Professional Camcorder Canon XF 705

If you are looking in the market which are the best camcorders for making videos with really high-quality fixed lens camcorders I’m presenting to you Canon XF 705 because they’re hugely popular workhorses.

the first thing I would like to say is it’s really amazing a high-quality fixer lens for a camcorder I will say this camera is made for the future because Canon XF 705 is the first broadcast camera on the market with test dot six-five with CVC codec which is about the half of the size when compared with h.264 compression.

simultaneous recording and relay recording features are also possible with this camera another interesting fact is that the camera is designed in such a way that it can be handled and operated very easily, from focus ring to assist functions everything is in your fingertip.

as a result, it can do high-quality recording light 4k UHD for two to ten-bit footage into an SD card media.

So if any of you were used the XF 305 you’ll know that was a really solid really dependable workhorse of a camera designed for the daily grind of shooting and that is exactly what Canon XF 705 is.

After Canon’s release and been out they retail Canon XF 705 for $7000 so I definitely would expect at some point in the future to see that price point change especially as newer cameras come out so I recommend checking the Canon XF705 price on bhphotovideo.com.

Canon XF 305 was introduced in 2010 now that it’s a camera that is very definitely showing its age it’s had a very long product life cycle.

Disclosure: Some of the links on this site are affiliate links, meaning that if you click on one of the links and purchase an item, I may receive a commission. All opinions however are my own.

  • A direct competitor to the XF705 is Sony Z280 because this camera features a 1/2 inch sensor.

Canon XF 705 is a refresh of that same mentality but designed from the ground up for a modern environment for 2021 in fact, some would say probably myself included would argue that this is not designed for 2021 this is designed for 2021 2022 and beyond because of things like HP point 2 6 5 compressions, for example, Canon XF 705 4K Camcorder has definitely been future-proofed as a camera.

Canon-XF-705

But there is very much still a place and a need in the market for really high-quality fixed lens camcorders. And that is exactly what this is it is essentially Canon’s update.

let’s have a detailed of Canon xf 705 review and share of hands-on experience of Canon.

I would like to say that it’s really amazing a high-quality fixer lens for a camcorder.

Pros

  • 24.5 15 times optical zoom lens
  • F to point 8 2 F 4.5 focal length
  • 30x zoom range when working in HD
  • 12 g SDI port and HDMI port capable of doing 4k 50 or 60 P in 10 bit 4 to 2
  • stream in 4k H point to 6/5 HDR
  •  fixed lens
  •  dual-pixel AF technology
  • 4k codec with 10 bit for 2 to UHD at up to 60 frames per second
  • Ability to use HEV C or H point to 65 compression
  • dual pixel autofocus
  • 4K image quality
  • easy to manage to focus
  • onto SD cards
  • two SD card slots
  • capable of HDR work with c-loc 3 h LG + PQ recording internally
  • Ability to record HDR and SDR simultaneously
  • 15 times optical L Series lens
  • 5 axis optical image stabilization
  • Ability to embed HDR data
  • 12 G SDI port

Cons

  • limited window
  • storage space problem
  • no hard stops

this camera is made for now and for the future because Canon XF705 is the first broadcast camera in the world with a test dot six-five.

It CVC codec is about half of the size when compared with h.264 compression.

As a result, it can do high-quality recording light 4K UHD for two to ten-bit footage into an SD card media in combination with the professional dot MX of file wrapper which is most common in the broadcast.

Not gonna makes a difference in the industry now almost all the leading nonlinear editing platforms.

1.Camera Performance

It has a full broadcast quality 4k codec with 10 bit for 2 to UHD at up to 60 frames a second but Canon have decided to use HEV C or H point to 65 compressions because this makes it the first camera design for broadcast to use this compression method which is a huge step for the industry.

XF 705 is capable of HDR work with c-loc 3 h LG + PQ recording internally + you can record HDR and SDR simultaneously with one a higher or lower exposure than the other to get the best results possible both modes.

this is 15 times optical zoom it’s 30 times digital zoom has B and C out as well as HDMI out this stuff does have its own microphone pickup of course you’re better off either running a shotgun microphone or a wireless lock pack D.

So, H point 265 is the future for compression there are no two ways about it it’s far more efficient than H point two six-four and it means that this 10-bit 4k codec on the XF 705 comes in at a data rate of 160 megabits a second which is really lightweight and manageable.

XF 705 has a four-inch touchscreen this does have a built-in mechanical ND filter, SDI out it has timecode out, an XLR input there’s a second input, you can run two audio channels into this camera at the same time all the necessary ports are in the back easy to access, it has a rocker which is definitely pressure oriented so probably the more you press it down the quicker as zooms in or out.

so it’s a nice decent range particularly it’s quite nice on the wide end it goes a bit wide and some other competitive competing camcorders.

Of course, that’s in 4k mode in 1080p I actually got an extra two times on the tele and it turns this 15 times some range into thirty times because you can crop into that 4k image without losing any resolution whatsoever and you can do that built-in on the camera.

so that’s really really convenient and effectively gives you thirty times zoom range when you’re working in HD the footage is all recorded onto two SD cards which gives you a nice source of affordable media.

some of the other competing cameras work with very expensive media and so for a camera of this quality to be using affordable media like an SD card it’s really nice, also get some great options for recording externally because there’s a 12 g SDI port and the HDMI port.

both of which are capable of doing 4k 50 or 60 P in 10 bit 4 to 2 which is huge so if you pair this with a monitor recorder from Atmos someone like that you’re going to be getting 10 bit 42 ProRes files which are fantastic.

Something I must mention is I don’t really understand why the camcorder manufacturers don’t put a second button for handheld which is what these cameras are primarily designed for it doesn’t matter you’re going to be holding it’s got one record button on the handgrip and one up on the top handle.

2. Zoom ring

I was able to use manual zoom or servo zoom via the flip switch on the side one of the things that did frustrate me was the focusing ring it felt rather loose I would love to see some more resistance to it.

What I discover later onscreen you can see the focus point from 1.1 to 1.7 which was my focus distance that is a rather clever detail I find out a little too late but it nice little detail anyway.

One of the things that catch me by surprise but this is a problem with all camera manufacturers of late and that is actually using the camera outdoors.

I was able to see the screen in sunlight I can see the Zebra levels, but that is just about it I couldn’t focus.

3. Image Quality

With its lightweight high-quality codec combined with the larger one-inch sensor and canons dual pixel autofocus, you should get great image quality with a slightly shallower depth of field than normal.

it also has 5 axis optical image stabilization inside and a 9 blade iris there are three steps of nd quarter a sixteenth and a 64.

I realized that for HDR images you really need a 10-bit camera like this 12 G STI image HDR on the monitor you only have to use one cable.

I was extremely impressed with the images straight from the factory didn’t have to change anything in the picture profiles and the skin tones were spot on as well.

The color saturation was really good the black levels were a really nice and sharp lens as well, I rigorously tested it zooming in but could find no loss of sharpness in the edges.

And from wide to tele the image is sharp throughout the biggest drawback of that lens is the loss of aputure but that is a compromise made when utilizing a 1″ sensor.

It is physically impossible to produce that kind of lens in any other way, given the technology of today I feel Canon has made a really good compromise.

This gives you a decent white and tele for your various filming situations.

4. Camera Lens

the camera lens is a 15 times optical L Series lens which is a 25.5 to 380 2.5 equivalent it’s got 3 control rings and it ramps from F to point 8 2 F 4.5 that focal length in a 35-millimeter equivalent is about a 25.5 to-300 and 82.5 range, this is a bit wider than I’ve seen on some competing cameras which I’m really pleased to see.

Canon XF 705 Specs

  • HDMI 2.0 output capable of 4K UHD 60P
  • UHD 4K up to 60 fps, 1080P to 120 fps
  • H.265/head codec, 4: 2: 2 10-bit Color
  • 15x optical zoom, 30x digital

5. Canon xf 705 Sensor

this is a fixed lens camcorder that is clearly designed for broadcast work it has a 1-inch 4k CMOS sensor with their dual pixel AF technology built-in so its approximately effective pixels are going to be about 8.29 megapixels.

1-inch sensor means the most sensitive less noise and last point better image quality this is all powered by some pretty beefy processors inside which means the camera is capable of some pretty interesting things.

Another interesting fact is that the camera is designed in such a way that it can be handled and operated very easily from the focus ring to assist functions.

6. Canon xf 705 Body Design

Canon XF 705 Body

Everything is in your fingertip playback buttons as well as the control joystick for the menu are conveniently located dedicated gain and white balance such as quickly assigns values as desired shutter mode

Canon XF 705 is the first broadcast cam in the world to shoot this amazing h.265 HEV

C codec is super impressive 4k 60p, impressive 15 times optical zoom, and a 30 times digital zoom.

7. Slow Motion

  • there is 4k 60p of course for half speed 4k if you’re using 25 B or 30 Peters or liver but there’s also 1080p 120 frames a second which will be very useful.

For those who want to do some slow-motion and an all-around impressive ergonomic built camera, this also runs a one-inch sensor right definitely a nice big one in sensor a nice for low-light capability.

8. Dynamic range

  • It boasts a wide dynamic range in the high dynamic range shooting capability and has also HD at 120 frames.

9. Canon log 3

Canon xf 705 is the first in the xf line of cameras to offer canon log 3 which offers creatives a wider dynamic range with more flexible color grading options Canon log 3 is especially effective for documentary settings where image quality is paramount.

Canon log acquires the image and applies a logarithmic curve to maximize dynamic range the resulting image has a flat D saturated look this allows editors additional control in image and color manipulation in post.

the benefits being is to preserve highlights and shadow details it’s a technique used widely in the cinema world log 3 provides 13 stops of dynamic range which gives editors the advantage of an image with preserved shadow and highlight detail to further simplify your workflow.

10. Dual Pixel Autofocus

this camera has cannons very impressive dual pixel autofocus which has become just the standard for to focus and has incredible fast focusing and also a facial recognition
and face tracking system.

11. LCD screen

So, first a touch screen of 4 inches 1.37 million pixels allow choosing exactly on 80% of the size of the screen.

With its Lcd screen, so you can manipulate the menu settings with a touch screen, its big brightness is good enough to shoot in sunlight also you can actually flip the LCD back into its holding position and then out the other side.

so if you wanted a right-handed LCD screen it also has a button on the bottom side that you can actually flip and mirror the actual picture on LCDs so that’s really impressive super impressed with its high contrast it’s fully manipulable also it allows you you can go set the contrast the color and the brightness in the menu.

So this is a format that everybody can use everybody knows you probably already have a ton of SD cards.

  • You can get 50 minutes of recording time on a 64 gig card.
  • So this camera is also non-capable of shooting the high dynamic range and wide dynamic range.

XF 705 shoots onto an SD card and then h.265 and the file sizes are nice small just 216 megabits per second.

So h.265 is a new codec for to broadcast industry, so you will make sure that your nonlinear editing Suites can handle the new codec.

Lowlights can also shoot Canon Clog 3 which is normally only being available with porcini cameras 200 to 300 C 100 but this is a prison presser.

12. Canon XF 705 Price

Product Dimensions 19.8 x 13.7 x 13.1 inches
Item Weight 2710 g
ASIN B07MHDBVCB
Item model number XF705
Date First Available December 29, 2018
Manufacturer Canon

Advantages

the biggest feature of this camera is that it can record for 2 to 10 page high dynamic range directly into SD card I really like that’s just using SD cards because they’re cheap.

what I did find positive is the viewfinder it is really good and I had no problems finding focus nor exposure that being said indoors.

the screen was a real joy to use very big, I think it is about 4″. sharp and gave a great image very similar to the screen on the Canon C200.

It is really easy to push the screen through the camera and move to the other side without affecting your blind angle, I found that to be a rather smart little detail the first time I have seen this feature on any camera.

Disadvantages

What I didn’t like and I knew this beforehand, is the non-constant aperture from F2.8- 4. 8 which bothered me just a little, and the reason being, and also why I initially wanted to test this, is that some of the performers would walk off into the crowds.

One of the negatives on the lens you have three different rings the aperture ring which I found to have quite a lot of resistance and it just keeps spinning and there are no hard stops.

  • So after all this review Canonn XF 705 is traditionally a broadcast camera it’s a 50 times optical zoom.

it’s brilliant that it’s pretty much an all-around camera and it’s gonna be a flagship in Canon 4k realm broadcast cameras.

I shot or in a doc shooting environment for live events it captures beautiful images and you will not be disappointed. So if you own an xf 705 you have an even more versatile and powerful camera.

Wraping Up

it has lots of smart features that will really make your life easier as a shooter and brings H point to 6/5 into the professional camera world but what do you think does this have everything that you need from a camera like this a simple model to work with this level of the camera who doesn’t want an SDI port on their camera.

this camera is for users who demand a high spec 4k UHD camera capable of 59.94 p4 to 210-bit recording and it includes a full HD slow-motion frame rate of 120 frames per second, ideal for content production, newsgathering sports, and live events.

Conclusion

so a year in the future seven thousand dollars might not be quite the accurate price point but I would say that’s a pretty competitive price point for a camera that has literally everything baked into it.

XF 705 is without a doubt one of the best handheld cameras I have ever tested I was impressed with the images. This camera is definitely gonna make its footprint in the broadcast industry.

4482b5dbe3f46c5e5e4be9047a383ee8

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *