The year is 2005 and Canon has just released the EOS 5D Mark II, the first Full Frame camera to feature Full HD recording, this was when everything changed and 16 years after this, the revolutionary technology that has come forth is outstanding but hidden somewhere behind all of the amazing techs that has come forth from that day are camcorders and with the release of Canon’s new XF605, I thought it’d be a good time to revisit camcorders and question if they’re still relevant in 2021?
To give you a visual aid, below is a comparison sheet that puts all the major sensor sizes put against each other on a contextual scale;
Camcorders usually feature a one-inch sensor while cinema cameras/hybrid cameras feature a 35mm/super 35mm sensor, this means that the sensors on camcorders are much smaller as compared to the other cameras but the beauty of camcorders is that they come with built-in zoom lenses that offer tremendous zoom range (usually from super-wide-angle to telephoto) whilst on other cameras, you have to buy lenses and the type of lenses you buy is based off the kind of work you want to do so you have filmmakers buying multiple lenses to shoot in multiple scenarios thereby increasing cost.
The Canon XF605 is capable of shooting 4K resolution video at 60fps, features a wide range of shooting profiles already set on the camera, and has a lot of hardware options built into the camera so that when you put it up, it is ready to go, with a lens that goes from 25.5 to 382.5mm (35mm film equivalent) and a wide aperture valued at f/2.8 at the wide end and f/4.5 when zoomed all the wide through, the XF605 seems like a great option but that 1″ sensor will take away a lot when shooting in low light and that, just that is where the XF605 and other camcorders begin to fail.
Filming in situations of low light is a staple on the job and have cameras that perform exceedingly well in those situations is a must. Photographers compensate for these situations with speed lights and power-powered strobes and videographers/cinematographers either have to raise their ISO values or carry cumbersome extra lighting alternatives. The Nigerian wedding/event space is filled with dimly lit halls (otherwise know as mood lighting) and have a video camera that can perform exceptionally well in these circumstances is very important and so, for industry professionals, the XF605 is not an option as the noise levels are not very encouraging but for those coming fresh into the market, who are looking at getting a setup that allows them to go from point A to point B in record time and still delivers exceptionally, camcorders (with the XF605 being the reference point) are the way to go.
There’s a wide range of options for camcorders and the secondary market for these cameras is available, even in the Nigerian space (I mean, before everyone switched to shooting videos on DSLRs and Mirrorless cameras, there were professional camcorders everywhere), so if you’re a newbie looking at getting into cinematography, with a fair to little budget, try your hands at a camcorder or if you do have $4,500, you can get yourself the Canon XF605 in all it magnanimous glory.
