| sent on January 23, 2024
Pros: Compactness, battery life, compatibility with LP-E6 and later batteries, image quality in video, EOS Cinema derived software, Active Heat Dissipation System
Cons: No dual pixel CMOS, no raw in photo mode, no waveform, lack of a dial and a few additional buttons. I would have preferred two uhs-II sd cards, compared to the cfast+sd combination
Opinion: The camera in question, which cost over 2500 euros when new, was a product primarily dedicated to photojournalists. It has a 1-inch sensor with a total of 13.36 megapixels, 4:3 aspect ratio: this guarantees 12 megapixels in photo mode, and video resolutions up to 4k UHD (3840x2160). The video format is therefore similar to super 16mm. In 4k, the machine records at a bitrate of 305 or 205Mpbs, in 4:2:2 (8 bits): with full-hd, the machine records in 4k, then scaling up to 1920x1080. Unfortunately, the only framerates available are 25 and 50p: for reasons unknown to me, the 24fps option is not available. Also, while even the 5d mark II had the PAL/NTSC option, the xc10 intended for the European market is PAL only. The camera has an adjustable (but not articulated) screen: there is no viewfinder, but a loupe is supplied to be fixed to the screen, so as to have a sort of viewfinder. However, by doing so, you lose the ability to take advantage of the screen's touch function. In terms of ergonomics and controls, the machine has a rotatable handle like other models in the cinema series. However, there is only one dial, and there are only a few buttons available. On the other hand, there is an active cooling system. The software is derived from eos cinema, with numerous options: of course there is the Canon log (not log 2 and 3, since the camera records at 8 bits), with which the iso sensitivity starts from 500. There is a built-in 3-stop nd filter. Surprisingly, there are no waveforms or histograms, and you can only rely on the zebra function for exposure. The camera applies an automatic noise reduction, which however cannot be deactivated: it does a decent job, but I would have preferred to have the option to disable it, since with dedicated software you can certainly do better, preserving more useful detail. As far as autofocus is concerned, at the time the dual pixel cmos had already been implemented on several eos cinema cameras, but on the xc10 a contrast detection system is used: tracking and face recognition functions are available, and the system works quite well on static or slow-moving subjects, but when there are more dynamic situations, The gap to Dual Pixel CMOS is obvious. The built-in lens is a 24-200 f2.8-5.6 equivalent: it's not parfocal, but the zoom travel is long enough to have good handling during video. There is optical stabilisation, to which digital stabilisation can be added. Overall, it is still a very versatile camera: I used it, for example, to shoot theatrical essays, where I appreciated the large depth of field guaranteed by the combination of optics and small sensor, so that I could work without problems at the maximum aperture of the aperture. The photographic part, on the other hand, is nothing exceptional: the autofocus is not very performing with moving subjects, the shutter speed is slow, and the camera only shoots in jpeg. I'm convinced that they could have implemented the raw mode with a firmware update: however, evidently Canon marketing had other ideas... On the net I read reviews bordering on the surreal, where self-styled experts compared the xc10 to the bridge cameras of the time. Well, this means you don't have the slightest idea of the product you have in your hand, since the only analogy with a bridge camera is the size of the sensor. On many professional camcorders, small sensors are used for operational reasons, for example to reduce the size of the lenses, but this certainly does not put them on the same level as compact or bridge cameras... |
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