Canon XF100 Review, Unboxing, User Manual
HIGHLIGHTS:
CANON XF100 - OVERVIEW
The Canon XF100 HD professional camcorder has a lot to review about them, especially portability, usability, and versatility. When comparing this XF100 with that of Canon's other top-model camcorders, this Canon XF100 is a bit better in portability and handling with pinpoint controls.
Moreover, the camcorder packs nearly all the features and functionality of a pro-level camcorder; into a single and small HD sensor form factor. It has highly effective image stabilization, several choices of bit-rates, frame rates, and resolutions. Plus, this XF100 video camera offers highly polished HD videos with 4:2:2 color sampling in an industry-standard versatile MXF file wrapper. Thus, making it well-suited for BTS shooting, newsgathering, travel documentaries, and live events shooting.
CANON XF100 HD CAMCORDER REVIEW
Design & Features
The Canon XF100 is exceptionally compact; carries only 1 KG, including the lens hood, eyecup, and extended handle unit. The handle unit provides a comfortable grip; makes it easy to take handheld shots, specifically in low or high angle shooting. It accommodates a dedicated audio unit with a microphone holder, dual XLR interface near that, and associated audio level controls. There you also get a record button, accessory mounting threads, and relevant controls.
It features ten assignable function buttons on the camera body; that allow you to tune up the camcorder to your shooting style. The function buttons give you manual control over Focus, Gain, White Balance, IRIS Limit, Iris Ring Direction, AE Response, and Character Record.
The XF100 camcorder offers exceptional customization options for professionals to customize the camera settings according to their creative and production needs. It gives you complete manual control over the camera functions, profile settings, custom functions, and display functions. You can save your customization into the SD cards for future reference or match the picture profile in a multi-camera setup.
You get several preset options for Gamma, Low Key Saturation, Sharpness, Skin Detail, Noise Reduction, Selective Noise Reduction, Color Matrix, Color Correction, White Balance, Black Level, and Setup Level custom picture settings.
You can adjust a total of 32 items from the LCD touch screen display, such as Zoom Position, Object Distance, Exposure, Audio Level, Screen Brightness, Remaining Record Time, and more. The 3.5” monitor and 0.24” EVF can be adjusted according to your comfortable shooting angle and provide a color-rich bright view with 100% field coverage.
You can quickly tune focus in a scene or easily change the focus zone by accessing the focus assists functions from the LCD monitor. The red waveform indicates a focusing area across the display, and the green indicator sign shows the overall focus of the scene; you can shift your focus just with a single touch.
The XF100 comes with a genuine Canon 10X zoom lens; that flexibly captures images and videos with a focal range of 30.4-304mm. The zooming feature also offers constant and variable settings. The 8-bladed iris delivers an attractive bokeh defocusing effect with shallow depth-of-field.
The native 1/3” large HD CMOS image sensor produces superb full HD videos with minimal noise, even at low-light settings. The camera enthusiasts often prefer the Canon XF100 for creative production; due to the wide dynamic range and high light sensitivity of the CMOS sensor.
The DIGIC DV III image processing engine, provides natural tonal gradations, enhanced color shading, and reduced power consumption. It powers several new custom picture settings and face-detection features to increase the usability for run-and-gun shooters.
If you want to record real stereoscopic three-dimensional videos, you have to pair the Canon XF100 with another XF100 or XF105 camcorder. The assist features help you in 3D production by calibrating each camera’s zoom distance and zoom position. So, you can synchronize the camera settings accordingly with no time.
Image and video quality
Taking advantage of the latest HD technology, the Canon XF100 retains maximum image quality, even at the highest zooming point, and takes night shots or videos in low-light settings. It records videos in varying frame rates or bit-rates at up to 60 FPS and 50 MB/sec; without resulting in any quality loss.
The 4:2:2 color sampling without requiring external recording is genuinely impressive and also outranks other 4K professional camcorders out there. It doubles the color resolution; provides ultra-fine transitions in color and tone; ideally, making it super easy to work with post-recording.
The MPEG-2 or Canon XF Codec with MXF file wrapper maintains the highest image quality in less file size, making the rendering process faster and easier. The HD footage from XF100 can be edited with much ease in post-production. Easily, you can do color correction, color gradation and apply chroma key or composition effects. Moreover, the MXF file wrapper has the highest level of compatibility with non-linear editing software and high-end network systems.
STORAGE
The camcorder supports a Canon BP-955 Lithium-ion battery that has a power capacity of 4900 mAh. It lets you shoot up to 4 hours long.
The Canon XF100 features twin Compact Flash (CF) card slots with the advantages of relay recording, hot swapping, pre-record and file copy & backup.
Connectivity and Compatibility
The Canon XF100 is one of the best HD camcorders with XLR audio input. It offers versatile connectivity options such as Type-A HDMI, Mini-B high-speed USB, 3.5 mm composite, and 2.5mm LANC terminal, including dual 3-pin XLR audio input interfaces.
BEST FEATURES OF CANON XF100 CAMCORDER
In Canon XF100, I particularly like the efficiency of the image stabilization against shaky hands, the smooth zooming capabilities of the 10X HD lens with native HD CMOS image sensor, and obviously, the utility of the Canon XF codec. The exceptional customization options are also impressive that enables me to take up technical and artistic challenges during shooting.
It also comes in handy while working with a multi-camera setup, thereby helps you synchronize your camera settings with other cameras.
SPECIFICATIONS OF CANON XF100
LENS SPECIFICATION
Focal Length | 4.25 to 42.5mm |
Zoom | 10X HD Zoom |
Maximum Aperture | F1.8 – F2.8 |
Filter Size | 58 mm |
Control Rings | Focus, Zoom |
Focus Control | Auto-focus | Manual Focus |
IMAGE SENSOR
Sensor Size | 1/3” |
Sensor Type | CMOS sensor |
Effective Resolution | 2.7 Megapixel |
CAMERA SPECIFICATION
Image Stabilization | Super Range Optical with Three Modes: Dynamic, Standard, Powered |
Built-In ND Filter | Gradation type ND filters: Clear and 3 Stop (1/8) |
Shutter Speed | 1/24 to 1/2000 sec |
Minimum Illumination | 1.6 Lux at 1/4 Shutter Speed |
White Balance | 2000 to 15,000K |
Audio Recording
Quality | 2-Channel 16-Bit / 48 kHz PCM Audio |
DISPLAY SCREEN
Screen Size | 3.5" |
Resolution | 920,000 Dots |
Display Type | LCD Touch Screen |
Viewfinder
EVF Display Type | LCD |
Screen Size | 0.24” |
EVF Resolution | 260,000 Dots |
Connectivity
Wired Connection | Type-A HDMI, 3.5 mm Composite A/V port for Video Output |
Power
Battery Model | Canon BP-955 Lithium-ion battery packs |
Battery Capacity | 4900 mAh |
CANON XF100 TEST FOOTAGE
CANON XF100 HD CAMCORDER UNBOXING
CANON XF100 USER MANUAL
You will be receiving a detailed user manual while purchasing a Canon XF100. But, you can also view the user manual from the Company's official website. The user manual will have a complete guide on the different camera settings, firmware, and safety precautions you will need to follow while using this camcorder.
If you wish to check the official user manual of this Canon XF100 camcorder, click here.
CANON XF100 VIDEO CAMERA ACCESSORIES
Filters
As you know, the Canon XF100 video camera has only a gradation filter; so, you can purchase a 58mm threaded UV filter and some ND filters relevant to your shooting job, along with this camcorder; the UV filter will protect the in-built expensive camera lens.
TRIPOD AND REMOTE CONTROL
The Canon XF100 has a LANC terminal; so, you can purchase a LANC compatible remote commander to operate the camera easily outdoors. You can even shoot yourself using this remote commander, but you need to mount your camera on a tripod. Though; the camcorder has a decent image stabilization system, we would still suggest using a tripod to get the best-stabilized shot, where there is no need of holding the camera in hand.
Conclusion
Despite having such exceptional pro-level things, it also has certain limitations. I missed the low-light efficiency of a large format image sensor and the low power consumption features of the latest DIGIC DV image sensor. Still, I felt that the features mentioned above of the XF100 camcorder are a value for my investment.
In my opinion, the Canon XF100 HD could be a good option for those looking for a primary high-end camcorder.
