Canon XA10

The Canon XA10 HD Professional Camcorder is the all new low-end model in Canon's pro camcorder lineup. With full 1920 x 1080 HD video recording capture, along with dual phantom-power XLR inputs, the XA10 is going to be a major addition to their lineup.

My early impression of the XA10 is that it is basically a professional edition of the Canon VXIA HF G10, which in its own right is an impressive HD camera. With a carrying handle, XLR inputs and plenty of other great features, the XA10 is going to get you drooling over features that are difficult to get else where in a camera this small.

Canon

The Canon XA10 is built around the state of the art 1/3-inch CMOS sensor, which offers a genuine 1920 x 1080 resolution, that will help prevent the noise which has found it's way into earlier sensors.

The XA10 is powered by a DIGIC DV III image processor. AVCHD video is achievable up to 24Mbps and 4:2:0 color space. This results in the XA10 being able to capture High-definition video in a variety of frame rates, ranging from 24 and 30p variations of 60i, the 24p being real deal.

Canon provide a 10x Zoom HD lens which has a 35mm comparable range of 30.4-304mm zoom. The XA10 features an 8-blade iris, which will produce smoother bokeh plus minimize diffraction.

The in-built stereo microphone has a number of audio options, this includes the facility to zoom the directionality with the optical zoom. Furthermore, the audio processing permits the XA10 to switch on a in-built low pass filter, or place specific emphasis on lows, mids or highs. These factors are paired by way of the menu for smart control over the camera's built-in audio pickup.

Additional features of interest: The XLR inputs located on the handle are manually operated, whilst situated on the top of the camera are zoom and record start/stop controls. Meanwhile on the front of the carry handle is an infrared light and a tally lamp. The infra-red light is a really handy feature for anyone wanting to film in complete darkness.

The XA10 also provides the option to remove the infrared filter from the optical path. When in total darkness the infra-red emitter on the carry handle is unseen to the naked eye, nonetheless it provides plenty of light to capture video where different camcorders might at best display a black screen.

The lens ring seems to operate rather effectively and is also smooth in operation. What's more, for those looking at prosumer cameras, you will be glad to know the other Canon models incorperate the manual lens ring.

Thorough control over exposure is offered through a customized key and dial function. Regarding the manual mode, you'll be able to the dial to regulate the iris, gain or shutter. It's not quite as accessible as higher-end models, but the control will be there.

Other useful professional features include Focus Assist, which gives a 2x magnification for dialing in essential focus, as well as an alternative for 70% or 100% zebras to assist in dialing in highlights. Bars and tone are also available while in the menu systems with -12dB, -18dB or -20dB tones available.

The Canon comes with a 64GB internal flash drive and also twin SDXC card slots. Add in a pair of SDXC cards and this gives you around192GB of storage inside the camera. Canon says you need a Class 4 or more SDHC or SDXC card to record 24Mbps or 17Mbps footage (most cards today meet this class rating anyway - just don't cheap out on some bargain basement SD card). SanDisk's Ultra 64GB card is a practical option.

64GB is more than enough for anyone's needs.. So the built-in storage including a two SD cards gets you eighteen hours of High-definition video at 24Mbps, particularly good when you consider the footprint your camera and storage take up.

Briefly, the XA10 would seem to be a real winner. Right now there is much hype plus anticipation for this camera. Although it's not quite as professional looking as other camcorders in Canon's lineup, still it impresses with its size, price and spec sheet.

Canon XA10