<b>before you read on..this bulletin is aimed at video geeks and freaks like me </b>
Canon just announced two new camcorders replacing their Canon GL2 camcorder...
The XH G1 and the XH A1 (costing $7000 and $4000)...
An upgrade from the GL2 to these cameras include:
-high definition capabilities
-the chips are now 1/3rd inch native 16:9 chips (still a 3CCD camera)
-The addition of a zoom ring, however, it is probably electronic and not a manual servo...
-The XH G1 features a "jack pack" allowing the camera to to support HD-SDI OUT, SD-SDI, SMTPE TIMECODE IN/OUT, AND GEN LOCK...(this adds the $3000 price growth from the XH A1)
-From the pictures, it looks like the screen is now larger, brighter, and widescreen
-And it seems like there are XLR inputs and a "mic holder" so you can easily install a high quality mic when you need to...
-The gain, output, and white balance are now switches rather than dials (minor change, but for the better)
-Features two ND filters of 1/16 and 1/32
-Zoom presents, allowing the user to pre program a zoom they want and activate it when the want, creating the perfect zoom when you want
-The power/on switch is now like the XL2 and the XL H1..its a dial! haha...
From what i can see, Canon saw that professionals seemed to really love the GL2 camera, however, the lack of its professional features seemed to cause the lack of love from the professionals. With this camera, Canon seemed to bring it closer to its "higher end brother," the XL H1 and offer more of the profession features and controlls.
However, at these price tags, it seems to be really over priced. The two models has a very large price difference and the jump from the price of the predecessor, the GL2 is quite large. The retail price of the GL2 was $2799 and now the new models price at $4000 and $7000. I would really love to get this camera, the lower priced model of course since that is all i would need. All the features are step ups and i dont really see any changes in which i disagree with.
However, i would have liked to see a 24p feature in this camera, i know that it wouldnt of made it 1080i capable since 24p is a progressive picture while 1080i is interlaced, however, it would have been a cool feature to see. If you really need to get a camera and high definition, this looks like one of the better choices available. However, it does get some competition from Sony's HD camera line up. The main advantage to this camera compared to sony's is that fromt his one, you get the Superior Canon lens, the 20x zoom, and the xlr capabilities.
Visit canon's website for more details
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