Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

After finally making the jump to HD, the video quality is light years ahead of my old Sony VX2100. The shotgun mic that comes with it has worked just fine in the vast majority of situations where I don't need wireless lavs or a boom pole, and the image stabilization feature is (in my experience with this camera) amazing -- almost like having an actual Steadycam-type rig.

The rain-proof feature is nice, and I made it a point to try it out during Tropical Storm Irene a few months ago. Of note: the supplied shotgun mic and handle assembly is NOT rain-proof and MUST be removed prior to taking it out in adverse weather.

The size and weight of it make it a nice choice for trips when luggage space is minimal, and/or you have to hold it for long periods of time.

Some negatives about it... first (and most annoyingly), the zoom is super sensitive. I have been able to do a slow zoom exactly twice with this camera, and that was after lots of practice and cursing. For all intents and purposes, you will likely not be able to do a nice, slow zoom.

I wish the handle had record and zoom controls built in, but alas it doesn't.

There is also a very limited number of hard buttons on the camera, so you will need to dig through the touch screen menu to access most things (white balance would have been nice to have a hard button for, Sony!).

It takes a little longer than I'm used to to turn it on and be ready for filming, and it is not as good as my old VX2100 in low light.

The slow motion feature is awesome... too bad it only records 3 seconds of video. I have yet to get the "golf swing" feature to work correctly, but I'm still working on it.

For most of my uses for it, this is a great little camera. Would I buy another one? Ehh... maybe if Sony corrects the zoom rocker, but otherwise I'm on the fence. While not a bad camera, it's not perfect, either.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

Small, handy, bright with a wide angle, water and dust resistant, IR and XLR.
The focus under certain conditions a little slow, and lacks a direct button (not the screen) for gain and one for the white balance.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

I use to work on weddings with this camera, and it's amazing!

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

I use this camera to shoot both sailing regattas and corporate videos in conjunction with a couple of Canon 5D MkIIs

Great:
• weather proof
• solid state drive so no tape to go down in the middle of a job
• audio breakout box
• audio breakout box is removable
• small
• great quality video

Not so great
• AVCHD requires additional software to use the video with FInal Cut Pro
• Rocker switch zooms in and out too fast

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

I shoot alot on the water and did not want to trash my Sony mc 2000 so this was added as a second unit because of it's waterproof and dustproof capabilities. This is a much easier unit to handle in a helicopter or on a boat so I see it being used alot.
The camera is easy to use - be sure you go through your settings - I missed the dolby setting and shot an entire second view without sound - but Sony tech support was very helpful and got me squared away.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

I have been an independant video producer and photographer for 30 years and the NX70 is the best all around video camera of the seven I've owned. When you look at what you get for [$], you have to be impressed. Almost 10 hours on the battery (FV100 and dual charger free with rebate) and 7 1/2 hours of internal HD highest quality 60P hard drive space. This camera does take some time and patience to learn all it can do, but I've found that once you do that you can quickly navigate the touch screen menu and button controls. I've found it to be a delight in both manual and auto modes. And the size and weight is a blessing after carting around 20lb shoulder mount camcorders.Many people have complained about the zoom. I haven't found it to be a problem. You have to practice a delicate touch. I do, however, use VeriZoom controls on a monopod and tripod anyway. The steady shot is a bit loose, but they all are. Again it's practice. The still images at 12.3M are very good in available light, but you have to be steady with them for sharpness depending on shutter speed. Like any still camera, good light is the key. In HD, you can easily stop the video, press the still button, wait four seconds, then hit the video button again. The buttons are right next to each other.I don't like having to screw on a neutral density filter for bright sunlight, but doing that for still cameras has always been the norm. You have to assess the scene your working with and prepare.Although this camera can service amateurs, it produces professional video and as such requires a hi-end computer, robust video card, and top of the line editing software to fully take advantage of its quality images. Adobe Premier 5.5 with After Effects is on target for this camera. According to their literature, Avid still has not included 1080P, only 1080i as their highest AVCHD software format. One thing to watch out for is the default audio format is LPCM non-compressed sound. You must make sure to switch on Dolby for your audio record format,as nobody I know of has caught up with that format yet.The content management software that comes with the camera is excellent and allows you to preview and pick and choose what you want to load. I look forward to spending many hours producing all kinds of great projects with this camera.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

I've had my Camera since B&H first received them in June 2011 from Sony and I love it so far. I've used it in a number of various shooting conditions and times and it's been great.

I love how Sony has placed the Battery compartment in the middle of the camera to help balance it while hand holding. The 96 Gigs of internal storage is great as well. I'm planning to take onto Ski slopes soon and will update this review afterwards.

The only negative to this camera is the electronic zoom. As others have stated, the zoom does not start or stop slowly. I end up manually zooming as needed, but there are times it would be nice to have the electronic zoom be smooth.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

Over all it's pretty versatile.I use for On the fly shooting,documentary,concerts, events and weddings.
The compact size takes some getting used to but the ergonomic trade offs are minimal for this much versatility. The menu/touch screen is straight forward but not as simple as a switch or thumb wheel so plan ahead if you want to go manual. But on the fly auto mode hasn't let me down. Also a super smooth tripod is a must on a camera this light. But being light you can get by on the Sony VCT-80AV just fine. Zoom has been smooth and controlled,though the slowest setting is not as slow as I'm used to. Overall I very satisfied and would highly recommend.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

When the NX70 was first announced, it seemed like Sony had finally gotten tapeless right. Each of their previous tapeless attempts had fallen short (the NX5 has no histogram, and is missing many ease of use features that the HVR-Z5 has, the little HXR-MC50 is missing histogram and zebras, has no true manual mode, etc). A couple of first look previews were overwhelmingly positive, so I bought one.

Now, before I go negative here, let me just say that 1080 60p – the full HD, 60 progressive frames a second mode, when shot in reasonable light, looks really, really amazing. And you can slow it down by 50% (in post, unfortunately, there is no under / overcrank on this camera), and get amazing quality slow motion. But a camera does not become great on one feature alone, and after you get over the image quality, it's all downhill from there.

First, let's talk about the zoom rocker. After months and months of complaints, Sony have finally admitted that there is a hardware flaw in the waterproof design of the camera which makes the zoom rocker UNUSABLE except for racking the zoom back and forth at FULL SPEED. Need a slow zoom? Need a creeping zoom? NOT going to happen. Some people are thinking that this will be fixed in a March 2012 firmware update, however the "fix" is going to be to have a menu option to select a FIXED SPEED for the zoom rocker, very much like the handle zoom on the tape based Z1 or the V1, if you are familiar with either of those. This is hardly a solution, it's more like a bandage on a gunshot wound, and certainly not what one wants or expects after paying nearly $3K for a supposedly "professional" camera.

Next up, real world ease of handling. With it's water and dust proofing, Sony are marketing this camera HEAVILY as a "run and gun" shooter's camera. As it happens, I do a lot of run and gun shooting, and I can assure you, this is the WORST camera I've ever been stuck with in a run and gun situation. I've gone back to using my Z5 for all my "one chance, can't miss the shot" shooting. Why? One reason, one slight oversight on Sony's part that completely ruins this camera for run & gun shooting: there is no instant exposure over-ride when you pan through or end up in a backlit scene for a brief period during a shot which you otherwise have good exposure on. This camera does NOT have ANY of the following – backlight button, touch screen spot exposure, or (best option) linkable iris & gain – known as "Iris = Exposure" in the menus of all their HDV cameras. And the straw that broke the camel's back here is that when the camera is in full auto mode, which has pretty decent exposure overall, there is NO button or dial to quickly key in a bit of exposure compensation. Unbelievably, AE shift is ONLY available via touch screen menu, and once it comes up, it puts a WIDE BLACK MASK at the top and bottom of the screen, virtually obscuring the scene you are trying to exposure compensate (some engineer actually thought this was a good idea???). And despite having a touch screen, you can't swipe you finger across the exposure adjust scale as you might expect from using a moden smartphone / iPhone, oh no, you have to tap little + and – symbols in the corners of the screen to key in your AE shift value. You WILL miss your shot while trying to do this. So, RECAP: Quick and easy exposure compensation on the NX70 does not exist.

Lets talk about Active Steady Shot. Active steady shot combines optical and electronic image stabilization, and when it's done right, it's about 90% as effective as a steadycam brace. Unfortunately, something went wrong with Sony's implementation of Active Steady Shot on the NX70. Turns out, it's nowhere near as effective as the Active SS on the MC50 or the NX5. It's quite disappointing really, because it's simply fantastic on the little MC50, meanwhile it's barely better than basic optical Steady Shot on the NX70. So yet another failure for the run and gun shooter that Sony tells us this camera is designed for.

Smooth Slow Record is a very cool slow motion feature on many Sony cameras, and it's highly under rated in my opinion. But perhaps it's under rated for a reason. Up until the NX5U, and HVR-Z5U it's resolution was so pathetic as to be useless. On the Z5 and NX5 Sony finally increased the resolution to the point that it is usable, at least in footage scaled down in post to widescreen SD or HD 720p. It still does not look good at 1080p. Unfortunately, on the NX70, Sony again disappoints, delivering SSR with a useless 3 seconds recording time, and a pathetic resolution that regresses back to that of the Z1 / V1. I guess even Sony themselves do not believe in this feature, which is a shame, because my sports and motosports customers are absolutely wild about the footage I deliver them using this feature on the Z5.

A couple other things that may bother some users – auto white balance is very POOR compared to the MC50 or the Z5 (you may find you have to manually white balance every shot, always a good idea, but disappointing when other cameras can nail the same shot easily in auto WB), and despite being almost twice the size of the MC50, the NX70's low light performance is only just equal, probably because it uses the same sensor. Canon's XF100 and G10 absolutely CRUSH the NX70 in low light.

And finally, why does Sony put a handle on a camera, but not put any form of record or zoom controls on the handle? It's illogical - but everyone knows this going into the purchase so I don't dock any points for this, I simply point out that it makes the camera less convenient to use than the competing Canon products.

Those are the major shortcomings of this camera, and it remains to be seen how many, if any Sony will resolve in a satisfactory manner with the new firmware due to be released in March 2012 – nearly a YEAR after first shipping the NX70. It is simply impossible to recommend this camera unless you have a very, very specific need for the dust and waterproof feature of this camera, and even then, you could mount a consumer HD camera in an undersea housing and get every bit as good performance for less money. I can not recommend this product despite having great success with numerous other Sony pro video products in the last decade. In this case you money would be much better spent on an XF100 or even a HG10.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

I use NX70 for social events. That camcorder is great in low light. And resolution is very good. Otherwise full HD quality is greatfull. The only bad thing is the zoom buttom, that buton is very nervous and doesn't leave a perfect control.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

I would have liked this camera, but I could not believe that it will not shoot 30P!!! This was going to be my B-camera, matching to a Sony F3. Based on my workflow, I need to shoot progressive, but do not want to shoot a more stuttered 24P for handheld, B-roll, etc. So I exchanged it for a Sony NEX-VG20. When it arrives, I will update my review.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

I researched a lot before I bought this camera. I needed it for its weather tolerance and for that alone it won over so many competing models. There's a lot of hype about the zoom control being too reactive. If you shoot like a filmmaker and not a news shooter then you don't really need a zoom control. If you do need to do a slow steady zoom, drink less coffee and don't be jittery. I get mine to zoom slow just fine but if you can't there are work arounds - use the provided remote or buy a LANC controller. Both work great. Did you know that the HDMI output on this sends a 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 signal? Well it does and as field recorders grow in their abilities this will be the cheapest high color space camera I've seen yet. All in all I'm totally sold on this unit as a handy tool. Now, here's what I won't be doing with it - I won't use it as a 1st cam. It's a specialty camera or a perfect run 'n gun camera for reality and doc uses. I could easily do a killer wedding shoot too but I don't do weddings. Somebody will with this cam and it will do well for the user. Ultimately, my extreme weather documentary this winter will experience a better work flow than I've experienced in past extreme docs because I have this camera.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

This is a great camera, however, you must have a mac with the Intel chip or you will not be able to download any of your recording. I am forced to buy a new Mac. Disappointed, because the salesman said this camera would work with my computer (G-5).

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

This little guy packs a huge punch for it size and price. It feels super durable and sturdy and I love that it's water resistant! This is a great camera for an independent film maker!

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

We produce historical documentaries. We have been working with many camcorders over the years. We recently put this baby to the test in the southern jungle of Mexico for a week. It was great no to worry about dust and rain, while our other cameras took some time to prepare for the weather this nano camera save the day. The zoom is not great, I have to used the zoom on the LC . I had called sony about it and they told me they are already working on fixing the problem.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

I use this for guerilla run and gun shoots, travel videos, documentaries, etc. also, not too shabby for micro-budget indie films. Great low-light capability, rugged, rain and dust proof, compact and lightweight. Image stabilizer is excellent. Infrared no-light capability for nightime nature shoots within ten feet. 60p yields overcrank look. Removable audio module with XLR and full audio control. Good battery life. What's not so great? The zoom rocker control is ridiculous. The variable control too easily goes from slow zoom to whip zoom with the slightest change in pressure. You won't be able to control it. The touch sensitive screen is finicky, though the zoom control on it is constant nice and slow. Is Sony going to fix this terrible flaw in a firmware update?

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

it's by far the coolest camera I owned.
The rain proof means you can work with the camera without worrying about water splashing or weather restraints.
Stabilizer is amazing.
I use the ring for aperture mostly, it's accurate and fast.
Touch screen is easy bright and fun.
Low light is crazy. Zoom is super fast.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

We bought this camera for a high school to shoot events and such. It is a GREAT camera!!! WE LOVE IT!! The Menus are easy to access and get around. The option for internal storage or SD Card is GREAT!!! I shoot a football game on the internal storage for the team and halftime events on the SD Card. I agree with the other reviews the zoom control is poor. FORGET about a smooth slow zoom. I have stopped using the zoom controls and now ONLY use the ring to control zoom. Even this does not produce a smooth zoom and the zoom ring is backwards to me. BEST product we have bought in a long time!!!

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

This is a great, great camera. As a college student, I really enjoy this camera. All of the buttons feel right, the sound is great (2 xlr ports is nice), the zoom range creates a great range, and the video is nice and clear.

The video cameras are always changing, so find one that fits your style and needs and go with it.

Comments about Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Compact Camcorder:

good: size, weight, image stabilizer, low light
bad: focus, menu, speed, sharpness,
very bad: no zooming smooth, with fits and starts and in the manual and a zoom