Canon upgrades - XH A1s and XH G1s
 

Canon XH A1S + XH G1S see picture.... and news in german:
VIDEOAKTIV - Neue S-Klasse: Canon XH A1S und XH G1S in HDV

The best upgrade is the ability to focus and zoom at the same time.
Anyone want to buy two canon xha1's ? haha

Yeah, I'm also happy to see what looks like more robust ports: a 6-pin firewire port and a metal headphone jack? And the two component outs looks nice. Seems they fixed the line in / mic in issue too. I hope there is now an option to assign the image stabilizer to a button.

Don't see any reason to sell mine yet, beside the fact that the "improved" xh-a1 is 1000 euro more expensive I don't see that many changes that would justify paying this extra cash for it.

From what I can read beside the focus/zoom combo thing a noise reduction filter might be interesting if this would help when filming in darker areas.

I don't have my xh-a1 that long but untill now I haven't found an easy way to turn off/on the OIS, in the poll that I found here it seems a missing feature and that is by far the only improvement Canon should have made for me. Not so sure if they did this now with the new version but it should be possible to do this in a firmware update and link it to a custom key? If they didn't make this change it's proof that canon doesn't listen to their clients.

It seems, that they also use more solid screws for the ext. mic holder now. It would be interesting to know, if some of the new 'internal features' may be transferred to the 'old' A1 by a firmware update.

Canon upgrades - XH A1s and XH G1s
 

The XH A1s:

Canon XH A1s HD Camcorder - Canon UK

The XH G1s:

Canon XH G1s HD Camcorder - Canon UK

This is what everyone's been waiting for :D
looks like Canon's sticking to CCDs

A stop-gap model while they prepare the CMOS version? Sony did the same sort of thing going from the PD150 to the 170.

One of the best feature set upgrades:

Canon CPS Video Support
Canon’s exclusive CPS Video Support offers users
a priority repair service and email and phone support
from a dedicated team.

Looks like many of the improvements (in audio, etc.)
are borrowed directly from the recent XL H1S / H1A.

Look for the Canon USA press releases later this morning.

Re: the two component output terminals... the lower one
is the standard one for SD / HD video output. The upper
one is an extra EVF output.

Agreed. And push autofocus via a lanc controller would be nice too. I wonder if the new models offer these functions?

This is exactly what Canon reps told me, we should be looking out for more info throughout Christmas and expect to see at the next CES show.

C'mon Canon. A proper sharp-edged, masked (shadowed) aspect ratio hood is what's needed. Barn door lens cap if you must, but the current hood just doesn't look a patch alongside Sony's far more expensive one. And with focal lengths so short, money put here is money well spent.

tom.

Optional Hard Disk Drive Recording?
 

What do you think support for FS-CV DTE Recorder will be? Don't all cameras support this??

It's not supposed to make you sell yours, it's for people looking to add a second one to their roster or incentive for people who haven't got one yet.

That said I would have liked to see HDMI and an optional CF card reader, I told canon that like half a year ago, but what can you do.

However I'm almost positive late '09 shipping possibly in '10 we'll see solid state upgrades. Obviously expect a solid state upgrade to the XL series before then, maybe a prototype at NAB.

Here's the American press releases and product pages:

About Canon: Press Room > Press Release

Professional Camcorders - High Definition Camcorders and Lenses - Standard Definition Camcorders - Software - High Definition Camcorder - XH A1S - Canon USA Consumer Products

Canon Professional Camcorders

Interesting upgrades:
- Can record to internal and external mic at same time
- Ability to zoom and focus at same time
- Ability to speed ramp and smooth starts and stops in zooms
- New "shockless" white balance smoothes out change from one color temp to another
- Ability to step gain in 0.5dB increments
- New noise reduction function for "keying and effects work"?
- Manual audio limiter
- Metal headphone jack
- Simultaneous use of the EVF and LCD
- Full endorsement of Focus Enhancements FS-CV recorder instead of making their own
- Can display FS-CV's data on the camera LCD
- The second Component output is labeled as "EVF Monitor Output Terminal" what does this even mean? You could always monitor through component. Can anyone clarify this? I might have to give Canon a call.

G1 Specific:
- Sends flags through HD-SDI when using 24f, making pulldown removal much easier

I'll put the announcement up later, but on Weds. Dec. 10th at 6pm, Canon will be here to Debut the A1s and G1s in LA.

Jim Martin
Birns & Sawyer Inc
"At the ArcLight"

Wonder if it can do the #1 requested thing for the A1 - OIS on a custom button. :)

Not worth upgrading for me. Scarlet is definitely my next camera. I am not buying another tape-based cam.

Good question. OIS from a custom button should have been done from the start.

Agreed I won't get an A1s unless I absolutely find a reason to. That said there are plenty of tapeless options for tape based stuff now. I haven't shot any tape in my A1 for over a month.

I like the official support for the Focus Enhancements FS-CV; with the six-pin firewire port, that gives me a new level of confidence in that rig. Interestingly, Canon added a new technology logo: 3CCD Super Low Light. That's the only place I've seen it, so it doesn't look like they're going out of their way to highlight it.

I suspect this is the equivalent of the XL H1a/s second EVF port. With a normal component out, you won't get all your little display icons and peaking, etc. The XL cameras have a second round, multi-pin EVF jack and come with a short cable with the EVF connector on one end and component connectors on the other end; this allows you to attach to ANY component capable monitor and see the same display as with the camera's EVF.

In the case of the XH cameras, the main EVF and LCD are integral to the camera, so I guess they just decided to output the second EVF signal through component jacks so you can use any component cable to use, say, your new 52" HDTV as if it were your EVF. Very nice.

A bit disappointing in my opinion. My biggest peeve about the current A1 is the useless lcd screen, which doesn't seem to be addressed. I'm glad they fixed being able to focus while zooming, but the rest of the upgrades seem pretty minimal and think that most of these upgrades should have been a firmware update for the current a1. I was also hoping for a CF recording option as well...

I just wonder why Canon has decided to raise the price that much. I bought mine about 2 months ago for 3000 euro and a Dutch videocompany was talking about a salesprice of 4500 euro for the new version.

One of the reasons why the xh-a1 was such a big seller was the low price considering what it had to offer. The pana hmc150 is priced here 3600 euro. That suddenly means it's 900 euro cheaper if above suggested salesprice would be correct. If I would be buying a 2nd or a new one now it wouldn't be a hard choice, but not in favor of the canon.

The more granular gain setting is one of the most exciting for me. Having only 3db then 9db for wedding receptions is really restricting - 9db has too much noise and 3db is just short of what I need.

You mean 6db and 12db right? I find 12db on the a1 too much as well, but as far as I knew the a1 doesn't have a 9db setting.

Canon release new cameras
 

here you go

About Canon: Press Room > Press Release

New Cameras!
 

Interesting, it looks like it comes in the shape body as the old A1, although looks like the they have changed where the comp out etc come from.

Not as many upgrade features as I would have thought though...

Here's some more info

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...ModelDetailAct

Looks like they supply a better eye piece too

Underwhelmed - I was hoping for more significant upgrades - solid state recording, improved sensors, .....

Canon's prosumer offerings are long in the tooth - IMO.

I've been trying to figure out what's new in for the A1S? Anyone know? It looks like the same darn thing exactly.

Rick,
I would have to agree with you. I was hoping to see more changes. This is a fantastic camera, but this latest effort seems like more of a facelift than anything else, i certainly wouldn't be buying one. SS recording would have gone a long way here, but it looks like they are simply offering the firestore HDD to try to keep people interested. Don't get me wrong, i like the idea of tape, but a more integrated SS device like the Sony one would have been the goods & kept the camera competitive for another couple of years. This latest offering is looking outdated before it even hits the streets, there's simply nothing new on offer.
I was hoping to update my camera in the next 12 months, but it's now looking like that camera wont' be a Canon.

Bryce

Calling it a new camera is misleading; it's just the standard 2-3 year minor upgrade. Looks like a few tweaks in operator ease with the lens and now you can record with an external mic at the same time as the built-in one. These product improvements are nice; Sony used to always do it too on their bigger cameras. Usually minor improvements, and it gives the company some free press and allows them to get the price back up to list for a few months. I'm glad they do upgrades--shows their commitment to the product. But if you needed a new camera, the original is down to $3150 at B&H, and I'm sure the upgrade will sell for list price for a couple of months anyway. So you could save 750 bucks if you get one before they're all gone. I'm not slamming the upgrade, it's cool, but it's nothing to get excited about. It does appear they've gone to the 6-pin firewire connector, and that's nice.

New camera? No. But I'm going to take a glass half full approach to this.

Without going through all the sturm und drang with the new features, it's a nice upgrade and addresses more than a few of the deficiencies most of us have stumbled across. I particularly like the focus whilst zooming capability.

Having been in the high tech marketing for two decades, I know it's all about the splash and getting market share. To me, what Canon are doing makes sense.

I'll be curious where the street price settles out.

Thanks Pete, that's very cool I hadn't thought of it that way, it would be useful to see peaking on an external screen.

One thing they should've upgraded is the size of the flip out LCD. That is a major draw back for some, especially since this is HD video we need to deal with. Its a pain to focus with that small screen.

I do love the fact that its now independent focus/zoom, but I wish they would release a true servo type lens.

I would say this new release/upgrade goes in direct competition with the sony z5. Since the z5 has a price point so close to the z7, but has features so close to the xh a1s, I am sure that people's choices would be between the xh a1s or the z7 when it comes to an HDV camera.

Little things
 

Tese are new to the supplied kit I believe.

Not that it matters much... but these are already available with the A1/G1

I think this is a wonderful upgrade. My XHA1 has been great. The XHA1s is even better in the details that make a camera work in the field.

Thank heavens it's still tape so archiving is painless. But the new six-pin firewire jack and the Canon Firestore V sound like tapeless will now be reliable if you want both.

Split audio is a huge improvement - I desperately hope it includes the ability to put line-in on one channel and mic level on the other.

And perhaps the biggest thing for pros is the new CPS video support, though that's not just for this camera.

Here is the press release:

About Canon: Press Room > Press Release

No big improvents, but they included the new features presents in the XLH1a and s that were not present in the first generation of XH camcorders... customizable operational feel for the lens, better audio block and some other.

Canon seem to be a bit shy about the side of the camera where the XLR inputs are. There are no photos of that side in their press release pictures: Press Room: Photo Kits

Ian
Festival Video and Audio Previews - Festival Previews Ltd