Canon's Role in a Crowded Prosumer HD Marketby David KenderPublished on Jul 26, 2006 6:00 AM |
Advertisement
|
John Neely contributed to this article.
|
Read Full Coverage of Canon XH G1 and XH A1 on CamcorderInfo.com |
||
|
Comparison Chart to Canon XL H1 |
||
July 25, 2006 - Canon’s announcement of the XH G1 and XH A1 today suddenly thrust the company back into the spotlight of the high definition video world, nearly a year after the XL H1 release. Tripling its HDV line-up, Canon may have some catching up do to in a market that has grown by leaps and bounds in the three years since the inception of consumer-oriented HD. Do these new models compete?
History of Consumer HD
HDV was first brought to market by JVC, who created the recording standard, then released the GR-HD1 in early 2003 (MSRP $2500). This 720P camcorder was the first to tap the consumer market, albeit at the higher end, for HD video. Sony followed suit, joining the HDV partnership and releasing their first HDV camcorder, the HDR-FX1, in September 2004, followed by the pro-version, the HVR-Z1, two months later. All of Sony’s camcorders had the alternate frame rate, 1080i, rather than JVC’s 720P.
Canon also joined the HDV partnership in 2003. The public waited, and waited, and waited while Sony continued to release HDV camcorders, their HDR-HC1 and HVR-A1. In the interim, Panasonic chose not to join the HDV ranks but to strike out on its own with the DVCPRO HD format, though they concentrated largely on high end models for the first few years. But only recently, after careful observations of the market, did Canon finally make its move.
The announcement of the Canon XL H1 was met by a surprised but generally enthused response. The $8999 price was higher than any HDV camcorder in the prosumer market, but the interchangeable lens system (including compatibility with the wide array of XL lenses), excellent handling, input/output selection, 24 frame mode, and simplicity and affordability of the HDV media (ordinary MiniDV tapes) was impossible to deny. The XL series had been a mainstay of indie filmmakers, documentarians, and students for years, and brand loyalties tend to run strong in the camcorder markets. There was a good chance that those willing to spend the extra money would eventually yield to the glamour of the Xl H1. But they may no longer have to.
Canon XH G1 and XH A1
The XH G1 and XH A1
The XH G1 and XH A1 will likely have as large an impact, if not larger, as the XL H1. The significant price reduction of the XH A1 (expected MSRP $3999, less than half the price of the Xl H1), for a camera that has the same imager, processor, and manual and automatic control suites, is nothing short of a godsend for XL2 adherents looking to upgrade to HD. It is almost difficult to overstate the effect this will have on the prosumer market. Even pockets of the professional market, like independent ENGs, indie filmmakers, and law enforcement, are likely to consider it.
The XH G1 (expected MSRP $6999) adds the sole distinguishing feature, a jack pack of professional inputs and outputs – TC-in/out (switchable), Genlock-in, and a new and improved SD/HD-SDI in/out that embeds the audio along with the timecode and video. (The XL H1 required a separate audio connection.) This add-on captures the those professionals in between the XH A1 and XL H1 – those without the need for interchangeable lenses or the budget to enjoy them, but who work in multi-camera shoots.
Canon XL H1
Of course, those in the market for camcorders consider all the options, and Canon has real competition from other manufacturers.
Sony
Sony currently manufactures more HDV camcorders than any other company. Even before JVC released the GR-HD1, Sony’s engineers were hard at work, and in September of 2004, the company released the HDR-FX1, which considerably upped the HDV ante with three 1/3 inch CCD’s and improved overall video performance.
Sony HDR-FX1 and HDR-HC1
Despite the quality of its video, the Sony HDR-FX1 was not a slam-dunk for the prosumer and indie filmmaker crowd, because it lacked some important features that were present on the GR-HD1, including XLR inputs and a 24 frame progressive mode. It took only two months for Sony to release another HDV camcorder, the HVR-Z1. This model retained 1080i video, but added a suite of professional features, including XLR inputs as well as the ability to record HDV at 60i and 50i. It still, however, had no true 24p mode.
Sony quickly followed up, in May 2005, with the first HDV camcorder to break the $2000 barrier, the HDR-HC1. The HDR-HC1 was also the first HDV or high end camcorder to use a CMOS chip rather than the 3 CCD image sensors on the HDR-FX1 and HVR-Z1 and the first relatively compact high definition camcorder. It was also packed with enough high-end features to deserve the attention of prosumers. Unlike Sony’s other camcorders, which targeted the consumer market, the HDR-HC1 had a true manual control ring for focus and zoom, external microphone and headphone jacks. While its manual control feature set fell short of many of its standard definition contemporaries like the Canon GL2 and Panasonic PV-GS400, the HDR-HC1 was an impressive device for consumers. It still left many prosumers wanting more, especially for the coveted 24p mode. In fact, not a single Sony prosumer HDV camcorder to date has offered this feature.
Less than a year later, Sony released the its next consumer HDV camcorder, the HDR-HC3, with an even lower MSRP of $1500. With comparable video performance, the HDR-HC3 came in at a lower price point, but lost many of the features that made its predecessor such a compelling product, trading in the multifunction ring for an undersized dial and losing the external microphone jack. Sony also released a professional version of the HDR-HC1 – the HVR-A1 – built around the same palm-sized frame but featuring XLR inputs with phantom power.
Last week, Sony made high definition video news once again with its release of the first ever camcorders to utilize the new AVCHD codec, based on the H.264 MPEG-4 codec. The HDR-SR1 is a hard disk drive model, while the HDR-UX1 records high definition video to DVD, and they closely resemble the design of the HDR-HC1. AVCHD represents an expansion of high definition video into user-friendly non-tape formats, and should encourage many more users to bid standard definition video farewell. While AVCHD certainly has the potential to compete with HDV for prosumer and professional users, at present it appears headed for the point-and-shoot market. Much of AVCHD's true potential, such as a bit rate that nearly matches HDV, is met only halfway by the new products.
Panasonic
Panasonic’s high definition video strategy to date has been focused on its proprietary DVCPRO HD format, which records to flash media P2 cards instead of tape, used on the company’s AG-HVX200. The AG-HVX200 is currently Panasonic’s only high definition prosumer camcorder, and inherits the design of the MiniDV AG-DVX100. The AG-DVX100A and AGDVX100B gained a loyal following in the independent filmmaking community based on their combination of quality video, 24P, strong manual controls, and great value for money.
While the popularity of the AG-DVX100 might seem to assure success to its DVCPRO HD heir, Panasonic’s proprietary and expensive P2 approach has kept many of the company’s fans from investing in the AG-HVX200. While the camcorder’s video performance is strong and it is the only model capable of recording at full 1080 progressive resolution, it is not capable of recording HD video to tape – the format most familiar to prosumers and professionals. Instead, the AG-HVX200 records high definition video only to Panasonic’s P2 flash memory cards ,which cary a very high price tag and a small capacity (the camcorder does record standard definition video to MiniDV tapes).
Panasonic AG-HVX200
At first glance, P2 cards might appear to be a winning proposition, but at present the company only makes the cards in 4GB and 8GB capacities that sell for a whopping $550 and $1400 respectively. According to Panasonic, two 8GB P2 cards are only capable of storing 16 to 40 minutes HD video – at a media cost of $2800. The company claims that the quality of high definition video captured to P2 is superior to “electronically processed” video recorded to tape, and promises larger P2 cards in the near future. It’s also possible to record HD to third party storage devices, like the FireStore FS-100, which has a 100GB capacity at a street price of around $700.
|
|
|
JVC GR-HD1, the start of it all |
JVC
The progenitor of HDV, JVC still has a foot in the market. But, just as Prometheus was punished for bringing fire to the people, so to has JVC suffered for its efforts. The cost of being first in line is that competitors have the opportunity to watch and wait, studying the market's demands and the weaknesses of those already in the fray.
Canon and Sony seem to excel at the waiting game. JVC’s Everio hard disk drive (HDD) series was the first of its kind and struggled to find a market share amid criticisms of poor performance. Two years after the Everio's introduction, Sony released its own HDD camcorder, easily topping the Everio’s performance.
Sony didn’t wait long to join the HDV market, but its plan to crowd the market with the Sony name paid off. Now that Canon has three models in the running, JVC is looking weak. Just yesterday, JVC posted net losses for the year so far. There are also rumors that Matsushita, JVC’s parent company, is looking to drop the brand altogether. Whether the creator of HDV will live long enough to see the format’s lifespan remains a question.
JVC has not stopped production of their HDV line, though. Last year they released the GY-HD100, and the updated GY-HD110 is due to hit shelves soon.
Where it Stands
Canon’s new entries into the HD market are powerful promises of how cheap good technology can get. The XL H1 has been incredibly successful and applauded for it's outstanding video performance. Canon took that video performance and dropped the price, which will unquestionably provide tough competition for the existing mid-sized HD models. Once again, as we saw 3 years ago with the dominance of the Panasonic standard definition DVX100, it might all come down to three letters, 24P.
It will be very difficult for the Sony FX1, now the oldest camcorder in the group, to compete with a similarly priced model which includes superior video and 24F support, a feature that so many users now demand. As for Panasonic, 24P support was its cameras' biggest benefit over the Sony models. While the HVX200 does offer superior video quality, the relative inaccesibility and expense of P2 cards will likely further limit this camcorder to higher end productions, not low budget indies. While only the market numbers will tell, it seems the high quality and usability of the XH G1 and XH A1's HDV codec could make it a new break-away hit in the camcorder market.
|
Advertisement
|