Canon USA (http://www.usa.canon.com) has announced the Canon XF305 and XF300 professional camcorders. Both new models employ an MPEG-2 4:2:2 50Mbps codec — Canon XF Codec — for capturing and recording native 1920 x 1080 video onto Compact Flash (CF) cards.
Uniting video, audio and metadata into a single file, the Canon XF305 and XF300 use an MXF (Material eXchange Format) File Wrapper, an open-source format, to maximize compatibility with existing industry infrastructure and non-linear editing (NLE) systems. The Canon XF305 and XF300 are engineered for multiple production applications including broadcast news, documentary and independent filmmaking and event videography.
The Canon XF305 and XF300 Professional Camcorders include a Genuine Canon 18x HD L-series lens. Each model includes three Canon developed and designed native 1920 x 1080 CMOS image sensors, and the new Canon XF Codec for extreme color detail required for accurate chroma-keying, color-grading and compositing for digital filmmaking. For finer transitions in tone and color, 4:2:2 color sampling offers twice the color resolution of HDV and other 4:2:0 formats. In addition, Canon’s XF305 model features HD-SDI output, genlock, and SMPTE time code (in/out) terminals for multi-camera or 3-D productions.
The Canon XF305 and XF300 models also come equipped with a 0.52-inch, 1.55-megapixel color electronic viewfinder. The former is scheduled to be available in late June for an estimated retail price of US$7,999. Canon’s XF300 is due in late June for $6,799.