care to compare the hmc150 to canon's xf100/xf105?

[Josh Bass]

I remembered some things after reading around that initially turned me off from the 150

-read on another forum that the 1080p on the 150 is really not much sharper than the 720p almost like the simply scaled up the 720 to 1080. . .can anyone verify? Is the Canon's "real" 1080p?

-someone mentioned, on said other forum, a back focus issue with the 150. . .is this common?

[Steve Wolla]

No, it is not.
Its low light results, in my experience are very good. I shoot a lot of concerts in poorly lit venues, and the cam performs very well indeed in that type of setting, very clean, very sharp.

[Josh Bass]

How is the XF's low light, compared to say, the XL2?

[John Wiley]

Originally Posted by Terry Wall

Hi, Gang! Been off the grid for a while, so apologies in advance if I pose a question that's been answered (Chris H, keep me honest on this one!): With all the talk about the new Canons...XF100, XA10 and others, there seems to NOT be as much talk (as there used to be) regarding single chip cams versus three chippers. Notwithstanding the new four-thirds chips, which are significantly larger, is this truly becoming less and less of an issue? I notice that even in the video mags there seems to be less conversation about one vs three chips. Am I missing something? Have I been off the grid too long????

Cheers!
~TW

I'm not entirely sure but I vaguely remember reading about CMOS being better for single chip use than CCD... something to do with the bayer filter or something along those lines.

A comapany I sub contract for has just picked up an XF100, so it'll be interesting to see how it compares to the XHA1's they are currently shooting with.

[Steve Wolla]

I don't yet have an XF, but by way of comparison I do have an HFS-10 and an XHA1, plus a pair of HMC150's. Supposedly the XF100 has much better low light than the 1/2" CMOS chip Canon used in the HFS series. I hope so, because I really cannot shoot the HFS with the HMC's in low light. In low light, they are worlds apart.
I am sure that Canon has vastly improved low light vs. the 1/2" HFS series. I beleive the XF100 and the XA10 are the best small pro cams out now.
However, it is only a single 1/3rd inch chip. Asking it to be as good as a 3 CCD in low light is a tall order. I would be suspect of such claims of the XF being the equal of the XHA1. The HMC is somewhat better in low light than the XHA1, but I can still shoot them together in low light.

[Josh Bass]

How about audio?

I'm not really familiar with anything post XL2 but Canon was often criticized for its strange decisions with the audio on its camcorders (no line level, etc.)

How have we progressed with that at this point?

[Steve Wolla]

Canon fixed a lot of those types of concerns with the XHA1s model. I would assume, though do not know for sure, that the XF100 audio would reflect what they did on the XF300.

[Josh Bass]

Do you mean that as a good thing?

[Steve Wolla]

Yes, I do.