Did they raise the price on the x70?

[Craig Seeman]

Originally Posted by Josh Bass

outclassed in 3 years? definitely. relevant to YOU? depending on your clients, maybe not. I guarantee folks are still out there making money with SD, and if i had bought one of the early Sony hdv tape cams or an hvx200 I'd probably still be using it.

Yes it depends on your clients and work volume. But upgrading is far more than simply having the latest greatest. Real utility and quality is changing much faster now than it did in DV/HDV days. Nearly all these changes impact someone doing about 20-25 paid hours work a week.

Tape: to file include ingest time, tape head wear (real cost of ownership) the possible need to tape decks (or further wear your camera), the time it takes to deinterlace, the ability for the image to hold up in grading and compositing. These impact the time it takes to complete your project as well as cost of maintenance.

Depth of field control: Granted your clients may not even be able to articulate it but they'll see it and they'll certainly notice it missing from your marketing reel if you shoot interviews or products.

Codecs: If you grade or composite your work this is major. Raw, Intraframe, 4:2:2 are all affordable now. If this doesn't have an impact on your work then obviously you're client base isn't pushing in this area.

4K: The ability to reframe or stabilization a shot without loss of resolution is major. The ability to "fake" a second camera through reframing is a big cost savings.

All these are motivators to buy a new camera. The combined changes in these features are so rapid that I really can't see maintaining even a moderately busy one person "shop" holding on to one camera.

In fact the biggest recent industry camera is quality and low price. One can now own multiple cameras and upgrades can be limited to purchasing the camera with the new feature you need without having to dump your entire kit.

I simply can't imagine a "one camera does all" device competing more than three years given the changes going on.


For example: You buy the X70 this year for just under $3,000 with the 4K upgrade. Next year a similar camera comes out and the lens aperture holds at f1.9 through 24x zoom range and 4K is 4:2:2. If low light performance is important to your shooting, you're going to consider upgrading. Otherwise may you consider spending $7,000 for a camera with those features now thinking it'll have another year or two life.

The needs of my tiny little business are already so complex that the smart model is to buy what I can replace more frequently. The changes in camera technology are fast and, in most cases, save me hours, or improve the quality of my work significantly.

[Tim Paynter]

I was thinking the x70 this year without the upgrade...and probably never because there will be better 4k thinks out there when my clients begin insisting on it...

[Paul Anderegg]

Can you imagine the X70 with a 2MP 1" sensor, a 1920x1080 version. What would that be, a 10x increase in size for each pixel/photosite?! :)

Paul

[Ozzy Alvarez]

Does anyone know when the 4K upgrade for the X70 will be? I am seriously giving thought to getting this camcorder unless Sony unveils something better at NAB.

[David Dixon]

June 2015 - details at:

New firmware for broadcast and professional A/V equipment from Sony : United Kingdom : Sony Professional

Scroll down to X70 section.

[Tim Paynter]

With a z100 the upgrade is free?

[Noa Put]

Over here you can get a ax100 for 1750 euro while a x70 will set you back 2950 euro, taken the extra features into consideration I would consider it normal if the x70 has this pricedifference IF 4k was included in it, if I understand that would be around 500 euro? That would make the x70 twice as expensive as the ax100, that 's not peanuts.

[Rob Hargreaves]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Over here you can get a ax100 for 1750 euro while a x70 will set you back 2950 euro, taken the extra features into consideration I would consider it normal if the x70 has this pricedifference IF 4k was included in it, if I understand that would be around 500 euro? That would make the x70 twice as expensive as the ax100, that 's not peanuts.

Agree, Sony are definitely shooting themselves in the foot with this ridiculous price and timescale for the X70 upgrade...

HD Warrior » Blog Archiv » Sony’s PXW-X70…”Toy town 4K” Updated