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 and xlr input. The biggest gaps in its favor are optical zoom, xlr input, max video.

The FDR-AX700 similarly doesn't 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 don't 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 tells you both are well-rounded; the differences are about trade-offs, not quality.