Canon XA60 Professional 4K Ultra HD camcorder

Features
Battery Information
Inputs And Outputs

Features

Image Sensor: The Canon XA60 4K professional camcorder features a 1/2.3" CMOS image sensor with 21.14 total megapixels, and 8.29 effective megapixels (3840 x 2160). The video is processed by the on-board DIG!C DV 6 image processor.

3.5" LCD Touch Screen: The XA60 features a 3.5" widescreen, capacitive touch-sensitive LCD screen with approximately 2.76-million dots and 100% field of view. The flip-out LCD panel can be rotated 270° (180° forward, 90° backward), allowing you to shoot videos from high and low angles. Onscreen buttons allow you to maneuver through the menus and change settings. You can also review your images by swiping your finger up/down or left/right across the screen.

Viewfinder: In addition to the 3.5" LCD screen, the camcorder also features a separate 0.36" OLED color viewfinder with 1.77-million dots. The viewfinder is activated when it is pulled out, and you can tilt it up to 45° for easier viewing. A dioptric adjustment lever lets you adjust the viewfinder to your eyesight. The viewfinder includes a large, comfortable eye cup for blocking out light to improve visibility.

Recording Formats: The camcorder records movies in two different formats: MP4 and XF-AVC. Both formats use the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video compression codec, but XF-AVC clips are recorded as MXF (Material eXchange Format), which is compatible with all major non-linear editing (NLE) software. In MP4, you can choose 4-channel, 16-bit/48kHz Linear PCM or 2-channel 16-bit/48kHz AAC audio, while XF-AVC audio is recorded in 4-channel, 24-bit/48kHz Linear PCM format. Still photos are recorded in JPEG compression in three sizes: 3840 x 2160, 1920 x 1080, or 1280 x 720.

Recording Modes: When recording video, you can choose from the following clip sizes, bit rates, and frame rates:

Recording Media: The Canon XA60 camcorder captures video and still-images SD, SDHC, or SDXC memory cards (sold separately). Cards rated as SD Speed Class 6 or 10 are recommended for HD video recording. For 4K or slow/fast motion recording, SD cards rated UHS Speed Class U3 should be used. The camcorder is equipped with two memory card slots, giving you added recording capability. Recording simultaneously on both memory cards (Dual Recording) provides an instant backup for your recordings. Another option is Relay Recording, allowing the camcorder to automatically switch from one memory card to the other when the first card becomes full.

Slow and Fast Motion: You can record videos with a slow motion or fast motion effect during playback. By recording individual frames at specific intervals the camcorder can provide smooth time-lapse recordings up to 1200x and slow motion down to 0.4x original speed. No audio is recorded for these scenes. You can choose from the following recording rates:

Accessory Shoe: The camcorder features an Accessory Shoe (cold), which allows you to attach a range of optional accessories, such as an optional video light. The included Handle Unit uses the camcorder's Accessory Shoe for mounting, but has another shoe on top of the handle.

Handle/Microphone Holder Units: The XA65 comes with a Handle Unit for added flexibility and connectivity. The handle includes additional terminals and controls, an infrared light, tally lamp, accessory shoe (cold), and an external microphone holder. Two XLR audio input terminals are included on the handle unit for connecting professional microphones or other audio sources. You can switch between line, mic, or mic+48V (to add phantom power) for each of the XLR inputs. When mounted, the Handle Unit adds approximately 3-3/4" to the overall height of the camcorder, while the Handle Unit and Microphone Holder together add almost 5".

Genuine Canon Video Lens: The XA60 comes with a Genuine Canon 4K video lens with a 20x Optical zoom (35mm equivalent: 29.3 - 601mm at 4K, and 30.5 - 627mm at other resolutions) and a selectable 20x or 40x digital zoom for a 400x or 800x total zoom capability. The minimum focusing distance is a mere 0.39" (1 cm) at wide angle and 2' (60 cm) at telephoto. It includes 12 elements in 10 groups, including two aspheric elements. The lens has a 58mm filter thread, allowing you to add screw-on filters or an optional conversion lens. The lens has an 8-blade aperture to give you pleasing bokeh (out-of-focus elements) in your recordings. A lens hood is included to reduce the amount of stray light to enter the lens.

Conversion Lenses: Optional conversion lenses can be attached to the XA60 to increase or decrease the focal length. The TL-H58 Tele-converter increases the focal length by a factor of approximately 1.5x, while the WA-H58 Wide Attachment decreases it by a factor of 0.75x. When a conversion lens is attached, you will need to set the appropriate conversion lens setting in the menu for proper image stabilization and minimum object distance display. The minimum object distance throughout the entire zoom range is 4'-3" for the tele-converter and 2' for the wide attachment. The conversion lenses are available directly from Canon.

Digital Tele-Converter: The camcorder features a digital tele-converter that digitally increases the focal length of the camcorder by a factor of approximately 2x.

ND Filter: The camcorder has an internal built-in ND (neutral density) filter, which allows you to open the aperture to obtain a shallower depth of field, even when recording in bright light. It can also be used to avoid the soft focus caused by diffraction when using small apertures. The ND filter can be set when the aperture value is F4.0, and can only be used when the shooting mode is set to P, Tv, Av, or M. ND Filter settings include Automatic and Off.

Assignable Controls: The XA60 features five assignable buttons for quick access. Often-used functions, such as AutoFocus/Manual Focus, White Balance, Pre-recording, Magnification, Backlight Correction, and Powered IS can be assigned to certain physical buttons. In addition, there is an assignable button on the LCD screen that can be used for another often-used function.

Camera Looks: The camcorder lets you choose from four "looks" that use a combination of settings affecting the characteristics of the image. After selecting "Looks" in the Function menu, you can adjust Sharpness (0 to 7), Contrast (-4 to +4), and Color Depth (-4 to +4).

Zoom Controls: The camcorder offers several different methods for zooming in and out:

• Focus/Zoom Ring: When the focus/zoom ring is set to zoom, the zoom speed is controlled by how quickly you turn the ring.
• Zoom Rocker (on camcorder): The zoom rocker on the camcorder, by default, operates at a variable speed--gentle press for a slow zoom, harder press for faster zooms. Overall zoom speeds can be set to Slow, Normal, or Fast. You can also change the zoom speed to one of 16 constant speeds. See below for zoom speeds.
• Zoom Rocker (on handle unit): The zoom rocker on the handle unit zooms at a constant speed. You can choose one of the 16 zoom speeds.
• Touch Screen Control: Using the Touch Screen, you can zoom in and out by pressing the W (wide) or T (tele) areas on the screen. Soft Zoom Control allows you to start and/or stop the zoom gradually.
• Optional Remote Controller: With the optional RC-V100 Remote Controller plugged into the camcorder's 2.5mm remote input, you can vary the zoom speed by turning the zoom dial on the remote. Third-party plug-in remotes that do not support variable zoom speeds will zoom at a constant speed. Otherwise the camcorder will zoom at a variable speed as set by the remote control.

Zoom Speed: The camcorder has several ways to control the zoom speed. Soft Zoom Control allows you to start and/or stop the zoom gradually. The Zoom Ring is variable, and the zoom in/out speed increases the more you turn the ring. The zoom rocker on the camcorder can be set to Variable (Slow, Medium, or Fast) or Constant (16 speeds). The zoom rocker on the handle unit operates at one of 16 constant speeds. The following speeds are available:

Image Stabilization: The XA60 features a 5-axis Image Stabilization system to reduce image blur caused by camera shake. You can choose from Standard IS (lowest degree of camcorder shake), Dynamic IS (higher degree), or Powered IS (while zooming or at high zoom situations).

Camera Modes: Using the Mode Switch on the top of the camcorder, you can select one of the following Camera Modes:

• Auto: The camcorder takes care of all of the settings while you concentrate on recording.
• Manual: The manual setting gives you full access to menus, settings, and advanced functions.

Autofocus: When Autofocus is selected, the camcorder continuously adjusts the focus on the subject in the center of the screen. The focusing range is 0.39" at full wide-range (from the front of the lens barrel) to infinity, and 2' to infinity throughout the zoom range. You can choose from 3 AF options: Instant AF, Medium AF, and Normal AF. During Autofocus, the camcorder automatically detects people's faces and selects the optimal focus and exposure for the faces. Face Detection and Tracking can be turned off, if desired.

Manual Focus Ring: The XA60 has a manual focus ring that helps you achieve the focus you're looking for. The focus ring response can be set to fast, normal, or slow, plus the focus direction can be set in either direction.

Shooting Modes: The XA60 features a number of shooting modes, each depending upon how much control you have over recording-related settings:

• Programmed AE: The camcorder automatically adjusts the aperture and shutter speed to obtain the optimal exposure for the subject.
• Shutter Priority AE: You choose the shutter speed to freeze or blur the shot while the camcorder selects the appropriate aperture for the scene. You can select shutter speeds of 1/8 to 1/2000, or 1/6 to 1/2000 when the frame rate is set to 23.98p.
• Aperture Priority: You choose the aperture to affect the depth of field and the camcorder selects the appropriate shutter speed for the scene. You can choose aperture settings between f/1.8 and f/8 at full wide angle, or f/2.8 to f/8 at full telephoto.
• Manual Exposure: You can adjust the aperture, shutter speed, and gain to achieve the desired exposure. You can use the available Zebra Pattern to identify overexposed areas, if needed. In addition, Exposure Compensation and the Touch AE function can help you make fine adjustments to the set exposure.
• Special Scene Modes: The camcorder features the following Special Scene recording modes to match special conditions: Portrait, Sports, Night Scene, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Low Light, Spotlight, and Fireworks.

Touch Exposure: Touching the LCD screen on a specific area or subject will automatically adjust the exposure for the selected point and lock the exposure settings. You can also touch a bright area of the image to avoid overexposure (Highlight AE).

White Balance: The camcorder's white balance system helps you accurately reproduce colors under different lighting conditions so that white objects will always look truly white in your recordings. You can choose from the following modes: Automatic, Daylight, Tungsten, Color Temperature, and Set 1/Set 2 (Custom WB).

Pre-Recording: When Pre-Recording is activated, the camcorder starts recording video continuously into a temporary 3-second memory buffer. When you press the Start/Stop button, the scene recorded will have started 3 seconds before you started shooting. This is especially useful when it is difficult to predict when to start recording.

OSD Recording: The XA60 lets you overlay the time code, date, and time on the video image, and record it onto your recorded clips. You can select what information you want to record (Time Code, Date, Time, Date+Time, or Time Code+Date+Time), and where on the image you want the data overlaid (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right).

Recording Audio: The XA60 can record 4-channel 16-bit/48kHz Linear PCM, 4-channel 24-bit/48kHz LPCM, or 2-channel 16-bit/48kHz AAC audio using the built-in stereo microphone, external microphones, or through the line input. For external microphones, you can use the stereo 3.5mm MIC terminal on the camcorder, or the Input 1/Input 2 XLR terminals on the included Handle Unit. Level controls, attenutators, and low-cut filters are available for the built-in or external mic inputs.

Special Playback Functions: The camera uses the following special playback modes: Fast Playback (5x, 15x, or 60x) in either direction, Slow Playback (1/8x or 1/4x) in either direction, and Frame-by-Frame Playback. During these playback modes there is no sound.

Web Camera Function: You can connect the camcorder to a computer via a USB cable (not included) and use the camcorder as a web camera. Using UVC (USB Video Capture), you can stream HD video (1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720) through a connected PC or Mac. Audio output through USB is not supported.

Built-in Speaker: The camcorder has a built-in speaker so you can review the soundtrack as well as the picture when you're using the LCD screen to playback a recording. The built-in speaker is monaural.

Battery Information

Lithium-Ion Battery Pack: The Canon XA60 comes supplied with the BP-820 rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery Pack (7.4V 1780mAh 13Wh). The optional BP-828 battery pack (7.4V 2670mAh) also works with the camcorder. An AC power adapter (PD-E1) is included for charging the battery or powering the camcorder. The CG-800 Battery Charger is an optional accessory available from Canon for charging batteries outside of the camcorder. The battery recording and playback times for MP4 clips are as follows:

Auto Power Off: After 5 minutes without any operation when powered by the battery, the camcorder automatically powers off. Approximately 30 seconds before the camcorder automatically turns itself off, a warning message appears in the display.

Inputs And Outputs

HDMI Output: The XA60 features a mini-HDMI (Type C) terminal that offers a high-quality digital video and audio connection. You can select from the following video configuration settings:

• MP4 Clips:
• 3840 x 2160 (150 Mbps): 29.97p, 23.98p
• 1920 x 1080 (35 Mbps or 17 Mbps): 59.94p, 29.97p, 23.98p
• 1280 x 720 (8 Mbps): 59.94p
• XF-AVC Clips:
• 3840 x 2160 (160 Mbps): 29.97p, 23.98p
• 1920 x 1080 (45 Mbps): 59.94p, 29.97p, 23.98p

USB-C: The camcorder features a USB-C terminal that serves multiple functions. With an optional USB cable, you can quickly transfer videos and photos or stream live video to your computer. The USB Terminal is equivalent to Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0). The optional GP-E2 GPS Receiver can connect to the camcorder's USB terminal to record the GPS information (longitude, latitude, and altitude) to your video clips and photos.

DC In: The DC In terminal is also a USB-C terminal which accepts plug from the included PD-E1 USB Power Adapter to power the camcorder with 9V DC, and charge the inserted BP-820 or BP-828 battery pack.

Microphone Input: In addition to the camcorder's built-in microphone, the XA60 features a 3.5mm stereo microphone input for connecting an external microphone (sold separately).

Handle Unit: The Handle Unit features two female XLR inputs (labeled Input 1 and Input 2) for connecting professional microphones or audio devices. Each input has its own level control, input selection switch (Line/Mic/Mic+48V), and a switch to turn the Input terminals on or off.

Headphone Jack: The camcorder has a 3.5mm stereo headphone output that allows you to monitor the audio during recording or playback.

Remote Control Input: The camcorder features a 2.5mm sub-mini jack terminal for connecting an optional remote control unit, such as the RC-V100 Remote Controller.