Non-DSLR camera recommendations

[Rebecca Curtis]

Hello all. Looking to upgrade my Canon XH-A1's in the coming year, looking for your recommendations on non-DSLR camera's you love. Just not looking to go the DSLR route. I don't have many complaints about the Canon XH-A1's except for the picture quality. While I know the DSLR look is amazing, I am hoping to find a camcorder with sharper picture quality than the XH-A1. Thanks in advance.

[Gregory Gesch]

Hi Rebecca. There is an XH-A1 forum on this very site which you might find useful:
Canon XH Series HDV Camcorders Forum at DV Info Net

[Chris Harding]

Hi Rebecca

I have two Sony EA-50's so I get the best of both worlds! DSLR sensor and interchangeable lenses ..with an adaptor you can also use Nikon and Canon and more too, then the body of a video camera with pro video features ..Wouldn't change them !!!

Chris

[Noa Put]

I think a canon xf200 might be a logical upgrade, check out this forum for more general info: Canon XF Series HD Camcorders Forum at DV Info Net

[Michael Silverman]

You may want to look at the Sony PXW-X70. This will have a very similar feel and feature set to the XH-A1 but the image quality should be quite a bit better. The X70 will be getting a 4K update at some point and it also has a relatively large 1" sensor which will allow you to achieve some shallow depth of field when zooming in.

I'm a big fan of Canon but I've read reviews that the XF200 has very poor low light performance. Otherwise it appears to be a nice camera, but for weddings it may not perform well enough at the reception. I had really looked closely at the XF200 for a while but when the reviews came out I was disappointed at what people had to say.

You also may want to wait until NAB 2015 takes place in about two months as there are likely going to be a slew of new cameras announced. If you don't need a camera right away then there will likely be some very cool new cameras coming out.

[Dan Burnap]

C100 is not a DSLR

[Chris Harding]

Hi Dan

I don't think anyone on this post said the C series were DSLR's ..I always thought they were classed a Cinema cameras ... They have a DSLR style sensor and interchangeable lenses so maybe people think that? My Sonys have the same but they are still very much video cameras and I only use them as such.

Chris

[Jon Robertson]

As Michael has said the X70 is worth a look. I'm going down that route myself soon coming from the Sony NX3. I bought a CX900 (essentially the same as the X70 but the X70 has a lot more pro features) recently and the footage from that looks better than my NX3 with its 3 x 1/2.88 sensors. Sharper for sure. You get a more interesting depth of field although not to the same extent of a DSLR. I prefer this though as I think DSLR footage can go too far sometimes.

Slightly disappointing lens in that it stops down to F4 at the long end but not the end of the world. Low light performance is interesting in that my NX3 performs noticeably better at first glance but that's not the whole story. I wouldn't push the NX3 past 12db but the CX900 will go to 21db and still look better than the NX3 at 12db.

Rumour has it that Canon will be announcing a competitor to the X70 so might be best to wait to see if that announcement comes. I'm half considering waiting myself to see what kind of lens it has and the pixel count on (what is rumoured) to be a 1 inch sensor.

[Jeff Harper]

I think Noa's recommendation of the XF200 is an excellent suggestion. It's Canon, with which you are already familiar, and it's a very good camera.

I personally prefer the look of Sony, but that's besides the point. I would suggest the X70 also, but as Noa suggests, for you the XF200 is a logical upgrade because you're already in a Canon. Either way you couldn't go wrong.

Edit: just saw the comment about the low light performance of the XF200, wasn't aware of that issue, so I suppose I would investigate it thoroughly.

[Noa Put]

It can't be as bad in low light as a xh-a1 :)

[Jeff Harper]

Very true, Noa, that camera was never good in low light. I have shot with the XF100 and while it was no champion in low light I thought it was fine.

[Arthur Gannis]

I would really like to see Sony come up with the Alpha's low light full frame sensor of the A7s inside a Sony
PXW-Z100 form factor ang having an interchangeable lens mount. Perhaps with the H265 codec as well.

Anyway, yes, the PXW-F70 is a great camera in that price category.
Many videographers here I know are getting that one for their replacement camera this year in weddings.

[Les Wilson]

@Rebecca: for this to be meaningful, a price range is needed. What you plan to use it for will also help. There's plenty of good cameras not mentioned this far.

[Michael Silverman]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

It can't be as bad in low light as a xh-a1 :)

Noa, I looked at some more reviews and it does look like some XF200 owners are very pleased with the low light performance. I didn't mean to shoot down your idea, I had just read the reviews on B&H and 3 of the 7 reviews complained about very poor low light performance. Upon further reading on other sites, it appears that others are perfectly happy with how it handles low light situations. It may be that some reviewers were comparing it to large sensor cameras and were expecting similar low light performance. And (like you pointed out) it will certainly be an upgrade from the XH-A1 in any case.

[Simon Denny]

You should also consider this camera also:
JVC ProHD GY-HM600