Camera by camera
Sony FX30 export settings.
Super 35 footage, client-ready.
The FX30 records 10-bit 4:2:2 files that grade well and travel badly. Here is what the camera writes, which of those files a client can actually play, and the graded HEVC export to send instead.
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By uncompressed.io · Updated September 2026
The camera
Super 35, 20.1 MP for movies:
what the FX30 writes to the card.
The FX30 is Sony’s APS-C, Super 35 body. Its sensor measures 23.3 x 15.5 mm, with approximately 20.1 million effective pixels for movies, and it has two base ISOs of its own: 800 and 2500. Check them on this camera rather than carrying exposure habits over from another Sony body.
20.1 MP
Movie pixels
APS-C sensor, 23.3 x 15.5 mm
800 / 2500
Base ISO
Movie ISO 100 to 32,000 equivalent
600 Mbps
Top XAVC S-I rate
4K at 59.94p, 4:2:2 10-bit
4672 x 2628
RAW over HDMI
To an external RAW recorder
Source: Sony FX30 Help Guide (helpguide.sony.net), recordable movie formats and RAW output pages, read 19 September 2026. Data rates in Mbps as Sony lists them (M). DCI 4K XAVC S-I requires firmware Ver.2.00 or later. HS and S rows list the top and bottom of each range, not every step.
Two things in that table decide the rest of this page. First, 4K at 119.88p and 100p exists only in the Long GOP formats; XAVC S-I tops out at 59.94p. Second, the picture profiles offer S-Cinetone, S-Log3 and HLG to HLG3, with S-Gamut3.Cine, S-Gamut3, BT.2020 and 709tone color modes. S-Log2 is not in the FX30’s gamma list, so any LUT or transform you pick should be the S-Log3 one that matches your color mode.
Sony’s help guide for the FX3, which describes the same XAVC formats, puts the trade in one line each: XAVC HS uses HEVC for higher image quality than XAVC S at the same data volume, and Intra compression has better response and flexibility when editing than Long GOP. For a grading master, S-I at 4:2:2 10-bit is the choice when the cards and drives can take 240 to 600 Mbps. XAVC HS at 4:2:2 10-bit is the middle road. The 8-bit 4:2:0 modes leave the least room once S-Log3 gets pulled into shape; the 4:2:0 vs 4:2:2 answer explains what the chroma difference costs.
Who can play what
Browser, macOS app,
and the files nobody should be sent.
An FX30 card is full of files that are excellent to grade and unpredictable to watch. Sort them before anything leaves the suite.
Plays in a browser, device permitting
Your graded H.264, HEVC or AV1 export in MP4 or MOV. The camera's own 10-bit 4:2:2 files play only where the viewer's device decodes that profile, and S-Log3 still looks flat and grey when they do.
Plays in the macOS app
None of the FX30's internal XAVC formats. The app's documented list is RED R3D, Blackmagic BRAW, Nikon N-RAW and ProRes up to 8K 4:2:2 HQ at 60 fps, so a ProRes 422 HQ master rendered from your FX30 timeline qualifies. The XAVC originals do not.
RAW from the HDMI output
Sony describes RAW movie output over HDMI to an external recorder. No RAW format plays in a web browser through us, and ProRes RAW is not on the macOS app's list. Grade the recorder files, then export.
Supported camera originals and Vault playback use the compatible macOS app; they are not universally playable in web browsers. Playback there is hardware-dependent, so test a short clip on the recipient’s Mac before a session that matters. For the browser side, the 10-bit 4:2:2 HEVC playback guide covers which devices decode that profile. The short version: the camera file is a gamble, the graded export is not.
HLG material is its own case, because HDR display in a browser depends on the viewer’s screen and software; read whether HDR plays in a browser before you send an HLG export to someone on a laptop.
The export
One review file,
sized to what the FX30 shot.
A browser shows the file as encoded. There is no grade applied on the way to your client’s screen, so the S-Log3 to Rec.709 step happens in your timeline, before export, every time.
uncompressed.io recommended review export. Audio AAC 320 kbps in every row. DCI 4K timelines use the 4K rows. If you want one number: 80 Mbps HEVC 10-bit covers 1080p through 4K; calm frames 40 to 50, busy frames (snow, rain, water, foliage, heavy grain, fast pans) 100 to 120.
The 120p row is the one people get wrong. The camera recorded 119.88 frames a second so that the edit can play them back slower; the review file carries the timeline rate, not the capture rate. Conform in the edit, then export at 23.976, 25 or whatever the timeline runs at, with constant frame rate so the client’s timecode matches yours.
Free export presets with these values for DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, Media Encoder and Compressor are on the NLE page. Browser playback uses your uploaded export without another platform re-encode. Codec, device and connection requirements still apply, and each film plays from one file with no lower-quality rendition, so a slow connection buffers rather than dropping resolution.
Card to client
From the FX30 card
to notes on your timeline.
Offload the card
Copy the XAVC clips into your project structure as you already do, and keep a second copy before you format anything.
Grade or transform
Apply your grade, or at minimum an S-Log3 to Rec.709 transform matched to the color mode you shot. S-Cinetone footage skips the log step but still gets a look on a proper display.
Export the review file
H.265 Main10 in MP4 or MOV, constant timeline frame rate, 2-pass VBR at the row above, AAC 320 kbps.
Upload
Drag it in. Uploads are resumable and take any file up to 5 TB within your plan's hot storage.
Share the link
The link is the access; your client needs no account. Add a password per video if the cut is sensitive.
Pull the notes back
Comments land at the timecode with red or green status, plus drawings on the picture, and return as markers through a Resolve script, a Premiere Pro panel or a Final Cut Pro .fcpxmld bundle.
When the next cut is ready, replace the file: the link, views, settings, notes and approvals stay put, so the client never juggles two URLs. If the client or a colorist needs the XAVC originals, upload them as files and switch on downloads for that video; original-file downloads are off until you turn them on, one switch per video.
When this is the wrong tool
Questions
Frequently asked
What export settings should I use for FX30 4K 24p S-Log3 footage?
Grade it or apply a transform to Rec.709 first. Then export H.265 Main10 (10-bit) in MP4 or MOV at the timeline resolution, constant 23.976 fps, 2-pass VBR between 40 and 80 Mbps, with AAC audio at 320 kbps. Calm interview frames sit near 40 to 50 Mbps; grain, foliage or water need the top of the range.
Is there an S-Log2 option on the FX30, and which transform do I use?
No S-Log2. Sony's FX30 picture profile page includes S-Cinetone, S-Log3 and HLG to HLG3 in its gamma list, with no S-Log2, and S-Gamut3.Cine and S-Gamut3 among the color modes. A transform or LUT built for S-Log2 is the wrong one for FX30 footage; use the S-Log3 transform that matches the color mode you shot, then export the review file from that graded timeline.
Which FX30 recording setting makes the best grading master?
XAVC S-I, the All-Intra format, at 4:2:2 10-bit. Sony's help guide for the FX3, which describes the same XAVC formats, says Intra compression has better response and flexibility when editing than Long GOP. When card space matters more, XAVC HS at 4:2:2 10-bit keeps the bit depth and chroma at a lower data rate. The 8-bit 4:2:0 XAVC S modes leave the least room in the grade.
Why can't my FX30 record DCI 4K in XAVC S-I?
Sony lists the 4096 x 2160 XAVC S-I modes as requiring firmware Ver.2.00 or later. On older firmware the S-I options stop at 3840 x 2160. Check the camera's firmware version before a job that needs DCI 4K Intra.
How do I send FX30 4K 120p slow motion to a client?
4K 119.88p and 100p exist only in the Long GOP formats (XAVC HS and XAVC S), not in S-I. Conform the clip to the timeline rate in the edit, so it plays as slow motion, and export at that timeline rate. A 23.976 fps timeline exports as 23.976 fps, whatever the camera recorded.
Send the grade, not the log
Upload a graded FX30 export, send one link, and collect timecoded notes that come back into your editor as markers. Browser playback uses your uploaded export without another platform re-encode; codec, device and connection requirements still apply.
Sources
- 1.Sony FX30 Help Guide, recordable movie formats (XAVC S-I, XAVC HS and XAVC S resolutions, frame rates, data rates, bit depth and chroma; DCI 4K S-I firmware requirement; read 19 September 2026)
- 2.Sony FX30 Help Guide, specifications (APS-C sensor 23.3 x 15.5 mm, approx. 20.1 million effective pixels for movies, movie ISO range; XAVC HS video MPEG-H HEVC/H.265, XAVC S video MPEG-4 AVC/H.264; read 19 September 2026)
- 3.Sony FX30 Help Guide, base ISO (base ISO 800 or 2500; read 19 September 2026)
- 4.Sony FX30 Help Guide, picture profile (gammas S-Cinetone, S-Log3, HLG to HLG3; color modes S-Gamut3.Cine, S-Gamut3, BT.2020, 709tone; read 19 September 2026)
- 5.Sony FX30 Help Guide, RAW output over HDMI (RAW movie output 4672 x 2628 to an external RAW recorder; read 19 September 2026)
- 6.Sony FX3 Help Guide, movie file formats (describes the same XAVC HS, XAVC S and XAVC S-I formats; HEVC in XAVC HS, Intra with better response and flexibility when editing; read 19 September 2026)