Canon launches XA35 and XA30 Camcorders with 20x HD Optical Zoom Lens

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Canon launches XA35 and XA30 Camcorders with 20x HD Optical Zoom Lens and Built-in Wi-Fi® Capability

Canon has launched two HD Camcorders with 20x Optical Zoom lens. Following are the Salient Features
Sensor: CMOS, 1/2.84”
Resolution: Full HD ie. 1920x1080 at 24p and 60p
Zoom lens: 20x ie. 26.8mm to 576mm
DIGIC DV4 Image Processor
Buy: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Ca...DFF/d10-v1-t12


Stabilisation: Canon has included Intelligent Optical Image Stabilization with powered and dynamic modes and auto on/off mode. The Dynamic IS helps in improving the translational IS ie up and down/left andright movements, including roll axis correction (tilting/rocking of the camera forward and back), horizontal roll correction and vertical roll correction for a total of five-axis correction when shooting on the wide end of the lens.
The Macro IS Corrects angular and shift-type shake in wide-angle shots.

It also has a Powered IS mode for correcting low-frequency shake when zoomed in to longer focal lengths.


Improve low light ability: HD CMOS PRO image sensor with low-luminance noise of +3dB for improved low-light performance

Recording media: Dual SD card slots
Codec: AVCHD (28Mbps) and MP4 (35Mbps). The XA35 has an HD/SD-SDI output (XA35 only) to feed video directly to a microwave van, satellite uplink, or other TV transmission system or to external recorder.

Expanded Dynamic range: The Canon XA 35 and XA30 feature Wide DR mode where one can get a dynamic range up to 600 percent compared to the 300 percent on the predecessor Canon XA25/XA20 camcorder models.

LCD: 3.5-inch, 1.23 million-dot OLED touch-panel display and 10,000:1 contrast ratio Electronic Viewfinder with controllable iris.

New Highlight Priority Mode: This mode helps in capturing visual characteristics which can easily be lost due to video compression, so that realistic depiction of blue skies and clouds, the translucence of water and the luster of metals etc is achieved.

Qualities like Peaking for better focus assist, zebra for exposure, color bars and test tone are available in these camcorders.

Built-in WiFi: The XA35 and XA30 HD camcorders both feature wireless connectivity for easy sharing and uploading of files.

Infrared Shooting mode:
The XA35 Professional Camcorder features an Infrared Mode allowing the capture of video in very low light. Improved from the XA25 and XA20, it can shoot at brightness levels that are approximately 1.4 times more sensitive, and allows low-light capture by removing the infrared cutoff filter from the optical path. Its specially designed lens coating allows the infrared light to pass through to the image sensor. Additionally, the detachable handle of the XA35 features an infrared emitter with a diffuser to shoot appealing infrared imagery even in complete darkness. For evening camera crews or nature documentary makers, the benefits of a compact, high performance camcorder for shooting in such conditions are obvious. Also, the XA35 gives the option of recording in white or green mode.

Slow and Fast motion and interval recording:
The Canon XA 35 and XA30 feature slow (maximum 0.4x) and fast (maximum 1200x) recording options as well as interval recording options, so that one can do timelapse.

Weight: 0.77 gms

For us wild life shooters, the 20x zoom lens will be a big help. The compact nature of this camera will be helpful in treks etc where carrying heavy equipment would be a challenge. The only issue now is that this is in NTSC and doesn’t shoot PAL ie. 25fps. So one has to use 24p.

Cost: The XA 35 costs 2499 usd and the XA30 costs 1999 usd.