Short answer: most of them. Still.
3G-SDI has been the load-bearing wall of professional video for over a decade, and it’s not going anywhere overnight. Here’s the full picture.
What 3G-SDI actually is
3G-SDI (SMPTE 424M) runs at 2.97 Gbps. That gets you 1080p up to 60fps (clean and reliable), 2K at lower frame rates, and 4K technically, if you’re willing to play games with quad-link or accept compromises nobody wants to make.
It’s the standard that carried us through HD and got us into 4K. Still baked into the DNA of every truck, studio, and rental house in the world.
Cinema cameras on 3G-SDI
RED (DSMC Era)
- RED EPIC
- RED SCARLET
- RED DRAGON variants
- RED RAVEN
ARRI (Pre-Large Format)
- ALEXA Classic
- ALEXA Plus
- ALEXA XT
- ALEXA SXT
- ALEXA Mini (original)
- ALEXA Studio
- ALEXA 65
Sony
- VENICE (has 12G option but still outputs 3G)
- F55
- F5
- FS7 / FS7 II
- FS5 / FS5 II
- FX9 (3G-SDI, dual-link for 4K 60p)
- FX6
Canon
- C500 Mark II (has 12G, but also 3G outputs)
- C300 Mark II
- C300 Mark III
- C200
- C70
Blackmagic
- URSA Mini 4K
- URSA Mini 4.6K
- URSA Mini Pro (3G outputs, 12G available)
- Pocket Cinema Camera 6K (3G-SDI)
- Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro (3G-SDI)
Panasonic
- Varicam LT
- Varicam 35
- EVA1
- BGH1/BS1H
Why 3G isn’t dead (and won’t be for a while)
Simple: the world is built on it.
3G-SDI cables are in every cable cart on every set. 3G infrastructure is in every broadcast truck, every studio control room, every rental house back room. Monitors, recorders, switchers, routers. The entire backbone of professional video was built around 3G.
For most outputs, 1080p60 is plenty. Nobody’s squinting at 4K on a 7-inch field monitor and seeing a difference. 3G handles that all day.
Where 3G hits the wall
The problems start when you need 4K output at high frame rates (4K60 is beyond 3G’s ceiling, full stop), full-resolution RAW output on newer cameras (they want more pipe than 3G offers), large format sensors at native resolution (too many pixels, not enough bandwidth), or HDR with full bandwidth (some workflows demand the extra headroom).
That’s when 3G taps out and you need 12G.
The real world is a mix
Here’s what most sets actually look like today: the camera might have 12G capability, but the monitor on the AC’s arm is 3G. The wireless video transmitter is 3G. The recorder in the sound cart is probably 3G. Half the infrastructure in the truck is 3G.
That’s why 12G cables that work flawlessly at 3G speeds matter. You get forward compatibility without breaking anything that works today. One cable standard that plays nice with every piece of gear in the ecosystem, old and new.
Bottom line
If your camera was made before roughly 2018, it’s probably 3G-SDI only. That’s not a problem. 3G is established, proven, and deeply embedded in how this industry works.
If you’re buying cables today? Buy 12G. They work with every 3G device you own and every 12G device you’ll own next year. One purchase, zero regrets.
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