New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders

Bryce Comer · July 25th, 2013, 01:12 PM

Hi Niel,
Glad that worked for you. As far as putting the camera into sleep mode, I have a Canon ZR-1000 pan & zoom remote that I have on the pan handle of my tripod that will put it into standby. It's just like turning the camera off really, & starting back up again while quicker to do on the tripod pan handle, is still the same as turning the camera on & off.
Hope this helps.
Bryce

Neil Preston · July 25th, 2013, 01:18 PM

Thanks Bryce, I'll give it a try.

Martin Cowan · July 29th, 2013, 11:51 PM

Hi there. A few weeks ago I was talking on this thread about some teething problems we were experiencing with the XA25. In particular was our "workflow" when using the camera files in Final Cut Pro 7 as opposed to Final Cut X.

Lets take the MP4 35mb files first. They are in fact encoded using H.264 in an MP4 wrapper. Now as some of you may already know, H.264 whilst being a very efficient codec is a complex mathematical code which NLE's like Final Cut 7 will not handle too well. We have discovered that the only way to work with H.264 in FCP7 is to convert the footage to a more suitable codec ie Apple Pro Res or Cineform. You can do this via MPEG Streamclip ( free software on the net ) The downside being, you will now have additional converted files that not only take a long time to convert, but use about 4.5 times the storage space as the original files !

So why did Canon give us the MP4 35mb option ? Surely not for fast news acquisition !

So unless anyone can tell me different the quickest way to use the files of this camera in conjunction with FCP7 is to record in AVCHD 24Mbps as FCP7 can't handle the 28Mbps either, and use Log & Transfer tool for the import.

As for the batteries, we are still waiting to here back from Canon Europe on that one, and don't even try the FTP application (OK for sending up quickies to YouTube etc... but not for News!)

Oh and one last thing. Has anyone seen the Chromatic aberrations you get when half way down the lens against a contrasting background ?

Steven Ansell · July 30th, 2013, 04:23 AM

It is not realistic to expect Canon to design their hardware for obsolete software. The mp4 footage works fine with Premiere Pro, and I expect it will with the more recent versions of other editors as well.

Derek Craig · July 30th, 2013, 06:09 AM

You are blaming a new camera for compatibility problems with outdated and obsolete software ...

You may need to invest in some computing hardware and software that can handle the latest camera equipment if that is what you intend to use for your video work.

Derek Craig · July 30th, 2013, 01:30 PM

Maybe I just didn't word it right ... but many times I've bought new equipment, whether it is camera or other digital related products and on the front end I did my homework and had to come to the realization that I had to do a PC or software upgrade if I was going to move forward and make the new stuff work right.

Jeff Harper · July 30th, 2013, 01:49 PM

FCP is a fine program, but I am always baffled with the hoops the users have to jump through to edit AVCHD footage. Especially FCPX. I had two separate editors that wanted to work for me but they could not deal with the files. True enough, there is a workflow to use, and many thousands edit AVCHD footage and more using FCP, but for such a widely used program to not handle these files directly, it is a shame.

Anyway, as you say, Derek, it does help to have more CPU power rather than less. It's just necessary. Another place these files will bog down: on a sluggish external drive, particularly for multicamera edits.

Mark Fry · August 1st, 2013, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek Craig

Maybe I just didn't word it right ... but many times I've bought new equipment, whether it is camera or other digital related products and on the front end I did my homework and had to come to the realization that I had to do a PC or software upgrade if I was going to move forward and make the new stuff work right.

Indeed, a camera using a new format almost always means a software and probably a hardware upgrade. I know several people (myself included) who have extended the life of HDV and even DV cameras by buying card-recorders, such as the Sony MRC1K, to avoid expensive computer upgrades and the need to learn new software.

Laffan Nasser · August 23rd, 2013, 12:56 PM

Hello
Adding the new Atomos Samurai Blade to the XA25 via SDI , will it make any deference ?

Bob Ohlemann · August 23rd, 2013, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laffan Nasser

Hello
Adding the new Atomos Samurai Blade to the XA25 via SDI , will it make any deference ?

You'll be able to record in 4:2:2 which you can't do any other way.

Bob

Laffan Nasser · August 27th, 2013, 01:57 PM

Thanks , Bob
I found the XA20 is more requested as some feels that the SDI as it not 50mb recording
dose the 4:2:2 quality is noticeable ?

Jack Zhang · August 27th, 2013, 02:47 PM

Note that the XA25 does not have 3G-SDI so you cannot record 1080p60 to an external recorder unless it's HDMI.

Laffan Nasser · August 28th, 2013, 06:41 AM

you mean the Samurai Blade will work .

Bob Ohlemann · August 28th, 2013, 07:07 AM

The SDI output on the XA25 is SMPTE 292M 1080i/720p. That means it will transfer uncompressed 1080i or 720p video at a rate of 1.5Gbps. The Blade will work with this just fine since it has the same specs. I would like to see a comparison between an SDI output ProRes file and an internally compressed MP4. It's a lot of extra money and loss of portability to get that ProRes

Bob

Steven Ansell · September 4th, 2013, 10:50 PM

Here is a comparison between the low light capability of the X920, the XA20 and the older G25:

It is interesting that although the X920 appears to have greater light sensitivity than the two Canons, the auto white balance is off. Also, the Canons (in particular the XA20) are able to capture detail in the sky at max gain, whereas the X920 is black noise.

July 25th, 2013, 01:12 PM	#211
Bryce Comer Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Rossland, British Columbia Posts: 1,024	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders Hi Niel, Glad that worked for you. As far as putting the camera into sleep mode, I have a Canon ZR-1000 pan & zoom remote that I have on the pan handle of my tripod that will put it into standby. It's just like turning the camera off really, & starting back up again while quicker to do on the tripod pan handle, is still the same as turning the camera on & off. Hope this helps. Bryce __________________ There's never enough hours in the day!

July 25th, 2013, 01:18 PM	#212
Neil Preston New Boot Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Somerset West, South Africa Posts: 16	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders Thanks Bryce, I'll give it a try.

July 29th, 2013, 11:51 PM	#213
Martin Cowan Tourist Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Tauranga, New Zealand Posts: 4	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders Hi there. A few weeks ago I was talking on this thread about some teething problems we were experiencing with the XA25. In particular was our "workflow" when using the camera files in Final Cut Pro 7 as opposed to Final Cut X. Lets take the MP4 35mb files first. They are in fact encoded using H.264 in an MP4 wrapper. Now as some of you may already know, H.264 whilst being a very efficient codec is a complex mathematical code which NLE's like Final Cut 7 will not handle too well. We have discovered that the only way to work with H.264 in FCP7 is to convert the footage to a more suitable codec ie Apple Pro Res or Cineform. You can do this via MPEG Streamclip ( free software on the net ) The downside being, you will now have additional converted files that not only take a long time to convert, but use about 4.5 times the storage space as the original files ! So why did Canon give us the MP4 35mb option ? Surely not for fast news acquisition ! So unless anyone can tell me different the quickest way to use the files of this camera in conjunction with FCP7 is to record in AVCHD 24Mbps as FCP7 can't handle the 28Mbps either, and use Log & Transfer tool for the import. As for the batteries, we are still waiting to here back from Canon Europe on that one, and don't even try the FTP application (OK for sending up quickies to YouTube etc... but not for News!) Oh and one last thing. Has anyone seen the Chromatic aberrations you get when half way down the lens against a contrasting background ?

July 30th, 2013, 04:23 AM	#214
Steven Ansell Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Vancouver Canada Posts: 34	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders It is not realistic to expect Canon to design their hardware for obsolete software. The mp4 footage works fine with Premiere Pro, and I expect it will with the more recent versions of other editors as well.

July 30th, 2013, 06:09 AM	#215
Derek Craig Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Ashley Indiana Posts: 37	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders You are blaming a new camera for compatibility problems with outdated and obsolete software ... You may need to invest in some computing hardware and software that can handle the latest camera equipment if that is what you intend to use for your video work.

July 30th, 2013, 01:30 PM	#216
Derek Craig Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Ashley Indiana Posts: 37	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders Maybe I just didn't word it right ... but many times I've bought new equipment, whether it is camera or other digital related products and on the front end I did my homework and had to come to the realization that I had to do a PC or software upgrade if I was going to move forward and make the new stuff work right.

July 30th, 2013, 01:49 PM	#217
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders FCP is a fine program, but I am always baffled with the hoops the users have to jump through to edit AVCHD footage. Especially FCPX. I had two separate editors that wanted to work for me but they could not deal with the files. True enough, there is a workflow to use, and many thousands edit AVCHD footage and more using FCP, but for such a widely used program to not handle these files directly, it is a shame. Anyway, as you say, Derek, it does help to have more CPU power rather than less. It's just necessary. Another place these files will bog down: on a sluggish external drive, particularly for multicamera edits.

August 23rd, 2013, 12:56 PM	#219
Laffan Nasser Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Doha Posts: 58	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders Hello Adding the new Atomos Samurai Blade to the XA25 via SDI , will it make any deference ?

August 27th, 2013, 01:57 PM	#221
Laffan Nasser Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Doha Posts: 58	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders Thanks , Bob I found the XA20 is more requested as some feels that the SDI as it not 50mb recording dose the 4:2:2 quality is noticeable ?

August 27th, 2013, 02:47 PM	#222
Jack Zhang Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada Posts: 3,053	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders Note that the XA25 does not have 3G-SDI so you cannot record 1080p60 to an external recorder unless it's HDMI.

August 28th, 2013, 06:41 AM	#223
Laffan Nasser Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Doha Posts: 58	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders you mean the Samurai Blade will work .

August 28th, 2013, 07:07 AM	#224
Bob Ohlemann Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Sanger, TX Posts: 117	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders The SDI output on the XA25 is SMPTE 292M 1080i/720p. That means it will transfer uncompressed 1080i or 720p video at a rate of 1.5Gbps. The Blade will work with this just fine since it has the same specs. I would like to see a comparison between an SDI output ProRes file and an internally compressed MP4. It's a lot of extra money and loss of portability to get that ProRes Bob __________________ Image of the Horse-Equine Photography

September 4th, 2013, 10:50 PM	#225
Steven Ansell Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Vancouver Canada Posts: 34	Re: New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders Here is a comparison between the low light capability of the X920, the XA20 and the older G25: Low light battle: Canon XA20 vs HF-G25 vs Panasonic x920 on Vimeo It is interesting that although the X920 appears to have greater light sensitivity than the two Canons, the auto white balance is off. Also, the Canons (in particular the XA20) are able to capture detail in the sky at max gain, whereas the X920 is black noise.