Menu Close

Best cameras for videographers in 2022

Updated Nov 22

The line between stills/video hybrids and dedicated cine/video cameras is getting ever thinner, with 10-bit capture, 8K or high frame-rate 4K and sophisticated Log and Raw output options starting to make their way to mass-market models.

The most video-focused hybrid models have many of the exposure and focus support tools you’d find on $10,000+ pro cinema cameras, but with the autofocus systems and lens compatibility of more photo-focused models. This opens up a wide range of options for high-end videography when you need something smaller or less expensive than a Hollywood A-cam.

Best camera for videographers: Sony FX30

What we like:

  • Excellent video autofocus
  • Video optimized interface and design
  • Wide variety of capture formats and framerates

What we don’t:

  • No mechanical shutter for stills
  • Underwhelming optical stabilization
  • No EVF for working in bright light

Sony’s FX30 is our first choice simply because it does so much and does it well. An excellent APS-C sensor with great levels of detail (most 4K is derived from 6K capture) also delivers very well-controlled rolling shutter. The AF performance is very good and it offers the tools you’ll need when you’re out shooting.

There are plenty of E-mount lenses available and a still wider selection of lenses can be adapted to fit. The FX30 also gives the choice of whether you want to pay for the top handle/XLR adapter, if you prefer off-board audio. Its affordable price tag (for a sensor format long accepted by broadcast and cinema industries) tips the scales in favor of the FX30 for us.

Read more about the Sony FX30

Best full-frame options: Sony FX3

What we like:

  • Excellent 4K quality with extensive output options
  • Built-in fan gives thermal stability
  • In-body image stabilization

What we don’t:

  • No shutter angle control (only shutter speed)
  • Waveforms would be useful
  • 4K not quite as detailed as best peers
  • No EVF for working in bright light

The FX3 would be our pick if we were shooting full-frame, for many of the same reasons as the FX30 is our overall choice. It captures great-looking footage with even less rolling shutter, and again includes a whole host of compression options, backed up with a very capable autofocus system.

The FX3’s footage will be a little less detailed than that of the FX30, since it’s capturing much closer to a native 4K region, but in most other respects its primarily the sensor size and price that sets them apart. There’ll be some users who’ll be able to live without the fan and top handle, and would prefer the viewfinder of the more SLR-shaped Sony a7S III, but for us the FX3 and 30 are the top hybrid cameras for videographers.

Read more about the Sony FX3

Richard Butler

Also consider:

These are the other cameras independent videographers should consider:

Why should you trust us?

Our Buying Guides are based on extensive use and testing of the cameras included. We only recommend cameras once we know how they compare to their peers in a variety of shooting situations. All selections are made solely by our editorial and video teams and are the models we’d buy or recommend to friends and family. We gain no financial advantage from recommending one camera over another, either as individuals or as a business.

Author:
This article comes from DP Review and can be read on the original site.

Tagged , , , ,

Related Posts