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September 14, 2005

Live Coverage of Canon HDV Press Launch

By Richard Baguley
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This is where I will be providing live coverage of the Canon press event at the Canon Expo where they will be announcing details of the forthcoming HDV camcorder. I'll update this page as the information is released...

10:55 AM: They are starting late, but Deb Epstein VP and General Manager is now on stage.

10:58, Yoruko Adachi, Preisdent of Canon takes the stage

11:00: The HDV model is called the XL H1: see photo
 
11:05: 'At Canon, anything is possible'. Except true 24p on this camcorder, it seems.
 
11:11: Details now on the Canon Web Site
 
11:13 The price is $8,999, availability is November.
 
11:16 From the Canon Web site: 'The XL H1 delivers 1080i HD resolution, along with selectable frame rates of 60i, 30F and 24F. For high-speed subjects 30 Frame delivers spectacular clarity, 24 Frame gives the look and motion of film.'
 
11:20 They are now covering the other products Canon is announcing, including a relationship with Adobe. One interesting fact: the XL H1 includes a HD-SDI output, a first for a HDV camcorder, I think.
 
11:25 The XL H1 comes with a 20x zoom lens, which includes what they call a Super Range Optical Stabilizer, which detects low-frequency vibrations (such as shaky hands after a night of too much beer) and adapts to them. This sounds promising: vibration is more of a problem on HD video than SD.
 
11:30 Elliot Peck, VP & General Manager of sales is disussing the important of R&D to Canon: 'Canon is America's choice for digital cameras'. He also claims that 'we are the choice for media professionals'.
 
11:35 On the launch of the Digital Rebel: 'We sold more SLRs in six months than the industry sold in the previous 5 years'
 
11:40 The viewfinder on the XL H1 is 2.5 inches, which could make focussing a bit difficult. Fortunately, it has a mode called 'Focus Help', with two settings: 'The first setting – Peaking – creates an exaggerated line in the viewfinder that disappears when the image is focused. The second setting – Magnifying – enlarges the viewfinder image, helping the camera operator better see if the image is properly focused.'
 
11:45 'Canon is kicking it up a notch with the XL H1. Bam!' Gotta love the pop culture references.
 
11:47: 'The XL H1 and 20X lens will be avaialble in November for under $9000'
 
11:50: And the press conference is done. Robin has the details on the software package that allows for remote control of the camcorder, including most of the settings.
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