Sony PXW-X70 announced: Pro XDCAM version of AX100

[Stephen Robinson]

Originally Posted by Petter Flink

I'm a bit surprised that it lacks so many features already available on the ax100.
Could it be that Sony are working to add them together with the 4k firmware or have they dumbed the x70 down too much hardware wise while trying to sell it as semi pro?

I have a cheap Lanc that came with a tripod I bought off ebay a while back. Right now, it's all I have to test it with(I should receive my Varizoom Stealth LX tomorrow). Here's what I can confirm. The Zoom in/out works perfectly. The manual focus works, but as it zooms in, the closer it gets to the minimum focal length, the slower it gets. I don't know if this is a function of the Lanc or the camera, but it makes it kind tough to get a nice rack focus that is fast enough to be usable. Again, not sure what is making it behave this way. The further you move your focal point out, the faster it moves. Also, the camera is set to turn off when you close the LCD panel. My Lanc has an on/off switch. If I close the panel and the switch is in the "on" position, the camera seems to do a cycle of powering on/off until I unplug the Lanc. If I leave the LCD open, and turn the switch to "off" on the Lanc, it works as it should. Not sure if this will be an issue with the Varizoom. I believe you can turn that functionality off on the camera so that it doesn't power off when the LCD is closed. That would also fix the issue. There's an information button on the Lanc, and it does toggle between what info is displayed on the screen. There's also a photo button on the Lanc, which used to take pictures on my XHA1s. When used with this camera, that button does nothing. There is no picture function on it.

[Nathan DuMoulin]

Originally Posted by Stephen Robinson

I have a cheap Lanc that came with a tripod I bought off ebay a while back. Right now, it's all I have to test it with(I should receive my Varizoom Stealth LX tomorrow). Here's what I can confirm. The Zoom in/out works perfectly. The manual focus works, but as it zooms in, the closer it gets to the minimum focal length, the slower it gets. I don't know if this is a function of the Lanc or the camera, but it makes it kind tough to get a nice rack focus that is fast enough to be usable. Again, not sure what is making it behave this way. The further you move your focal point out, the faster it moves. Also, the camera is set to turn off when you close the LCD panel. My Lanc has an on/off switch. If I close the panel and the switch is in the "on" position, the camera seems to do a cycle of powering on/off until I unplug the Lanc. If I leave the LCD open, and turn the switch to "off" on the Lanc, it works as it should. Not sure if this will be an issue with the Varizoom. I believe you can turn that functionality off on the camera so that it doesn't power off when the LCD is closed. That would also fix the issue. There's an information button on the Lanc, and it does toggle between what info is displayed on the screen. There's also a photo button on the Lanc, which used to take pictures on my XHA1s. When used with this camera, that button does nothing. There is no picture function on it.

This information is hugely appreciated.

When you are referring to the speed relative to the focal length, are you referring to the speed at which the auto focus behaves, or the speed that the servo zoom changes the actual focal length?

Thanks again. Very helpful.

PS. If you get a chance, would you mind checking to see if there is indeed a setting in the menu that allows you to keep the camera powered on with the LCD closed? If not then no worries.

[Stephen Robinson]

Originally Posted by Nathan DuMoulin

This information is hugely appreciated.

When you are referring to the speed relative to the focal length, are you referring to the speed at which the auto focus behaves, or the speed that the servo zoom changes the actual focal length?

Thanks again. Very helpful.

PS. If you get a chance, would you mind checking to see if there is indeed a setting in the menu that allows you to keep the camera powered on with the LCD closed? If not then no worries.

I'm not sure. I was using manual focus on the camera and trying to control a rack focus to move my focal point from say 15 feet away to about 2 feet away. As the focal point gets closer, the slower it changes. If that makes sense. If I'm focused to infinity, and use the Lanc to manually move the focal point to very close, you can see the distance indicator on the LCD screen. The distance closes quickly, but as it gets closer the speed it moves ramps down. It could be the Lanc, or a setting I have on the camera wrong. I don't know. I just need more time to get familiar with the camera. I can rack focus with the lens ring just fine.

[Stuart Siciliano]

Looks like B&H has an early October ship date and Adorama has them in stock.

[Darren Levine]

yea, does look like adorama has it, doesn't mention anything about backorder even during checkout

[Stuart Siciliano]

Ordered from B&H last week and still haven't gotten any notification on shipment.

[Barry J. Weckesser]

Yeah - bought one and accessories - will have by tomorrow - cancelled B&H. They (A) told me they only had 2 in stock so they may be gone by now

[Stephen Robinson]

Originally Posted by Barry J. Weckesser

Yeah - bought one and accessories - will have by tomorrow - cancelled B&H. They (A) told me they only had 2 in stock so they may be gone by now

FYI, Campbell's Cameras does have limited quantities in stock per their Facebook page today.

Sony PXW-X70 Professional XDCAM Compact Camcorder

Call and ask for Johanna. She will take care of you.

[David Dixon]

Glad to see some folks getting them in hand soon. I'm very anxious to see if the combination of the better codec and the options to tweak knee, gammas, etc., truly do allow for dialing in a different look. I'm hoping this gives us more than just a CX900 with XLRs.

[Bill Petropoulos]

Originally Posted by Stephen Robinson

The manual focus works, but as it zooms in, the closer it gets to the minimum focal length, the slower it gets. I don't know if this is a function of the Lanc or the camera, but it makes it kind tough to get a nice rack focus that is fast enough to be usable.

I think it's the camera.
I was hoping the engineers would change this focus behavior on the PXW-X70 compared with the AX100/CX900.

The more you zoom in on the AX100/CX900, the more turns of the focus ring is needed to nail focus, which forces you to remove your hand several times during the rack focus causing the camera to shake.

This is discouraging.
I prefer manual focus operation when shooting, and this makes it very difficult to achieve proper manual focus control when shooting handheld.

[Barry J. Weckesser]

I had the same experience when I had my 2 weeks of testing out the AX100 - I found myself turning on auto focus momentarily and then going back to manual - it shortened the process.

[Ron Evans]

I have found that the best technique with all the small Sony's I have ( CX700, NX30U, XR500 ) is to use spot focus. The lens has to be focused when zoomed anyway as they do not maintain focus with zoom . Just a touch on the LCD and it is very fast and can also be used to change focus point within the image of course. Camera stays in manual focus but I never use the focus ring. I have "my Buttons" set up on the NX30U so that I just touch the spot focus button I have set and the place on the image I want in focus. A disappointment is that the X70 does not have the " My Buttons " feature. Saves such a lot of time going through menus to the 3 things one uses the most.

Wish my NX5U or the new X160/X180 had this feature.

Ron Evans

[Petter Flink]

Originally Posted by Stephen Robinson

I'm not sure. I was using manual focus on the camera and trying to control a rack focus to move my focal point from say 15 feet away to about 2 feet away. As the focal point gets closer, the slower it changes. If that makes sense. If I'm focused to infinity, and use the Lanc to manually move the focal point to very close, you can see the distance indicator on the LCD screen. The distance closes quickly, but as it gets closer the speed it moves ramps down. It could be the Lanc, or a setting I have on the camera wrong. I don't know. I just need more time to get familiar with the camera. I can rack focus with the lens ring just fine.

Thanks for your input.
Were you shooting wide open?
Could it be related to the large aperture and small dof at that specific focal length so that the X70 have to slow down to not over shoot the focus?


How does non-mechanical zoom/focus ring and iris knob act when you slowly begin or stop turning it?
Does it scale the turn speed smoothly or does it have crude steps and high threshold?

I love the feeling and control of mechanical rings which my JVC HM150 lacks. And even though I love the format of that little camera I'm really interested to hear how the X70 does it.
I want to challenge my creativity - not my laggy rings.

[Stephen Robinson]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

I have found that the best technique with all the small Sony's I have ( CX700, NX30U, XR500 ) is to use spot focus. The lens has to be focused when zoomed anyway as they do not maintain focus with zoom . Just a touch on the LCD and it is very fast and can also be used to change focus point within the image of course. Camera stays in manual focus but I never use the focus ring. I have "my Buttons" set up on the NX30U so that I just touch the spot focus button I have set and the place on the image I want in focus. A disappointment is that the X70 does not have the " My Buttons " feature. Saves such a lot of time going through menus to the 3 things one uses the most.

Wish my NX5U or the new X160/X180 had this feature.

Ron Evans

There are 6 function buttons that can be set to what ever function you want as a shortcut. I haven't had a chance to set them up on the camera, but I did set up the nightshot function on #6 which would normally be digital extender. So it does have a similar capability, just in a slightly different form.

[Dave Blackhurst]

Hmmm, AX100 has "My Buttons"... OH, the mysteries of Sony firmware! Features and functions seem terribly random sometimes!