Sony introduces its PXW-X70 camcorder

Yesterday Sony announced the new PXW-X70, a compact and lightweight XDCAM camcorder aimed at feature, documentary and event recording.

It is a new addition that follows the PXW-X180 and PXW-X160 models, building on the company’s professional track record of other camcorders.

Internal features

One of its greatest qualities is the large one-inch Exmor CMOS sensor, with 14.2 million effective pixels and high sensitivity, which offers good performance even in low-light situations. In addition, this sensor provides greater depth-of-field control and new color and texture capabilities than we are used to in a camcorder.

It features a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 12x optical zoom lens. Thanks to the Clear Image zoom, which maintains full resolution due to its magnification technology, it can be extended to 24x. It is also possible to double this zoom to 48x with a digital extender.

Recording options

At the moment, the PXW-X70 is only capable of recording up to Full HD (1920 x 1080), although 4K is expected to be added in an upcoming update, as well as file transfer and streaming functions.

With two SD memory card slots, it can capture XAVC, AVCHD and DV files and can record simultaneously on both or in relay.

XAVC Long GOP recording uses the MXF format, with 422 sampling at 10 bits and can be at 50, 35 or 25 Mbps.

Connections

This model has 3G-SDI interfaces and HDMI output connectors.

Wi-Fi control

This is the first professional camcorder that incorporates remote control via Wi-Fi, using a Smartphone or Tablet. With the Content Browser Mobile application we can control the field angle, spot focus and iris adjustment.

Physical characteristics

One of its major advantages is that it is a very light camera; it weighs less than 1.4 kg including the XLR handle, battery (NP-FV70), lens hood and large eyepiece.

These are the items included in the package:

• Two XLR handle units with zoom lever.
• Manual lens ring (zoom and focus).
• Ergonomic hand grip with large zoom lever.
• Three-level switchable ND filter.

The new PXW-X70 is scheduled for this fall and with the upgrade at the end of the year. At the moment there is no word on pricing, but we can assume it will be under $5,000 when compared to its companion PXW-X180.