Canon XA70: VLog? Bokeh? Indoor Lighting? Camcorder Home Videos

The CANON XA70 was released in the United States November 2022 so there is not yet a lot of information available circa creation of this video. I bought one so as I learn I thought I would post a couple videos about the basics of the XA70 from the point of view of a complete amateur. I also received a request to film something using indoor lighting.
Not all of us plan to make Hollywood movies or become a wedding videographer so for those of us who fall into the category of casual user or part time family documentarian, this video is more likely aimed at you as opposed to professional photographers and videographers.
Audio switches between pencil boom and lavalier for comparison and amateur lighting is briefly discussed.
Some comments contained in this video are tongue-in-cheek, I encourage you to learn about ISO, aperture, lighting and everything else that can help improve your home videos.

[@bradleyc79]

Thanks from Chicago

[@dagwoodstreets]

You are welcome, thanks for watching!

[@alexander-ee6ge]

static video is great - but as soon as there is movement - everything turns into soap. Thank you for the video.

[@dagwoodstreets]

I'm gonna try it out handheld today to test stabilization.

[@justdoitornothing8582]

Thanks 👍

[@dagwoodstreets]

Welcome 👍

[@sgnsmoove]

To anyone that might see this to access slow motion you go under recording settings in menu and click on fast and slow motion. If you want to access slow motion in 4k drop your frame rate from 29.97 p to 23.98 (which is the lowest) to record in 0.8 but if want to record even slower drop the resolution and frame even lower for the functions 0.5 or 0.4

[@dagwoodstreets]

Excellent points!

[@normanmastrian]

Thank you Mr. Streets I have cheap lights too

[@dagwoodstreets]

Most of my lights $2-$3 at garage sales. Not fancy but they work.

[@WWPTV]

First off, the specs on this are huge. Can you make it work for a VLOG, sure. Can you make anything your heart desires, sure. This is a power house camera. Whatever negatives you say about it are negated by someone else's opinion and real world experience. So if it works for your VLOG or whatever, great, if not there are plenty of other VLOG cameras out there. The problem with this camera compared to the other G cameras and other XA cameras is something no-one is talking about and it is how short the zoom is. If this were a 20X zoom camera it would be one of the hottest selling cameras on the planet. Canon listen, 20X is a standard zoom point. Contact me day or night and I will help you fix this. 15X is better than 10X, but in all honesty it's way better to always have a little bit more than you think you need. I love the inputs I think they are amazing, but this is the only thing that keeps people in the G and XA60 lines of Canon. We will sacrifice audio inputs for zoom every day of the week. And again, all my negatives are negated by someone who needs ND filters and the Dual Pixel AF and not need 20X zoom. Bokeh? That is not even what this camera is intended for. Who is it it intended for? Maybe television run and gun style reporting? Side Story. I ran into a Gannett photographer that told me they are not renewing their CPS. They are going all Sony. End of side story. If you need Bokeh and video from Canon, a 5R C might get you what you are looking for. So, what was the purpose if not to build on the XA60 line? I honestly have no idea. Maybe to bridge the gap to the Canon XF605. Now you are talking $1599 (XA60), $2,799 (XA75), $4,299 (XF605). And that makes sense. And honestly, those cameras for VLOGGING will not beat a $1,099 Canon G70. Then you have $1700 to have whatever mic, lighting, you could dream of. Heck you could go two Canon G70s, and a Ninja5+/Xcast switcher and make a killer VLOG setup.

[@dagwoodstreets]

Great info, thanks for your detailed comment! I love to put the XA 70 on a tripod and just let it roll at 1080P to use for behind-the-scenes or projects I'm doing around the house; for example right now I am building a greenhouse and I documented it with the XA 70. With that long lasting battery it is excellent for that purpose. I don't know if you noticed this but when I roll my R8 the exact same amount of time as my XA 70, the XA 70 uses a bit more data which I thought was kind of odd because you're comparing a 1 inch sensor to full frame.

[@alexander-ee6ge]

this is not a question of stabilization - it worked well - the problem of this camera, like ha 50, which I tested in the speed of processing the stream by the camera's processor and reading information from the camera's matrix / insufficient processor power for 4k / The second question for this camera: 30 frames - at 60 frames this soap is less noticeable. / at a shutter speed of 1/60 according to the rule of 180 degrees for 30 frames, the blur is higher than at 1/120 / But 60 frames are available in HD, while the camera's resolution drops to 900 lines.

[@dagwoodstreets]

Thanks for the information! This guy in the link records a lot of children's basketball and I haven't noticed any soap or a blur but I'll check it out today. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppWYXqZqm7ZkoKc

[@alexander-ee6ge]

@@dagwoodstreets look at freeze frames including sports videos. Canon was not without a fly in the ointment in a barrel of honey with cameras 50-70. Compare a similar video with Panasonic or Sony. But I love canon and will wait for my camera from her

[@alexander-ee6ge]

on small screens, the shortcomings about which I express my opinion do not cause discomfort - I watch videos, including my own, on a large screen 8k TV, and these shortcomings of the video spoil the impression very much.

[@ungavaproductions]

Love your simple and honest presentation.....However, to me Bokeh Is not everything.. I am first a wildlife photographer and videographer and let me tell you than when you are filming wildlife....your first thinking is nor bokeh....youv want to capture the few seconds or minutes with your guess....of course image quality, lighting, golden hours, iso capability, alot of things are important. But.....wildlife video is never pre organized if your not filming in a zoo. Anyway, thanks for sharing your interesting point of view. Good job

[@dagwoodstreets]

Thanks for your kind words, I agree that bokeh is only appropriate for certain situations. My use case for the XA70 is primarily to keep it on a tripod around the house and/or filming outdoor activities.

[@bradleyc79]

it look good to me

[@dagwoodstreets]

Not bad for a one inch sensor

[@alexander-ee6ge]

From the CES 2023 insert, I expect the presentation of the canon xf 500 with a dv 7 processor, 1 "matrix, 1.2 aperture lens and a weight of about 700 g

[@csamd9049]

не будет такой камеры. Оптика 1.2 будет хуже по качеству чем 2.8, объективы у кенон идеального качества и лучше не сделать просто, тем более более свтеосильные, а чувсвительности камер хватает для всех актуальных съемкок. Процессоры по качеству картинки dv6 мне больше нравястя чем dv7

[@alexander-ee6ge]

@@csamd9049 Это хотелки и сплетни из штатов о xf500. Но вот по процессорам хотелось бы уточнить информацию почему 6 лучше для видео чем 7. Тесты 605 и 50 в сравнении показали большую детализацию у 605. Да и хотелось бы узнать аргументы в пользу менее светосильной оптики - у меня на камере 1.8, 1.4 люкс - и хотелось бы лучше.

[@alexander-ee6ge]

@@csamd9049 Громадное спасибо за информацию. Очень лесное высказывание о 400. Хотелось бы узнать в каком качестве Вы сохраняете свое видео. На данный момент анализируя имеющуюся у меня информацию - 95% пользователей поигравшись с 4к переходят на HD и жмут итоговое видео. Часовое видео при этом весит порядка 7-8гб.

[@alexander-ee6ge]

@@csamd9049 Из моего опыта исходники должны быть в максимально возможном качестве - а итоговый результат будет тем лучше, чем выше четкость и детализация отснятого материала. Сравнивая итоговое видео сильно пожатое вплоть до 1 мб битрейта с отснятым экономным исходником то же пожатым до 1 мб - первое еще можно смотреть на малых экранах - второе ни о чем. Но вот заметной революционной разницы 4к и НД с той же камеры ха 70 не наблюдается - итоговое видео что 4к, что НД примерно одинаково - это субьективно. Но обьем исходников сильно отличается.

[@alexander-ee6ge]

@@csamd9049 Сравнивая имеющиеся первоисходники от gx 10, xf 400, ха 50 и ха 70 субьективно по детализации и четкости лучше всего ха 70, вторая 400 несмотря на то что у нее видео и 30 /25/ и 60/50/ кадров , третья ха 50 и последняя gx10. Но во всех этих камерах не следует увлекаться панорамами и динамичными сценами. Разблокировать у ха 70 4к 50/60/ кадров да еще и прошивку на 422 10 бит чтоб на карту памяти - это будет хороший вариант и логи будут иметь смысл.

[@paulmatulavich7321]

Help ! I need to know what sdxc card you use in the XA70. According to Canon, only Angelbird and Delkin brand cards are guaranteed to work on the XA70. I am referring to shooting in 4k, which the XA70 records to mp4 at 150mbps. Thank you Sir !

[@dagwoodstreets]

I use Samsung 256 Pro Plus for both card slots and they have performed flawlessly so far.

[@oscardickmora6301]

XA75 or R5C?

[@dagwoodstreets]

This review is for XA70, the XA75 is the same camera but with additional features to allow connection to multiple cameras.

[@srprice2383]

It's not GafferS tape! It's gaffer tape. Don't confuse it with duct tape.

[@dagwoodstreets]

But if the tape belongs to the Gaffer isn't it "Gaffer's tape"? 😉

[@WWPTV]

I call it is Gaffer's Tape. It goes by gaffer tape, gaffer's tape, of gaff tape. I take it everywhere I film. The stuff is amazing. But as this is "tongue in cheek" does it really matter? I don't think it does. @@dagwoodstreets