DVinfo.Net by Chris Hurd

I had reported previously that Canon Inc. has shown a non-working mock-up of their next generation file-based (flash memory) professional video camcorder at the InterBEE 2009 trade show in Japan last November. This past week, on Friday 5 Feb. 2010, Canon USA choose the FCP SuperMeet in San Francisco as the first public venue in which to display the same mock-up for a U.S. audience. Similar to the first unveiling at InterBEE, the unlabeled model was shown only under glass, however I managed to sneak a few photos when it was briefly out of its display case at the conclusion of the event.

Having seen only a handful of low resolution web-optimized photos from overseas reports on the InterBEE show, I was anxious to take my own pictures and present some larger sizes and various angles of the new camera. Some twenty-odd images are presented here, divided between this page and two companions, revealing a few external features which, although they aren’t labeled, should provide some clues about what to expect once the press release carrying the official announcement of this camera finally arrives. Except in a few cases regarding specifications that have been confirmed by Canon USA, pretty much all of my commentary that follows is a series of educated guesses based on my knowledge of the Canon XH series of tape-based HDV camcorders upon which this next-generation file-based (that is, tapeless) version is based. read more...