New Sony FDR-AX700 4k camcorder

[billorg]

Hi, i placed my order with Amazon in Sept, and the official realease date was yesterday. Has anyone gotten a shipping confirmation date update yet? Bill

 

[billorg]

Anyone?

 

[CaliforniaDave]

Hi, i placed my order with Amazon in Sept, and the official realease date was yesterday. Has anyone gotten a shipping confirmation date update yet? Bill

BHPhoto still shows it as coming soon, but with no specific date.

 

[John Koch]

Hi, i placed my order with Amazon in Sept, and the official realease date was yesterday. Has anyone gotten a shipping confirmation date update yet? Bill

What inspired you to order so soon? Do you have it's predecessor, the AX100 ? The AX700 looks like the AX100, plus HDR/HLG, plus PDAF, plus $300 in price.

What attracts you to the $1,900 FDR-AX100 and not the $1,700 RX10 iv ?

All three models are a bit hefty to be hand held. Too bad they don't offer a 5-axis IBIS plus BOSS (internal 2-axis gimbal). Any image shake makes hand-held 4k video suffer. An internal gimbal may have to be big for a 1" sensor, but these cameras are not small anyway. Sony's full-frame models offer 5-axis IBIS.

If you are looking for feedback on the AX700's HDR/HLG performance, that may take some time and be difficult to weigh. For instance, is it at all clear whether the promo video about this feature included post-production grading? Or was it straight from the camera? How much difference would there be between the AX100, used with reduced contrast settings, versus the AX700 using HDR mode? Might they be more or less the same thing? And, unless you have an HDR display, how can you be sure?

 

[perdurabo]

 

[NetSlob]

Amazon is showing the AX700 is now in stock from 3rd party vendors like Cameta, but apparently the sold-by-Amazon shipments start on October 29. It's listed as back ordered.

I've pre-ordered from Amazon before. They usually run a couple days behind B&H, in my experience.

 

[SeekerNJ]

B&H shows it currently being in stock, but not on display.

 

[Marcus Melo BR]

Canon introduced the XF405 which is a camcorder of small dimensions, such as the FDR-AX700 / HXR-X80 / PXW-Z90, but is much more technologically advanced:

1) 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) 60p and Full HD (1920 x 1080) 120p recording in MP4

2) 5-axis Optical Image Stabilization (IS) system

3) Focal length range from 25.5 to 382.5mm with 15x octal zoom at 4K and 30x zoom at 1080p (25.5 to 765mm)

4) Canon Accessories: Wide Attachment offers 0.8x wider angle of view, Tele Converter provides extended 1.5x longer telephoto

5) Ethernet port and wifi connect allows background transfer of MP4 format video files via FTP links to PC or Android / iOS smartphones / tablets.

6) Canon XF405 does not have 4K HDR, but what do you prefer? 4K 60p or 4K 30p HDR?

BUT ... Canon XF45 is very expensive, overpriced at this moment: $ 3500.00

If only the AX700 or its more expensive X80 or Z90 sisters had 4K 60p and 5-Axis Optical Image Stabilization. Even the iPhone and Gopro Hero 6 already have 4k 60p, why does not the AX700 have it?

 

[KrisAK]

Canon introduced the XF405 which is a camcorder of small dimensions, such as the FDR-AX700 / HXR-X80 / PXW-Z90, but is much more technologically advanced:

1) 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) 60p and Full HD (1920 x 1080) 120p recording in MP4

2) 5-axis Optical Image Stabilization (IS) system

3) Focal length range from 25.5 to 382.5mm with 15x octal zoom at 4K and 30x zoom at 1080p (25.5 to 765mm)

4) Canon Accessories: Wide Attachment offers 0.8x wider angle of view, Tele Converter provides extended 1.5x longer telephoto

5) Ethernet port and wifi connect allows background transfer of MP4 format video files via FTP links to PC or Android / iOS smartphones / tablets.

6) Canon XF405 does not have 4K HDR, but what do you prefer? 4K 60p or 4K 30p HDR?

BUT ... Canon XF45 is very expensive, overpriced at this moment: $ 3500.00

If only the AX700 or its more expensive X80 or Z90 sisters had 4K 60p and 5-Axis Optical Image Stabilization. Even the iPhone and Gopro Hero 6 already have 4k 60p, why does not the AX700 have it?

FYI

 

[billorg]

This is my opinion only, so no flaming. I feel it falls short and I see no difference in it's ability to focus as compare to the 100. It is just as slow to focus going from close to far and vice versa, especially in lower light which is what I need. To me, there is no "pop" in the images unlike the 100, they just seem kind of soft. The 100 was special in it's image quality, but unfortunately too slow to focus.

When shooting the same scenes, the dual pixel CMOS focusing is much faster, so I have decided to wait for the Canon coming in a week or so. I was able to cancel my Amazon order for the Sony.

Bill

 

[Johnish]

Very helpful Bill, and somewhat disappointing. A couple of questions if I may:

Was there an option in the menu to increase or decrease the sharpening?

Secondly, how did you find the EVF? Is it any better than the one on the AX100 which I find almost useless especially in bright daylight?

Many thanks

John

 

[billorg]

Hi, yes, I think what they call "crispening" may be sharpness, it's under picture profile. I didn't get to use it in the sunlight, so I am not sure how it performs in sunlight. Here are some menu images. In the camera set menu, quite a few things were grayed out and i'm not sure why. Bill

 

[Marcus Melo BR]

Very helpful Bill, and somewhat disappointing. A couple of questions if I may:

Was there an option in the menu to increase or decrease the sharpening?

Secondly, how did you find the EVF? Is it any better than the one on the AX100 which I find almost useless especially in bright daylight?

Many thanks

John

There is a comparison on youtube between the AX100 and the AX700. I honestly saw almost no difference. And so I do not intend to sell my AX100 to buy an AX700:

 

[Johnish]

Thanks Bill and Marcus, the ‘next-generation’ AX700 looks like the AX100 tarted up a bit with mostly off the shelf bits and pieces. Crispening - crisp, as in toast which is what Sony Imaging will soon be if they don’t quickly pull their socks up, a lot, and I’m not holding my breath. I too shall pass on the underwhelming sans 60p AX700.

Having said that I can’t fault Sony really. I guess this just reflects the reality that the consumer/prosumer camcorder market is hardly a thing of the future and consequently not a good place to invest serious R&D dollars. Milk mode and prepare to exit, is my guess.

Yes, the Canon XF400 might be worth a look even if it is overpriced as you say, Marcus.

 

[SeekerNJ]

Thanks for the link to the youtube video comparing the AX100 to the AX700.

The AX 700 definitely has a wider dynamic range (when in HDR mode) - especially in the highlights. But the overall impression is of a duller image.

During the initial comparison video, with the AX700 set to standard dynamic range, I thought that maybe the AX700 had just slightly better detail - sharpness, than the AX100. When the AX700 was filming in HDR mode - there seemed to be a slight drop off of resolution. I wonder if it really is resolving fewer lines or it just appears that way due to a flatter contrast curve?

The color balance was better in the AX700.

From reading people's reviews of the AX100 when it first came out, it seemed that the biggest complaints were that it needed better stabilization - especially since it's 4K, and that it didn't focus fast enough. From the youtube video you linked, one couldn't evaluate these aspects, or at least with regards to stabilization - they seemed about the same to me (at times I even thought the AX 100 had less movement!).

It will be interesting to see any videos that compare the 2 with real world moving subjects with regard to focus. SONY's own demo videos certainly make it appear that it's different movement tracking modes do a terrific job of maintaining focus. See this video from 48 seconds:

 

[billorg]

I agree, the stabilization seemed non existent. Bill

 

[LSHorwitz1]

Is the RX10 latest version a true contender as a replacement for the AX100 or newer AX700? Would focus speed and stabilization possibly equal or exceed the AX camcorders?

 

[havanna60]

Is the RX10 latest version a true contender as a replacement for the AX100 or newer AX700?

We had a two-day photography expo here in my city with a quite decent Sony booth, where I had the chance to spend several hours of experimenting with RX10IV. The AX700 was also on show but I had no time to give it a try, since I was so much blown away by the excellent RX10IV. The 24 - 600mm lens is mind-blowingly sharp, silent smooth to zoom, quick and hunting-free to auto focus. Its stabilization at full 600mm is terrific. The touch-to-focus worked excellently for smooth focus transitions, no micro-hunting.

Its price is a bit more expensive than the AX700 in my city. I'd prefer the AX700 shape much more, and form and features, but the RX10IV lens is unbelievably great. If only, it had built-in ND filter, but I can live without.

The lens on the AX700 starts at 29mm, which in itself is not really OK to me. The RX10 has non-cropping 24mm wide angle in 4K a terribly big difference. The zoom on the RXIV was super silent and slow, simply excellent with great stabilization.

Would focus speed and stabilization possibly equal or exceed the AX camcorders?

I was thinking of visiting a Sony showroom to give a try to the AX700, but honestly, it would be waste of time; the RX10IV is so excellent. Neither has 4K/60fps, which might be a showstopper now in end 2017.

On the other hand, since I have the A9, I am thinking of buying an FE28-135/f4 instead which costs used exactly that much money as the price of an RX10IV.

Actually, it was a big mistake from Sony not to include 4K/60 fps in the 2000-euro RX10IV.

The AX100/700 line requires a more recent lens that is comparable to RX10. Even the lens in the Canon GX10 is of a new design, and has better specifications.

 

[LSHorwitz1]

Thanks Miki for your comments.

For recording 4K video, I have been using both a Sony AX33 Camcorder as well as the Panasonic FZ1000 bridge camera. The Sony provides stabilization with BOSS whereas the Panasonic does much better in low light with its bigger sensor.

It sure would be great to have one camera that had both. The Sony RX10 in its latest iteration seems like a great balance although I would love to see a big sensor camera with BOSS, perhaps an unlikely combination to actually manufacture.

Larry

 

[Cameranoobie]

Thanks Miki for your comments.

For recording 4K video, I have been using both a Sony AX33 Camcorder as well as the Panasonic FZ1000 bridge camera. The Sony provides stabilization with BOSS whereas the Panasonic does much better in low light with its bigger sensor.

It sure would be great to have one camera that had both. The Sony RX10 in its latest iteration seems like a great balance although I would love to see a big sensor camera with BOSS, perhaps an unlikely combination to actually manufacture.

Larry

How are you liking shooting videos with the camcorder over say a G85?

I used to have the FZ1000 but the noise barrel noise was the deal breaker and why I sold it.