Xl-H2 release date- very soon!

[David Jimerson]

Hey guys,
Just spoke with a canon rep today and he told me to expect an announcement on the release of the h2 in the coming months.Keep an eye on the canon website.He sounded like he was pretty well informed. I just hope this is true!

I think after six months you might conclude that the Canon rep wasn't particularly well-informed.

Still, the idea that there might be an H2 sometime in 2008 doesn't seem terribly far-fetched. Competition breeds innovation and improvement, and that only benefits us all.

 

[Emanuel]

I think after six months you might conclude that the Canon rep wasn't particularly well-informed.

:laugh:

Perhaps he could be referring the RED ONE, who knows?...

With the Birger lens mount, Canon will have some revenues on the lenses sales department. That's for sure!

 

[BlueWorld]

I don't see why anybody wants 3 CMOS verses one. Other than the rolling shutter issue, un-compressed footage from the HV20 is amazing. And the RED footage is awfully nice too. Single CMOS gets you better power management, but more importantly, significantly better glass. All the CA issues from 'cheap' 3 chip glass would be gone and you would get the performance of $25K glass for $1,500, and a huge array of world class glass to choose from. No prism block means no sensor size limit, and the road to full size 35mm CMOS from the still cameras.

A single CMOS sensor, EF mount, a couple CF card slots and Canon could win over almost every DOF adapter user out there and a lot of RED reservation holders.

 

[Digigenic]

A single CMOS sensor, EF mount, a couple CF card slots and Canon could win over almost every DOF adapter user out there and a lot of RED reservation holders.

You aint lying.
But Canon would likely deliver a 2/3" sensor first. They've already got lots of 2/3 lenses for their users to choose from, they might as well utilize it, and ride out the road they've already paved.

Even though their DSLR technology will continue a downward implementation into their camcorders, we still probably won't see a super 35mm sized sensor in a Canon (U)HD camera for at least another 2 years. I could be wrong though, in fact I'm hoping I am, because I'd like to use one.

The biggest question on my mind with regard to these cameras, whether they're 1/3", 1/2", 2/3", super 35mm, or a horizontally aligned 35mm (Vista Vision 35mm or 'DSLR Full Frame'), is what kind of format/codec will it record to? DVCPro, AVCHD, Wavelet...? Will there be an entirely new standard introduced or will be based on something familiar and easy to edit?

See, that's the tight spot I, along with many others are in right now, even when just looking for a simple consumer HD camera.
I have a professional editing and mulitimedia suite installed on a new PC, ready to rip through some HD material, but I can't seem to get a grasp on what camera and cost effecient format I should go with because for one reason or another my "professional" level suite doesn't support it.
Right now, every camera and its unique little designated format has its own catch-22 that tags along to bite you in the ass somewhere later down the line. Sure, I want a camera that's powerful, but it must also be efficient and accepted by major NLE's for a stream-lined workflow.

I don't think the XLH2 will dissapoint too many people, but as for it taking the revolutionary route some people are hoping, I find it unlikely.
Maybe in a third generation, or in a completely different camera that isn't developed from XL/XH lineage.

 

[Gabriel Berube]

Hey guys, I was wondering, with all that talk of 2/3" CMOS, wouldn't that make the XL-series lenses obsolete with further XL-Hx Cameras (since the XL-H1 and previous models got 3x 1/3" CCD, and on a 2/3" CMOS it would create too much vignetting)? That would be a shame, 'cuz it would mean the end of what I think many of us (but not all) loved from the XL cameras : complete compatibility with lenses !

I personnally don't think (and I sure as hell don't hope!!) that Canon would market a new camera and brand it XL-something if previous lenses couldn't be compatible. It wouldn't make much sense simply because the XL stand for the type of lens mount. How many here would be disapointed by this type of change in mount type? Or would they enable a special option in the menu for older XL-type lenses that would digitally crop the 2/3" CMOS to "hide" the vignetting, while loosing on quality?

It would be about the same as with Nikon and its recent D3 DSLR : You gotta buy new FX-type lenses to fit snuggly on your D3 12Mpix full-frame, or else you need to use a crop option for DX lenses in the menu (small-CCD format) and fall back to 6Mpix resolution? If they really decide to get to 2/3", I sure hope they won't forget us older XL users and include some kind of function that'll enable XL mount fit onto their latest camera!

Wouldn't make much sense to me, but then again, what do I know about marketing? In any case, I really hope Canon doesn't end its XL series saga right now, because I loved my XL1, still love my XL2 with it's manual 16x lens and sure hope to get that one onto an XL-H2 body as soon as it gets out!

--Gabe

 

[Zack Birlew]

Oh yeah, Canon would have to keep going with the XL mount and, like you say Gabriel, if they did need to step up the lenses then there would need to be some sort of crop function for the older lenses, which sounds pretty likely to me.

Still, I'm a little unsure about going to a tapeless workflow entirely. But like the HVX200, Canon could theoretically go with both a tapeless format and maintain a Mini-DV tape drive just in case, but it would be an HDV Mini-DV drive. :thumbsup: