Press Release: Canon's New XF305 and XF300 Professional HD Camcorder

[Shawn Lam]

Where are you getting 1/3" CMOS from? I assumed in my blog post this morning that it would be 1/2" but only because the full raster 1920x1080 resolution - guess I might need to make an adjustment.

Here is my brief post, with photos!

Canon XF300 and XF300 - Pre NAB 2010 announcement ? Shawn Lam Video

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Ned Soltz

The only weak link here is the SDHC card.

The SDHC card is there only for sharing custom preset files between multiple cameras, so
considering that it's used only for logistics and not for recording HD video, I wouldn't
exactly call it a weak link. HD video is recorded to one of two Compact Flash card slots.

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Shawn Lam

Where are you getting 1/3" CMOS from?

Like I said, we reported way back in February that Canon USA had
confirmed the sensor size as 1/3rd-inch. This happened during the
Canon USA presentation at the San Francisco FCP SuperMeet and
has already been discussed here in a couple of earlier threads. I
don't understand the confusion, sorry.

[Jeff Anselmo]

Some of the positives for buying the XF300/305 for me:

1) 18x zoom lens (built in. Will have to wait for an interchangeable XL series)
2) universal Compact Flash cards (but like Ned said, will need to buy more durable, faster CF cards)
3) and I can use my old BP batteries from the XL2

[Khoi Pham]

Way over price, they are crazy charging that much for 1/3 chips, not gonna happen with me.

[Jay Bratcher]

I am intrigued by the markings on the lens barrel - did they finally ditch the servo setup from the XH A1?

[Matt Buys]

I agree Khoi. I've been saving for a new camera and am saddened by the price point. But maybe canon will work some magic with the 1/3 chips.

[Chris Hurd]

Well, as Ned Soltz points out, they are charging for the 4:2:2 codec, not the chip size.

[Laurence Janus]

Originally Posted by Matt Buys

I agree Khoi. I've been saving for a new camera and am saddened by the price point. But maybe canon will work some magic with the 1/3 chips.

Considering the improved low light performance of the crop sensor 1D Mark IV compared to the full frame 5D Mark II, I suspect these sensors will be pretty good compared to the EX1/3 despite the smaller size.

Hopefully they have worked some other magic to help with skew which is my main concern with choosing a new camera to replace my DSR-PD170P

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

maybe we have a few dslr surprises coming? This fills one gap...

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Jay Bratcher

did they finally ditch the servo setup from the XH A1?

They appear to have adopted the Sony PMW-EX1 lens design. There's a release button on top of the lens. You press it and slightly twist the lens barrel to lock it in place to enable full mechanical stops at each end of the focus range for manual focusing. Then you can press the release button again, twist the barrel back the other way and have the servo-style controls which spin without stops just like the old XF / XL series auto lenses did -- the advantage here is you can switch between manual focus and AF while in servo mode, or just go "mechanical" manual focus with physical stops, your choice.

[Chris Hurd]

Just added about 16 images to the second and third posts
of this thread -- so if you haven't seen the photos yet, be
sure to go back and check out page one again.

[Sean Seah]

They produce mxf straight out of camera... no more mov wrapper and it works directly on the timeline of Vegas 8 =) Low light is to be very comparable to EX1r.. we shall see very soon if that is true. Features wise like overcranking and undercranking are all available.

I agree that the price point should be slightly lower than EX1r.

[Floris van Eck]

A bit too expensive for my liking. Let's hope they did some magic with the sensors to produce awesome low-light images to compensate for the 1/3" chips. I like the 4:2:2 codec though. Basically, they crammed a Nanoflash in there. Pretty impressive! But I am not buying for these prices. I hope the street prices will be much lower.

Also... how do you explain to your customers that they go from $3,999 for the XH-A1 to $6,899 for the XF-300. A bit to steep if you ask me. Most likely, they will keep the HDV models in production for a little longer. I hope they hit with a street price under $6,000.

[Floris van Eck]

I am looking at the specifications now:

- 3 ND filters
- LCD: Waveform monitor and Vectorscope
- More gain settings: Assignable L, M, H switch positions (-6dB / -3dB / 0dB/ 3dB / 6dB/ 12dB / 18dB / 21dB / 33dB / TUNE (0.5 dB increments from 0 to 21 dB))
- Audio: 16-bit 2ch (48 kHz) linear PCM

Over/under cranking:

YES. 720p: 12, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 34, 37, 42, 45, 48, 50fps 1080p: 12, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25fps

Focus control: Manual ring or automatic (Instant AF, TV AF or Face Detection AF)

Optical lens shift system (angle & vector movement detection); 3 modes: Dynamic, Standard, Powered

Not too bad.

Any news on UK/EURO MSRP pricing?