PXW-X70 Teaser Video.

Here’s a short clip to keep you going until later in the week when I will upload the full length version of my video “Dancers on the line” shot with the new Sony PXW-X70 camcorder. As well as the film there will be a behind the scenes video with some insight into what the camera is like to shoot with and how the images look. It’s all good stuff, this is a great little compact handycam and a pretty big step up from the AX100.

Shallow-Dof-1024x576 PXW-X70 Teaser Video.
Frame grab from the PXW-X70.

It has a nice big 1″ size sensor, built in ND filters and a nice power zoom lens. It records XAVC long GOP 10bit 422 at 50Mbps at up to 60fps. Also has AVCHD and standard definition DV. The ergonomics are brilliant, clearly Sony have done a lot of works on this area and it a delight to operate run and gun or when your pressed for time. You get great battery life and the pictures are pretty amazing for a compact handycam. You can even dial in your own picture profiles for a custom look. Dual SD card slots allow for relay recording or dual card recording, there’s an full size SDI and HDMI out too. LAst thing for now… it’s 4K ready. There will be a paid upgrade to 4K option in the first half of next year. More details to come as the week progresses.

Here’s the press release from Sony.

Basingstoke, July 29, 2014: Sony has today launched the 4K-ready PXW-X70, the first compact XDCAM professional camcorder ever produced. Expanding the popular file-based XDCAM family to a new smaller form factor and lower price point, Sony has combined stunning picture quality, speed of shooting and robust performance into a package which is ideal for a wide range of applications from news gathering and documentary to events work.??

The PXW-X70 features a 1.0 type Exmor® R CMOS Sensor with a resolution of 20 megapixels. The sensor, which is even larger than the Super 16mm film frame, delivers high resolution and fantastic low light performance, as well as offering more depth of field control as demanded by today’s diverse shooting requirements. The new camcorder has the ability to record High Definition in XAVC Long GOP, enabling 422 10-bit sampling at 50 Mbit/s. This in-turn supports a broadcast-quality workflow, increasingly adopted by productions in many different professional applications.

This addition to the expanding next generation XDCAM family follows the recently announced PXW-X180 and PXW-X160 and builds upon Sony’s successful heritage of compact professional camcorders. The PXW-X70 is the first professional compact camcorder from Sony to include Wi-Fi-enabled control via Smart Phone or Tablet using the Content Browser Mobile application. An upcoming release will also provide customers with the ability to upgrade the PXW-X70 to record in 4K Ultra High Definition, with file transferring, and live video streaming capabilities.

“This first compact member of the XDCAM family brings the performance and workflow benefits associated with XAVC to an even wider range of shooting scenarios,” said Robbie Fleming, Product Marketing Manager, at Sony Professional Solutions Europe. “Over the past couple of years we’ve seen the broadcast industry really embrace the picture quality benefits associated with large sensors; the one-inch sensor at the heart of the PXW-X70 sets a new standard for colour, depth and texture in a professional compact camcorder. Coupled with the ability to upgrade to 4K, this represents a multipurpose, future-proof option for customers looking for a tough camcorder which doesn’t compromise on image.”

Key features of the PXW-X70

• 1.0 type Exmor® R CMOS Sensor and Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* lens for stunning picture quality. High sensitivity and fantastic resolution with 14.2 million effective pixels delivers striking detail and colours, even in low light conditions. The lens offers a 12x Optical Zoom, which can be increased to 24x with Clear Image Zoom while retaining full resolution thanks to Super Resolution Technology. Zoom performance can be doubled at any point with a Digital Extender by up to 48x.

• Compact, lightweight XDCAM camcorder packed with adaptable professional functions. The PXW-X70 weighs less than 1.4kg, including the XLR handle unit, battery (NP-FV70), lens hood and large eye-cup. It offers professional interfaces such as 3G-SDI and HDMI output connectors plus an XLR x 2 handle unit with zoom lever. Other professional features include a manual lens ring that can intuitively control zoom and focus, ergonomic palm grip with large zoom lever, two SD memory card slots for backup, simultaneous and relay recording, and a three-level switchable ND filter.

• Breadth of recording format capabilities. Provides multiple choices depending on application required, including XAVC, AVCHD and DV® file-based recording. When recording in XAVC, the PXW-X70 uses the MXF file format, efficiently compressing full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution using the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 CODEC. Image sampling is 4:2:2 10-bit with high-efficiency Long-GOP compression at 50 Mbps, 35 Mbps or 25 Mbps.

300x250_xdcam_150dpi PXW-X70 Teaser Video.

• Built-in Wi-Fi control functionality for monitoring and remote control versatility. Near Field Communication functions enable easy, one-touch wireless LAN connection to a smartphone or tablet, while the Content Browser Mobile application allows confirmation of shot angles and operation of the camcorder by remote, including field angle setting, spot focus and iris adjustment.

• Upcoming announcements to add even greater, future-proof functionality. Sony is set to make upgrades to 4K and file transfer and streaming by Wi-Fi function available for the PXW-X70 in the coming months.

460x150_xdcam_150dpi PXW-X70 Teaser Video.

19 thoughts on “PXW-X70 Teaser Video.”

  1. Hi Alister,
    great news from Sony and thanks for posting on the new PXW-X70. I am also interested into the PXW – X160. Those two would make a great pair , what do you think?
    Cheers,
    Igor

  2. I played with a pre-release camera here in NYC today. Sad to report that it has consumer style menus from the FS100, and the picture profile menu had only Standard, Cinematone1, Cinematone2, and ITU709 available as gammas!

    I really hope this camera ships with the full set of Cine gammas and Slog as available settings. As well as a full paint menu like we are used to on other XDCAM cameras.

    Honestly, leaving out slog is pretty mind-boggling for me, since its included on the A7s and that would be a big feature for people shooting docs.

    I am #1 on the list at a vendor here in NYC to get one of these little guys, but i’m having doubts after seeing the limited software. Hopefully it ships with more, but i’m not optimistic it will end up being the great camera it could have been! Prove me wrong Sony!

    1. No point in adding Cinegammas or Slog to this camera, the sensor does not have the dynamic range to take advantage of them.

  3. This camera is interesting, but I cannot find sufficient details to know what it has and does not have. Do you know where I can find a copy of the owners manual? Does the magnification work in the viewfinder or just on the LCD? Does it work while recording? Does it have a histogram or scopes or is the magnification the only tool for helping with focus and/or exposure? Does it have exposure compensation settings or auto gain control limits? Is the output on the SDI raw or is it processed to 4:2:2 1080p60 (does this camera do 1080p60)?

    1. Focus mag works on both LCD and VF and while recording. It has histogram, peaking and zebras. Yes it has exposure compensation as well as gain limits, full manual, touch to focus/expose. 3G HDSDI is 422 50 or 60p, regular HDSDI at 50i/25p

  4. Seems a really cool camera and small. I like to be invisible in the streets. Brilliant idea with remote sound via the intelligent shoe without cables. Since you said the X160 is the better camera: Will the 1″ sensor and 422 10 bit be better/as good as my good old well-calibrated EX1 1/2″ 420 8 bit?? Are there worlds between the X70 and the X160/X200 image wise? Thanks for the nice railway movie and your enthusiasm!

    1. The X70 pictures really are extremely good, but it hasn’t quite got the dynamic range of an EX1. The X160 has slightly better DR than the X70. The X200 is better still and thanks to it’s improved image processing produces picture that are noticeably better than the X70 and X160.

  5. I own the PXW X70 and like it very much. The XAVC Codec is unfortunately a bit weird to handle, but i think that gets better soon with support from the NLEs etc. If VLC can play it in near future, then its arrived.. 🙂
    Some issues i discovered and wishes to next firmware:
    -Simultanious recording of different codecs. One card XAVC, the other AVCHD for example would be great.
    – Why not a userbutton to shoot a photo? Its a videocamera but sometimes its usefull and the specs should allow stunning photographs (20 MP chip?). Even if the Photos would be only 8 MP (4K). Great option would be pressing the joystick to take a photo if not in menu.
    – Let the auto-/manual focus button be a free userbutton. I always use manual focus!
    -Let the auto on/off of the EVF/Screen be configurable. Its very weird sometimes if a hand or a shoulder activates or deactivates the EVF.
    -Let me decide if the cam auto powers on by opening the screen or pull the EVF or if i have to push the power button. If i just want to take a card out of the cam i dont want to power it on!
    -XAVC Codec has 4 Audio Channels. Let me decide to record internal mic or minijack to CH 3/4! And Ch1/2 as i select on the handle.

    Okay, i think thats all for now… maybe not. THX Sony for read! 😉

  6. Thank you Alister, that’s a very interesting answer for me. You can’t measure the image just by the numbers (more by the price)! In your Sony list of great cameras in your answer, would the Blackmagic Pocket be one of the winners in DR? I NEED a little cam, I wonder why nobody makes one. The Sony RX100III and the Lumix LX100 don’t even have mic-in and they are propably worse in DR?! I know I’d love the PX70 but I want the best possible and affordable image.

  7. I would love to hear an explanation or advise on auto focus which has been very difficult for me to use or to get to work properly despite all its variations.

    Spot focusing , has no feedback. No lock square. I use it with peaking to try to know what or if it’s working on. But the the stabilizer is gone.

    Face recognition works kinda, if one eye or head tilts it’s gone!

    Full auto usually missing faces or people and jumps all over. Tried to figure out if it’s the center of lens that is grabbing focus or just any contrast anywhere?

    Then Of course full manual, with peaking yet on faces it seems to focus on hair but doesn’t really tell me if face is in focus!

    There doesn’t seem to be any lock or tracking as Canon etc

    I’m really at a loss with dealing or finding that best way to use autofocus for quick run and gun shooting, which is what I would use this type of camcorder for.

    Any advise is very welcomed.
    Thanks

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