As most would know I like to film windsurfing but I like everyone can only view so much GoPro footage. I've been using my DSLR for wider shots but they are a little cumbersome to use and not quick to setup. With that said I've decided to upgrade my old HD handycam to something with a little punch. HD camcorders are a dime a dozen these days but for the most they still lack the quality and super crisp image that I'm after. In the end I settled on the Canon XA10, It's Canon's entry level pro camera and retails for around $1500 depending where you look.

Here's the bad boy...



You may says it looks over the top and your right...It's the biggest cam I've owned in years but it's very easy to use. The big handle on top can be removed so that it can be used as a more traditional handycam but to be honest the handle make for easy and steady hand held shooting. This handle also has XLR inputs for professional sound recording and heaps other buttons for sound control. It also has controls for the zoom rocker, A start and stop button, A hot shoe mount for accessories and a dedicated MIC holder. The camera itself is very light, The battery provided is a little on the small side (1hr) so I got the bigger hi capacity one that give you 3 hours record time. It has a traditional style view finder (why) and a flip out LCD touch screen that is used to access the menu and the manual controls. The camera had a built in 64GB memory and an additional 2 SD card slots so the storage is almost endless. You can relay record from the in-built memory to card A then to card B, Maybe you'd like to record a backup on card B while recording to card A....There are countless options.

Here's a quick test vid from yesterday....



The camera is limited to shooting in 25P or 50i which was a little disappointing, But I have a DSLR that I can use for higher frame rates but it can record in up-to 24 MBPS for outstanding quality. It uses a Canon 1/3 CMOS sensor to capture the image in a true native HD 1080, Most cameras use more pixels to compensate for a poor quality sensor. IT has all the manual controls you could ever want but is very idiot proof with the automatic mode, Just point and shoot. There are a few assignable buttons for key manual functions but most are accessed through the touch screen...A little fiddly if you ask me but it works. The focus system is very good with full auto or full manual and everything inbetween. It has a few nifty modes with face recognition focus and a tracking focus that will track a specified object selected on the LCD screen with a touch of your finger and the manual focus ring in awesome. The low light capabilities seem ok and the camera does have built in infra-red for filming in total darkness if you inclined to make the next "Blair Witch" movie. The camera stabilizer seems very good, The video I shot above is hand held including the pan shots. It also had a special button for a "Power" stabilizer that can be used at the big end of the zoom to ensure camera shake it keep to a minimum. The lens is a Canon HD 10X optical zoom lens, A little on the small side but OK. There is a 200X digital zoom but I'm not a fan of these plus this can be done in editing.

Overall a great little camera, In the short time I've had it I'm very impressed with it's ease of use and quality of image, It has some minor things I don't like but It's just me being picky. There is a little brother to this camera that comes in at around $1K for those not wishing to invest the extra coin, But it would be a good investment.

Good review. Will you use it with a tripod?

The main issue I'd have with the XA10 is the lack of a decent optical zoom. However you are getting a lot of camera for not that much money.

^^^I agree Moby about the zoom but it suits the purpose I bought it for, Wide angle and life style. I have a DSLR with a 400 image stabilized lens so I've got the gap covered. The next camera up was $2K+ and still only had the 10X zoom, so I took the cheap option. I do plan to use a tripod, Mostly the SoloShot and I also have a shoulder rig. I just need a descent mic now and I'm good.

Cheers....Time to go this southerly is wild

They should be a bit getting a bit cheaper still since Canon just launched the follow up model(s): XA20 / XA25.

Main difference is a new image processor, increased dynamic range, in camera slow motion (not sure how they implemented that one) and 1080p at 50 fps.

All that said where did you get the XA10 for $1500? Every shop I looked they are between $1900 and $2100. Remember if you buy DSLRs or pro level Canon video cameras from overseas sources Canon Australia doesn't usually honour the warranty.

^^^I just puched it google and sellected one of the adds that come up for an Aussie camera store, They had it listed at $1799 but were willing to bargin as it was being "cleared out"...The new modles are due for Australian release soon. It's crazy how much the camera varied in price from store to store, Even day to day...But that must have something to do with the forth comming release of the XA20 & XA25....Looks to be far more expensive though? There were plenty of grey imports available for similar costs but I wasn't to keen on them....Even though they state that they are covered by Australian warranty?...I've done it with a GoPro but that's a few hundred bucks not $1500, Too big of a gamble for me...

What I got was a great camera at a good price that is capable of doing everything and more then I'll ever want it for.....But the 20X optical zoom on the new ones is tempting

...That said, "There will be no ongoing support from Canon for this camera"....What ever that means, I assume it means firmware updates...Maybe?

Select to expand quote

jh2703 said...
There were plenty of grey imports available for similar costs but I wasn't to keen on them....Even though they state that they are covered by Australian warranty?

What the grey imports usually mean by "covered by Australian warranty" is back to base warranty. Read you send it back to the online store and they get it repaired by their own repair shop. The online stores know that a lot of people won't bother with sending back a "cheap" product as they have to pay for shipping themselves.

Select to expand quote

jh2703 said...
...That said, "There will be no ongoing support from Canon for this camera"....What ever that means, I assume it means firmware updates...Maybe?

That's exactly what it means. I have a 3 year old Canon scanner that is no longer supported with software updates. This mean for example I can no longer use it under Mac OSX 10.8 as the driver only supports 10.7.

The same goes for the pro level cameras. Ironically though you can still get spare parts for a 10 year old 1D.

Another quick vid...Lovin the ease of this little gem.

The viewfinder is super useful in the snow on sunny days. I wish my handycam had one. Might have to upgrade to one of these