Canon XF300 / 305 vs Sony EX1r

[Les Wilson]

In addition to the EX1r low light performance being 1 to 1.5 stops brighter, there are ergonomic differences between these cameras you may want to look into. There are handheld positions and moves possible/easy because of the EX1R rotating grip not present on the XF. As I recall, the XF also had an interlock switch that disables the zoom rocker in certain modes.

If size matters, the XF is quite a bit larger in several dimensions. You'll notice this when shopping for equipment cases and bags....especially when targeting the carryon size issues.

Power is another thing, the EX1R battery compartment is not captured as in the XF and there's an external power port on the EX1r that makes powering the camera from external power (think shoulder rig) relatively clean from a cable dressing perspective. What I like about this is that you can use a battery like the SWIT, Switronics and some others that also provide a d-tap for powering on camera accessories from the same battery that's running the camera...real nice for on-camera lights. A nice side effect is that if you want to put your on camera light on a stand, you can use the same batteries on the light stand that you are using for your camera.

But above all these, the low light performance was always the number one driver for me. There's less fiddling to get a well exposed image because in the environments I shoot, I have that extra stop and a half to get the shot without resorting to gain. The ergonomic issues were equally important to me, YMMV

[Jacques E. Bouchard]

I want to thank everyone for contributing to this thread. I've been seriously considering the XF305 as an upgrade from the XHA1. 4:2:2 and 50 mbps would allow us to break into the broadcasting market (and improve our keying and colour correction) without having to get into the P2 architecture, which I believe is on its way out. My only concern was the 1/3" chips and low-light performance, but in my opinion the pros largely outweigh that.

DSLR isn't an option for me, I need a camera that'll visually reassure corporate clients they're getting their money's worth.

J.

[Matt Ford]

Originally Posted by Colin Rowe

EX1 is far superior in low light.
The XF100 is a lovely little camera, I had the good fortune to play with one for a day. Low light is good, and colour holds up very well. But nowhere near as good as the EX1.

Is this the ex BBC Colin Rowe who took amazing footage for Spotlight for many years?

[Colin Rowe]

I fear not, I only wish

[Denny Kyser]

I went with the XF305 after seeing some footage at +12db and even higher when using neat video I felt there were too many positives to not give it a try.