XA10 vs XF100 for a DVX100 User

Warthog

Warthog

Active member
I am considering switching to either XA 10 or XF 100 from a good old DVX100, but I have a few concerns.

  • ND filter - I am used to fully manual ND filter of DVX100. How big a deal is this automatic ND filter in Canons?
  • f stops range - the XA10 only goes down to f8. Is this not limiting when shooting outdoors in bright sunlight? I do not want to cut the exposure by using faster shutter settings or have to use external ND filters.
  • focus - DVX autofocus sucks in progressive modes, so I am used to manual focus. Is the autofocus on Canons OK in 30p and if it is not, is the manual focus ring usable? Do I understand it correctly that the XF100 only focuses on the center of the image, while XA10 can focus on any place in the image and track the focus?
  • What exactly does "PF30" mean in framerate specs? Is this simply 30p inside a normal 60i stream?
  • Are the manual audio level dials on XA10 only used for XLR inputs, or do they also work with the built-in microphone when the handle is installed?
  • What are the realistic running and charging times for the standard batteries?
 
The XA10 looks to small for me. I was looking at the XF100. Waiting for more reviews and feedback first. It is really tough to get anyway.
 
Zim said:
The XA10 looks to small for me. I was looking at the XF100. Waiting for more reviews and feedback first. It is really tough to get anyway.
Click to expand...

I just returned my xa10 I loved that camera and exchanged it for the xf100 waiting for it to arrive.to test. I have a bunch of xa10 clips from Vimeo on my website.

www.thinbluelineproductions.com
 
Yep, it is small. But size might not matter that much if the controls are well designed and the camera does what I need. The size might also be an advantage - much easier to carry around plus you are not sticking out that much. I used to work with shoulder-mounted cameras and was quite surprised, how "intimidating" even the small (for me) DVX can be at some events (schools etc.)

Knowing myself, I will probably end up buying both... XA10 would be for my wife to film the kids, that's a plausible excuse :-)
 
The XF100 sells out fast. I was going to order it twice now. Trying to pick out a CF card and it is gone!!! Next time I'll order the cards later.
 
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Warthog said:
I am considering switching to either XA 10 or XF 100 from a good old DVX100, but I have a few concerns.

  • ND filter - I am used to fully manual ND filter of DVX100. How big a deal is this automatic ND filter in Canons?
  • f stops range - the XA10 only goes down to f8. Is this not limiting when shooting outdoors in bright sunlight? I do not want to cut the exposure by using faster shutter settings or have to use external ND filters.
  • focus - DVX autofocus sucks in progressive modes, so I am used to manual focus. Is the autofocus on Canons OK in 30p and if it is not, is the manual focus ring usable? Do I understand it correctly that the XF100 only focuses on the center of the image, while XA10 can focus on any place in the image and track the focus?
  • What exactly does "PF30" mean in framerate specs? Is this simply 30p inside a normal 60i stream?
  • Are the manual audio level dials on XA10 only used for XLR inputs, or do they also work with the built-in microphone when the handle is installed?
  • What are the realistic running and charging times for the standard batteries?
Click to expand...

The AF on my HFS200 in progressive mode works great, so hopefully the XA10 will work just as well. The PF30 is like you suspected - 30P inside 60i...so it's basically true progressive once your NLE removes the duplicate frames.
The manual focus ring on the XA10 is reported to have a very nice feel to it....I forgot which reviewer - but he said the camera was well built despite the size and that the controls were well done. With most of these smaller Canon's you're probably going to want to spring for the extended life batteries.
They probably have the minimum aperture limited to avoid diffraction, and hopefully the auto ND is powerful enough to maintain good exposure. The drawback to this is (just like the HMC40) you cannot open up the iris and then click your ND's on...you have to be stopped down before they will engage. It might be good to have an external ND for those situations where you want an open iris and ND at the same time.
 
What do you intend to do with the video? The XA10 shoots in AVCHD, the XF100 in a true broadcast 4:2:2 codec. Nothing wrong with AVCHD 24, but some broadcast outlets may not accept it. Your needs may end up making the decision for you.
 
I am looking to pick one of these up for our non-profit for shooting at our fundraising events, meetings, etc. Does this camera have the ability to output live (at the same time as recording) should we want to stream live to the internet? I have searched, and can not find any information on this. Thanks so much for your help!
 
I have used the XF100 for a couple of days now. Overall it's an amazing little camera, the size is great for my type of work. Nice quality, superfast focus in daylight and easy to use.
But it takes some time to get used to i.e the automatic ND, I come from the P2-cameras. And if I would like to change one thing only it would be a second ring to control focus with. It's a bit tricky at first to figure out how to work with focus, iris and zoom on the same ring. But for that size I do understand the reason.
 
I had a chance to look at the XA10 today, and it's a nice little camera. But the XF100 just feels more solid, and more like a "pro" camcorder. The XF300 even more so. :D
 
vanvideo said:
What do you intend to do with the video? The XA10 shoots in AVCHD, the XF100 in a true broadcast 4:2:2 codec. Nothing wrong with AVCHD 24, but some broadcast outlets may not accept it. Your needs may end up making the decision for you.
Click to expand...
99% of what I shoot is for web (documents from events we organize, short instruction and product promotio videos) . I could probably use 4:2:2 for keying every now and then, but I can live without it. The main issue for me is not the quality, I know XA10 is sufficient for what I do in this regard. The main issue is the handling and controls (ND, focus etc. as I mentioned earlier).
 
How does the low light performance compare ? I've heard that the G-10 / XA-10 have very good low-light performance.
 
XA10 is better in low light than the XF100 because the XF100 puts light through a prism to make use of 3 chips. That's according to a Canon rep at a trade show.
 
goetzpd said:
XA10 is better in low light than the XF100 because the XF100 puts light through a prism to make use of 3 chips. That's according to a Canon rep at a trade show.
Click to expand...

...Boy some reps have no clue. The XF100 camera has SINGLE full raster HD sensor. The XF300 camera has three full raster HD sensors, and thus uses a prism ( beam-splitter ) to send light to all three chips.

I've heard that the G10 / XA10 is better for low light because Canon sacrificed photo mode on these cameras and made a special video sensor with larger photo-sites that are more sensitive to light.
 
Maybe he said the 100 compared to the 300. Sorry. You are correct about the sensor being designed for video as opposed to photo. Turns out it is 2.37 megapixel and is exactly 1920 x 1080 which allows the pixels on the sensor to be 61% bigger. Again, according to Canon. No more 8.59 megapixel or whatever the top of the line vixia's used to be.
 
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