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Sony FX30 Dynamic Range and Low Light Exceed Expectations Professional Budget Camera Recommended

Caillou Wang 王靖凱

Jun 6, 2024

Updated: Oct 11, 2024

Professional Budget Camera Recommended Sony FX30 Dynamic Range and Low Light Exceed Expectations

If you have the following two requirements, consider reading this article:

Shooting distant objects
Possibly taking some photos (but there is no mechanical shutter)

If neither applies to you, it is more practical to invest directly in the FX3.

In this article, we will focus on:

Sony FX30 in S-Log3 & S-Cinetone: Dual Native ISO Dynamic Range and Low Light Performance

Dynamic Range

The FX30’s dynamic range is quite impressive. The difference between the two native ISOs isn’t significant (the FX30 has dual native ISO!). It handles overexposure by 3-4 stops and underexposure by 2-3 stops, which confirms why it is recommended to overexpose when shooting in S-Log3.

FX30 過度曝光4檔光後製復原曝光 zoom in Slog3 第二檔原生ISO

FX30 曝光不足2檔光後製復原曝光 zoom in Slog3 第二檔原生ISO

FX30 S-Log3 vs. S-Cinetone

Testing S-Cinetone's dynamic range showed it wasn’t great. There is little room for adjustment in post-production; what you see is what you get, similar to applying a beautiful color filter from Sony!

So, choose S-Log3 if you want to adjust colors in post-production. If you prefer to edit and upload directly without touching the colors, choose S-Cinetone. Even for minor adjustments, I would recommend shooting in S-Log3.

FX30 曝光不足3檔光後製復原曝光 zoom in S-cinetone 原生ISO

FX30 曝光不足4檔光後製復原曝光 zoom in S-cinetone 原生ISO

FX30 曝光不足2檔光後製復原曝光 zoom in S-cinetone 第二檔原生ISO

FX30 曝光不足3檔光後製復原曝光 zoom in S-cinetone 第二檔原生ISO

FX30 曝光不足4檔光後製復原曝光 zoom in S-cinetone 第二檔原生ISO

FX30 Low Light Performance

Despite having an APS-C (Super 35) size sensor, which stereotypically isn’t great in low light, the results surprised me. In S-Log3, noise is more preserved, and with post-production noise reduction, ISO 8000 is acceptable. Being more conservative, you can keep it below ISO 6400.

In S-Cinetone, because of the built-in noise reduction (which cannot be turned off!!), even at high ISOs, the image is clean. However, the higher the ISO, the more details are smoothed out. If you value image detail, I would also recommend keeping it below ISO 6400.

Native ISO Comparison

The dynamic range doesn’t change much between the two native ISOs of the FX30. The second native ISO has about 1/2 stop less dynamic range. Choose based on your needs, but note that the noise color in the shadows is different. I recommend using the same native ISO in the same shooting environment to avoid driving yourself crazy during color grading!