Xf200

[Richard D. George]

Don, you may be right. But read this promo article on the Canon Europe Professiomal site.

Google "In Expert Hands - Getting to grips with the Canon Xf205"

I assume that Canon proofs all the articles.

[Don Palomaki]

The piece reads "When I saw that there were no real ND filters I was very afraid, for instance, but when you shoot using the electronic filters and leave it on Auto, it works so well."

Per page 67 of the manual, the ND is automatic (no user switch/lever for levels - just a menu option to disable the ND) and automatically moves in when turning the aperture past F4. At F4 the aperture does not stop down further until the full ND is in place. I suspect this is to reduce the diffraction effects with small apertures. It is electronic in that it is automatic and works when in auto exposure modes.

If I recall correctly one XA20 user reported he could see the filter move in/out when carefully looking into the lens while adjusting the aperture.

[Richard D. George]

Thanks, Don.

I know this pup has a small sensor, and no 4K, but I am quite interested in it. LensRentals has them available. I may rent one and try it out.

[David Johns]

Originally Posted by Richard D. George

David: Are you also planning to test it for "banding" when flashes go off (like at a wedding, for example)?

Yes indeed and also for that peculiar XA20 flash-induced "shimmer" that occurs sometimes for half a second or so after a flash.

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon having an initial play with it; I like it so far but it seems the LCD is unviewable in daylight (granted, most of them are like that) and the waveform monitor only appears on the LCD not the viewfinder (unless there's a setting somewhere I need to tweak). That's annoying (but it's very pleasing to have the WFM at all)

It's very easy to operate and get focus. Fast autofocus too for those who like that kind of thing, also fast auto iris should you want it. Manual controls are easy to use and access and the plethora of assignable buttons make it very fast to switch. Zoom is quite nippy, handy for re-framing.

Pleased that the expanded focus works while recording too, nice to have that as an "emergency check" while filming. Image stabilisation in Dynamic and Powered modes is pretty good, much like the XA20.

By golly, you're going to notice the fan if you're filming in a quiet room though! When I first turned it on I was rather shocked. Good thing it has an auto shut-off during filming mode.

Regards
David

[Ann Bens]

<<< Yes indeed and also for that peculiar XA20 flash-induced "shimmer" that occurs sometimes for half a second or so after a flash >>>>


That is called Rolling Shutter. Every Cmos camera suffers from it.

Its easy to correct: just remove one or two frames. Nobody will notice.

CMOS Rolling Shutter

[David Johns]

>>>
That is called Rolling Shutter. Every Cmos camera suffers from it. Its easy to correct: just remove one or two frames. Nobody will notice
<<<

NO. That is not what I'm referring to. As I said, this is an issue specific to the XA20 where there is a shimmering of rolling lines across the image for about half a second after a flash.

NOT the same as rolling shutter flash banding. It is a bug in that camcorder.

Canon acknowledged the bug (to a chap on YouTube who pointed it out to them) and offered no fix except to change the shutter speed.

Regards
David

[Don Palomaki]

About 1/2 sec - is that a single GOP worth?

[David Johns]

I suppose it would be, yes, though that timing from me was just a guess based on visual observation of the effect on the LCD screen, rather than measuring it or examining it more closely on an editor.

There's a chap called WorldofYPod (I think) on YouTube who first spotted this, or at least first flagged it up with filmed examples. He brought it to my attention and I was able to replicate it easily by just setting off a flash a few times. Oddly, it doesn't happen every time.

I notice item 1 on the latest version of the XA20 firmware (1.0.4.0) stated "Fixes a phenomenon in which flicker compensation may be incorrectly applied when shooting, resulting in flicker and horizontal color stripes in the footage." so if this is relating to the same issue, it may have been fixed and therefore not present in the XF200 but I have yet to check either.

Regards
Dave

[Don Palomaki]

I suspect that a single frame/field phenomenon can have artifacts throughout a GOP when interframe compression is used.

[Petter Flink]

How is the 3 lens rings?
Are they sensitive enough to detect really slow turns or do they simply ignore anything under their threshold?

[Richard D. George]

Hank in BC and David in the UK:

I know it is early in your time with the XF200, but are you generally pleased with your purchase? Logistical issues will likely force me to act in the next day or two.

[Richard D. George]

Over 24 hours and no reply.........

[Don Palomaki]

Probably out having too much fun with it <g>.

[David Johns]

Originally Posted by Richard D. George

Over 24 hours and no reply.........

Hey steady on ... contrary to popular opinion, I don't spend ALL my time on the Internet.

In a word, "yes". I do like it. Whether the extra cost over an XF100 is worth it will depend on whether you want / need the new features of course (lens, WiFi, control rings, sensitivity etc)

But I like the XF200. It's very controllable, very portable, very configurable. Very usable, all the right buttons are there to get things set up right.

There is a caveat though: I've spent so much time over the last few days just playing with it and testing various settings that I haven't actually shot anything "real"!! So when I start using it for proper jobs, I may yet find things I don't like.

Oh - it falls over. With my top mic mounted on a Rycote Softie Lyre, it overbalances while sitting on its tripod plate! This can be counterbalanced by rotating the handgrip ;-)

Not sure if that helps...

Cheers
Dave

[Richard D. George]

Thanks.

I ordered mine this morning. Will get it in two days, but will immediately loan it out to a co-volunteer who will use it along side an XF100 for a wedding. She will have two weeks to get familiar with it before the wedding.

I will get it back after that.

Will use Sandisk Extreme Pro 32 GB UDMA 7 CF cards.