Sony FX30 Digital Cinema Camera with XLR Handle Unit

The Sony FX30 Digital Cinema Camera with XLR Handle Unit (B&H# SOFX30XLR) does offer Sony's Clear Image Zoom feature to electronically both crop in on and enhance the view if one wants to use significantly less than the full pixel width of the sensor. Otherwise, 4K video recording will be downsampled from 6K pixels except in 4K 120p mode.

The following Sony Short Shotgun XLR mic would be a good option to add. Sony ECM-VG1 Short Shotgun Microphone BH #SOECMVG1 • MFR #ECM-VG1 https://bhpho.to/3PcgWlc

The Sony FX30 Digital Cinema Camera with XLR Handle Unit (B&H# SOFX30XLR), like the vast majority of professionally oriented cinema cameras, does not have a mechanical (i.e. physical) shutter. As such, it relies on its electronic rolling shutter (i.e. taking disparate readings on each pixel in each line thereof, one at a time, from top to bottom) to produce each frame (in video) or each photo (when taking stills). The speed of the sensor readout by the camera being the sole means by which to reduce any artifact resulting from the earlier time when higher lines of pixels are read vs. the later time when lower lines of pixels are read, objects moving quickly and laterally in the frame (e.g. helicopter blades) can exhibit what is often called a "rolling shutter effect." The fast moving object appears as if it is bent. Lateral movement is also very common in scenarios when photographers might be shooting bursts of photos such as when a race car zooms by. Perhaps because that is the most common use for continuous (i.e. burst) photo shooting, as of this writing and at least in the initial firmware, continuous shooting is not supported. You can take single shots only. Flash synchronization is also not supported, by the way. While this will work just fine for many portrait and landscape uses, the FX30 would thus not be an ideal choice for sport or bird still photo shooting. Please note that the Sony FX3 does have a mechanical shutter and could therefore be a good alternative in your intended use case, as does the a7S III, a7 IV, and so on.

To gain the highest quality recording on the Sony FX30, the CFexpress type a VPG200 or higher card is required.

Yes, the Sony FX30 Digital Cinema Camera with XLR Handle Unit offers fast, accurate autofocus performance with touch tracking. See here for more info from Sony: https://bit.ly/3NN5ziS.

At this time, we know of no solution for the FX30 battery door lacking a cable notch like most cameras have.

There are indeed some different makers of focal reducers for Canon EF mount lenses. Autofocus will not be as good as a native Sony E or FE mount lens being used with the system and there will be limitations. Links to focal reducers:https://bhpho.to/460lq5a

The SONY FX30 zoom rocker can work with the Clear Image zoom function as well as Sony PZ lenses that have Zoom Servo control. Sony PZ lenses: https://bhpho.to/3Pw0QUR