Canon XA50 / XA55

Canon XA50 and XA55 Overview

Video credit: CanonUSA

Design & Features

The Canon XA50 and 55 is essentially the same camera, the only difference being the addition of an HD-SDI terminal on the XA55. Both these camcorders are designed to combine the core features of your favorite camcorder with the excellent quality of 4K to produce content perfect for professional production.  

Viewing, Handling, & Controls

Both the XA50 and XA55 have an onboard 3” touch screen LCD panel with a 0.24” electronic viewfinder that allows for easy framing of shots and detecting faces. The EVF also feature several menu options for better control of the camcorder when shooting and it offers a 45-degree tilt for comfortable operation when shooting in different angles.

The touch screen panel was designed for Canon’s autofocus systems where you can easily switch shooting modes within just a few clicks of the finger. These camcorders measure 8.5” in height and 10.4” in length with the handle attached. They also weigh just 2.1 lbs. making them pretty lightweight and easy to carry around without sacrificing its features.

Image & Video

The Canon XA50 and XA55 are the first models in the XA range to feature a 1.0-type CMOS sensor, which is seven times larger than the typical ½.84” CMOS sensor. This makes for better quality videos even in low light and noisy locations. This large sensor also offers a shallow depth of field with large aperture shots and the low noise in your shots is due to the DIGIC DV6 imaging engine.

Both the XA50 and XA55 are also designed to offer wide dynamic range gamma support that could stretch up to 800% past the standard. This means that you can enjoy smooth images with such accurate color that you don’t need to do a lot of post -production work.

These camcorders also come with the Dual Pixel Autofocus technology and Canon’s signature 4K 15x optical zoom lens with Super UD elements that can shot anywhere from the 25.5mm to 382.5mm focal range.

Although the XA50 and XA55 are both marketed for shooting 4K videos, it is one of only a few camcorders that could really produce topnotch content. Face detection and auto finder features can be operated in both face priority and face-only modes.

Audio

The XA50 and XA55 both come with a pair of XLR terminals that makes audio level management a lot easier. It also comes with a cold-shoe and mountable microphone for excellent audio quality.

Storage

Such a powerful camcorder should come with the right storage support. Both the XA50 and XA55 offer support in recording XF-AVC and MP4 at up to 4K UHD 25P to SD cards. These camcorders come with dual SD card slots that allow for relay and backup recording.

Extras & Connectivity

Some of the XA50 and XA55’s other interesting features include infrared mode, XLR inputs with linear PCM 4-channel audio recording and an additional 3G-SDI for the XA55. Both these camcorders also have low power consumption, so they can shoot continuously for up to two hours with just one charge.

Pros & Cons

With such feature-packed models, it’s easy to see why a lot of professional videographers want to get their hands on the XA50 and XA55. In fact, it’s even hard to pinpoint a flaw in these camcorders because they’re very efficient and convenient at the same time.

Final Thoughts

The XA55 with its extra 3G-SDI terminal will cost you $2,699 while the XA50 is priced at $2,199. Whatever model you choose, you’re guaranteed to get a product that was created with your convenience in mind. Both these camcorders have all the core features that you could ever want and need in a professional device, so they’re definitely worth the investment.

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