Canon - XA70 vs Sony - FDR-AX700

The XA70 edges ahead on the Mars Score (70.4 vs 66.2), but the 4.2-point gap is small enough that the right pick comes down to which spec advantages matter to you.

Pick the XA70 if you care most about optical zoom / xlr input. The biggest gaps in its favor are optical zoom, xlr input, max video.

The FDR-AX700 similarly does not carry a headline advantage on the popular specs — look at the full table for category-specific deltas.

Both ship with comparable sensor size, so those specs do not separate the two — focus on the differences below.

Bottom line: there is no wrong answer here — match the spec advantages to how you actually use the product. The Mars Score parity says both are well-rounded; the differences are about trade-offs, not quality.