Canon has launched a pair of new professional camcorders ahead of NAB 2014. The Canon XF205 and XF200 are positioned between the Canon XF100 and XF300 series.
Canon XF205 and XF200 Key Features
- 1920 x 1080, 1/2.84″ CMOS Sensor
- 20x Zoom with Zoom, Focus, Iris Rings
- 50Mbps MPEG-2 & 35Mbps MP4 Recording
- 4:2:2 Color Sampling
- 23.98/29.97p, 59.94i/p
- Dual CF & Single SDXC Card Slots
- Dual XLR Inputs, 4-Channels of Audio
- Orientable Hand Grip
- HDMI, WiFi & Ethernet
- HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, Time Code, Genlock (XF205 only)
The XF205 and XF200 are both 1080p HD camcorders that support MXF and MP4 formats and feature a 20x optical zoom lens. The XF205 adds 3G-SDI and HD-SDI output terminals in addition to genlock in/SMPTE time code (in/out) terminals. Otherwise the cameras are the same.
Canon XF205 Ports
The XF205 and XF200 lens features three separate lens rings for focus, zoom and iris control, and both are equipped with both an Ethernet LAN terminal and dual-band wireless LAN connectivity. Canon’s CameraAccess plus app enables live viewing and remote operation using a compatible mobile device, as well as the real-time transfer of proxy data.
The Canon XF205 and XF200 should be available in mid-July for an estimated list price of $4,400.00 and $3,900.00, respectively. Check them out here at B&H Photo.
Those specs read like ‘today, 6 year ago, Canon released…’
The sensor on my phone is larger than that! $4k!!
With the rest of the world introducing 4K video cams (some are even in smartphones) Canon might want to catch up with technology – or lower the price of these cams!
Who still uses MPEG-2?!
Push the envelope, set the trends, be ahead of the curve H.265
Actually, the ease of use of video cameras like XF100 and XF300 would make this XF200 a success. Image quality is actually very acceptable in most lighting, especially at 1080i/p which this new camera will do in MP4 at 1080×1920 at 60Progressive, which a lot of DSLRs cannot yet (60P at Full HD), and these cameras tend to have a lot less rolling shutter effect than DSLRs, and great continuous AF autofocus. Used in the hands of a professional videographer, ease of us allows more time spent capturing the subject at great dynamic angles for problem free video, hand held for run and gun wedding and event videographers and journalists, and this camera is rated Broadcast quality with up to 50Mbps and XLR sound input. Wedding videographers like myself definitely will like this new XF200 camera and its ease of use (and lots of feature sets). Larger sensors of some DSLR cameras for video use, while great in low light, do have their drawbacks for slower auto AF and rolling shutter. Not the XF series. The image video quality of the XF series is actually quite good and very usable for video pros.