Earlier today Canon officially announced the XC10 – a compact, fixed-lens 4K video and digital stills camera, targeting aspiring filmmakers and enthusiasts. The camera is a first step towards upgrading to one of the high-end EOS Cinema cameras.
Alongside the XC10 Canon also revealed the professional EOS C300 Mark II cinema camera, with impressive 4K capabilities and a dynamic range of up to 15 stops.
Not stopping just camcorders, the company has also developed its own video format targeting 4K professional camcorders and unveiled a new 24-inch 4K reference display.
It is interesting to see that the XC10, an advanced video camera, doubles as a rather capable stills camera. Being able to record 4K video and capture 12MP stills, this camera moves Canon’s camcorder a step closer to the DSLRs, as they moved closer to the camcorders by incorporating HD video.
Another stills-oriented feature is the ability to extract an 8.29MP stills from 4K video footage.
Other specs of the XC10 include:
- Specially developed 1” CMOS sensor
- Digic DV5 image processor
- Record 4K (3840 x 2160) footage to an internal CFast 2.0 card at up to 305Mbps
- Record Full HD (1920 x 1080) footage to an SD card at up to 50Mbps
- Pro-standard 4:2:2 color sampling
- ISO range: 100-20,000
- 12-stop dynamic range
- 10x optical zoom lens with image stabilizer
- 3-273mm focal range in video mode
- 1-241mm focal range in the 4:3 photo mode
- Ergonomic tilting hand grip
- 3” tilting LCD touchscreen
- Built-in Wifi
The XC10 is available for pre-order for $2,500 and will be available from June.
The Canon C300 Mark II is a high-end $16,000 cinema camcorder that comes with high expectations due to the success of its predecessor.
It is capable of recording 10-bit 4:2:2 files internally at up to 410Mbps in 4K or 10/12-bit 4:4:4 files in 2K/Full HD, with up to 15 stops of dynamic range, and it can do so in both broadcast (3840 x 2160) and DCI cinematic (4096 x 2160) resolutions.
High bitrate 4K files are recorded internally to dual CFast 2.0 cards and you can simultaneously record 4K RAW files to an external recorder. At the same time, you can also record 2K/FHD Proxy files to an internal SD card.
Below are some of the C300 Mark II specs:
- Super 35mm CMOS sensor
- Dual Pixel CMOS AF (covering approx. 80% of the frame vertically and 80% horizontally)
- Rotating 4” LCD screen
- ISO range up to 102,400
- 30p in 4K / 120p in 2K/FHD
- Built-in ND filter (up to 10 stops)
The C300 Mark II can be pre-ordered and will start shipping in September.
Both the XC10 and the C300 Mark II will use Canon’s newly developed proprietary video format called XF-AVC, aimed at allowing efficient recording of high-image-quality 4K, 2K and HD video footage.
Canon has also collaborated with other industry manufacturers in order for the new video format to improve video productions workflows.
While recording your fancy new 4K footage you can review the results on the new DP-V2410 24-inch 4K reference display.
According to Canon the new monitor has been engineered for use on-set or on-location in both broadcast and cinema productions, to provide accurate and reliable output of 4K content, facilitating live shooting for quality control, focusing and exposure confirmation, as well as on-set color management and grading.
This 12kg monitor delivers 4096 x 2160 resolution and is able to show native 4K RAW footage directly from compatible EOS Cinema cameras.
The DP-V2410 will be available in Europe sometime in Q4 of 2015.
