New Canon XA25, XA20 and HF G30 camcorders

[Kris Zimbelman]

Maybe a XF101 with 3 position ND and 50 MBPS for 3,299?

[Steve Struthers]

That would work... but to offer a credible upgrade from the XA25, the XF101 you propose would have to have at least a 20x lens. A camera like that would pose a problem for sales of the XF300, which has an 18x lens.

That said, I can easily see the XF100 going the way of the dodo bird because of this dilemma, with the end result that no intermediate model will exist between the XA25 and the XF300.

[Kris Zimbelman]

" A camera like that would pose a problem for sales of the XF300, which has an 18x lens."
I believe it's more of an apples to oranges dilemma when you start comparing those 2 cameras because the 300 series utilizes 3 chips versus 1 in the 100 series. Also the price nearly doubles.

[Mark Donnell]

Two questions - I think I read that Canon was going to release a HD/SDI recorder for the XA-25 that plugs into and perhaps mounts to the camera. I don't see it at B & H - is there any info on this yet ? Secondly, I am unsure if there is likely to be any quality difference between the 35 Mbps MP4 and 28 Mbps AVC recording options for 1080 p60. AVC is more efficient, so perhaps they will be similar ?

[Steve Struthers]

Originally Posted by Mark Donnell

Two questions - I think I read that Canon was going to release a HD/SDI recorder for the XA-25 that plugs into and perhaps mounts to the camera. I don't see it at B & H - is there any info on this yet ? Secondly, I am unsure if there is likely to be any quality difference between the 35 Mbps MP4 and 28 Mbps AVC recording options for 1080 p60. AVC is more efficient, so perhaps they will be similar ?

I wouldn't think there would be a huge amount of difference between the two codecs where image quality is concerned, although the MP4 might be easier to edit. In any case, both are compressed formats.

Having once had an XA10 (and having sold it in error), I'm following the XA20/25 cameras with considerable interest. If I don't end up getting something like a Panasonic AC130, I might go with an XA20. One thing I want to know is whether the XA20/25 will offer advanced image adjustments like knee, pedestal, detail coring, etc., and custom picture profiles that can be stored on SD cards and loaded into the camera.

[Daymon Hoffman]

Guys... correct me if i'm off base here. But i think people have got a bit mixed up about the difference between 35 mbps MP4 and 28 mbps AVC. From my understanding the reason for the different container format is due to standards. The actual codec is the same (both h264). The AVC format is bound by the standard which maxes out at 28 mbps so to have a higher bitrate they have to chose a container that doesn't have that limitation... hence the shift to the open MP4 container. But again this is just my understanding and there could obviously be other technical reasons within Canon. But i'd guess this is not far from the truth and what gives me this clue is the fact that they are both h264 *container* formats i.e. both being encoded in h264 and just stored differently for the most part.

On another note... just wanted to chime in and mention that i seen a bit of a review on a Chines (or was it Korean? forgive my ignorance oriental earthlings!) web site and the quality really disappointed me. Even at 35mb/s! I was hoping it'd at least be on par with the samples i've seen from the old TM900 at the very least! :( Perhaps something wasn't right. Apologize as i cant remember where i got the damn link to the review... i'll have to try find it again.

[Kris Zimbelman]

I cannot attest to the validity of this video, just scouring the Internet for anything.

Canon VIXIA HF G30 - YouTube

[Daymon Hoffman]

Ok i found the original link i was talking about that had some footage. Color me unimpressed. :( Perhaps he re compressed the videos as there are overlays. So i'll reserve full judgement. But i'm still not impressed at all IQ wise. :(

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[Steve Struthers]

I checked out that link, and saw some of the vids posted there. Can't say I was overly impressed either. Much of the footage does look overcompressed and also seems to have a strange, almost interlaced, 'live TV' kind of look to it even in 29p/24p modes. I also noticed that the camera didn't seem to fare well in the autofocus (AF) test.

I'm reserving judgment too - it's possible these samples have come from pre-production cameras, since the expected release date for the XA20/25 is still just a little over a month away. That's lots of time for Canon to work out any firmware bugs.

I'll wait until better quality samples surface on Youtube and Vimeo before I draw any conclusions.

[Rick Lutec]

Though the term Oriental is sometimes used in the UK, unless you're discussing objects people from Asian countries prefer to be known as Asians.
If you see jp in a link tagline it usually means Japan/Japanese.
I also have some interest in the XA25 and wondering when there will be more samples and pre-release reviews available

[Gabor Heeres]

I have a XA25 on pre-order at UK-seller CVP and was informed today that Canon expects to start shipping these new camcorders in the week commencing 24h june.

[Jeff Harper]

Congrats, I am quite jealous! I believe this is an amazing camera for the money, I really don't think it can be beat at this time.

[Dennis Freeman]

Here is an interesting link I came across that describes the HF G30

StudioTech 84 - The new Canon HF G30 - YouTube

Denny
Click on the title of the clip and it will play

[Kyle Root]

Originally Posted by Steve Struthers

You have to wonder, considering that Canon recently dropped the recommended price of the XF100 from
$2999 to $2499.

Not too long ago, I posted somewhere in here, probably in the Canon XF thread where Canon dropped the XF300 price by a few thousand dollars. It was like $6800 and dropped to something like $4800 at BandH.

I just looked on there and all the XF series are listed as "back-ordered".

That makes me think that maybe they're being discountinued and replaced. Kind of unique to have an entire series out of stock at the same time.

[David Johns]

Originally Posted by Gabor Heeres

I have a XA25 on pre-order at UK-seller CVP and was informed today that Canon expects to start shipping these new camcorders in the week commencing 24h june.

Thanks for that - I've got an XA20 on order and have no idea when it's coming so this is useful info!

Cheers
Dave