Looks like Sony has stepped up their game in the compact professional camcorder market. I'm liking what I see. I like the larger sensor and the future possibility to update the camera to 4K. It's only listed as a 12X zoom, but with Sony's new clear image zoom, it's supposed to have loss less zoom up to 24X. Looks like they are pricing it to compete with the XA20 as well. XA20 list price is $2499 and the PXW-X70 lists for $2599. Hopefully it will retail for a similar price as the XA20. They have placed this camera in their XDCAM line, so they are considering it a true professional grade camcorder as opposed the their consumer grade FDR-AX100 or the HDR-CX900. Usually that means a better build quality along with more professional functions. Looks to be able to record 1080p up to 50mbps which keeps it in a higher class than most of the lower class of video cameras. I'm hoping that they will have these available by early fall. I was about to order the XA20, but I think I'll just film with my A57 DSLR until this camera is available. http://www.pro.sony.eu/pro/lang/en/eu/product/broadcast-products-camcorders-xdcam/pxw-x70/overview/
Sweet looking camcorder. Where were you looking for the Canon XA20? Amazon has them for $1,999.00 Amazon.com : Canon XA20 Professional Camcorder : Camera & Photo
That was list price right from Canon. Basically they are selling the Canon for $500 less than list, so if the same holds true for the Sony, it should hopefully retail some where around $2100. Just trying to guess since all we have is a "List" price right now. B&H has already told me that they won't be selling it at list, but they have not set a selling price yet since it actually has not been officially introduced for the US market by Sony.
Looks like B&H set their pre-order price to $2299. Most likely others will follow or possibly even put it out there a little cheaper. Either way, I think this will be the camera that I will be ordering. I felt like I was settling with the XA20, but I think this camera checks some of the boxes that were missing with the XA20 for me. Now, just have to wait for it to be available
That's usually how it always is. Find a camera you like, get ready to order, then you find out another great came is on the horizon. It's pretty much just a repeating process and there is only a few months out of the year where you really feel like you're buying at the right time. Good luck!
