New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders

[Philip Lipetz]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

Minimum listed lux on the XF100 is 1.6 in manual mode. F/1.2 is undoubtedly obtained on the new XA20 and 25 at manual settings as well.

We must be careful before posting specs and throwing numbers around so as not to confuse people.

You are comparing manual mode to auto mode. Manual mode increases shutter speed beyond 360 degree shutter. So, we need to compare specs with same shutter speeds.

[Philip Lipetz]

Originally Posted by Michael Galvan

This is the first time I've ever seen Canon deliberately mention HD-SDI output as specifically 4:2:0. Seems to me that they want to be clear on what this is.

This cam seems to be targeted at ENG use for one, so the purpose of this HD-SDI may not be so much for external recording, but rather the ability to feed live to a truck or deck.

But yes, crippling it to 4:2:0 on purpose still is unfortunate, but clearly is a move to protect the XF line.

The initial C100 specs also mentioned 4:2:0 but later were changed to 4:2:2.

[Zach Love]

Originally Posted by Jason Lowe

And this morning they're showing $2499 and $2999 for the XA20 and XA25 respectively. Go figure.

Wow, I guess they can't make up their minds.

It is going to be fun for the guys on the floor at NAB. I'm guessing they'll have to have a stock market price ticker going at the booth to keep track of what the current advertised price will be.

$3,199, no $2,699, no $2,999, no $4,999, no $1,999 no...

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Jason Lowe

I just noticed that the HF-G30 drops the LAN-C plug that the HF-G10 sports.

Nooooo. That can't be right! I gotta confirm this for myself...

[Don Palomaki]

And early reports thought the G20 dropped the LANC port, only to be proved false when the G20 was seen hands on. Have to wait and see the beast in more detail.

The XA20/25 is 1.2 lux compared to the XA10 at 1.5 on the spec sheet on the web page, and the FX100 is 4.5 lux. However, the shutter speeds are not the same (1/30 for XA10 vs 1/60 for XF100, not stated for the XA2x) and the gain is not stated for all cases either.

I would expect the end result to be close to the same (within a fraction of a stop for the same end image quality) when all is said and done.

But in the mean time speculation IS fun!

[Chris Hurd]

Well, I put a query to CUSA about it and am waiting for a response, but meanwhile, we'll find out for sure on Monday when I drop by the Canon booth at NAB. My guess is that it *does* have a remote terminal but the listing was omitted from the specs page, as was the case with the G20.

[Chris Hurd]

Okay, just heard back from one of the top folks at Canon USA. Boy, that was quick!

Couple of things to clarify here:

1. Canon Inc. confirms that the color sampling for the HD-SDI output terminal is 4:2:2, not 4:2:0 as currently stated on the Canon USA web site. Steps are being taken to correct this error.

2. Confirmed: the VIXIA HF G30 as well as the XA20 and XA25 provide a standard 2.5mm remote control terminal (LANC type).

Hope this helps,

[Thomas Smet]

I understand trying to protect their higher end models by limiting to 4:2:0 but at the same time they may be limiting the sales of the XA25 in the process. Just how many truck feed uses can there be for a camera. To me it seems like it would be a a rather limited market of buyers who would typically want a higher end camera anyway.

If they would add 4:2:2 the amount of sales could be much higher given the already attractive price point. Companies typically make a lot more money off cheaper products than they do their flagship products.

[Thomas Smet]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Okay, just heard back from one of the top folks at Canon USA. Boy, that was quick!

Couple of things to clarify here:

1. Canon Inc. confirms that the color sampling for the HD-SDI output terminal is 4:2:2, not 4:2:0 as currently stated on the Canon USA web site. Steps are being taken to correct this error.

2. Confirmed: the VIXIA HF G30 as well as the XA20 and XA25 provide a standard 2.5mm remote control terminal (LANC type).

Hope this helps,

Scratch my last post. Lol

It amazes me how many companies get this wrong or sometimes refuse to answer the question or play dumb. 4:2:2 is like porn in this industry and everybody is afraid of talking about it.

[Petter Flink]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Okay, just heard back from one of the top folks at Canon USA. Boy, that was quick!

Couple of things to clarify here:

1. Canon Inc. confirms that the color sampling for the HD-SDI output terminal is 4:2:2, not 4:2:0 as currently stated on the Canon USA web site. Steps are being taken to correct this error.

2. Confirmed: the VIXIA HF G30 as well as the XA20 and XA25 provide a standard 2.5mm remote control terminal (LANC type).

Hope this helps,

This news will make quite many happy :)

[Glen Vandermolen]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Okay, just heard back from one of the top folks at Canon USA. Boy, that was quick!

Couple of things to clarify here:

1. Canon Inc. confirms that the color sampling for the HD-SDI output terminal is 4:2:2, not 4:2:0 as currently stated on the Canon USA web site. Steps are being taken to correct this error.

2. Confirmed: the VIXIA HF G30 as well as the XA20 and XA25 provide a standard 2.5mm remote control terminal (LANC type).

Hope this helps,

That helps a lot, Chris! I thought 4:2:0 SDI was a bit odd. Thanks for pursuing this matter.

These little cameras are pretty impressive, especially that 20x zoom.

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

At $2699 there should be a WB switch or some way of moving between WB settings on the fly.

There is. My contact at CUSA confirms that the lower button on the left side of the folding OLED view screen can be assigned to manage WB settings on HF G30, XA20 and XA25. This is shown on the "Assignable Buttons" feature page in the CUSA web site:

Canon U.S.A. : Professional Imaging Products : XA25

Hope this helps,

[David Heath]

Originally Posted by Philip Lipetz

Minimum illumination level on the XF100/300 sensor is 4.5 lux, on the C100/300/500 is 0.3 lux and on the XA20/25 sensor is 1.2 lux. Two stops between the XA20/25 and the other two sensors.

I'd take lux figures on cameras like this with a huge pinch of salt. Remember "zero lux"? Quite accurate - had an infra red illuminator - but didn't really tell you a lot..... :-)

The trouble is that the figures take no account of whether electronic noise reduction is used, frame averaging, or even the noise figure at the illumination stated.

In other words, all they tell you is that the camera will produce an image at the lux level stated. How poor a quality it is - that's another thing altogether.

[Jeff Harper]

That is great Chris, really great news!

[Glen Vandermolen]

B&H has the prices for pre-order: $2,699 and $2,199.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/963141-REG/canon_8443b002_xa25_hd_professional_camcorder.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/963139-REG/canon_8453b002_xa20_hd_professional_camcorder.html