Optura Xi discontinued?
 

That's news to me. Which upgrades would you like to see in a replacement? Be realistic now. Here's my wish-list:

Top-loading cassette
16:9 letterbox in the display
30p progressive scan CCD
What the heck, 24p too.

Better low light
16:9 letterbox output to regular 4:3 displays
Adjustable zebra stripes
Video overlay for "rule of thirds" and "golden mean" bars.

Accessories:
Front threaded wide angle lens
Top handle - at least as an accessory.

* This is great news, it's probably wishful thinking, but I hope Canon pulls a D60 or Digital Rebel maneuver in the video world.

Damn! I just got a bonus and was going to order one.
 

I have a knack for picking camcorders that get discontinued. I had my Panasonic DVC80 for only five months when it was discontinued.

Circuit City still has Optura Xi's in stock, but they rape you with the $1,400 price tag.

If they are going to stick with 1ccd, then how about 1/2", or what the heck, a 2/3" high res ccd.

True 16:9 ccd.

Letterbox display.

Top loading cassettes
LANC port

How about 3CCD and some decent low light performance?


Better yet a 400k CCD that is native 16:9 (853x480 acquisition - 720x480 anamorphic to tape) like Rokta mentioned? That way we could have low light performance and quality widescreen. Of course this system would have to keep the Xi's optical image stabilization system since there would be no spare pixels for digital image stabilization.

Ok, back to reality..

Does anyone have OFFICIAL word that this has been discontinued? It's still shown on Canon's website and is available in numerous places. Maybe B&H just took it down because that $200 rebate offer just ended and they haven't set a new price for it yet....

I hope it hasn't been discontinued, since I'm still gathering my pennies to buy one (couldn't do it in time for the rebate offer).

My hope is that they put out an upgrade with the 16:9 LCD display.

Dan

Dan:

My local cam shop, a pretty big Canon dealer, said it's official. Most of the shops listed as still with it (pricegrabber etc.) are not authorized Canon dealers or a may have a few left order. My dealer said you cannot order it from Canon.

My hope is that they don't strip features or degrade performance (recall Optura 100MC to 200MC).

Of course the Panasonic NV-GS400 is just a couple of weeks away...

Dan, They extended the rebate.

I'm glad the GS400 is not coming out till Aug. Hopefully there will be some news about XI's replacement, to help decide.

Interesting about the rebate extension. Though B&H has removed the camera from it's web-site and my local Canon dealer cannot order one. Maybe their are surplus Xi's in the distribution channel yet Canon is trying to sell out?

Maybe the Canon reps at DVExpo will have more info.

I'll ask, but CUSA tends to stay tight-lipped regarding this sort of thing. And yes, they almost always sell out completely before announcing something new.

If they don't get out some kind of info on it before the GS400 is released, they are going to lose a lot of sales to customers for a cam in that range. That is, assuming it will be good enough to compete.

You'd think a marketing guy from Canon would at least give us a teaser. If it's good enough, I'd wait.

I like my lil Optura XI but I have to admit a top loader would be better. And forget the odd 46mm lens...

All the other stuff will be on top end cams.

Still waiting for something SERIOUS here canon ;-)