XF300, XA10, Vegas Pro, & Excalibur at DVinfo.net

Jerry Black · May 24th, 2013, 10:48 AM

I shoot stage events and use 4 cameras for almost all events. Currently using Canon XA10s. Great camera except for the 10X zoom. In some venues it is not long enough. I am considering the Canon XF300 to replace one of the XA10s. Several questions:
(1) The XF300 records to CF cards: are there any issues transferring the footage to Vegas Pro 10 or 12?
(2) Lighting is usually not an issue, but will I need to color correct these 2 different cameras footage?
(3) Will Excalibur MultiCam work well with MXF (XF300) and AVCHD (XA10) footage?
(4) Anybody using the same combination with any tips or warnings?
I also wanted to highly recommend PluralEyes syncing software. I use 3 or 4 Zoom H1s to capture audio at my events, and PluralEyes has saved me hours and hours of time in the edit bay...works great with Vegas.
Thanks for your help.
Jerry

Al Bergstein · May 24th, 2013, 06:30 PM

(1) The XF300 records to CF cards: are there any issues transferring the footage to Vegas Pro 10 or 12?
No
(2) Lighting is usually not an issue, but will I need to color correct these 2 different cameras footage?
Unknown, but likely to some degree.
(3) Will Excalibur MultiCam work well with MXF (XF300) and AVCHD (XA10) footage?
Why wouldn't you use standard Vegas multicam? But likely Excaliber should work as well as it usually does.
(4) Anybody using the same combination with any tips or warnings?
I am not using the XA10 but given the difference between the two cameras sensors I don't think I would expect a great match in general. I would consider using the xa10 for wide angle establishing shots in the venues, and use the xf100 for closeups. (or vice versa). That way it won't be so noticeable. The xf300 is a great camera for stage performances where you have enough light. I used it all the time in the last three years. If you want examples, see my work at
https://vimeo.com/mountainstone/videos
Many of the stage work was done with xf305s and some of the earlier work was done on Vegas 10 or 11. I am now on Premiere but use Vegas 11 occassionally.

Rainer Listing · May 24th, 2013, 08:12 PM

Al, you do realize that in a few weeks Canon is releasing an XA20 - around $2200, 20X zoom and purportedly much better low light performance than the XA10?

Al Bergstein · May 25th, 2013, 06:51 PM

No I didn't but it doesn't change my opinion. It's still a high end consumer product, IMHO. The xf305 is a low end broadcast/ high end prosumer product. They are geared at different requirements. I'm sure the xa-20 will produce a great picture, but I have no illusions it's going to be equivilent to the xf300.

David Dixon · May 26th, 2013, 12:28 PM

The XA10 by default has a more "video" look with relatively high saturation, sharpness, and contrast. I like that look for many things myself. However, the XF series (I have the XF100) comes by default with a very flat look. Being "pro" cameras it seems to be assumed that either the XFxxx user will want to shoot a flat look that is adjusted in editing, or that the user will customize the Custom Picture settings to suit what is preferred.

The XF cameras come with various Video and Cine settings and the Video ones would probably come closer to matching the look of the XA10, but I found there is not one that is truly close. So, with default settings the XF cameras really do not look very impressive and most of us avoid those defaults. The XFs require a) having a concept of the look you want, and b) a bit of learning to get the camera to achieve what you want.

The good news is that it's not too hard to learn to adjust the settings, and there are a few settings files others have made available for download. Read further back in this forum for more info on all this.

First advice - these cameras can get noisy quickly if you use much video gain, so always use manual Gain, not Auto. Keep it below +9, and no more than +6 is even better.

May 24th, 2013, 10:48 AM	#1
Jerry Black Tourist Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2	XF300, XA10, Vegas Pro, & Excalibur I shoot stage events and use 4 cameras for almost all events. Currently using Canon XA10s. Great camera except for the 10X zoom. In some venues it is not long enough. I am considering the Canon XF300 to replace one of the XA10s. Several questions: (1) The XF300 records to CF cards: are there any issues transferring the footage to Vegas Pro 10 or 12? (2) Lighting is usually not an issue, but will I need to color correct these 2 different cameras footage? (3) Will Excalibur MultiCam work well with MXF (XF300) and AVCHD (XA10) footage? (4) Anybody using the same combination with any tips or warnings? I also wanted to highly recommend PluralEyes syncing software. I use 3 or 4 Zoom H1s to capture audio at my events, and PluralEyes has saved me hours and hours of time in the edit bay...works great with Vegas. Thanks for your help. Jerry

May 24th, 2013, 06:30 PM	#2
Al Bergstein Major Player Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Port Townsend, WA Posts: 456	Re: XF300, XA10, Vegas Pro, & Excalibur (1) The XF300 records to CF cards: are there any issues transferring the footage to Vegas Pro 10 or 12? No (2) Lighting is usually not an issue, but will I need to color correct these 2 different cameras footage? Unknown, but likely to some degree. (3) Will Excalibur MultiCam work well with MXF (XF300) and AVCHD (XA10) footage? Why wouldn't you use standard Vegas multicam? But likely Excaliber should work as well as it usually does. (4) Anybody using the same combination with any tips or warnings? I am not using the XA10 but given the difference between the two cameras sensors I don't think I would expect a great match in general. I would consider using the xa10 for wide angle establishing shots in the venues, and use the xf100 for closeups. (or vice versa). That way it won't be so noticeable. The xf300 is a great camera for stage performances where you have enough light. I used it all the time in the last three years. If you want examples, see my work at https://vimeo.com/mountainstone/videos Many of the stage work was done with xf305s and some of the earlier work was done on Vegas 10 or 11. I am now on Premiere but use Vegas 11 occassionally.

May 24th, 2013, 08:12 PM	#3
Rainer Listing Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Nowra, Australia Posts: 440	Re: XF300, XA10, Vegas Pro, & Excalibur Al, you do realize that in a few weeks Canon is releasing an XA20 - around $2200, 20X zoom and purportedly much better low light performance than the XA10?

May 25th, 2013, 06:51 PM	#4
Al Bergstein Major Player Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Port Townsend, WA Posts: 456	Re: XF300, XA10, Vegas Pro, & Excalibur No I didn't but it doesn't change my opinion. It's still a high end consumer product, IMHO. The xf305 is a low end broadcast/ high end prosumer product. They are geared at different requirements. I'm sure the xa-20 will produce a great picture, but I have no illusions it's going to be equivilent to the xf300.

May 26th, 2013, 12:28 PM	#5
David Dixon Major Player Join Date: May 2011 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 495	Re: XF300, XA10, Vegas Pro, & Excalibur The XA10 by default has a more "video" look with relatively high saturation, sharpness, and contrast. I like that look for many things myself. However, the XF series (I have the XF100) comes by default with a very flat look. Being "pro" cameras it seems to be assumed that either the XFxxx user will want to shoot a flat look that is adjusted in editing, or that the user will customize the Custom Picture settings to suit what is preferred. The XF cameras come with various Video and Cine settings and the Video ones would probably come closer to matching the look of the XA10, but I found there is not one that is truly close. So, with default settings the XF cameras really do not look very impressive and most of us avoid those defaults. The XFs require a) having a concept of the look you want, and b) a bit of learning to get the camera to achieve what you want. The good news is that it's not too hard to learn to adjust the settings, and there are a few settings files others have made available for download. Read further back in this forum for more info on all this. First advice - these cameras can get noisy quickly if you use much video gain, so always use manual Gain, not Auto. Keep it below +9, and no more than +6 is even better.