My shiny new X70 arrived, I rolled off a single clip in XAVC, and attempted to import into FCP X 10.1.1. First try, the program crashed. The second time, it only sees the PRIVATE folder, and no clips or other folders below that.

Did I just spend $2400 for a new camera that is not FCP X compatible? never had any problems importing the XAVC S files from my CX90. Any help would be greatly appreciated. As a fallback I will have to ingest through SDI and a Blackmagic MiniRecorder....ugh.

Paul

Downloaded Content Browser and Catalyst Browse from Sony. Still a no go, for the most part. It will only let me "convert" to various flavors of mp4, such as 360p web, or 720p Apple Devices, and something called DPX. ProRes and other forms of XAVC are greyed out when I attempt to select them.

Switched the camera to 720p60 AVCHD.......at least that will ingest without a problem.....so much for 4:2:2 50Mbps quality. Hope this issue is resolved soon.

Paul;

Not sure why Sony doesn't want to have a file output that is FCP X friendly but you'd think it would be in their best interest to cooperate. JVC has *.mov file output so it is a friendly drag-and-drop procedure, or however one want's to do it.

Came across an aftermarket application that claims to convert sony files to Apple ProRes for FCP X/7/6 at Sony PXW-X70 FCP X | Edit PXW-X70 XAVC in FCP X via ProRes (http://www.aovsoft.com/guide/convert-sony-pxw-x70-xavc-to-apple-prores-for-fcp-x76/)

Don't know if it's available in the App Store or if it even works. May be something worth looking into, though. Just a pain in the you-know-what workflow, though. Bringing files into another application is just more chances for errors, problems, and snafus, not to mention possible loss of quality in the data.

Don't think I'd spend that kind of money on a camcorder that only outputs to 720 without going through a lot of hassle. It'd be interesting to see if sony has a good solution to the problem.

My final playback TO AIR is HDV 720p60 18Mbps MPEG2, so it's not the biggest deal in the world, but I like to play with color correction, and was hoping the 4:2:2 would benefit that process.

And there must be a million "convert to ProRes" apps out there......90% of them are infested with malware and adware.....ugh.

Paul

Same problem exists on my Windows setup with Vegas Pro.

Sony Creative Software - Forums - Vegas Pro - Video Messages (http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/Forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=907472)

Not much use at this time for a 4:2:2 format that is uneditable by any NLE. Unfortunately, Sony did not include the dual/proxy record feature they have in the consumer versions of these cameras, which would have allowed archiving of 4:2:2 but editing of AVCHD.

Paul

Not sure why Sony doesn't want to have a file output that is FCP X friendly but you'd think it would be in their best interest to cooperate. JVC has *.mov file output so it is a friendly drag-and-drop procedure, or however one want's to do it.

A .mov file isn't exactly ideal for every NLE... On Windows, QuickTime is still 32 bit.

I'm not certain what FCPX's market penetration is nowadays, but I doubt any camera manufacturer is worried about FCPX needing to convert their media being a professional post production deal-breaker.

You've got HDMI and SDI outputs for a KiPro if you want to record ProRes...

Not sure why Sony doesn't want to have a file output that is FCP X friendly but you'd think it would be in their best interest to cooperate. JVC has *.mov file output so it is a friendly drag-and-drop procedure, or however one want's to do it.

Came across an aftermarket application that claims to convert sony files to Apple ProRes for FCP X/7/6 at Sony PXW-X70 FCP X | Edit PXW-X70 XAVC in FCP X via ProRes (http://www.aovsoft.com/guide/convert-sony-pxw-x70-xavc-to-apple-prores-for-fcp-x76/)

Don't know if it's available in the App Store or if it even works. May be something worth looking into, though. Just a pain in the you-know-what workflow, though. Bringing files into another application is just more chances for errors, problems, and snafus, not to mention possible loss of quality in the data.

Don't think I'd spend that kind of money on a camcorder that only outputs to 720 without going through a lot of hassle. It'd be interesting to see if sony has a good solution to the problem.

You are out of luck Ackrok, like all the converters I've tried, may pick up the audio but not the video. Even Bulletproof, who, when told, don't seem to believe it. I've just come to Sony from years with Panasonic, I'm astonished at their compete incompetence is marketing a great camera but whose footage you cannot see! Sony Crystal browse sort of works, I can import Pro Res proxy into Premiere Pro CS6 but what is it with the H264 preset? why such low grade ones? the 1080p is 15Mb/s! where's even the top AVCHD quality? You can only import one clip at a time, but this seems to be a mistake on Sony's part. I live in Thailand where the saddest joke of the moment is the complete incompetence of the police in handling the murder of two Brits on an Island and the Minister suggesting that, since we can't catch the murderer, let's tag all the tourists. Well Sony's handling of this ,while not as sad is equally incompetent.
Why not useAVCHD 1080p.until they sort out this mess, footage is great.

It's a bummer to spend that much money on a camcorder in this day and age then not have a smooth workflow. A workaround for $995 retail could be the Atmos Samurai Blade recorder-monitor. Samurai Blade | Atomos (http://www.atomos.com/samurai-blade/)
"Lossless edit friendly compression" in ProRes and 10-bit 4:2:2

On the plus side, the recorder-monitor can be used on any camera.

As an aside, just last week Sony just increased their loss forecast for their budget year ending in March to over US$2-billion and that is deeper than was expected. They've been taking a real hit in the phone division. Last year sony sold their computer division and spun off it's television group into a separate unit. Their game network and imaging business seems to be areas where they may be doing okay.

There may be a reason why Sony doesn't want to play with FCPX while JVC, for example, has no problem and seems to be doing well. Corporate gamesmanship maybe???

Found out that Catalyst Browse will not transcode 720, but will transcode 1080. Problem is, you must transcode each clip one at a time. I just shot 15 minutes of b-roll, something like 55 clips, and it greyed out the transcode option if more than one was selected. BM Media Express won't take 1080 60p, so I had to ingest via SDI 720. Very annoying that Sony offers up such a useless "workaround" for their new broadcast codec. One clip at a time...really Sony?

Paul

It's a bummer to spend that much money on a camcorder in this day and age then not have a smooth workflow. - There may be a reason why Sony doesn't want to play with FCPX while JVC, for example, has no problem and seems to be doing well. Corporate gamesmanship maybe???

It's a new codec so it's normal NLE manufacturers need some time to catch up to release updates, don't think it's Sony's fault their codec doesn't seem to work with FCPX yet but it's apple that needs to release a update to make it compatible again, same applies for other NLE"s.

Just downloaded and tried Catalyst Browse (free) with some bare (not in a folder structure) .mxf clips from the X70. On my Mac, Browse *will* play and convert those to any flavor of ProRes including HQ, etc. And the resulting clips do import normally into FCPX.

As has been mentioned though, only one clip at a time can be converted.

For several years, dating back to Final Cut 7 and earlier, various Canon (XF Series) and (I think) Sony XDCAM clips have required a plugin for Final Cut import. I assume Apple provided some info, but the plugins are created, maintained by, and downloaded from Canon and Sony. I'm sure this will be forthcoming, but am glad there is at least a workaround for now on Macs.

However, when FCPX came out, it was six months before Canon provided a plugin for the .mxf from the XF100/300 cameras - we had to import in FCP7, then use those files in X. I hope it won't take that long this time.

It's a new codec so it's normal NLE manufacturers need some time to catch up to release updates, don't think it's Sony's fault their codec doesn't seem to work with FCPX yet but it's apple that needs to release a update to make it compatible again, same applies for other NLE"s.

Edius will edit with these files OK but even Sony Vegas will not at the moment. That is even sillier than FCPX !!! Vegas will edit XAVC-S and XAVC but not XAVC LGOP from the X70 or I imagine from the X160/180 which are the same. Windows version will also only transcode one file at a time no batch convert. An almost useless piece of software.

Ron Evans

It's a new codec so it's normal NLE manufacturers need some time to catch up to release updates, don't think it's Sony's fault their codec doesn't seem to work with FCPX yet but it's apple that needs to release a update to make it compatible again, same applies for other NLE"s.

Premiere CC 2014 will import, play and edit the codec- but it is astonishing that Vegas, the Sony NLE, can't do it yet.
Sony will need to quickly produce an import utility that does for XAVC LG exactly what Sony PMH does for Sony cam AVCHD

"Money talks" The bottom line is that Sony is bleeding financially and every division must do a better job of supporting the company.

Look at the figures for SNE (Sony on the stock exchange). These are the annual Net Profit figures for the years 2010 to 2014 in Billions of Yen (~ ¥109 = $1 as of today)
Reference: SNE Annual Income Statement - Sony Corp. ADS Annual Financials (http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/sne/financials)

Based on their Net Profit in the table below, if they want to stay afloat then it would be prudent if they would create a hassle-free workflow for their cameras to export files to FCPX. On the other hand, they may be between a rock and a hard place with no money to fund the development work. This will be interesting.

The one-file-at-a-time is not considered hassle-free so they must do better.

For comparison:
AAPL Net Profit figures: Billions
2013 + $5.68
2014 + $6.34 Est
2015 + $7.03 Est

Market place - it's all about competition, isn't it?
The figure for 2014 may be an estimate.

Asked Ian Cook from Sony on another forum he visits, about XAVC-L support in FCPX and he said it's coming. Didn't say when. It looks to be an FCPX plugin. It'll have the option to rewrap or transcode the .mxf.

It'll be posted here when it happens.
Software for Sony Equipment (http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/software_for_sony_equipment)

Specifically it'll be an update to this.
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/pdzk-lt2

So it should be integrated into FCP X? I am not familiar with how that other (XDCAM?) thingy works, as I don't shoot XDCAM, even though my X70 says XDCAM on the side for some strange reason. :-\

Thanks for the heads up!

Paul

FCPX imports directly files from certain Sony cameras once you have installed a plugin from Sony. Similarly, it imports directly from various Canon cameras like the XF100 and XF300 once you've installed a plugin from Canon. So, the Sony plugin just has not been updated yet, but word is that it will come soon.

Thanks, Craig for checking on this.
Asked Ian Cook from Sony on another forum he visits, about XAVC-L support in FCPX and he said it's coming. Didn't say when. It looks to be an FCPX plugin. It'll have the option to rewrap or transcode the .mxf.

I've been having a very difficult time trying to figure out which cams to get. It's been a start & stop affair and each time I start searching again the landscape has changed. It's been a moving target.

Last week I went to the MTE Media Technology Expo in Seattle to hopefully zero in on, or eliminate, some options, and to gather some more insight. I like being able to use two cams and was thinking along the lines of one smaller cam for portability and "low light" plus a coordinated three ring cam, but probably the same manufacturer for both so they'd (hopefully) have the same bokeh. The Sony X70 is one that I was interested in for the smaller cam so I talked to the guys at the Sony booth. Unfortunately they didn't know how the X70 worked with FCPX.

At the JVC booth the HM650 was set up and it communicates perfectly with FCPX but their HM150, a little brother to the 650, is discontinued and the rep said he didn't know anything about a replacement. "They don't tell us anything" he said.

I called Sony pro tech support (or maybe sales?) and they guy was very helpful about the X70 but when I zeroed in with questions about FCPX workflow he was very apologetic and said he has received a lot of enquiries about FCPX and in talking to him it was very obvious it would help his sales if things worked better. He has mentioned it "to the higher ups."

Based on the financial situation and this sampling of one conversation, it wouldn't surprise me if a better X70 workflow arrives sooner than later. One bummer is my camera light takes the now older style Sony batteries while the X70 has the newer style. Dang.

On the JVC side, I really like their form factor and they've always been a good looking cam, albeit with maybe a quirk or two. When they were acquired by Panasonic and came out with the full hi-def HD7 in 2007, apparently the parent company didn't appreciated being upstaged. Now JVC has been spun off (as JVCKenwood) so it will be interesting to see how it goes. They seem to have some creative engineers but being a smaller company has it's advantages and disadvantages.

Picture of the JVC HM650

Okay, so I just spent the last 45 minutes on the phone with Pro Sony and Sony Creative Software. The official word from "Lou" (I think that was his name) is that nobody was really prepared for this surprising new XAVC-Long GOP. He says Apple is supposed to be working on a codec update that is supposed to be released in a month or so. Then Sony will update their plug-in sometime after that for native support.

From the software folks, the "soon to be released" Catalyst Prepare will be able to transcode to many formats including ProRes and be able to do so in batches. But no actual release date.

Sidenote: "Lou" said transcoding to ProRes with Catalyst Browse one file at a time (for 90-some files) is a perfectly fine work-around. Really?

Well, it's a workaround, but evidently "Lou" and I have greatly differing definitions of "perfectly" and "fine." :-)

In the last day or so I've read that some early purchasers are actually using the AVCHD in the camera for now (which of course imports into everything) and they claim that it's surprisingly good. I think I'll wait a bit longer myself.

Perfectly fine workaround? I tried to transcode 3 5 second 1080p files this morning for my DSC chart post, and it took about 10 minutes. Had to do them one at a time, but that's not all. The second transcode would always fail, then the program would say nothing if you tried again. Had to quite Catalyst........then had to force quite it, then reopen, and do each file that way. A force quite and restart, digging through the retarded Sony/Mac folder system to put each file where you want it, extraordinarily irritating. What use did they possibly think that program could have?

Paul

Clearly Sony did not pave the way for XAVC-L to be in wide release yet.
It's rather frustrating and a bit amazing that Sony could be so disorganized.
However, I've had the camera for a week now and am very impressed with it.
I purchased the X70 to replace a Canon XA 20- it's looking to be a very good decision.
The feature set is excellent for such a small camera, fit & finish are very good.
It produces rich and detailed imagery in both AVCHD and XAVC- I'm very happy with what I'm seeing.
The image control provided for by the fairly extensive Picture Profile settings is seldom found in this size/price range.
The 1" Exmor backlit sensor is excellent in low light, and provides opportunity, particularly with the ND filters onboard, to create shallow depth of field whenever you need to.
From all I have read, the XAVC 10 bit, 4:2:2 50 mbs codec has been praised very highly and is likely going to be here to stay.
I feel confident that Sony will get the ball rolling pretty quickly- after all, the X180 has been released too, and it shoots XAVC-L (among other codecs) as well.
Anyway, so far, I am a happy camper and would have no hesitation recommending the X70 in spite of the slow roll out of XAVC codec support.

Robert - You have a lot of positives with regard to the X70 and that pretty well mirrors what a lot of reviews are saying. With the X70 it appears Sony has a real winner on their hands because I haven't read any "gotchas" yet, well, unless maybe if you're a FCPX user (like myself). But that'll pass.

After looking at, and reading lots of reviews of cameras over the years, why is it that it seems almost every camera has some "gotcha"? One would think that during the course of development the designers would determine what works good and keep it. What is that saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."? Things like rockers for zoom, for example, come to mind, and there are many others. It seems the X70 has done well.

With regard to Sony appearing to be disorganized, some of that, I'm sure, has to do with corporate restructuring as they've been doing a lot of downsizing and spinning off of divisions. That's enough to cause managers to be doing other things besides being on top of their department. The CEO and CFO are trying hard to get the company back into the black so managing costs and cost cutting is priority, and of course there is always "re-organization". I'd be okay with a delay in the rollout of a smooth workflow with FCPX if the result turns out good, and I hope it does. There's another saying where I used to work: "If you want it bad you get it bad." With regard to 'X", I'd rather see them get it right than get it fast. Let's hope.

Questions I have:
Rolling Shutter: Apparently it is noticeable, but not bad; however, to what degree? The 3CCD cams are becoming a lot fewer so there are hardly any choices except for really expensive ones.

Audio: Haven't read anything about it's audio. What is the noise level like? I've been using a JuicedLink pre and wonder how it would compare.

Otherwise, it's lookin' good.

Catalyst converting one clip at a time kills it as an ENG camera in FCPX for the time being. I may have to hold off until Apple/Sony implements support in FCPX. At that point it may well be close to the 4K upgrade. The potential for this camera, this quality, at this price point, makes it formidable. I do hope FCPX compatibility happens sooner than later.

I am curious about the lens which is f/2.8-f/4.5.
How is the low light performance when zoomed at f/4.5?
How shallow is the depth of field given that it's f/4.5 when zoomed?
How far can one gain up at f/4.5 and still have "reasonable" (I know, subjective) noise?

Online demo video is always at "optimal" conditions. I'd love to see how it handles when lighting is poor. The advantage of 10 bit 4:2:2 is the ability to fix things when grading so I wonder how it looks in problem situations.

For me this is going to be my EX1 replacement (I hope). Smaller camera (a big plus for me), better codec, larger sensor are all big pluses. Low light performance is also important so that's where my concern lies.

Sony Professional "Introducing XAVC L!"

Sony Creative Software "XAVC what?!?!!? :-O"

Craig, I shoot ENG on the X70 almost every night, even use the little bugger for live shots. I am sorry to say that what looks clean at wide angle at medium gain looks awful when Clear Image zoom comes into play. All that downsampling goes out the door when the pixels grow on screen, and you are looking at a standard Handycam image with extreme grain and noise. Also, I am shooting in AVCHD mode. I accidentally shot a whole story in XAVC the other night, and had to use my BlackMagic MiniRecorder to ingest via SDI.

I will post some night news stuff for you to evaluate.

Paul

Thanks Paul. Please include F stop and gain setting with the shots if you can. I'm not overly worried about Clear Image so much as what 12x at f/4.5 looks like.

Paul, I know that the X70 offers many custom picture controls that the CX900 does not, but ignoring that aspect for now, do you feel that the image from the two cameras is the same as far as sharpness, depth of field, low light, noise, etc.? I know they should be the same, since I assume they have the same sensor and processor, but there was such inconsistency in early X70 footage that some were speculating that the camera was not as sharp as the CX or the in-camera 1080 from the AX100.

By the way, at my local BestBuy the CX900 was $1299 the other day.

Craig, I will have to custom shoot some footage for you, as I do not make notes of the gain while shooting stories. As for iris, it stays locked in to whatever the widest setting is, there is a very noticeable drop in brightness when zooming in.

David, the cameras look IDENTICAL. Same colors, same yellow skin, same green blues and orange reds. I have a separate post about calibrating the cameras, will be doing some updating on that soon.

Paul

... I do not make notes of the gain while shooting stories.

Paul
If you look at your original XAVC clips in Sony Catalyst Browse, it will display the iris, shutter and gain settings, along with lots of other metadata for each clip.