Canon XF305 Professional Camcorder

Comments about Canon XF305 Professional Camcorder:

I come from the still/print industry and pick cameras on image quality, build quality, DOF and/or lens options/quality and also reputation for reliability and usability.

I have chosen the XF305 to complement other cameras to be tools of the trade that I feel work well together to create artistic and creative motion graphics and video projects. Each one has a specific time and place to be used.

This camera was chosen primarily for its color space, feature set, great lens, great zoom, decent low light performance (still a small sensor camera), good build quality, fast focusing and good lens aperture throughout the range.

The primary use of the XF305 is a run and gun machine. But definitely not limited to this. It can certainly hold its own in other situations if wanting shallower DOF, just be aware of its limitations.

Very happy with the purchase? Yes. Would I change my decision? Absolutely not. No major complaints with build quality or performance in the field.

Camera will be used for documentaries, events and commercial production.

Comments about Canon XF305 Professional Camcorder:

Purchased this camera after using Sony HVR Z7U for a number of years and not disappointed. Main reason was the use of CF cards. Still trying to make adjustments in low light situations, but feel confident I will get it. Lots of features that make shooting a pleasure. A little heavier than I thought it would be. Overall, pleased with my purchase.

Comments about Canon XF305 Professional Camcorder:

pros: definitely a great camera. love the zoom distance. autofocus is great. works better for me in premiere cs5. very sharp.

con: power button... can never get it where i need it without a second attempt. really can't use it past 6db of gain without significant noise though... but the 1.6 or whatever f stop lens makes up for that.

Comments about Canon XF305 Professional Camcorder:

I am a professional in-house videographer and I use it for documentary style shooting. it shoots in great quality and the features are easy to handle. The one thing that wasn't the best for what I do is that it is a little heavy and hard to handhold, without a shoulder mount.

Comments about Canon XF305 Professional Camcorder:

I love the canon xf305 below is a video I shot and edited with mine[@]

Comments about Canon XF305 Professional Camcorder:

Canon's XF305 has very good low-light capabilities (not perfect, but way above average). My initial concern was filming in low-light with this camcorder. It works much better than I expected after reading many reviews. I had confidence in all other aspects of the camcorder and I have proved them to myself: Picture Quality--Same as you see on TV at 50Mbps 4:2:2. Glass quality: 18x L-series Canon lens--doesn't get any better at this price point. I used to have to use an Anton Bauer battery on my previous camcorder to attain a multi-hour shoot (I use two BP-970G batteries, one at a time and get 5+ hours recording time with each battery = 11+ hours total) and the weight of the Canon battery is tiny comparatively. I would recommend getting several (3 or more) Sandisk 32 GB UDMA CF cards since you can hot-swap them as you are filming. Professional Controls let you get the shots you want. LCD is clear and large for any camcorder. If you go to NAB, you can see it in action, but short of that, it is hard to get your hands on one.

Comments about Canon XF305 Professional Camcorder:

I own the Canon XLH1 and the images from this camera are much better. It's almost like being there. Apart from a fiddly on-off switch, the controls are well laid out and with a little practice and the Vortex DVD I was able to master the camera. The camera has the best autofocus I have ever seen on any camera.

Comments about Canon XF305 Professional Camcorder:

use it in my green screen studio and the 4:2:2 colour space is beautiful.
No more tapes or expensive cards
Feels like a real camera

Comments about Canon XF305 Professional Camcorder:

I use this camera for studio work in creating e-learning lessons and "on-demand" seminars and conferences. I do a lot of clean, white backgrounds, black backgrounds or green screen work. In my opinion, for the price point, this camera rocks the studio world. Quality-wise, our work can now compete with studios that use much more expensive cameras.

We were contemplating contracting our studio work out, but with this camera we no longer have to. It works well with the CS5 suite, which is what we use for all our post work. You'd be hard pressed to find a studio camera at twice the price that does what this one does. I'm looking forward to doing some on-location work with it, but can't speak to that right now.

Comments about Canon XF305 Professional Camcorder:

I am a semi-pro user. Mostly amatuer stuff like weddings, events, amatuer sports and some ENG work. This camera is a good step for Canon into the professional market. While still a long-GOP scheme, the color and clarity is fantastic compared to other Canon video cameras I've used including the still shooter Canon 5D EOS.

I was at a Phoenix pro retailer recently while the Canon rep was there and we did a split monitor comparison of the XF305 vs. an AVC-Intra 3x 1/3" camera. Both had standard lenses they ship with. The Canon was much clearer with a better color depth. All agreed it was mostly due to the Fujinon 17X lense the other cam comes with but it was still very impressive - this camera has first rate glass and coupled with their new CMOS and the compression scheme, its pro-rated. To achieve this clarity, Canon has removed the Flourite from this lense and replaced it with a new proprietary mixture, similar to their HDTV lenses.

I have three Canon HD and SD cams including an XL-H1A. The XF305 is much clearer, quicker to set up post work (I use AVID MC), has more features internally, plus, SDI, Genlock etc. Worth the extra $1K over the XF300. I wish they would also include SDI with the XF-300.

The LED screen is in a non-traditonal place but after using it for a while you realize it's quite ergonomic and you'll forget about it's location. Quite LARGE, it also has video waveform as a lower left PIP which is nice and a focus assist waveform on the botton, outside of the overscan for manual work. The viewfinder can also be swiveled to either side of the camera for you lefties. The control buttons, located for the left hand, should have some bumps or something so you can find them easier in critical shooting situations as they all feel somewhat alike.

It's low light rating is slightly better than the HDV models. It's a perfect 5500K camera, and wonderful indors with lighting. I also tested for CMOS flashband using the EOS MKII-5D. It is barely noticeable at 60i, but is slightly at 24P and 30P - end users will not notice it. Yeah, you'll see it in post but so what. Forget overcranking with flash present.

Other features - you can set the camera knees to mimick other camera types and save these settings if you are ever using other cam brands or working events with other partners.

This seems to be the best 1/3" 3-CMOS for the price point. While I like this camera a lot I wish Canon would come out with a 1/2" 3-CMOS.