, almost everything else is the same:

• Same body design

• Support for custom LUTs

• Cine EI and other log recording modes

• Fast hybrid autofocus, including 4K 120p

• In-body image stabilization

• Active cooling

• Timecode input via the optional VMC-BNCM1 timecode adapter cable

Audio

Interestingly, the FX30 does not come with the XLR-H1 XLR handle that is included with every FX3 model. This handle can be purchased separately or as part of a starter kit with the camera.
Without the XLR handle, users can monitor and record via the 3.5mm input and output jacks on the camera body. The Multi Interface Shoe remains, and Sony produces a wide range of accessories that work directly with it for audio transmission.
So if you don’t have much use for the XLR handle right away, you can decide to purchase it later.

Catalyst Software

Many of Sony’s latest features include metadata that is recorded directly into video files. These include the following:

• Embedded LUT and EI information

• Gyroscope and lens stabilization metadata

• Breathing compensation

• Camera rotation

• Take tag

Using this information in Catalyst Browse and Prepare, you can edit and optimize each shot after filming. This can result in faster editing workflows, better image quality, improved stabilization, and other benefits.
To help creators incorporate these benefits into their existing workflows, a Catalyst Prepare plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro will be released in the future, offering editors these controls within their current NLE.

Larger CFexpress Type A Cards

Along with the announcement of the FX30, it was revealed that two larger sizes of Sony CFexpress Type A TOUGH memory cards are on the way: 320 GB and 640 GB. This was one of the criticisms of the relatively new format, and this release should help users looking for speed and long recording times.

Although Sony has dramatically increased the capacity of these cards (the original lineup included 80GB and 160GB versions), the speeds remain the same. This series has rated read and write speeds of up to 800 MB/s and 700 MB/s, respectively.

If you’ve been looking for larger cards for your a1, a7S III, FX3, FX6, or now FX30 models, these cards are the right choice.
The FX30 appears to be a very attractive option for content creators who want to start with more professional film equipment while still having room for future growth. It will certainly be a great start if you plan to use Sony Cinema Line cameras later on or need to rent them for current projects.

Sony FX30 vs. Sony FX3 – Complete Comparison Chart