Mounting a monitor on the Sony FX3

In this post I discuss a better way of mounting a monitor on the Sony FX3 using a selection of accessories by SmallRig.

Sony FX3 / FX30 Rig – A Better Way to Mount Your Monitor!

Sony supply a cold shoe adapter that can be screwed to the handle itself which works fine if the camera is on a tripod however it’s totally impractical if you want to actually hold the camera by the handle! There’s also a 1/4″ threaded hole at the rear of the handle but good luck trying to use that without the whole monitor swinging down to the left at the first knock!

Sony’s solution for fitting a monitor just doesn’t work if you need to use the handle!

I like to use my Sony FX3 with the SmallRig Half Cage which provides a few alternative options for mounting accessories. Firstly you can mount an alternative top handle to the Nato Rail that bolts to the top of the camera, I like to use the SmallRig Top Handle mounted backwards as it allows the camera to balance nicely in the hand and offers a good placement for my Atomos Shinobi monitor. That handle also has a useful start/stop record button that connects with a cable to the USB port on the camera.

Atomos Shinobi fitted to the SmallRig top handle and FX3 Cage

So that’s all great and I love using the Sony FX3 rigged like this however it’s then not offering xlr inputs and controls which is one of the main selling points of the camera. Determined to find a better way of mounting a monitor on the Sony FX3 I purchased a few items from SmallRig and set about finding a solution. After a bit of tinkering I came up with a nice rig utilising the 15mm rod holder on the SmallRig cage. Using a combination of SmallRig’s carbon rods and brackets along with a Nitze monitor mount this was the result…

Completed Sony FX3 Rig using SmallRig accessories.

I’ve also fitted the SmallRig FX3 handle extension which hugely improves the Sony handle. The nice thing about this solution is that the monitor can be moved to the left if using a shotgun mic simply by adjusting the 15mm bracket that connects to two carbon rods.

I hope thats useful, please watch the video above for more detail and I’ve listed all of the parts shown below. If you have any questions or other feedback please leave a comment either here or on my YouTube Channel.

Kit shown in the video

Cage: SmallRig FX3 half cage
Camera: Sony FX3
Lens: Sony 16-35 GM
SmallRig Arca-swiss plate for Ronin
SmallRig handle extension
SmallRig 6″ carbon rods
SmallRig 4″ carbon rods
SmallRig rod clamp
Nitze monitor mount
Monitor: Atomos Shinobi
Wireless Kit: Sony UWP D21
Mic: Sennheiser MKH416
ND: Polar pro PM II VND 2-5