Canon XA10

Canon's XA10 is the state of the art low-end design in Canon’s premium camcorder lineup. With full 1920 x 1080 HD video capture, plus dual phantom-power XLR inputs, the Canon XA10 will be a a camera to be reckoned with. My first impression of the XA10 is that it is essentially a pro edition of the Canon VXIA HF G10, which in it's own right is an outstanding hd camera. With it's own carry handle, XLR inputs and other great features, the XA10 is going to get you drooling over features that are difficult to get else where in a package this small.The Canon XA10 is designed around the state of the art 1/3-inch CMOS sensor, which offers a genuine 1920 x 1080 resolution, this will prevent the noise that has found it's way into prior sensors. The Canon is powered by a DIGIC DV III image processor. The XA10 records AVCHD video up to 24Mbps and 4:2:0 color space. This results in the XA10 being able to grab High def video in a selection of frame rates, ranging from 24 and 30p variations of 60i, the 24p being real deal. A big part of this package is the 10x Zoom HD lens which has a 35mm equivalent range of 30.4-304mm zoom. It features an 8-blade iris, which should produce smoother bokeh as well as minimize diffraction.The in-built stereo microphone has a bunch of audio possibilities, among them the ability to incorporate the mike directionality and also optical zoom. Moreover, the audio processing makes it possible for the Canon to activate a built-in low pass filter, or place particular focus on lows, mids or highs. These features could well be bundled by means of the menu for smart control of the audio pickup.Additional features of note: The XLR inputs located on the handle are manualy operated, whilst on top of the camera is a zoom and record start/stop controls. At the same time on the front of the carry handle is an infra-red light and a tally lamp. The infra-red light is a really handy feature for anyone needing to record in complete darkness. The XA10 also comes with the option to remove the infrared filter from the optical path. When in total darknes the infra-red emitter on the carry handle is undetectable to the human eye, nevertheless it provides adequate lighting to record video where different cameras might only display a black screen.The manual lens ring appears to operate rather effectively and its straightforward when called up on. Moreover, for all those looking at prosumer camera, you will be glad to learn the new VIXIA G10, M40, M41 and M400 don the manual lens ring.Complete control over exposure is available by using a customizable key and dial function. By using manual mode, your able to use the dial to regulate the iris, gain or shutter. It’s not quite as accessible as higher-end models, yet the control is there. Other kinds of expert features include things like Focus Assist, which offers a 2x magnification for keying in in critical focus, as well as an alternative for 70% or 100% zebras to aid in dialing in highlights. Bars and tone can also be found in the menu systems with -12dB, -18dB or -20dB tones available.The XA10 offers a 64GB built in flash drive (another step up from the G10's 32GB internal storage) and also double SDXC card slots. Add in a pair of SDXC cards and this gives you around192GB of hard drive in your camera. Canon recommend a Class 4 or higher SDHC or SDXC card to capture 24Mbps or 17Mbps footage . SanDisk produce a 64GB card which is a viable option.64GB is more than enough for anyone's needs.. So the built-in storage space including a 2 SD cards will get you 18 hours of High def video at 24Mbps, particularly good when you consider the storage space take up.In a nutshell, the Canon XA10 appears to be a sure winner. There is a lot of excitement and anticipation for this camera. Even though it’s not quite as “pro” as other camcorders in Canon’s lineup, it still impresses with its size, and features.