Canon has released their first line up of HDV camcorders, the XH G1 and XH A1 and many feel that Canon took its own sweet time on this. Well as they say, better late than never! The imaging system of the these new camcorders is similar to the Canon' XL H1 and has the same three 1/3-inch 16:9 CCDs. The new camcorders have the ability to record 1080i video in both 60 interlaced and 24 frame rate modes. However unlike the XL-H1, the new camcorders are cheaper and sleeker.

The new HDV camcorders are almost identical and the only thing that sets the camcorders apart is the I/O ports and $3000 price difference! These entry level prosumer camcorders will appeal to the independent film makers who couldn’t afford the exorbitant XL H1 and Canon hopes to capture this growing demographic. The new XH G1 and XH A1 do not support interchangeable lenses and the three 1/3-inch CCD sensors offer native 16:9 with a resolution of 1440 x 1080. The camcorders feature 24 fields per second shooting mode and the frame rates are available in either 2:3 or 2:3:3:2 pull-down apart from the standard scan rates of 30f and 60i.

Both XH G1 and XH A1 are equipped with a DIGIC DV II processor which not only reduces noise but also is responsible for enhanced color and tonal response. The camcorders sport a 20x optical HD lens made of Fluorite glass and Ultra-Low Dispersion glass and has a focal range of 32.5mm – 650mm (35mm equivalent).On the lens itself you will find three rings which controls focus, zoom, and iris and thanks to the upper Range optical image stabilization, you can say goodbye to blurry and unfocused videos.

One feature which is missing on the XH A1 and present on the XH G1 is the new and improved SD/HD-SDI which combines the audio, the video and the time code signal whereas you need a separate audio connection for the XH A1.The SD and HD-SDI outputs are SMPTE compliant and makes it easier higher end news gathering and film markets. Some other features found on both camcorders include ; their ability to store up to 9 custom pre-sets, a LCD which can be customized and the ability to store information on the SD Cards. Both camcorders sport a 2.8-inch widescreen LCD (207K resolution) and a 0.57-inch color electronic viewfinder (269K resolution).

One also finds functions like auto mode, full manual mode, and aperture and shutter priority modes on both the camcorders apart from two built-in ND filters, at 1/6 and 1/32. There is new AF System on the new camcorders which enhances focal effectiveness and reduces focal time. Surprisingly the camcorders also have a bunch of audio controls like and it is quite capable of producing still images too. Still images can be viewed or saved in 16:9 aspect ratio sizes, 1920 x 1080 (2MP) and 848 x 480, and two 4:3 aspect ratio sizes, 1440 x 1080 and 640 x 480. One can also access options like Continuous Shooting, Hi-Speed Continuous Shooting, Bracketing and three metering modes for still images. The Canon XH A1 will be released in late October for an MSRP of $3999 and the mid-November at an MSRP of $6999.
For more information, visitwww.usa.canon.com

Via Camcorder Info