Sony amplia linha XDCAM EX

PMW-EX3 Solid-State Interchangeable Lens HD Camcorder

Well it would appear that there is simply no stopping Sony. Just a few short months ago they launched themselves into the solid-state HD camcorder market with the PMW- EX1. The EX1 has proved to be a formidable smash hit, so much so that Sony’s production line is struggling to keep up with demand.

Sony have just announced (NAB April 2008) something even more spectacular; say hello to the all-new PMW-EX3. The EX3 is basically an EX1, but with the option of interchangeable lenses. There are of course a few other slight differences, which I will come to later.

You’ll notice by the pictures that the EX3 is notably larger than the EX1; it is in fact what Sony refer to as a “semi shoulder-mounted” camcorder. At first glance the EX3 has a vague resemblance to Canon’s famous XL series camcorder, namely the XL H1; but that’s where the similarity ends. The EX3 takes half-inch interchangeable lenses, but with a different mount to that found on Sony’s professional half-inch shoulder-mount XDCAM HD camcorders. Having said that, the EX3 will ship with an included adapter to allow use of standard half-inch lenses (such as those currently used on Sony’s XDCAM HD full size camcorders such as the F330, F350, F335, and F355) to be used; standard B4 mount. And better still, this adapter incorporates the hot shoe contacts like those found on the dedicated Fujinon half-inch XDCAM HD lenses. This will allow information to be passed from the camcorder to the lens, e.g. exposure control. For use in a studio configuration the RM-B150/B750 remote controllers will adjust basic camera parameters such as gain, iris, white balance, pedestal, and gamma through the 8-pin remote connector on the PMW-EX3 camcorder. Why use a different half-inch mount, you might ask. In a nutshell it’s down to ergonomics and rigidity/strength. Due to the size and shape of the camcorder body, the lens mount had to be designed somewhat differently. Because the chips in the EX3 are half-inch there will be no change in focal length when using any other standard half-inch B4 mount lens from Canon and Fujinon. However, there will be a small increase in focal length when using standard 35mm film lenses.

To open a high-resolution 1920 pixel version of the photo below in a separate window, simply click on it.

The EX3 will ship with the same lens that is built into the EX1, with the main obvious difference being an interchangeable version. Sony have also decided to add an optical image stabilizer button on the lens, as opposed to in the menus like that of the EX1.

Another small difference (though to me, personally, this is a very big deal indeed) between the new EX3 and its smaller sibling the EX1, is the addition of a framerate dial set on the side of the EX3’s body. Before all you Super-16mm filmmakers start asking “Can I now do Varicam-style frame-ramping during a shot?” I’m afraid the answer is no, it only works when out of record mode. Sony have simply moved the over/under-cranking feature out of the menus and onto the body itself by means of manual push/dial; right where it should be. This new external Framerate button lights up with a cool blue ring-light around the outside when pushed in for 3 seconds, so you know you are in Framerate mode. Push again and hold in for a further 3 seconds to turn off. For me personally, this is the best thing Sony could have done. If you use over/under-cranking as often as I do you will appreciate the convenience of being able to push this button and dial in the framerate without having to scroll through the menus; thank you Mr Sony!

Like the EX1, the new EX3 records to exactly the same format i.e. three half-inch 1920x1080 CMOS HD chips at a variable bit rate of 35mbps. Similarly the EX3 also has two SxS card slots.

The next thing you’ll notice about the EX3 is what appears to be the biggest viewfinder you ever saw; allow me to explain. What you are seeing is basically the same fold-out LCD screen found on the EX1, only Sony have stuck a huge magnified eye piece on the front of it. Personally, I think this is a great idea as the LCD screen on the EX1 is quite simply the best on the planet. The same can’t be said of the viewfinder found on the EX1, with its rather questionable image quality; and that’s putting it nicely. Sony have decided to throw this viewfinder away (good choice) and turn the LCD screen into the ultimate high-definition viewfinder; eat your heart out Canon XL H1.

To open a high-resolution 1920 pixel version of the photo below in a separate window, simply click on it.

The EX3 also sports an ingenious fold-out shoulder-mount system. Though this does not balance the camera on the shoulder like a conventional full size shoulder-mounted camcorder, it is more akin to that of a shoulder support system hence the EX3 is somewhat front-heavy during hand-held/shoulder use. Not too dissimilar to that of Canon’s XL H1.

The EX3 is not available body only, it comes with a standard lens similar to that found on the EX1. However, Fujinon are also bringing out a dedicated EX3 wide-angle lens.

It could be argued that the EX3 is what the EX1 should have been, but this is not the case. The EX3 is aimed at a different market altogether. Corporate video producers and wedding videographers will be more than happy with the built in lens of the EX1, and its focal range capabilities. Hence they could put that money they save to buying a tripod and lighting kit etc. Independent filmmakers and wildlife videographers will prefer the EX3 and its interchangeable lens options, especially with 35mm adapters from the likes of Letus for example (whom I’ve been informed are making an adapter to fit directly into the EX3’s body), allowing the use of 35mm stills lenses for that film depth-of-field film-look. Wildlife videographers, on the other hand, will appreciate being able to fit telephoto lenses to film that far away leopard for example. EX1 is not redundant or deleted, far from it. EX3 is a different camcorder altogether, not a replacement. Think BMW 3-series and BMW 5-series, different size cars for different people's requirements. The EX3 is an addition to the EX family; expect a smaller (A1 size) camcorder to appear too. And finally, why EX3 and not EX2? simple, Sony don't do even numbers.

Other features over the EX1 include BNC timecode in/out, Genlock and remote lens socket for studio operation as it controls many features of the lens such as exposure and white balance etc. The rear end of the EX3 looks much more professional than the rather flat/bland back end of the EX1. The EX3 now has some new professional BNC type connectors, while other connectors have been moved to the side of the camera. On the right side of the EX3 we now have a composite BNC output, a phono out, and an S-video connector. This makes the EX3 the most versatile HD camcorder in its class.

The on/off switch is the same as on the, still very fiddly and it is hard to nock it into media mode when turning the camera off, but you do get used to it. Same for the ND filter switch, which is just as imprecise as before making it difficult to select NDs number 1 (middle position). Shame they weren’t improved upon for the EX3.

The SxS card slot is slightly different now as it opens in a slightly different way, there is also a 'gutter' at the top to allow the cable to run out when using the new PHU-60K 60GB hard drive, which attaches to the camera via the back (slot B) SxS slot instead of the unreliable FireWire method. EX1 owners will know there is no gutter for the cable, so I'd recommend putting the lead into the back slot (slot B) and closing the sliding door back until it buts up against it, at least this will leave majority of the internals protected from the elements as slot A will be protected by the sliding door, and slot B will be protected by the inserted card/end of the lead. Finally, a small plastic cover now covers the audio pots so you won't accidently move them anymore.

The recommended retail price of the EX3 will be £5995 inc. vat. This is approximately £1500 more than the EX1.

The PMW-EX3 is due to ship in July at a retail price of £5995.

PMW-EX30 XDCAM EX SxS Card Deck

Sony have also added a professional deck to the XDCAM EX family of products. The PHU-60K is a full size professional deck with two slots on the front for SxS cards. Unlike the EX1 and EX3 camcorders, the PHU-60K deck has a built-in DV down-convert feature. This means your high-definition footage can be converted to standard-definition directly from the deck and into your edit suite via FireWire. When using USB2 the deck acts as a card reader/writer.

In operation mode the EX30 is not too dissimilar to the EX1 or EX3 camcorders in the way it works e.g. thumbnail menu system. This deck also has an input so it can also record, from an HD/SDI source camera for example or Edicast HD recording. You can also dump clips from one card to another. The LCD display is 3.5 inches. Power is by means of DC operation, which means that it can be powered using V-lock batteries using a Hawk-Woods adapter. Other features include a HD/SDI input, which will be useful for in-car or helicopter recording. This can also be used to feed a non-linear system. The deck also has an HDMI output, useful for hooking up directly to your HD LCD television set.

To open a high-resolution 1920 pixel version of the photo below in a separate window, simply click on it.

The PMW-EX30 is due to ship in July priced at £3000

PHU-60K SxS Professional 60GB HardDisc Recorder
Although Sony has 8 and 16GB SxS cards, and the new 32GB card, there is still a need for a device that allows longer, continuous recording times. Sony has recognised this fact, so they are adding yet another device to the XDCAM EX family of products, by means of a new professional hard-disc recorder. This hard-drive recording device can also be used to back up your SxS cards in the field without the need for a laptop. The capacity of the PHU-60K is 60GB; hence the name. The key difference between this device and other similar hard-drive recorders is that PHU-60K connects directly to the EX1 or EX3 camcorders via an SxS lead i.e. the lead comes directly out of the PHU-60K and directly into one of the SxS slots on the camcorder. This is far superior to the somewhat unreliable FireWire method (the FireWire lead can easily be pulled out accidentally during recording. FireWire is an IT connection method and in my opinion is not suitable for use in the field when connected to camcorders) used on other similar devices. The recording capacity of the PHU-60K is 200 minutes at full 1920x1080 HD 35mbps quality, or 260 minutes at 25mbps. These long recording times now put professional HD solid-state broadcast quality recording into the hands of even wedding videographers; not that anyone would want to broadcast a wedding. Long recording durations will also come in handy for those long drawn-out corporate speeches; yawn. Having said that, the hard drive should have been much bigger in my opinion i.e. 500GB as two 32GB cards will give you 64GB anyway, which is bigger; come on Sony.

When attached to a camcorder, the hard-disk unit functions just like an SxS PRO™ card, with thumbnail views available on the LCD panel of the PMW-EX1 or PMW-EX3 camcorders or PMW-EX30 deck. A new “dumping” system is being used to protect the HDD from a 1.5m height drop, and buffer memory is being used to allow recording immediately after powering on. Also, a salvage function enables restoration of content damaged by battery/cable disconnection or accidental powering down during recording.

A 3-D G sensor and the buffer memory allow for stable recording. When the G sensor detects that the unit is being dropped, the head of the HDD is immediately parked to protect the HDD. The content is temporarily stored in the buffer memory and then restored in the HDD when it is operating again.

Another useful feature is the ability to transfer footage directly from SxS cards to the PHU-60K. This is done by simply inserting a card into one slot and the PHU-60K into the other slot and doing an internal copy from A to B. Again, this makes fieldwork a breeze when it comes to archiving as there is no need for a laptop.

To open a high-resolution 1920 pixel version of the photo below in a separate window, simply click on it.

The PHU-60K can also be used as a stand alone hard-drive with your laptop or other computer editing system via the USB 2.0 interface. So it is possible to edit your productions directly from the PHU-60K. Also, when using the U30 (smallest battery) you can achieve 10 hours of operation. The PHU-60K mounts directly onto the back of the camera using the included bracketery.

The PHU-60K is due to ship in July for £750

SPB-32 32GB SxS card
Sony have also announced a 32GB SxS card to complement the currently available 8GB and 16GB cards. The 32GB card will store 100 minutes of full 1920x1080 high-definition footage recorded at the highest quality of 35mbps and 140 minutes of 1440x1080 video at 25Mbps. Two 32 GB SxS cards will give you a constant recording time of 4 hours in full 1920x1080 35mbps high quality HD mode. This is more than what most of us will ever need for an entire day’s shooting.

The SPB-32 is due to ship in September. Price to be announced.

Clip Browser version 2
The current version of Clip Browser (1.1) does a perfectly good job, but the new version 2 has some phenomenal new features. The Clip Browser software will allow you to bring clips in to your edit system directly from the EX1 and EX3 camcorders, the PMW-EX30 deck, the PHU-60K hard-disc recorder, and of course Sony’s USB SxS card reader. You can also add meta-data in abundance. The new version 2 also has the ability to down-convert to standard definition within the software; a useful feature for those who don’t want to buy the PMW-EX30 deck. You can also “right click” and choose export to MXF, or export to DV. Version 2 of the Clip Browser software is available for both Mac and PC and will be available as a free download from the Sonybiz.net website when it becomes available later in 2008.

Clip Browser version 2 also allows direct import into AVID systems at full 35mbps in MXF format, something currently not available natively with AVID systems. Sony are also working with software plug-in company Main Concept, who are building some additional functionality for Clip Browser version 2. One such function will be the ability to take your 35mbps HD footage and using the Main Concept option you will be able to up-convert it to 50mbps in 4:2:2 colour space directly onto XDCAM HD Professional Optical Disc using the PDW-U1 USB Disc reader/writer. This is kind of a ‘transcoding’ process.

Another function of the Main Concept plug-in will allow you to take any clip from the Clip Browser and to export it as Windows Media, Apple QuickTime, PSP file, iPod file, and even YouTube files. This is a great way of saving video files for multi-media web purposes. No more need to learn the art of compression for the web; nice!

So, native SxS HD footage, DV out, AVID out, Transcode out, and a bunch of web/internet output options too.

Clip Browser version 2 will be available in June as a free download from the Sonybiz.net website. Also the additional option modules from Main Concept will be available at the same time, but they will not be available from the Sony website, they will be a purchasable option from the Main Concept website.

Blu-Ray

Using Blu-Ray discs, it is easy to archive/back up the SxS MP4 files. In Clip Browser version 2, it is simply a case of dragging the native MP4 HD video files directly onto a Blu-Ray disc. Or if you are using Adobe Premiere, you can author a native HD DVD using Encore, then export it directly to Blu-Ray DVD for a native HD Blu-Ray DVD disc in full 35mbps.

XDCAM HD Professional Optical Disc
If you own a PDW-U1 USB Optical Disc reader/writer, you will soon have some really super cool, and I do mean ‘SUPERCOOL’ writing options; Panasonic P2 users and Digital Stills Photographers read on. When the write capability is added to the U1 (imminently) it will be for standard XDCAM HD formats only i.e. 1440x1080 35mbps 4:2:0 and 1920x1080 50mbps 4:2:2. However, get ready for the supercool bit, later in 2008 Sony are going to release a further free firmware update for the U1 Optical Disc reader/writer that will allow you to back up and archive absolutely any type of file or folder your heart desires i.e. just like a conventional hard-drive or blank Blu-Ray disc. This is brilliant news not only for Sony XDCAM owner/users, who can store their native XDCAM HD and XDCAM EX MP4 files, but it is also brilliant news for Panasonic P2 owner/users, or anyone else who needs a cheap and reliable long-term back-up/archive solution. P2 owners for example can buy a PDW-U1 for £1595 and a bunch of blank 23GB or 50GB XDCAM HD Optical Discs from either Sony, TDK, Fuji or Maxell for approximately £15 each for the 23GB discs or £35 for the 50GB discs. You can then go ahead and drag/drop your P2 MXF HD video files directly onto Professional Optical Disc for safe future archiving (Sony’s Professional Optical Disc has a 50 year shelf life). Digital stills photographers can also use this method for archiving their digital photos, RAW, JPEG, or otherwise. This is a superior (and much safer) archiving solution than the somewhat questionable and risky use of standard computer hard-drives, which we all know can give up the ghost and die without notice.

Current XDCAM HD owner/users will already know that blank XDCAM discs have an allocated file space of 500MB. This 500MB (as you know) can be used for relevant production files such as Word scripts, photos, Photoshop files and other relevant files. Sony are basically bringing out a firmware update that will allow the entire disc to be mapped this way; as opposed to just 500MB, which is currently the case. To format the disc this way simply insert it into the U1 and it will be formatted automatically in a few seconds, just like the current formatting method when inserting a blank disc into an XDCAM HD camcorder.

So there it is, Sony has well and truly hit the professional solid-state HD market with a vengeance, making more noise than a Rhino in a glass Green House. The XDCAM EX range is now a true family of products consisting of two camcorders, a deck, an SxS USB card reader, 3 different capacity SxS cards in 8, 16 and 32GB, an SxS Hard Disc recording unit, superb free Clip Browser/Transfer software, and the U1 Optical Disc reader/writer for archiving. And it will only grow and get bigger from here.

JVC INTRODUCES NEW GY-HD200UB ProHD CAMCORDER PROVIDES DUAL LIVE 720p AND 1080i IEEE 1394 STREAMS

Las Vegas, NV (April 14, 2008) – JVC Professional Products Company further expands its reach in the professional HD marketplace by introducing the new 720p and 1080i signal selectable GY-HD200UB ProHD camcorder. Since the introduction of the ProHD professional high definition system at NAB in 2004, JVC has continued to provide advancements in product technology and production efficiency.

The new GYHD200UB ProHD Professional HD camcorder provides selectable live transport stream output capability of either 1080 60i and 50i signals or 720 24p, 25p, 30p, 50p and 60p through the IEEE 1394 connection. The selected IEEE 1394 output signal can also be recorded into the ProHD DR-HD100 Hard Disk Recorder as either .m2t or .mov QuickTime™ files.

“The dual 720p and 1080i live transport stream capability of the new GY-HD200UB provides unmatched flexibility and efficiency in a professional shoulder mount HD camcorder,” states Craig Yanagi, National Marketing Manager, Creation Products, JVC Professional Products Company. “Combined with the DR-HD100 Hard Disk Recorder with Native File Recording capability, the GY-HD200UB camera system becomes the fastest and most efficient ‘shoot-to-edit’ professional HD camera system in the industry.”

The GY-HD200UB also offers full-frame 1280 x 720 progressive imaging and 720p recording as well as a 14bit A/D converter and a 14.4v power system standard. The selectable 60p and 60i acquisition capability of the GY-HD200UB is ideal for HD news and sports acquisition, while filmmakers and HD dramatic productions will appreciate the native progressive image capture and the “overcranked” recording for superb slow motion images during 24p final output.

JVC’s renowned line of ProHD cameras have been used in many television and film productions including America’s Most Wanted, 24, and The Inconvenient Truth, and by organizations such as The Miami Dolphins, Raycom Media, Scripps Television Station Group, and Waterman Broadcasting.

The GY-HD200UB is immediately available with a suggested list price of $5,995, including 16:1 Fujinon lens and Anton-Bauer battery system. A camcorder head only version, the GY-HD200CHUB is available for $5,695. For more information about JVC’s GY-HD200UB and other ProHD cameras, please visit JVC’s Web site at http://pro.jvc.com.

RED SCARLET

The Red Scarlet with some handles,
a mount, and an LCD attached.

Today at NAB, Red Digital Cinema showcased the long-awaited Scarlet, a compact model capable of shooting 3K video for under $3,000. Film and video enthusiasts flooded the show floor, clawing to catch a glimpse of the Scarlet's rectangular upright body and unconventional architecture. The Scarlet is equipped with a new 2/3-inch Mysterium sensor and supports 1-120fps with a 180fps burst mode. The Scarlet can capture video up to 100Mbps in REDCODE Raw format and RGB recording to dual compact flash.

"Considering the performance and the price of Scarlet, it's going to have a huge range of customers, from the soccer moms to the indie filmmakers," stated Ted Schilowitz, Leader of the Rebellion at Red Digital Cinema.

Red's latest compact addition has a 4.8-inch LCD screen, 8x optical zoom lens, and full Auto or Manual shooting modes. The Scarlet's connectivity includes HDMI, HD-SDI, FireWire 800, and USB 2.0. Many of the accessories from the Red One are compatible with the Scarlet.


On the higher end, Red also debuted the Epic camera (estimated at $40,000), capable of shooting in 5K video and equipped with a full frame S35mm new Mysterium X sensor. The Epic can shoot in 1-100fps and can support up to 100Mbps transfer in REDCODE RAW and RGB recording. The Epic has a full-size dual link HD-SDI interface, 2 XLR jacks, HDMI, Wi-Fi control, FireWire 800, and USB2. The Epic features a fully upgradable sensor, body, boards, and mount. The machined aluminum body weighs 6 pounds and is compatible with most Red One accessories.
The new Epic camera is significantly more expensive than the original Red One. The Red One debuted at NAB 2006, making waves with its 24.4mm x 13.7mm (Super35mm) 12-Megapixel Mysterium Image sensor with a gross pixel count of 4900 x 2580. The Red One shoots in 4K RGB (4:4:4), 3K RGB, 2K RGB, 1920 x 1080 progressive (RGB or 4:2:2), and 1280 x 720 (RGB or 4:2:2). The Red One is can also shoot in the following frame rates: 23.98, 25, 29.97, and 30fps (4K), 50, 59.94, and 60fps (3K, windowed), and 75 and 120fps (2K, windowed). Video preview can be attained via HD-SDI and HDMI at 1280 x 720 progressive with a 4:2:2 color space. The Red One utilizes the REDCODE codec and stores files as 12 bit 4K, 3K, and 2K RAW files. Connectivity on the Red One includes of FireWire 800/400, USB-2, e-SATA, and 2 XLR channels.

Interview with Ted Schilowitz, Leader of the Rebellion
Shooters can customize the Red One to whatever size, media, lens, and power options they want, whether shooting a feature film with full Rail system or stripping the features down for a more compact, handheld approach. The Red One ships as a bare bones camera unit, allowing shooters to add lenses, media, monitors, and housing systems. The $6,500 Red T3 Zoom lens can be added to the Red One, in addition to the Red-Rail system, designed to house the Red One using a series of steel rods and cradles. Red also offers an EVF and LCD for onboard monitoring. A number of Red storage solutions are available, including the 320GB HDD Red Drive, The 64GB Red Ram solid state Flash drive, which holds between 30 and 40 minutes of 4K video, and the Red CompactFlash drive, compatible with CF cards.


The Red Scarlet, stripped to its bare essentials

By contrast, the Red Scarlet is a complete camcorder system, with lens, processor, and recording medium (CF card). For more capacity, shooters can mount a hard disk drive or connect directly to a computer. Red Digital Cinema was not able to answer every question about the Scarlet. For instance, Schilowitz could provide no information on the battery. The workflow for video from the Scarlet could be similar to Red One's files, but that could not be verified. As with the Red One at NAB 2006, there was no working model of the Scarlet - merely a mock-up in a glass case.

The Red Scarlet is scheduled for a release early next year. The price point could only be confirmed as under $3000. And just so would-be owners of the Scarlet receive fair warning, the brochure handed out at the Red Digital Cinema booth states: "Sepcifications, delivery dates and design are subject to change... count on it."

Canon renova série XL

UPDATE: We had a chance to sit down with Mike Zorich, Marketing Director of the Video Division of Consumer Imaging Group at Canon USA. We asked him some of our questions, as well as some your questions. In the interview Canon hints at its own HD codec in the future.

Commenter Mark Williams asked why the new Canon XL H1S and XL H1A did not offer an HDMI jack. Zorich responded, “The answer is pretty simple. [The new camcorders] are just a spin off of the XL H1. To include an HDMI would have meant a complete overhaul of the circuit control in the camera. Canon was not able to make a change of this magnitude…. I think you’ll see that in future products from Canon.”

The second comment came from Blairness, who liked the new lens, but would have liked to see a non-perpetual zoom ring with a “little knob” like the Sony HVR-Z1. Zorich: “He’s absolutely right. What Canon is working to do is make advancements in the servo lens. That’s why all the [development] has been on the inside and not the outside. It’s not to say that we won’t have a mechanical lens in the future, but we’re working to make refinements to the [servo] lens.”

In regards to Canon releasing yet another tape-based series of camcorders, Zorich responded that more than fifty percent of acquisition is currently done on tape. Canon is very aware of the trend in tapeless media, but is taking the time to research the market carefully.

When we asked if Canon’s use of AVCHD in the consumer range would be a factor in its development of pro platforms, the responses became very interesting. Zorich confirmed that that would be a factor, but did not go as far to say that Canon would definitely be pursuing the AVCHD path. He continued, “Red [Digital Cinema] created their own codec. No one took them seriously two years ago, and now they’re competing in the marketplace.”

The possibility of a new HD codec from Canon is indeed tantalizing, though no further details were discussed. The competition between Panasonic’s AVC variants and Sony’s XDCAM EX recently intensified with several products announcements at this year’s NAB. A third option in this market (sub-$20K camcorder systems) could have interesting repercussions.

When asked what the challenges of developing a new codec, Zorich responded that, “It has to work out of the gate. The professional community would never accept a camcorder coming to market that does not have an immediate editing solution.”

Given that fact that NLE developers require at least a year’s lead time in order to develop compatibility, it’s possible that Canon is underway with such a development at this moment.

~
April 10, 1008 - Canon announced two new professional camcorders today, just days before the start of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, NV. The XL H1S and XL H1A will replace the original XL H1 (review), released in 2005. These shoulder-mounted camcorders work as a two-tiered set of options. The XL H1S retails for $8999 and includes a “pro jack pack” of HD-SDI, Time Code, and Genlock ports. The XL H1A retails for $5999 and omits the jack pack. While the sensors and processor have remained the same since the original XL H1, the new camcorders include significant software upgrades and a new 20x lens. (View photo gallery and comparison chart)

While Panasonic and Sony have been aggressively pursuing non-tape workflows for the sub-$10K range of camcorders, Canon is sticking with tape and with the HDV format for the time being. “There is still a very large market for tape… wedding and event shooters, specifically, are still requiring tape. Film schools are typically still requiring tape,” stated Mitch Glick, Product Marketing Manager Consumer Division at Canon U.S.A. "Not to say that we won't be there [in non-tape] in the future."

Physically, there is very little difference between the original XL H1 and the new XL H1A and XL H1S. Most of the changes are internal and software based. For instance, the white balance adjustment has been extended from 2800K – 12000K to a new range of 2000K – 15000K. The gain range has been increased from +18dB to a new high of +36dB, and the increments have been refined to 1/2dB in the 0db-18dB range. The color parameter options have increased their range of settings from +/-9 to a finer scale of +/-50.

“These two products represent a lot of feedback that we received from pro consumers,” stated Glick. “What we tried to do here is take the XL H1 and refine it to give them an enhanced level over the control and the operation.”

If these upgrades sound familiar to Canon fans, they should. Much of the new functionality has been carried over from the Canon XH A1 (Specs, Recent News, $3094.99) and XH G1, the hand-held camcorders that were released about nine months after the XL H1. Though the A1 and G1 were smaller and cheaper than the H1, the degree to which a shooter could control image quality from within the camcorder was far more advanced.

Though this expanded set of parameters is useful, the new camcorders are clearly not a major upgrade from the older XL H1. Rather, it seems that Canon is taking a popular but expensive product and broadening it out reach a wider user base. “Many users expressed a desire for a lower cost version of the XL H1, one that did not have HD-SDI, SMPTE Time Code, and Genlock because they weren’t doing multi-camera.” It may be added, presumably, that said users also require a shoulder-mounted camera and are not content with the handheld XH A1.

In the simplest terms, the XL H1S is the true replacement for the XL H1, and the XL H1A is a cheaper offshoot. The H1S includes an HD-SDI/SD-SDI output (with embedded audio and time code), individual SMPTE Time Code in and out ports, and a Genlock output port. This same feature differentiation separates the handheld XH G1 (includes pro jack pack) from the XH A1 (does not include pro jack pack). The money saved by not choosing the pro jack pack in either the XL or the XH series is about $3000.

The new 20x HD lens has an added iris ring


The most significant addition to the new camcorders is the 20x HD lens. The zoom power has not changed since its previous incarnation, but there is some increase in functionality. In addition to the zoom, focus, and ND filter rings, a new iris ring has been added. The rings are further apart and each is textured differently to aid in on-the-go shooting. The responsiveness and rotation angle of the focus and zoom rings can be adjusted in the menu. You can manually focus while you zoom at the same time, which you could not do with the older lens. The fastest zoom speed has been increased to 1.5 seconds and the slowest has been decreased to 5 minutes, (originally 3.5 seconds to 1 minute). The iris ring can be controlled in 1/16th stop increments (up from 1/4 stops). The new lens will not be available for separate purchase. It will fit and work with older XH H1’s, but the enhanced software interface will not be accessible.

The upgraded models incorporated several small changes that might not be as obvious upon first glance. The FireWire port has been changed from a 4-pin to a 6-pin type and the headphone jack was changed from plastic to metal, both to increase durability. The black & white viewfinder terminal can now double as an external monitor-out port (via an included proprietary cable). The hand strap was made larger. The tripod base is larger to accommodate bigger screws. The positions of the settings on the mode dial have changed – the first setting after “Off “ is Manual mode rather than Auto mode.

The audio feature set has undergone some serious changes, for better or for worse. The biggest alteration is the reduction from 4-channel to 2-channel recording. “For most users, four-channel audio wasn’t something they were able to utilize through their edit suites, so it didn’t make sense to keep that,” Glick explained. The new camcorders do, however, now allow the ability to simultaneously record from the front microphone and the XLR terminal. The sensitivity settings of the XLR inputs have changed. The range of reference tones has been increased, as well.

The XL H1S retails for $8999 (MSRP) and is expected to ship in early June. The XL H1A sells for $5999 (MSRP) and will ship in mid-July. Older XL H1’s will continue to be sold for the next several months, and Canon will continue to offer operational support