Sony PXW-X70 announced: Pro XDCAM version of AX100

[Bill Petropoulos]

$2,299 is a nice price point.
I believe this will be the least expensive camera with an SDI connection, right?

[Gabor Heeres]

It indeed seems Bill. Even the Canon XA25 is a more expensive camera.

[Charles W. Hull]

Originally Posted by Mark Fry

However, I do rather like the look of the X70 as a very competant, compact HD camera. I'm looking forward to reading a decent back-to-back review with the Canon XF200.

I can't imagine it would be at all a close contest. I use an XF100, and had thought about upgrading to the XF200. But recently I'm using the Sony FDR-AX100, and consider even this a step up from what I expect the XF200 will be. The XF cameras don't do very well in low light; the AX100 does. And the image sharpness of the FRD-AX100 bests the XF100. Stepping up to the added capability of the PXW-X70 over the FDR-AX100 really rules out any chance the XF200 has of a good showing.

About the attractive introductory pricing of the PXW-X70, the camera is '4K ready", not 4K. I haven't seen when the 4K upgrade will be available, nor whether it will be free or come with an additional price. When this settles down I'll probably add a PXW-X70, assuming the price is still in line.

[Anthony Lelli]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

Other than my NX5U which cannot shoot at 60P in 1920x1080 the other cameras I use ( CX700, NX30U and FDR-AX1 ) all shot at 60P. I just use a 60i project in Edius and mix them all just fine for export to BLuray or DVD. But I at least have all progressive files at source. I will get a X70 and maybe a X160 to replace my NX5U too. I will keep the NX30 for its wonderful image stabilizer though. I really do not like slow frame rates so hope the 4K upgrade for the X70 isn't just 30P.

Ron Evans

I agree Ron,
but back we go again with the distribution. DVD are obsolete , bluray are unknown to the most, flash cards are "geeky" , youtube doesn't even play 60p (at the moment) and right now youtube means (at least for me) the most important distribution of my work. I see that at Sony's are pretty serious about 4K , and 4K is the future in my opinion, but when the distribution will be ready for 4K and 60p there will be new cameras for sure. I like (on paper) this new little thing here (but still no idea about the rolling shooter and the fact that the "reviewers" don't even go there sure doesn't look good. I don't know Ron... another 4K camera for stills? No thanks . I'm back with EX1r that (for the work that I do and make money with) is more than enough. But for 2.5K I'll think about it (for still and very controlled and shoots only).

[David Dixon]

Charles, when you say the AX100 is sharper and better in low light than the XF100, are you talking about footage shot in 1080p? Or 4K downsized in post?

And, does anyone have info on whether the X70 retains the touch screen focus/exposure and the 720p120fps of the AX 100?

[Tony Maceo]

Originally Posted by Bill Petropoulos

$2,299 is a nice price point.
I believe this will be the least expensive camera with an SDI connection, right?

Indeed, and again, I'll say this will be a great "go to" camera for on-location multi-cam live streaming productions. Being able to fly to shoots with three Sony PXW-X70 (handles detached) and, say, a Roland VR3-EX switcher as carry-on is cost effective and stress reducing.

The $2,299 price is right... now if Sony will deliver the 3G-SDI formats to seal the deal for our multi-unit purchase. (1080/30p, 720/30p among the standard ones). I'll probably harp on this until Sony makes the User Manual pdf available.

[Peter Siamidis]

The dual slot recording where it can record to two sd cards at the same time for instant backup is huge to me. That's my biggest fear currently with the AX100, that there will one day be an sd card failure and poof there goes my footage. That one feature alone makes me want to get this camera, although I'd prefer to wait and see how they will handle the 4k firmware upgrade.

[Robert Young]

Originally Posted by David Dixon

...And, does anyone have info on whether the X70 retains the touch screen focus/exposure?

One of the video reports I saw- I think it was one of Alister Chapman's- specifically mentioned that the X70 definitely has the touch focus/exposure feature.
IMO that is a super useful feature- even more so with the enhanced DOF of the X70

[Charles W. Hull]

Originally Posted by David Dixon

Charles, when you say the AX100 is sharper and better in low light than the XF100, are you talking about footage shot in 1080p? Or 4K downsized in post?

In my case it is shot in 4K and downsized in post. I haven't had a reason to shoot directly in 1080p yet; I'm using the camera mostly for 4K; and just some 1080p for distribution.

[Lawrence Bansbach]

Originally Posted by Charles W. Hull

I haven't seen when the 4K upgrade will be available, nor whether it will be free or come with an additional price.

From what I've read, Sony has said it will be a paid upgrade.

[Alister Chapman]

Yes, X70 does have touch to focus, touch to expose.

The 4K upgrade will be a paid option. Available 1st half next year, probably around the same time as the live streaming upgrade. My guess would be a cost of $500 but that is a guess.

[Barry J. Weckesser]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

Yes, X70 does have touch to focus, touch to expose.

The 4K upgrade will be a paid option. Available 1st half next year, probably around the same time as the live streaming upgrade. My guess would be a cost of $500 but that is a guess.

Knowing that I would be purchasing the x70 , I just purchased the AX100 (can be returned in 45 days - Best Buy) to test out it's capabilities and I am truly impressed. I am able to monitor the 4k files from the Edius timeline through Blackmagic Decklink to a Dell 32" 4K monitor (10 bit) and I am blown away by the quality. The low light capabilities is somewhat less than my PMW 200 but with the judicious use of gain that is easily compensated for (no perceptible grain on the 4K screen).

Getting to the point - since Sony has 4K operating well in the AX100 - why would they stage the release of 4K in the x70 somewhere 6 to 9 months down the line? I can only assume they are working on a different implementation of 4K in the professional camera - something that would incorporate a higher bitrate as well as 4.2.2 and 10 bit and perhaps even 60 p. I assume that it would still be working with SDXC cards as XQD would require a hardware upgrade.

On another topic - I preordered the x70 from B&H Photo - since they are accepting preorders does that mean availability within 4-6 weeks or longer?

[David Dixon]

Alister, thanks for the info. Does the X70 retain the 120fps of the AX100 at 720p?

Given the $2300 price I hope the estimate of $500 for 4K is accurate. I'm hoping that the 4K implementation will reflect several months of improvement, and the pricing works for me too. In fact, this will let us see the details of the 4K implementation before we decide whether it's worth it to us or not.

[Robert Young]

Originally Posted by Barry J. Weckesser

On another topic - I preordered the x70 from B&H Photo - since they are accepting preorders does that mean availability within 4-6 weeks or longer?

If the past is any predictor, I ordered a Sony RX100 III as soon as it was available for preorder @ B&H.
The camera was shipped around 4 weeks later.
I'm thinking middle of September is probably a reasonable expectation.

[Robert Young]

Originally Posted by Barry J. Weckesser

Getting to the point - since Sony has 4K operating well in the AX100 - why would they stage the release of 4K in the x70 somewhere 6 to 9 months down the line? I can only assume they are working on a different implementation of 4K in the professional camera - something that would incorporate a higher bitrate as well as 4.2.2 and 10 bit and perhaps even 60 p. I assume that it would still be working with SDXC cards as XQD would require a hardware upgrade.

I think you are correct, the 4K upgrade issue has to do with the XAVC codec:
The AX100 uses XAVC-S which I understand to be 8 bit, 4:2:0, long GOP.
I've read that the plan for the X70 is to provide for XAVC 10 bit, 4:2:2, 50 mbs, long GOP