Was there any discussion at the DV Expo of a GL3 or new Canon video cameras?

Dorothy

Hi Dorothy,

There were lots of questions but very few answers. I should know, I worked the Canon booth at that show and had to field those queries. We had a surprising number of people walk up asking to see the XL2, as they were told we were showing it. It was difficult to convince a few certain people that we had no such thing in the booth, so sure were they that their "sources" were telling the truth that we had an XL2. I never could pin down where that false "info" was coming from.

Different manufacturers market their products in different ways. For instance, Panasonic like to show "coming soon" models. As an example, they had mock-ups of the DVX100 on display for almost a full year before the camcorder ever shipped. Canon, on the other hand, never discloses a new model until the eve of the actual shipping date. It's just a different marketing philosophy, is all. And those of us who work trade show counters are always the last to know -- typically we get trained on a new item the day before we display it.

Besides, as legally binding as a signed and notarized non-disclosure agreement is, I really couldn't say for sure even if I did have any insider info. And the rebate thing -- well, rebates can often signal end-of-life for a product, but they are never any guarantee that end-of-life is near. Often, rebates are incurred simply to move inventory.

Look at it this way: they're due for something new. Those that will tell, don't know. Those that will know, won't tell. Hope this helps,

Based on the history of Canon's previous high end camcorders (L1, L2, XL1), one can expect the replacement after a model has been out for about 3 years.

Rebates are a way to respond to competition pricing as well.

We don't know, but it's fun to speculate. :)

I think the rebates signal an XL2 early next year. There's been plenty of competition to the XL1s, and no rebates like this before, to my knowledge. JVC has an HD camera. Panasonic is currently the only 24p. It's time for Canon to step into the fray with a 24p, 16x9 native camera. The big question is will it be HD? I pray it is!

will it be HD? I pray it is!

I know this is all speculation at this point but would you really want the XL2 to have the same system as the GR-HD1 and GR-HD10 for recording HD?

I would rather just have an updated XL2 with native widescreen and progressive scan. VX2100 low light performance would also be nice.

Yes I would. The problem with the JVC is not the compression / recording system. It's the horrendously bad manual controls and so-so color depth. It's a 1 CCD camera. If Canon came out with a 3 CCD camera and did it right, I think the MPEG-TS compression would not seriously harm the footage.

Though I do agree it is not optimal, and I wish we would get a new digital tape HD format with less compression, but there was news earlier in the year that all manufacturers were adopting the idea of using MPEG-TS on a MiniDV tape, so I think we're stuck with it.

IIRC, the JVC also only uses 18mbps of the 25mbps possible DV datastream because of DSP limitations. If Canon can use it all, plus use better Mpeg2 compression, things could look a lot better.

When does Canon normally announce their 'prosumer' cameras? Has it traditionally been at the big show in Las Vegas (NAB)?

That seems to be the theme, as far as I know. I don't know when 2004 NAB is though. I remember the GL2 was announced and began shipping Summer of 02, so maybe we'll see XL2 summer of 04.

Whatever happens- I hope Canon doesn't lose EF lens adaptability with whatever new "XL" type camcorder they produce- the thought of using 500mm+ lenses is just an awesome concept- especially if they go the HDV route!

Thank you all for shedding light on Canon's new products' launch modus operandi!!

Now here's a fascinating tidbit:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18525

Let the speculation begin!

Dorothy

I don't think Canon needs to go 3-CCD anymore, even if other companies do. They have been kicking butt with the images from their SLRs with a single CCD. My guess is the future is megapixel single CCDs that don't suck.

They have been kicking butt with the images from their SLRs with a single CCD.

I guess you're referring to the latest crop of Canon Digital SLRs but they are all CMOS instead of CCD.

As far as the "possible" future of Canon models and single CCD goes you might want to read this article.

http://neasia.nikkeibp.com/nea/200312/conele_278989.html

Most are CMOS but the EOS 1D is a CCD, so they can also make good CCDs.

Ah, I thought the 1D had been discontinued. My bad.

Not yet. The 1D is used when you want the fastest speed for sports photography. The 1Ds, which has more pixels, is slower and better for still lifes or general use. Nikon only just came out with a similar camera and ithas 802.11b! Sweet.

Well it will definitely cost more than $3000. A well equipped XL1s costs much more than that.

<<<-- Originally posted by Robert Silvers : I don't think Canon needs to go 3-CCD anymore, even if other companies do. They have been kicking butt with the images from their SLRs with a single CCD. My guess is the future is megapixel single CCDs that don't suck. -->>>

Look at JVC's 1-CCD HD camera. The colors are terribly washed out. Pictures from XL1s and GL2 cameras look better, even though they're lower res. I don't think you can get the beauty you need for HD with only 1 CCD.

Besides, CMOS and CCD are not the same thing. I don't know if CMOS can be used for 30 fps or higher.

As for CMOS vs. CCD in video. Doesn't the new HD Arri use a CMOS chip?

I know this, no matter what they increase in terms of pixels or CMOS or CCD, a new or better version of DV tape needs to be created to handle that type of transfer rate.

I once read somewhere that the camera used in the star wars movies was a sony that had 2 mega-pixels CCD, which means you can almost get the same DOF and FOV of 35mm film camera. The film used there was HD.