Canon XF 300

The XF 300 supports full HD 1920×1080 resolution, up to 50Mbps bit rate, and with 4:2:2 color sampling. It utilizes three 1920×1080 1/3 inch CMOS sensors and you can choose between 60i, 60p, 30p and 24p settings to achieve just the look you want. It can also record at one frame rate and play back at another, allowing fast and slow motion recording without loss of image quality, and can also do interval frame recording at any of 25 rates from 1 second to 10 minutes.

It records to UDMA flash cards and has two card slots which are hot-swappable, allowing you to change cards without interrupting shooting. It has a freely rotating, 4 inch, LCD monitor and a 1.55 Megapixel EVF showing 100% field of view. It comes with an 18x HD L-series lens that features a zoom range of 29-527mm (35mm equivalent), twin autofocus systems, and three-mode optical image stabilization. It also has a waveform monitor and vectorscope built right into the camera.

Inputs and outputs, including HDMI Output, Component Video Output (using the included DTC-1500 cable), Composite Video Output (BNC and 3.5mm), USB 2.0 Hi-Speed Terminal, and a Remote Control Terminal (compatible with LANC protocol). There is also a built-in stereo microphone and two XLR audio inputs with +48V phantom power.

Note: This item ships with a mic clip adapter and 2 small proprietary screws that are removed and placed in a baggie to protect the clip/ camcorder from damage during shipping. If one of these screws is missing we have to take the camcorder out of the rental rotation until we can replace the screws (which is usually 2-3 weeks). The replacement cost for these screws is $60 a piece and we will charge the card the order was originally placed on if the camcorder is returned missing a screw. Please take care to ensure the screws and all supplied accessories are returned.

Here is a list of Canon approved CF cards for the XF300.

Need memory cards? CF cards which are fast enough for recording 50Mbps are available in 16GB and 32GB.

Need a spare battery? Its always a good idea.

Kris’s Take: A terrific offering from Canon for event videography, documentary filmaking, or even narrative features. This camera has been largely overlooked due to that little HDSLR “revolution” you might have heard about; but that’s very unfortunate, because the XF300 is one of the best cameras Canon has ever made. Perhaps more exciting than the camera itself is the codec it records with; you can record 50mbps and full 4:2:2 colorspace without having to use an external recorder. Not only that, but it records these super high quality files to standard compact flash cards. Just keep in mind, this new codec is quite demanding of your editing suite; so older computers need not apply.

Works Well With:

• Litepanels Micro or MicroPro or Ringlight
• Rode NTG-2 Shotgun Mic
• Sennheiser Wireless Kit
• Fluid Head and Tripod Heavy duty or Medium duty

Includes:

• Camera w/zoom lens and hood
• Manual
• Battery (BP-955)
• Compact Power Adapter w/cord (battery charger)
• DC Cable
• Utilities Disc

*Shoulder Strap, Component Cable, & Remote available upon request.

Technical Specs:

Sensor: (3) 1/3" CMOS

Filter Thread: 82mm

Recording Media: CF Card (2 Slots) for movie files

Record Time (approximate per 1GB): 25 Mbps – 4.8min; 35 Mbps – 3.5min; 50 Mbps – 2.5min.

Resolution: 1920×1080, 1440x 1080, 1280x 720

Frame Rates: 60i, 60p, 30p, 24p

Battery Life (approximate): 3hr

Audio Input: XLR 3-pin jack (2)

Manual