Sony’s HXC-FZ90 system camera and BRC-AM7 PTZ demonstrate how hybrid camera chains are enabling sports productions to expand coverage, manage costs, and transition smoothly toward scalable 4K HDR workflows.
Reflecting the changes at the forefront of broadcast production, Sony’s live production ecosystem has increasingly been shaped around flexibility. Along with increased adaptability at all levels, that means productions can now choose to mix traditional system cameras with PTZ units. This enables them to cost-effectively expand coverage without adding crew or complexity.
Two products that illustrate this approach very well because they mesh so perfectly together are the HXC-FZ90 entry-level 4K system camera and the flagship BRC-AM7 integrated-lens PTZ. Together, they offer a practical route for sports, events, and studio productions looking to scale up workflows while maintaining consistent image quality and operational control.
This is exactly what the FZ90 provides. It uses a single-chip 2/3-inch 4K CMOS sensor with a B4 mount, delivering up to 2000 TVL resolution. Importantly, Sony has designed it around format agility, making it capable of switching between HD, 4K, and HDR depending on production requirements. What is really exciting about this camera, though, is the way that Sony has implemented this.
Thanks to dedicated licensing tiers, 4K capability can be enabled via optional weekly, monthly, or permanent licenses. This allows productions to scale up when needed rather than committing to full-time 4K infrastructure immediately. HDR support, meanwhile, is standard and includes HLG and S-Log3 for Sony’s SR Live workflow, enabling HD HDR or 4K HDR operation.
Operationally, the HXC-FZ90 integrates with Sony’s CNA-2 Camera Network Adapter for advanced RCP control, diagnostics, and monitoring. Control is also available from the front panel of the HXCU-FZ90 CCU, including iris and paint adjustments. Network Trunk support provides an additional Ethernet data path that can be used for prompter output or return data, including for PTZ workflows.
Its integrated lens provides 20x optical zoom, extended via Clear Image Zoom up to 30x in 4K or 40x in HD. The camera also includes an electronic variable ND filter adjustable from 1/4 to 1/128, useful for venues with shifting or mixed lighting conditions.
A major differentiator is PTZ Auto Framing. Using AI analytics and recognition of body, head, face, and clothing, the AM7 can track subjects and maintain natural framing automatically. This helps reduce operator workload while keeping production values at broadcast level.
Crucially, the AM7 is also engineered for broadcast environments, with GENLOCK, compatibility with Sony remote panels and master setup units, and integration into multi-camera switcher workflows.
This means that in a typical Sony-based sports workflow built around system cameras such as the HXC-FZ90, the BRC-AM7 can quickly and simply provide additional angles. It can be installed overhead, behind goals, in commentary positions, or in tight stadium locations where a full camera chain would be impractical.
Thanks to its GENLOCK support and remote panel interoperability, it can effectively be treated as part of the same multi-camera environment rather than as an isolated PTZ feed.
Key to the success of this is color matching. One of the biggest challenges in mixed camera environments is matching color science between system cameras and PTZs. Sony has addressed this directly with the AM7 by supporting familiar picture profiles and standards including ITU709, 709tone, S-Cinetone, and S-Log3. This simplifies alignment with Sony studio chains and SR Live workflows.
On the HXC-FZ90 side, built-in HLG and S-Log3 support ensures compatibility with HDR and SR Live pipelines, making it easier to keep consistent rendering across main cameras and PTZ positions.
Effectively, the fact that some of the cameras offered to a director in an OB truck or production gallery are PTZs is invisible. They provide the same pictures with the same qualities, allowing them to be seamlessly dropped into any production.
As well as the obvious advantages in crewing levels the remotely operated PTZ cameras bring and the ability to capture new angles, the AM7 brings another advantage to live sports and event production. Traditional camera positions can take up seats from paying spectators, something unpopular enough with leagues and venues that it is referred to as ‘seat kill’. When expanded to include the restricted view behind the camera position, in today’s stadium camera plans where 30+ camera positions are becoming commonplace, the number of seats affected can be significant.
The small size and maximum flexibility of PTZ cameras mitigates this considerably. The AM7’s Auto Framing and subject tracking can automate shots that would otherwise require dedicated operators, while its compact size allows placement in positions that would be difficult for manned cameras.
Taken together, the Sony HXC-FZ90 and BRC-AM7 represent a practical hybrid model for modern sports and live production. The FZ90 offers a familiar broadcast camera chain with flexible licensing and HDR readiness, while the AM7 brings high-end PTZ functionality, AI framing, and strong ecosystem interoperability.
For productions balancing budget, staffing, and the growing demand for more angles and higher resolution — which is all of them — this combination highlights the benefits that can be brought to the table by Sony’s broader strategy of flexibility. It provides scalable 4K/HDR workflows that integrate system cameras and intelligent PTZs into a single, color-matched live environment, allowing productions to mix and match the right components for the right job for a whole range of different use cases.