Hi Nighthawk86. Welcome to

Hi Nighthawk86. Welcome to the Videomaker forums! 

Of those two cameras, I like the XA20. The XLR inputs are nice to have. The FX-7 is an older camera that only shoots on tape and Memory Stick Pro (no SD card slot). Also, its 1080 footage is interlaced. 🙁

Have you ruled out DSLR cameras? They're great for short films and music videos. They work for documentaries as well, though the XA20 might be the better option there.