Canon XF605 Camcorder Announced – Impressive Specs for Solo Shooters

Camera News

by Olaf von VossAugust 18^th, 2021

Canon has launched a new professional camcorder. The Canon XF605 offers 4K 4:2:2 10-bit image acquisition combined with a 15x optical zoom lens, complete with IS. It seems that this could be the next workhorse for solo shooters working in a broadcast environment.

Canon has just announced a new flagship camera! Now, before you jump off your chair, read on: it has neither a full-frame sensor nor its smaller brother, an s35 sensor. It’s a classic camcorder, which means a compact body, a fixed lens, and a sub-s35mm sensor.

Canon XF605 camcorder

Still, this little powerhouse offers a lot for its size: 4K 60p/50p 4:2:2 10-bit and Full HD with up to 120p high frame rate. Processing the data provided by the 1-inch CMOS sensor is handled by its DIGIC DV 7 processor.

Available recording containers include XF-AVC (H.264 – Intra Frame or Long GOP) or MP4 (H.264 or H.265 – Long GOP)

Other features inherited from Canon’s higher-end cameras include a variety of custom picture options that can be adapted to different needs and provide more flexibility in post-production or in the field, including HDR (HLG/PQ), Canon Log3, and custom, user-created, Look Files. Other camcorders in Canon’s lineup have also been updated with C-Log flavors over time through firmware updates.

Since the Canon XF605 sports a fixed lens, Canon was able to achieve tight integration resulting in presumably smooth 5-axis image stabilization. Four IS options are available by combining different settings in Standard, Dynamic and Powered IS, allowing users to choose the most suitable and effective IS function for their shooting environment.

4K 15x zoom lens

The integrated 4K L-series lens, offers a 15x optical zoom in 4K and 30x “advanced” zoom in FHD. It offers a range from 25.5 – 382.5mm (full frame equivalent) with f/2.8 – f/4.5. It also sports integrated motorized ND filters (1/4, 1/16, 1/64) and 3 dedicated control rings for iris, zoom and focus.

The Canon XF605 employs Canon’s fast and accurate Dual Pixel CMOS Auto Focus System which offers eye detection AF and Canon’s EOS iTR AF X intelligent head detection and tracking functionality (When the face is turned away from the lens) to the XF lineup of camcorders. This is yet another feature that was first introduced in higher-end cameras.

Controls

A new Direct Touch user interface allows users to quickly and intuitively select subjects to focus on, as well as control on-screen settings, menu navigation and playback control.
The camcorder offers a total of 11 assignable physical buttons, with over 100 functions to choose from vie the menu.

I personally don’t use touchscreens for focusing since it’s more often than not a bit unreliable but it may work pretty well for solo shooters in the field of course.

Connectivity

The Canon XF605 offers a new multi-function accessory shoe designed to expand the capabilities of the camera through future accessories, the first being the CA-XLR2d-C high definition XLR microphone adapter from TEAC. This adapter makes it possible to assign XLR inputs to all four audio channels that the XF605 offers, providing greater flexibility for capturing audio. The XG605 itself offers 2 XLR inputs plus a 3,5mm stereo input.

Furthermore, it sports professional I/O such Genlock/Sync, TC in/out as well as a headphone out for monitoring audio.

The camcorder also addresses the rise of live-streaming over the last year, with IP streaming capability that supports multiple protocols, remote control for multi-camera operation alongside Canon’s range of PTZ cameras and the addition of the UVC for simple webcam use via USB-C.

The XF605 sports dual SD card slots and multiple recording options, it can record different file formats, resolutions, colour sampling and proxies simultaneously to separate cards.

Another pretty handy feature is the ability to simultaneously output to both 12G-SDI and HDMI connections, which can be fed into any combination of monitors, broadcast and recording systems to support both live and pre-recorded workflows.

The XF605 is compatible with Canon’s new Content Transfer Mobile (CTM) app which allows users to edit news metadata pre and post capture and import the footage from the camera to the phone, enabling instant transfer to broadcast station servers, for example.

Specifications

The Canon CXF605 is roughly 10% smaller and 600g lighter than the XF705, which results roughly in a 2kg package. Pretty lightweight for what this camcorder has to offer I’d say. Here’s a list of the key features:

• 1.0 Type CMOS Sensor and DIGIC DV7 Processor
• 4K UHD 60p/50p 4:2:2 10-bit in XF-AVC, and MP4
• 4K L-Series, 15x Optical Zoom Lens with 30x Advanced Zoom in FHD
• Dual Pixel CMOS AF with Eye Detection AF and EOS iTR AF X
• Supports PQ & HLG HDR formats
• Simultaneous recording versatility, including Proxies
• Professional connectivity including 12G-SDI, HDMI, XLR inputs, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, USB-C, and more
• CTM App for easy file transfer to mobile phones and editing news metadata

Pricing and availability

This new pro-grade camcorder will start shipping in Q4 2021. The price is not yet finalised but according to Canon they aim for a sub 4.500 € price tag (plus tax).

What do you think? Have you worked with a camcorder before? Would this new Canon XF605 worth a closer look for your projects? Share your thoughts in the comments below!