Canon Updates High-End Camcorder

NEW YORK -- Canon has unveiled at DV Expo East here the XL2 camcorder, a high-end model designed to appeal to filmmakers who want to create a film-like look while shooting on video.

The $4999 L2 follows Canon's high-end XL1s camcorder, which has been very popular with filmmakers. For example, director Danny Boyle used it to shoot the horror film 28 Days Later. The new model's "cine look" mode tweaks the color and dynamics of video to look more like film and adds a pseudo-film grain effect.

XL2 Highlights

The 3-CCD XL2 also supports a variety of frame rates, which again allows filmmakers to shoot video that looks more like film. Among the rates the camcorder can record, all to MiniDV tapes: the standard TV rate of 60 frames per second, interlaced (60i); 30 frames per second, progressive (30p); and 24 frames per second (24p), the run rate of films in the cinema.

The 24p rate is very useful for projects that will be transferred to film after editing, as it does not require conversion to a different number of frames when the video is copied to film.

The camcorder's $4999 price tag includes a 20X zoom lens; Canon plans to release a $3999 version lacking the lens later this year. Unlike most camcorders, the XL2 has an interchangeable lens mount, so lenses can be swapped out. The XL2 will be compatible with most of the lenses produced for the XL1.

Another interesting new feature is a Software Developer's Kit for the camcorder, so users can write programs to control every aspect of the camcorder from a remote PC. The software controls could even let a remote user change the focus and zoom of the camcorder. No software is immediately available that uses this feature, but Canon expects it will be a big selling point.

"You can not only control the camcorder from the PC for changing the look of the image, but also for controlling the features of the camcorder," says Michael Zorich, marketing director of Canon's Photographic Products Group. "You could have hands-off operation, for example, where you don't want to touch the camcorder to disturb a shot or where you want to control it from a far distance."

More to Come

Missing from the new camcorder is support for recording high-definition video. Although other manufacturers, such as JVC, are marketing camcorders that can record HD video, Canon has not yet added this to its models. Company representatives say Canon is waiting for standards to develop that let users easily record and edit HD video. The company is involved in an industry committee working on a standard to allow recording HD video to standard MiniDV tapes (called HDV).

"Canon's plan is to introduce a [HD] product" Zorich says. "We don't have a time line for that just yet; we aren't going to make an announcement on a product and then deliver it a year later."