Announcement: Canon XC10, A Breakthrough Compact 4K Video and Stills Camcorder

[CarlMillerPhoto]

It's like Canon created a beautiful painting on canvas, and then vomited all over it at the very end. There's so much to love: CFast, high bitrate, 4:2:2 internal, built in ND, great form factor w/ hand grip and magnify button right there, assignable buttons, etc. It's really borrowed a lot from the Cinema line. But a FIXED LENS ON a 1" SENSOR?!?!?! AND FOR $1000 more than a GH4? Um, no. Hardly any reason to pick this up over a LX100 or even a GoPro, much less a GH4 - it has zero versatility.

All Canon had to do was put an APS-C sensor behind a normal EOS mount. Even an M mount. Why didn't they? That would've made this guy VERY attractive, and even cut down on production costs from not needing to make a lens for each one. O ya, they didn't because they're only concerned about protecting their higher end offerings. Ugh. I'm just frustrated because I am bought into Canon lenses. I want native compatibility w/ my bodies. Although, the GH4 w/metabones is such a solid, amazing workhorse.

It's clear Canon still isn't willing to compete with Sony and Panasonic in the sub $10,000 market.

 

[coldsweat]

What a totally wasted opportunity for a game changing camera release. Super 35 sensor and interchangeable lens s and this would have been a gem.

Wouldn't it then be the C100??

 

[CarlMillerPhoto]

What a totally wasted opportunity for a game changing camera release. Super 35 sensor and interchangeable lens s and this would have been a gem.

Wouldn't it then be the C100??

No viewfinder. no professional audio/XLR inputs, no DPAF = not C100.

 

[bsbeamer]

Just received the B&H Announcement - $2499:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1134581-REG/canon_0565c013_xc10.html

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

What a totally wasted opportunity for a game changing camera release. Super 35 sensor and interchangeable lens s and this would have been a gem.

it's not bad but it seems a little bit bungled in the end, but what you mention above, now that would've been something
or getting it into a DSLR at decent quality

stuck with a fixed lens is annoying, 1" isn't amazing, maybe still OK, but for this price and that it certainly needed stuff like 10bits out

it will get some sales

but it's too bad they never go for broke, they could dominate so many markets instantly, utterly dominate, but they prefer to be very conservative, and sit back and milk and protect this and that, rather than just charging forward

 

[Tugela]

Is anyone surprised at the lack of dual pixel autofocus? Is that not something people want? Especially "budding" perhaps "run and gun," shooters. Overall I think this is a decent first gen product that needs to be priced under 2 grand to compete with a gh4.

I would guess that the sensor is made by someone else. Sony perhaps? The 1 inch form is suspiciously close to the sensor in the AX/RX Sony cameras, and the lack of DPAF would be consistent with that. The camera appears to be essentially an AX100 in a different form factor with more current storage options.

 

[Tugela]

Looks like nice video camera. Only problem is it does not have constant aperture so important in video. It has f2.8-5.6. I would like it to be for example constant f3.5 if they could not make it f2.8 all the way. And looks like it has no RAW format for stills?

Yes, I saw that for stills they are JPGs.

The "stills" will be like the stills recorded by your typical camcorder, essentially frame grabs from the video stream. That is not to say that such things are bad, at 4K frame grabs are pretty decent for many applications, particularly web based ones where high resolution is not critical.

 

[JoeDavid]

I just noticed that B&H is listing the XC10 for $2495. For that you could buy three of these:

http://shop.panasonic.com/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/lumix-point-and-shoot-cameras/DMC-FZ1000.html#srule=popularity&start=1&cgid=lumix-point-and-shoot-cameras

I think the Canon would be much better 4K video camera but still...

 

[unfocused]

...I'm amazed (and amazed that I'm still amazed) that when people whine for something (e.g. 4k recording) and it's provided, they swap to whining about something else. The same happened with the 5Ds/r on stills resolution. People want more of everything - but you're not going to get a one-size-fits-all world-beating product that's also cheap.

Yes. I actually find this quite intriguing. If the video side of my work picks up, I could see adding this at some point. Fixed lens doesn't bother me, as the range is more than sufficient for the video work that I plan on doing. I'm impressed that Canon is including an eye-level viewfinder. I'm not bothered that the stills are jpg-only, as I would only use the still function in an emergency.

Honestly, I'm not all that excited about 4K, as it won't impact most of what I do. But, if that's the future, it's nice to have it as an option.

Overall, I think it's a nice package and would expect that in a year or so, the price will drop below $2,000.

 

[mackguyver]

Canon is targeting news gatherers who need video and decent stills for today's multimedia reporting. DPReview has a good write up about this:
Opinion: Why the Canon XC10 is a big deal

 

[drjlo]

I'm amazed (and amazed that I'm still amazed) that when people whine for something (e.g. 4k recording) and it's provided, they swap to whining about something else. The same happened with the 5Ds/r on stills resolution. People want more of everything - but you're not going to get a one-size-fits-all world-beating product that's also cheap.

Well, playing Devil's advocate, the Main complaint is not that people want one-size-fits-all products; it's just that the other companies are offering much better performance+features to price ratio than Canon.

 

[unfocused]

I'm amazed (and amazed that I'm still amazed) that when people whine for something (e.g. 4k recording) and it's provided, they swap to whining about something else. The same happened with the 5Ds/r on stills resolution. People want more of everything - but you're not going to get a one-size-fits-all world-beating product that's also cheap.

Well, playing Devil's advocate, the Main complaint is not that people want one-size-fits-all products; it's just that the other companies are offering much better performance+features to price ratio than Canon.

Except they're not.

If you look only at spec sheets and then cherry-pick certain features, the competitors may seem to offer better features, but time after time, Canon delivers where it counts – in the marketplace.

Buyers are just as capable of comparing specs as are internet commenters. The difference is that buyers have to back their opinion up with cash. And, when it comes down to actually spending money on a product, Canon usually wins.

That's because Canon does something better than any of its competitors – it analyzes the market and develops products that are actually wanted by their target market. I expect this will be true of the XC10 as well – the target market will buy and use this product and it will make money for Canon.

 

[mackguyver]

I'm amazed (and amazed that I'm still amazed) that when people whine for something (e.g. 4k recording) and it's provided, they swap to whining about something else. The same happened with the 5Ds/r on stills resolution. People want more of everything - but you're not going to get a one-size-fits-all world-beating product that's also cheap.

Well, playing Devil's advocate, the Main complaint is not that people want one-size-fits-all products; it's just that the other companies are offering much better performance+features to price ratio than Canon.

Except they're not.

If you look only at spec sheets and then cherry-pick certain features, the competitors may seem to offer better features, but time after time, Canon delivers where it counts – in the marketplace.

Buyers are just as capable of comparing specs as are internet commenters. The difference is that buyers have to back their opinion up with cash. And, when it comes down to actually spending money on a product, Canon usually wins.

That's because Canon does something better than any of its competitors – it analyzes the market and develops products that are actually wanted by their target market. I expect this will be true of the XC10 as well – the target market will buy and use this product and it will make money for Canon.

Well put and specmanship doesn't matter much when the sum of the specs equals a greater product. I'd take a Canon or Nikon any day over their competitors simply based on the user interface alone. Have any of you tried to use a Sony or Panasonic? Try doing things like enabling burst mode, flash exposure compensation or the like. You have to dive through endless menus and if things conflict, like burst mode and flash use do, good luck trying to figure that out. And that's just one aspect...I could go on an on for hours.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

I'm amazed (and amazed that I'm still amazed) that when people whine for something (e.g. 4k recording) and it's provided, they swap to whining about something else. The same happened with the 5Ds/r on stills resolution. People want more of everything - but you're not going to get a one-size-fits-all world-beating product that's also cheap.

Well, playing Devil's advocate, the Main complaint is not that people want one-size-fits-all products; it's just that the other companies are offering much better performance+features to price ratio than Canon.

Except they're not.

If you look only at spec sheets and then cherry-pick certain features, the competitors may seem to offer better features, but time after time, Canon delivers where it counts – in the marketplace.

Buyers are just as capable of comparing specs as are internet commenters. The difference is that buyers have to back their opinion up with cash. And, when it comes down to actually spending money on a product, Canon usually wins.

Canon has taken a total beating in the video marketplace for consumer camera and camcorder video. Canon has not been winning those sales since the 5D2.

 

[jblake]

Just received the B&H Announcement - $2499:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1134581-REG/canon_0565c013_xc10.html

I do not know how well this camera will compete against the GH4, the initial cost will be a LOT more than $2500 USD. 4K at 305 Mb/s will require a 256 MB CFast card, I think you would get around an hour or so of video time. B&H has the Lexar - Professional 256GB 3400x CFast 2.0 Memory Card for $989.95, making this XC10 camcorder come in at $3500 before you can go out an start shooting video.

 

[Tugela]

I'm amazed (and amazed that I'm still amazed) that when people whine for something (e.g. 4k recording) and it's provided, they swap to whining about something else. The same happened with the 5Ds/r on stills resolution. People want more of everything - but you're not going to get a one-size-fits-all world-beating product that's also cheap.

Well, playing Devil's advocate, the Main complaint is not that people want one-size-fits-all products; it's just that the other companies are offering much better performance+features to price ratio than Canon.

Except they're not.

If you look only at spec sheets and then cherry-pick certain features, the competitors may seem to offer better features, but time after time, Canon delivers where it counts – in the marketplace.

Buyers are just as capable of comparing specs as are internet commenters. The difference is that buyers have to back their opinion up with cash. And, when it comes down to actually spending money on a product, Canon usually wins.

That's because Canon does something better than any of its competitors – it analyzes the market and develops products that are actually wanted by their target market. I expect this will be true of the XC10 as well – the target market will buy and use this product and it will make money for Canon.

Not really. This camera will fit into the G30/XA20/25 niche, and that is a declining market according to Canon. They have not addressed where that market segment is going with this camera.

 

[Diltiazem]

Just received the B&H Announcement - $2499:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1134581-REG/canon_0565c013_xc10.html

I do not know how well this camera will compete against the GH4, the initial cost will be a LOT more than $2500 USD. 4K at 305 Mb/s will require a 256 MB CFast card, I think you would get around an hour or so of video time. B&H has the Lexar - Professional 256GB 3400x CFast 2.0 Memory Card for $989.95, making this XC10 camcorder come in at $3500 before you can go out an start shooting video.

From press release (taken from DPR)
"The Canon XC10 4K Digital Camcorder is scheduled to be available in June 2015 for an estimated retail price of $2,499.00 with SanDisk 64GB CFast™ 2.0 card and card reader."

 

[jblake]

Just received the B&H Announcement - $2499:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1134581-REG/canon_0565c013_xc10.html

I do not know how well this camera will compete against the GH4, the initial cost will be a LOT more than $2500 USD. 4K at 305 Mb/s will require a 256 MB CFast card, I think you would get around an hour or so of video time. B&H has the Lexar - Professional 256GB 3400x CFast 2.0 Memory Card for $989.95, making this XC10 camcorder come in at $3500 before you can go out an start shooting video.

From press release (taken from DPR)
"The Canon XC10 4K Digital Camcorder is scheduled to be available in June 2015 for an estimated retail price of $2,499.00 with SanDisk 64GB CFast™ 2.0 card and card reader."

A 64 GB card is not going to allow someone to shoot very much 4K video at 305 Mb/s. You will realistically need 256 MB to 512 MB worth of CFast memory to make it worth your time to leave the house to go on a shoot. Not sure what your point is here.

 

[that1guyy]

Give it an APS-C or full frame sensor and an EF mount and I'll buy it.

 

[RobD]

The Canon "see impossible" campaign was a joke, and this is the punch line. Leading photographers and videographers alike are leaving Canon en mass, and when the guys at the top of their profession jump ship, you know others will follow. The 5D IV had better be some kind of miracle or the exodus will be brutal.