Sony FX2. It’s all about the EVF
People are entitled to their disappointment with this camera release, and will ultimately vote with their wallet. But from my perspective, if you overlook minor differences like in size/weight, internal raw and megapixel count, the FX2 looks like a far more practical Sigma FP-L. And that EVF, in my opinion, is its killer feature.
The Sony FX2’s EVF is not just any old EVF. It also tilts 90 degrees. This is very important. Since I discovered tilting EVFs with the EOS M3 and external EVF DC-1 attachment from Canon, I never want to shoot my other far more capable cameras with regular fixed EVFs, unless it's absolutely necessary – like, for actual work.
If my M3 breaks, I'll just upgrade to an M6 Mark II, so I can keep using that viewfinder. And it’s not even that great as a viewfinder. Just the mere fact that it tilts is everything to me.
Why Tilting EVFs Matter
Not only does a tilting EVF help with shooting outdoors, stability, and ergonomics, but it’s also more discreet, and I feel less like I'm sticking out when I'm out and about, since I'm almost never assuming the typical "photographer" or "point-and-shoot" stance that puts everyone around on notice.
Me and Larry in a very dark London elevator.
The company that has the best camera EVF implementation on the planet right now is Fuji, on their GFX system. If that system weren't so physically massive, I'd jump directly there via the now relatively affordable GFX 50s on the used market, specifically for its ability to articulate the removeable EVF with their marvelously acrobatic tilt adapter that lets the EVF tilt AND swivel 90 degrees in both landscape AND portrait orientations. As far as I know, there’s nothing else quite like it. But the GFX 50s is not a video camera. For that you'd need to move up to the GFX 100 II, which is a different budget proposition.
I recently went down an old DSLR bargain bin shopping rabbit hole, and I was thrilled to discover that you can buy an angle finder to achieve essentially a similar waist-level shooting experience through the OVF. It’s admittedly more clunky, and far less flexible than what’s been done with mirrorless EVF implementations, but it’s an option that I’m glad exists.
Black Magic Design introduced an optional EVF for their DSLR-shaped cinema cameras, starting with the Pocket 6K Pro. I’ve heard good things about it, and I seriously considered picking up a BMD camera at one point. But a few years ago, my focus started to skew more towards photography, and BMD’s cameras are not hybrids like the GFX 100 II or the Sigma FP-L. In the end, I wound up with the Canon R5C, which I chose over the Sony FX3, because of the EVF. The R5C’s EVF does not tilt. But fixed EVF is way better to me than no EVF.
No one asked for this, really?
A bunch of YouTube reviewers say nobody asked for an EVF when they participated in Sony focus groups. Perhaps in their cinematic camera influencer bubbles, no. But the Petapixel duo, the CineD guys, and Carl Yates at ProAV seem to like EVFs for video on hybrid cameras, and have repeatedly asked for them on their channels. Same as Phillip Bloom and Hugh Brownstone in so many words. I suppose it’s possible that everyone now just wants to shoot off the back of 3-inch flippy screens, and it’s just a diminishing group of old fogeys, myself included, asking for EVFs. But that’s certainly not “nobody”.
In any case, I hope Sony will feature the tilt EVF again, in a less "compromised" iteration, so we can find out the real truth about what people ostensibly want. My only misgiving is that they’ll keep the standard vari-angle screen that flips out to the side, and not implement the state of the art four-way tilt screen pioneered by the Panasonic S1H, that Sony reserves for its top tier Alpha bodies. I’m not a vlogger, so the two-way tilt of the Fuji GFX bodies that keeps the screen directly behind the lens and sensor has always been the perfect configuration for my shooting style.
The Sony FX2 is actually two different cameras
Some people – very opinionated camera bros on YouTube – are apparently upset that the FX2 is a rehoused A7IV/A7CII. Most of them are specifically losing their minds over the 4K 60 crop. It’s certainly not ideal. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s far from the end of the world. And actual FX2 sales might yet prove them to be a fringe demographic, like it did for the FX3.
In the hypothetical scenario that I got the FX2, I would pair it with the Sony 18-105 F4 power zoom lens to take advantage of the zoom rocker, and just shoot it like it was a 4K Super 35 cinema camera, full-time. This approach conveniently mitigates the 4K full-frame rolling shutter “issues” on this sensor. You can’t even shoot Super 35 on the FX3. Not at true 4K, that is.
For photography, I’d go with a Sigma 35 F2, and get back to the full frame look.
Essentially, I’d treat it like it was an FX30 in video mode, and like it was an A7IV in photo mode. Two very different and competent cameras, in one.
But I have no reason to do any of this. I have the Canon R5C, a 45MP stills AND 8K 12-bit raw video overkill beast that I’ve not even come close to the limits of. I'm fairly convinced that this is all the camera I'll ever need for the next ten years. Except perhaps for the Ursa Cine Immersive, which is a wholly different class of camera and narrative medium altogether. Anyhow, I don't care about an R5C Mark II, even if it showed up with full-size HDMI and C-log 2, or even open gate. Now, IF it came with a tilting EVF, then it would be an insta-buy, no questions asked. I am flexible in that way. Maybe that’s going to be the FX3 Mark II’s gambit - Tilt EVF (extra points for detachment), internal raw, upgraded exposure tools and open gate (heh!)? I suppose we’ll see.
Going forward, I hope more hybrid camera bodies coming to the market across all brands will feature OEM articulating EVFs, fixed or detachable. The Sigma FP-L implementation, detachable but with usability caveats, is better than nothing. The FX2’s fixed setup is okay. I prefer the Canon M3/M6 implementation which detaches, and tilts 90 degrees is the runner up, which considering how ancient it is, says a lot.
In the end, The Fuji GFX’s amazing tilt and swivel detachable EVF design is the gold standard. You pay for it, but I’m not mad at that.
