Canon's Professional Camcorders XF100, XF300, XFC305

Canon's line of professional Camcorders in the sub $10,000 range feature a proprietary XF codec that allows shooting at 50Mbps 1080 60p with a 4:2:2 color sampling. Compariable Sony and Panasonic models shoot at 28 Mbps with a 4:2:0 color sampling.

The Canon records to more expensive CF cards vs SDHC cards.

Canon XF 100 Product Highlights


Canon XF 100

Price $3,000 as of 7/15/2012
(per BH Photo)

• 1/3" CMOS Sensor
• 50Mbps MPEG-2 Recording
• 4:2:2 Color Sampling
• 60p/60i, 30p, 24p
• MXF File Format
• Dual CF Card Slots
• 10x HD Zoom Lens
• Multiple Bit Rates & Resolutions
• Dual XLR Inputs
• HDMI, Component, Composite Outputs

Lense 10x
The lower end XF100 has great specs, but only a 10x zoom. The camera does have a built in 1.5x telephoto feature. The following video clip demonstrates this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgDoCjwEHTw

How does this camera compare to the SONY NX70? - See this review:
http://www.hdwarrior.co.uk/2012/01/27/review-of-the-canon-xf100-v-sonys-nx70/

Canon's higher end XF 300 and 305 cameras are more expensive but have larger zoom lenses at 18x.

Compatible CF cards according the HD Warrior

Canon XF 300

Canon XF 300
Price $6,000 as of 7/15/12
(per BH Photo)

Canon XF 300 Product Highlights

• 3 Native 1920 x 1080 CMOS Sensors
• 50Mbps MPEG-2 Recording
• 4:2:2 Color Sampling
• 60p/60i, 30p, 24p
• MXF File Format
• Dual CF Card Slots
• 18x HD L-Series Zoom
• Multiple Bit Rates, Resolutions
• Dual XLR Inputs
• HDMI, Component, Composite Outputs

How does the XF 100 compare to the XF 300? According to a review on Amazon by Tom Gimble, very well. The XF 100 is smaller, lighter and is great for using a monopod. So if you have to move around alot, it may be suitable vs the XF 300. However, the XF 300 has a longer lense (18x vs 10x) and has a much better viewfinder. According to Tom the XF 100 viewfinder leaves a lot to be desired. This was also mentioned by HD Warrior's review.

Tom's very informative written review is located on Amazon here.