While researching the Sony HDR-CX760V as a video/photo capture device for travel I visited Sony USA and discovered ‘Sorry, the HDR-CX760V is no longer available.’

I must say I was rather surprised. Anyone have any idea what is going on? I note B&H still have stock.

OK, after posting this I discovered a comment at the Sony Community site answering this question saying 'probably a backordered part' which all seems a bit silly really. 'Temporarily out of stock' might be more appropriate.

One store in Belgium is selling the cx730 at a lower price now then what I paid with a 100 euro cashback deduction. It almost looks as if they are clearing stock. Maybe Sony has a new model coming up?

All manufacturers show their new consumer camcorders every year in January and release them a few weeks later. So it wouldn't be a surprise if prices are falling a bit at the moment or if some models are difficult to get at all.

In the US, the HDR-PJ760V is available from the Sony site, and is exactly the same as the CX760V except it has a built-in projector. It is not discounted from its original price. The PJ710V is also available. It is the same as the PJ760V except no viewfinder, again, same price as the original price. The pro version is also available and is at its original price too.

If you follow Sony official prices throughout the year in the US you will notice that they have "sales" every once in a while in which a camera's price will come down. And then it goes up. There is no trend in the US in the prices of Sony's top consumer camcorders (CX760, PJ760, PJ710). In fact, they are today at their original introductory prices.

It is curious why this specific model variant is unavailable from Sony.

Curious indeed! It does seem somewhat incredulous that Sony USA, of all stores, would run out of stock. This model was only introduced March April of this year as I recall. Still, ‘no longer available’ is quite unambiguous and I find it hard to believe that Sony USA would use those words if they meant ‘out of stock and more on the way’.

Perhaps they are about to introduce a new consumer cam designed to compete with the overwhelming intrusion into the market of the smart phone and similar devices by introducing a pocketable cam with a tack sharp 20x zoom, shoots 24p, 30p, 60p and 120p, records broadcast quality, full manual capability, image stabilization similar to the CX760v but improved, PAL NTSC switchable, one day shooting battery, variable megapixel still capability up to 24 megapixels, texting and voice calls, cooks bacon and eggs easy over and at a price just below the Samsung Galaxy 3.

Right!

Two probable factors - first it is getting close to model year end, camera wise, as already pointed out. Likely there will be "new" cameras with some new features announced shortly. Maybe "PJ770" and "PJ720"?

Second is that Sony seems to be pushing the "PJ" feature, so they may not have made too many cameras without it, and wouldn't be cranking out "more" so close to model year end. The CX710 had no "cheaper sibling" - it WAS the cheaper option, but retained the projector to appeal to the consumer market.

We may see several cameras in the high end or my suspicion is we might see all the manufacturers cut back the lines - smart phones are cutting the "need" for "consumer" cameras of both point and shoot and video varieties (not to mention P&S cameras with video features cutting into the videocam market)...

I'm a big fan of the "small cam", but I see the market segmenting out into "consumer" products built into cell phones, and then "pro" cams released on a longer market cycle. Of course the "ruggedized" cam segment is popular... Not sure there's much of a market anymore for the high end consumer "handycam"...

And I've asked before, what "feature" is going to show up to make a handycam a "must have"? The "magic eyeball" is nifty and an upgrade, but other than that and the projector, what "add" appeared between the 700 and the 710/760? I'd say the newer model fits my hand more comfortably... and feels a bit more "refined", but not a huge performance improvement, so there's not a big "gotta have it" factor if you have an 1-3 year "old" camera.

It is not "near the end of the model year". In the US (where this model has disappeared) the new models come to market in Spring (March-June), whatever is announced in January. And why not price cuts, rather than a sudden disappearance and why this one model that is just one variant of the same thing?

Obvously we are all speculating with no knowledge whatsoever, but this is very peculiar and unlike anything *in this time period* Sony has done in the past, especially with a most successful model (e.g., camcorderinfo.com camcorder of the year announced November 1).

Btw, if I were speculating on a new feature, I bet its wifi (unfortunately).

So more digging and I came across CX-NEWS 2012 11 VOL 70 wherein Sony talk about their new IMX117CQT, a Type 1/2.3 approx. 12.40M-effective pixel, back-illuminated CMOS image sensor, a tad larger than the one in the CX700 and CX760 (and other variants) and clearly superior in many ways. Perhaps they plan to introduce a new line of cams based on this sensor. Now that might be interesting...

Sony Global - CX-NEWS Vol.70 (http://www.sony.net/Products/SC-HP/cx_news/vol70/np_imx117cqt.html)

One key spec in that link - "4K"... and 240fps in full HD... I always get confused by the strange notation used for sensor size, but I think that sensor is a bit SMALLER than the one used in the current cams.

The current flagship sensor is a couple generations "old", so very likely to see replacement. And it's about time to change batteries AGAIN... Sony likes to do that every few years.


AS far as answering the OP's question...

My "speculation" on model years is based on watching Sony for quite some time, so it's not likely far off. New models WILL be introduced within about 30 days... and after a couple rough years both financially and with production issues from natural disasters... I'll bet Sony will want to have stock on the shelves EARLY if they can.

Any "old stock" on the shelf or in the warehouses will typically be moved out ahead of those new product "announcements", Sony (and some retailers who don't want to be stuck with stock) has been doing "special pricing" on a rotating selection of "current" models (CX and PJ models INCLUDED) - this is no surprise. While SOMETIMES Sony has an "off cycle" product (early CX models were typically introduced about 6 months "off" of the similar HC/SR versions - they came out later), that is atypical. Current CX and PJ were announced/released concurrently.

Keep in mind that by the time they show off the new "toys", they already have to have closed down production of the "old" models, re-tooled, and started producing the new products so they have inventory to meet expected orders, presuming that there are significant changes (unlike the HC7-HC9 where silver turned to black, and a few software features were enabled).

SO, if they sold out the existing product in the channel, or at least in Sony's own warehouses, it might well come up "no longer available" - they aren't going to go back and fire up the production line under "normal" circumstances (the FX7 being the rare example I can think of, it "disappeared" and came back!).

On top of that, let's presume for a moment that sales of these high end CONSUMER cams have been declining (due to less demand). A smart manufacturer may well have reduced production projections rather than ending up with "dead stock". The world has been in an economic mess for almost 5 years, after all.

Where you used to see good used (and sometimes new) examples of these high end cams at decent prices on eBay, they simply don't show up that often anymore - fewer "first sales", fewer resales, and while it's just an "indicator", I'm sure Sony tracks their sales and knows what the realities are. PLUS they have a few "hot" products, and I'd bet they put their production facilities on THOSE - Sensors for NEX cameras... sensors for the RX100... there are a LOT more NEX and RX100's being sold right now, at or close to full retail. Where do you think Sony will put their emphasis??



There's "speculating" and there's informed observation about the market - I won't comment much about the site you mentioned, but by the time they get around to "reviewing" and rating... it's pretty close to "old news". And certainly NOT an indicator of a "most successful model" in the marketplace.

SUCCESS is not about product qualtiy, features, or reviews... it's about what is SOLD, and the "Handycam" market ain't what it used to be, squeezed on one side by smart phones, video capable SLR's on the other, and by P&S cams with video on the same in store display, ALL fighting for the same consumer $. There's a reason Sony is packing some insanely powerful imaging features into cell phone modules (HDR VIDEO!)... they know where the quantity sales are.

Dave I think its a little BIGGER than current sensors. The present sensors in the top end consumer Sony's are 1/2.88, just a bit bigger than 1/3" . So 1/2.3 is about the same size as in the still cameras like my HX30B/V just a bit smaller than 1/2". So sensor could be going into any of the product lines !!!!

Ron Evans

Like I said, the weird notation for sensor sizes always gets me a bit mixed up <wink>... but yep, it's on par for what Sony might use in both Handycam and Cybershot lines.

The "4K" mention makes me suspect video, but increasingly I have to believe the manufacturers may head towards hybrid 4K cameras that will be equally proficient in both disciplines (see discussion in wedding/event thread). There are obstacles of processing bandwidth internally, memory speed and capacity, but time tends to remove those, and of course "4K" is pretty expensive at the moment - so maybe a few more "model years" before it's "standard".