Canon XA10 Professional Camcorder With 64GB Internal Flash Memory And Full Manual Control

Mar 20
07:36

2012

Roberto Sedycias

Roberto Sedycias

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The Canon XA10 Professional Camcorder is another handycam from Canon that has undergone major improvements in the last year as it has better image processing capability, wider use of AVCHD technology, use of the improved DIGIC DV III processing engine and more.

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In little over a year,Canon XA10 Professional Camcorder With 64GB Internal Flash Memory And Full Manual Control Articles Canon has improved not only its line of consumer handycams such as the G10, but has also given those improvements to its professional-grade camcorder, the XA10 Professional Camcorder. For example, Canon improved the image processing capability of its handycams by increasing their ability to take quality video in low light conditions; using their patented autostablization ability so videographers can take quality long-range images that are sharp and clear.

Much of that capability comes not only from better digital imaging processing circuitry that allows the camcorder to collect more light in low light situations, but also from improvements to its DIGIC DV III image processing engine. Like the rest of the line, the DIGIC improvements help the XA10 deliver a wider tonal palette so that skin tones look better in low light, for example. The DIGIC also improves the XA10's Face Detection and Touch and Track ability. With improved Face Detection and Touch and Track, when a videographer identifies a subject, the XA10 will attempt to find the subject whether the person has left the frame or has come back into the frame (if the subject leaves the frame the DIGIC processor causes the camcorder to refocus on the central figures in the frame) and when the subject returns, the XA10 automatically finds the person again and starts focusing on the person.

Another major improvement that professionals should like is the amount of internal memory supplied with the XA10. Consumer camcorders can supply as little as 8 GB to as much as 32 GB, depending on the card ordered or purchased afterward. However, the professional-grade XA10 has 64 GB of flash memory installed right out of the box so the camcorder is ready for up to 12 hours of continuous shooting. Indeed, like other Canon camcorders, the XA10 has an internal hard drive to which it stores video. The video is later transferred to either the built-in 64 GB of memory or one of the two memory module cards available.

Having two memory modules available should also provide the professional with a bit of relief as they can be used in parallel mode, capturing the same video information so that if one module fails, the other still has good video.

Since this is a professional-grade unit, one of the accessories available is a long-life strobe that most professionals purchase as a matter of course. It does give the XA10 a unique look. That's, perhaps the key difference between the XA10 and the G10, Canon's near-professional unit. The XA10 also incorporates a 1/3-inch image processor into its high-definition operation. The improved image processor delivers sharp, full high-definition with minimal noise

Both the XA10 and G10 feature improved low-light operations because the image processor has been given a 25 percent increase in low-light capture ability. The XA10, like the G10, features 38 built-in scene modes, which are a combination of the standard modes offered by the camcorder (daylight, sunlight, Macro, Face, backlight, low light and more). The XA10 also has Canon's patented autostabliziation mode that makes the 10X 30.4mm lens into a 304mm lens on full zoom.

The XA10 makes extensive use of its 8-blade iris lens to deliver crisper, sharper imagery. Most other consumer brands use 6 blades. The XA10 makes extensive use of the Super Range Optical Image Stability whose modes include standard, powered, dynamic and off. In the standard mode, the lens maximizes autostabilization; powered mode keeps vibration suppressed in autostabilization mode; dynamic mode enhances the stabilization mode, and the final mode is off.

The XA10 is rugged and has five enhanced focus modes. Also, it makes extensive use of Advanced Video Coding High Definition (AVCHD), a popular mode with many consumer video devices including blu-ray players.