Canon Announces New Cameras at NAB

Big announcements continue to fly in from NAB! Here is the latest from Canon which should prove to be very noteworthy for Videomaker readers. "The new Canon XF305 and XF300 professional tapeless HD camcordersemploy an MPEG-2 4:2:2 50Mbps codec Canon XF Codec for capturing and recording native 1920 x 1080 video onto affordable, universally available Compact Flash (CF) cards. The new Canon XF305 and XF300 Professional Camcorders feature hot-swappable dual card slots and support UDMA CF cards for maximum performance. Uniting video, audio and metadata into a single file, the Canon XF305 and XF300 use an MXF (Material eXchange Format) File Wrapper, a widely supported open-source format, to maximize compatibility with existing industry infrastructure and non-linear editing (NLE) systems." The cameras also include Canon 18x HD L-series lenses, "The Canon XF305 and XF300 Professional Camcorders include a Genuine Canon 18x HD L-series lens providing documentary filmmakers and news camera operators with the focal-range versatility required in the field. Each model includes three Canon developed and designed native 1920 x 1080 CMOS image sensors, and the new Canon XF Codec for extreme color detail required for accurate chroma-keying, color-grading and compositing for digital filmmaking Canons XF305 model features industry-standard HD-SDI output, genlock, and SMPTE time code (in/out) terminals for multi-camera or 3-D productions."