Canon Announces Two New Compact Professional Camcorders
By Drew Wohl, August 31, 2010 @ 08:48 PM (EST)
Canon introduced two new Compact XF-Series Professional Camcorders today - the XF105 and XF100. The cameras are touted as Canon's smallest professional camcorders.
They both weigh under 3 pounds. For comparison, the Canon 5D Mark II dSLR, including batteries but without a lens, is just a tad over 2 pounds. Add a lens and it is close to the weight of the new releases, if not over. The Sony EX1 weighs 5 lb 4 oz. So the cameras are light.
They both weigh under 3 pounds. For comparison, the Canon 5D Mark II dSLR, including batteries but without a lens, is just a tad over 2 pounds. Add a lens and it is close to the weight of the new releases, if not over. The Sony EX1 weighs 5 lb 4 oz. So the cameras are light.
They are 4.8" x 5.8 "x 9.8" inches in size. The Sony EX1, by way of comparison, is 7 1/8 x 7 x 12 3/8 inches.
The primary difference between the models are HD-SDI outputs and genlock in/SMPTE time code (in/out) terminals on the XF105.
The primary difference between the models are HD-SDI outputs and genlock in/SMPTE time code (in/out) terminals on the XF105.
The XF105
They also feature recording at 50Mbps (CBR) with 4:2:2 in 1920x1080 at 60i/30p/24p and 1280 x 720 at 60p/30p/24p. There are also lower rate modes with shoot at 4:2:0. They record to Compact Flash cards with hot-swapaable slots and are rated 1.6 lux.
Other features include a 10x HD Lens (30.4mm - 304mm) and dual XLR inputs. It also includes features to assist in using two cameras for 3D shooting. The cameras are slated to be released in the first quarter of 2011 and no price has been announced. The Canon XF300/305 go for a MFR price of $6799/$7999, so these should come in lower. How much lower is anyone's guess, speculation is running between $2,000 - $4,000 dollars in some quarters already. I think $2,000 sounds low for a camera with these specifications, but who knows.
Other features include a 10x HD Lens (30.4mm - 304mm) and dual XLR inputs. It also includes features to assist in using two cameras for 3D shooting. The cameras are slated to be released in the first quarter of 2011 and no price has been announced. The Canon XF300/305 go for a MFR price of $6799/$7999, so these should come in lower. How much lower is anyone's guess, speculation is running between $2,000 - $4,000 dollars in some quarters already. I think $2,000 sounds low for a camera with these specifications, but who knows.
The XF105
What is intriguing is the size and weight. In the days of trying to travel with equipment, a video camera that has all these features is very appealing. The smaller overall size can also lead to a lighter housing. Comparing existing housings for the EX1, such as the Gates housing for example, seems to show that the full rig (housing and camera) can come in under 20 pounds with a smaller footprint.
The XF100
This looks like an exciting combination and may work out to be in the sweet spot for people who need to decide smaller rigs and the larger rigs and the trade-offs of size, quality and price. Guess we will tell when pricing is announced and when housings get released.
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