Hi, Carl here for ProAV, and, just in case you can't tell, I'm not in the showroom today.
I'm actually at the headquarters of canon uk to take a look at this, the new XC15.
I really do want to thank Canon for letting us come here and have a look at this, I think
we are actually one of, if not THE first people in the uk to get a hands on demo with the
camera.
So a huge thank you to canon for that.
So what is the xc15?
Well it's essentially a sibling camera to this, the original XC10, and the main difference
if fairly obvious.
The XC15 lets you attach a module here on the top which gives you 2 full locking XLR
connections.
This is a huge bonus.
The original xc10 has fantastic, broadcast quality even, 4K video.
But was let down a bit by only having a 3.5mm jack input for your microphones.
So having the option to use XLR microphones with phantom power and locking connections
on the xc15 really is a massive step up for audio.
Plus because it uses a cable and a removable module, it means you can disconnect them when
your not recording sound and make the camera just as small light and convenient as the
xc10 was.
The audio isn't the only change though.
They have also adjusted the gamma settings to bring them more in line with the rest of
canons video lineup which is great to see as the xc15 could be a really nice B camera
for c100 and c300 shooters.
Plus you now get a waveform tool, which means you can nail your exposure easier.
I really like canons waveform's.
Each manufacturer shows waveform's slightly different and I've always personally found
canons the easiest to read.
It's only a small thing but it does make quite a difference when your out there filming.
Auto focus is the same as it is on the xc10, but it's worth remembering that the xc10 has
been updated fairly recently.
The auto focus was already quite good when I tested it last year, but it was a bit slow
sometimes.
It's still a little slower that the c300 mk2 is for example, but it's definitely quicker
than it was, and more importantly once it starts to focus it hits that focus dead on.
There's no searching back and forth which can be a problem with some cameras autofocus.
These are definitely cameras which are designed to be used with autofocus and you shouldn't
have any problem relying on it when your out there filming.
If you do have the xc10, you should definitely make sure your using the latest firmware,
as its updates definitely improved the camera, it's well worth checking.
Video is much the same as the xc10.
You get 4K in a fantastic broadcast quality xf-avc format, recorded at 305 Mbps to c-fast
2 cards.
Or you can have nicely down sampled 1080p video to the SD cards.
Canon are very proud of the 1080p down sampling in this camera, and for good reason.
If all you need is 1080p you will be very happy with the image from this camera.
So let's take a closer look at the big standout feature of the xc15, this XLR Adapter.
It's actually the existing ma-400 Adapter which was designed for the c300 mark 2 which
is why it's got this second shoe mount sticking out of the back.
As you'd expect from a c300 accessory it's very sturdy and well made.
The controls are easily accessible here on the top and the locking xlrs are here on the
side.
This is being filmed on the c300 mk2 now, and the audio is being recorded using a Sennheiser
AVX system.
So lets swap the setup over to use the xc15 so you can hear if there's a noticeable difference.
So we are now filming on the xc10.
Using the same Sennheiser AVX wireless audio kit.
This is exactly the sort of setup where your going to want to be using the xc15 over the
xc10.
With the xc10 I would have had to use adapters to connect to that 3.5mm jack, relied on the
weak preamps inside the camera to record the sound and adjusted my levels in a menu.
Now with the xc15 we can plug the receiver straight into the XLR and set the levels exactly
where we want them using a nice dial.
The audio should sound a lot better as well.
So that's about it for now, hopefully I'll be able to release some test footage from
the xc15, and compare it a bit to the xc10.
It hopefully shouldn't be too long before the cameras start to ship and we can get one
in our showroom so if you want me to test anything else just let me know in the comments
below.
Make sure to like the video and subscribe to the channel as it really does help us out.
Thanks for watching, and ill see you in the next video.