Review: Sony PXW-X70 Professional XDCAM Compact Camcorder

Professional Features

Often, when I compare camcorders in this price range (the X70 currently sells for $1,999), I’m left wanting professional features that are available only in higher-priced camera lines. The Sony X70 doesn’t follow this past trend of limited features. It includes dual XLR audio inputs, dual recording slots, 3 ND filters, a full-size HDMI output, 3G HD-SDI output, and NFC and wireless LAN control. All this fits in a 3lb. body that, unlike DLSRs and large-sensor video cameras, offers servo zoom, two methods of image stabilization, and doesn’t have annoying record time limits (Figure 2, below).

Figure 2. The X70 has enough of the features I need for professional shoots, which is rare for a camcorder in its price range. Click the image to see it at full size.

A Few Minor Criticisms

I have been using my X70 for 5 months. It joins my Sony fleet that consists of an FS100, FS700, and a7s. Depending on the requirements of the shoot, I match my camera selection to the one I feel will be the best fit. I’ve been compiling some notes on my X70 experiences, mostly a list of what I don’t like about the camera, and mostly this is a list of minor criticisms that I can live with, rather than limitations of the camera that would interfere with me performing to the best of my abilities.

I find the top removable handle has a less solid feel than the removable handle on my FS700. I notice this the most when I hang an external monitor from the X70 using a Noga cine arm (Figure 3, below), so I have taken to mounting the monitor on the tripod legs using a Manfrotto Super Clamp and Heavy Duty Flexible Arm instead.

Figure 3. My external monitor mounted with the Noga cine arm. Click the image to see it at full size.

I like the option to use the 3G HD-SDI or the full-size HDMI output, although sometimes I wish I could use them both at the same time. On the X70, you can use only one of these outputs at a time. This is hardly a deal-breaker, as my monitor has an HD-SDI pass-through for when I want to mount both an external monitor and send a signal to a video switcher. But I would rather not have a critical connection, like my feed to a video switcher, be tied into an external monitor, that is likely battery-powered on a device that doesn’t have a battery-remaining meter.

Toggling between white balance presets, including two custom presets, manual, and auto white balance, can be done without entering the camera menu but setting the custom white balance cannot (Figure 4, below). I wish this wasn’t the case, but I understand that on a camcorder of this size, some things have to live in the menu, and I can’t have buttons for everything.

Figure 4. The small range of controls available on the side of the X70 without entering the menu. Click the image to see it at full size.