Author: Matt Johnson

Where is the FX3 Mark II?!

It’s been four years since the Sony FX3 was introduced and five years since the a7S III, which shares the same sensor. As time goes on, this question comes up more and more, so let’s talk about why Sony is taking so long and when we might realistically see the FX3 Mark II.

To understand where the FX3 Mark II is, you first need to understand how Sony works as a company. Sony isn’t just one unified camera brand. It’s a massive corporation with many separate divisions. Two of the most important for this conversation are Sony’s camera sensor division and Sony’s camera division.

While these two divisions are closely related, they operate independently in many ways. Sony’s sensor division designs and manufactures camera sensors, and only a portion of those sensors end up in Sony cameras. The majority are sold to other companies, including Apple, Nikon, and Panasonic. Every iPhone camera sensor comes from Sony, and cameras like the Nikon Z6 III and Panasonic S1 II also rely on Sony sensors.

What’s important to understand is that these companies don’t just drop Sony sensors straight into their cameras. They heavily customize them. Resolution, readout speed, stacked designs, and other characteristics can all be tailored. The underlying technology may be similar, but the final results can look very different.

Sony’s sensor division is constantly developing new sensors, selling them externally, and supplying Sony’s own camera division. This relationship is key to understanding Sony’s release strategy.

Why Sony Reuses the Same Sensor Across So Many Cameras

So where does that leave the FX3 Mark II? Sony’s camera division has access to cutting-edge sensor technology, and in many cases, it keeps that technology exclusive to Sony cameras for a period of time. That’s how we ended up with cameras like the a7S III, which pushed low-light performance and 4K at 120fps, and the a9 III, which introduced global shutter to mirrorless cameras.

Another important factor is cost. While Sony’s camera division technically pays Sony’s sensor division for sensors, it’s still money moving within the same company. More importantly, Sony is incentivized to sell as many sensors as possible.

One of the best ways to do that is by putting the same sensor into multiple camera bodies.

Here’s how this typically plays out. Sony releases a new sensor in a flagship hybrid camera, like the a7S III in 2020. Months later, that same sensor appears in a cinema-focused body like the FX6. Then it shows up again in a compact filmmaking camera like the FX3. A couple of years later, it might appear once more in a creator-focused camera like the ZV-E1.

One sensor. Four different cameras. Four different market segments.

Sony does this across nearly its entire lineup. The FX30 shares a sensor with the a6700 and ZV cameras. The ZV-E10 shares a sensor with multiple a6xxx bodies. The a7R V sensor appears in the a7C R and RX1R III. The a7 IV sensor now lives in the a7C II and FX2.

When you look at it this way, releasing another camera using an existing sensor is relatively easy and far less expensive than designing a new one.

What This Means for the FX3 Mark II

This brings us back to the FX3 Mark II. Sony doesn’t design a sensor for just one camera. It designs a sensor that can be used across an entire generation of products, including hybrid cameras, cinema cameras, and vlogging-focused bodies.

The current sensors powering Sony’s lineup are not new. The a7S III sensor dates back to 2020. The a7 IV and a1 sensors arrived in 2021. Even Sony’s newest sensor, the one in the a9 III, launched in late 2023.

If Sony is working on a next-generation sensor to replace the a7S III platform, that sensor likely needs to work in an a7S IV, an FX3 Mark II, a ZV-E1 Mark II, and possibly even an FX6 Mark II. That’s a lot of requirements to meet, and it helps explain why this process takes time.

Looking at Sony’s history, the gap between the a7S II and a7S III was about five years. From late 2015 to mid-2020, we waited. Now we’re approaching that same window again.

Speaking of which, Where is the Sony A7Siii?! is worth a look too.

This generation may end up lasting five and a half, six, or even seven years. But when you understand Sony’s sensor strategy, the delay starts to make a lot more sense.

A Look Ahead at Sony’s Future Sensors

One interesting observation is that Sony hasn’t yet created cinema or vlogging variants of its most advanced sensors, like the ones found in the a1 and a9 III. The a9 III sensor in particular is likely very expensive, which may limit how widely Sony can deploy it.

That said, I don’t think it’s a question of if we’ll see FX-style cameras using sensors like these. It’s a question of when. A cinema-focused camera with an a1-class sensor or a global shutter FX camera feels inevitable.

Imagine an FX-style camera with 8K recording, robust cooling, and no overheating concerns. A lot of filmmakers would seriously consider that.

Final Thoughts

So where is the FX3 Mark II? My take is that Sony is waiting for the next major sensor platform, one that can support an entire ecosystem of cameras rather than a single body. When that sensor is ready, the FX3 Mark II, a7S IV, and ZV-E1 Mark II will likely follow.

In other words, instead of asking where the FX3 Mark II is, it might make more sense to ask where the next a7S sensor is.

If you want to see the gear I currently recommend for filmmaking, check out my filmmaker gear guide. I’ve also put together a separate breakdown of my a7S IV and FX3 Mark II wish list if you want to see what features I hope Sony includes.

Let me know if you agree with this take on Sony’s strategy, and thanks for reading.

The Sigma 35mm f/1.2 Mark II is improved in every single way over the original, and in this review I want to walk through why this lens is such a big deal for wedding and commercial filmmakers. I’ll cover the obvious upgrades, but I’ll also point out a few important improvements that I rarely see mentioned and that actually matter a lot when you are filming real jobs.

A quick look back at the original Sigma 35mm f/1.2

When the original Sigma 35mm f/1.2 came out back in 2019, I filmed an entire wedding with it from start to finish. I loved the low light performance and the bokeh, but at the same time, the lens felt a bit ahead of its time.

It was impressive, but it also had some rough edges that made it feel like a first-generation product.

The biggest issue by far was the size and weight. That lens was an absolute chonker. It weighed nearly two and a half pounds, was thick, long, and packed with glass. It felt like Sigma saying, “Yes, this is one of the first f/1.2 lenses, and yes, it has compromises.”

After filming a full wedding day handheld, my arms definitely felt it. The image quality was there, but the physical toll was real.

The Mark II size and weight improvements are massive

This is where the Sigma 35mm f/1.2 Mark II immediately shines.

Sigma managed to make the lens about 20 percent smaller, coming in at 113mm instead of 136mm, and roughly 30 percent lighter at 744 grams instead of 1090 grams. That is a huge difference in real-world use.

For some context, the Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM weighs 778 grams, which means this Sigma 35mm f/1.2 is actually lighter than Sony’s 50mm f/1.2. That’s wild.

Even more impressive, the Mark II is roughly the same length as Sigma’s 35mm f/1.4, while still letting in significantly more light. Sigma clearly did some serious optical and mechanical wizardry here.

At this point, I have zero hesitation recommending this lens for all-day handheld filmmaking or for use on a gimbal. Even smaller DJI gimbals handle it without issue.

Smaller filters and familiar controls

Another welcome improvement is the filter thread size. The Mark II uses 72mm filters instead of the massive 82mm filters on the original. That alone saves money and makes life easier if you already own a set of ND filters.

As far as buttons and controls go, Sigma stuck with what works, and that’s a good thing. You get a programmable button, an aperture ring that can be clicked or de-clicked and locked, and an AF/MF switch.

Sigma standardized this layout across their lenses a while ago, and it continues to be one of the best third-party control designs out there.

Autofocus issues from the original are gone

This is one of the most important improvements for filmmakers.

With the original Sigma 35mm f/1.2, I ran into a frustrating autofocus issue while filming weddings. If focus was racked too far toward minimum focus distance and then I tried to focus on something far away, autofocus would sometimes just give up.

It happened most often on dark dance floors, which is already one of the hardest environments for autofocus. The workaround was to manually nudge focus back toward the middle so autofocus could re-engage, but that is not something you want to deal with during a live event.

Thankfully, this issue is completely gone on the Mark II.

I tested autofocus in bright light, low light, and across a wide range of distances, and it consistently locked on and stayed locked. The updated magnetic autofocus motors clearly make a difference, and performance was fast, accurate, and reliable.

If you want to go deeper, I’ve also got Sony 35mm GM 1.4 Lens Review For Filmmakers – BEATS Sigma 35mm 1.2.

Focus breathing and manual focus behavior

For filmmakers, focus breathing matters, and I’m happy to report that while the Sigma 35mm f/1.2 Mark II does have a small amount of breathing, it is minimal.

This is especially impressive considering this lens does not have access to Sony’s focus breathing compensation since it is a third-party lens. Sigma told me they prioritized minimizing breathing, and it really shows.

If you are using the L-mount version, you also get the option to switch between linear and non-linear manual focus in-camera, which is a great feature. On Sony E-mount, the lens is always linear, which I personally prefer for video work.

Image quality and that f/1.2 look

Even without doing a direct side-by-side comparison, image quality on this lens is outstanding.

Sigma has been absolutely crushing it lately when it comes to bokeh, and this lens fits right in alongside lenses like the 135mm f/1.8 and the 200mm f/2. The background separation is beautiful, smooth, and cinematic.

There is something special about having f/1.2 depth of field on a 35mm lens. It gives you shallow depth while still maintaining a wide enough field of view to be incredibly versatile.

There’s a reason I filmed nearly an entire wedding day with the original 35mm f/1.2. It works on a gimbal, works handheld, and lets you get close when you need to. A 35mm focal length can truly do almost everything.

Should filmmakers buy the Sigma 35mm f/1.2 Mark II?

If you want incredible bokeh, excellent low light performance, reliable autofocus, and a lens that is now actually reasonable to use all day, this lens is an easy recommendation.

The Mark II fixes the biggest issues of the original while keeping everything that made it special in the first place. For wedding and commercial filmmakers, this is one of the most versatile and visually impressive lenses you can buy.

I highly recommend it!