Used Canon XC15 4K UHD Compact Lightweight Professional Camcorder, 10x Optical Zoom, Up to 29.97fps

2019-12-15T19:00:00

This is my review of the Canon XC15 4K UHD Camcorder. I purchased this product from the Canon store over the 2019 Thanksgiving Black Friday sale. This isn't a short review but a long read based on my research and short experience with this Camcorder. I hope my leg work in purchasing this product will help others with there buying decision. I am not an expert in cinematic video nor have years of experience with camcorders with different brands or field work using them. What I do have is 50 years of experience using film and digital cameras with 20 years of experience of digital image color enhancement and retouching in the printing industry so I do have some expertise in evaluating image quality and camera performance. Professional cameras carry a hefty price tag and one of Canon's advertising points with the XC15 was its use as a B or C camera. I understood this POV since my 6D Mark II would be considered a B or C camera in a professional photo studio but for my work it has outstanding quality hence the XC15 should be more than capable of making my videos better. In June of 2019 I started doing my research for this camcorder or a competing brand in the same price range. I watched videos and read written reviews of this product and some of them didn't endorse its value, some of them seemed more like adverting and some were trying to influence the viewer to change there mind to a competing product. I even looked at reviews of the XC10 for alternative narratives since the XC15 is an upgraded model to the XC10. One article explained if you were experienced with Canon DSLR's then the controls of the camcorder would be much easier to understand where this was a main concern from many of the reviews I researched. Other issues brought up were about the lens not being interchangeable but other camcorders in this price range didn't have this feature. The quality of the video was compared to high end camcorders which was of no value on fairness but the inclusion of Canon Log was a value that most reviewers embraced. Now it was time for me to look at my own situation and sort out what I have read or watched and fit it into my experience with photography. I have three Canon DSLR's a T3i, a T6i, a 6D Mark II and my go to lens is a EF 24-105 L IS USM. This lens creates sharp images from all of these cameras but you can't compare the image quality of the T6i to the T3i nor the image quality of the 6D Mark II to the other two they all have different digital processors. This would be like the reviews I was reading online so I could disregard comparing to a more expensive camcorder. Also the camera controls for all three are similar and keeping in mind that the XC15 controls were similar my learning curve wouldn't be difficult. My focus wasn't on still imagery but on improving my quality of videos. All three of these DSLR's take video but wasn't of the quality I wanted to achieve. The 6D Mark II video was good but isn't the strong point for this camera it's portrait photography. For my situation I had to buy some accessories a CFast card for 4K video, a XLR shotgun microphone and a short XLR microphone cable. I won't comment on audio since I am not an expert and much depends on the quality of the microphone you purchase. There are good online videos about the MA-400 adapter with 48V phantom power and its use. For 4K video you will need a monitor or TV that is 4K compliant to view or edit. Canon has a download for PC and MAC to import, play back and manage video data, XF Utility 3.4. I downloaded the PDF manual online so I could read about the features and controls before and after the camcorder arrived. The XC15 arrived in early December and it came well packaged and protected from normal shipping. Where I live it is winter and with mostly gray skies and rainy days and by the time I get off work it is nearly dark so I could only test indoors. I set up a white backdrop with CFL lighting and shot some wardrobe on a mannequin to see how colors reproduced using the 7 different color matrix settings. I found that colors of the fabric shot very nicely once you adjusted the ISO, iris and shutter settings correctly. The menu is very much like a DSLR and the monitor gives a good representation of what you are shooting it isn't color accurate but the framing and composition or the videos reflect closely to what you see in the monitor. My daughter is a member of a Rabbit Advocate Group so I was able to take some videos of rabbits up for adoption. I was surprised at the quality of the hair and face using 4K video it jumped out at you when viewing. I don't want to imply that 1080 didn't look nice but there is a difference between the two resolutions. The wardrobe I shot was mostly in 1080 and the detail and color I wasn't disappointed with even with a small sampling to view. There was a noticeable quality difference in favor of the XC15 over the 6D Mark II HD video and that is what I was looking for in buying this camcorder. The last test of my 1st week was with live streaming and I came away being impressed with the video quality. Once I setup the lights and camcorder settings the stream looked very professional. I hope that this helps anyone when you are trying to figure out if this camcorder is a good fit for you. I would recommend buying this product if your situation is similar to mine. Your wanting good video but the next step up in price is above your budget.

DONS5108

Originally posted at

2019-05-25T08:46:22

It looked as expected l!

GEORGE M.

2019-04-02T08:35:42

After having this camera just over a week it has been fun and very user friendly, the limited amount of footage that I have shot in just 1080p has looked fantastic. Can't wait to test out the 4k.

Christopher F.

2018-12-19T22:21:05

first pro camcorder always wanted one , watched alot of youtube reviews prior to purchase first out with 2018 Los angeles auto show took alot of hd footage and i,m hooked , i want shoot everything i see , content every where , got some editing software , and hope to upload a little mini product to youtube soon , great camera , excellant quality , not difficult to learn and use, got great footage so far wait wait to shoot in 4 k wait for my cfast 2..0 card , adorama was grear , went out of their way to safe shipping of the product , impressive

DANTE B.

2018-10-04T20:00:00

I bought this camera, and was moderately pleased with the camera, small screen and big fingers do not go well. The picture quality, in post was OK, not OMG by any means. I am hoping, soon, Canon will see the opportunity to put a Super 35 in the XC15 and get rid of that moderate Lens with just the EF mount. This kind of camera would be a monster game changer for run and gun, or feature shooters. Connect an atomos to it and that rids the viewfinder issue (should have been OLED from the beginning ...... I think Canon is on to something that could be a winner, as long as they see the potential, and not make this a one off test camera.

rowandmeda

Originally posted at

2018-07-19T20:00:00

I bought the XC15 to replace my old camcorder. I shoot stock video for a living and mostly use Sony's. Well the more I used the XC15 the more I liked it so now it is my main camera to shoot everything with. The colors, handling and zoom on lens is just perfect. Thank-you for this little gem Canon!

jjneff

Originally posted at

2018-07-10T10:11:19

Great video camera.

JASON E.

2017-07-27T08:34:45

We purchased this for my son who is a Film Student. He was debating between this and a 5d Mk IV. We decided to take a try at the XC15 due to the lower overall cost, but should have heeded the specs and lens f-stop a little more. The XC15 can't hold a candle (pun intended) to the low light ability of the 5d Mk IV with a Cine lens. We didn't really push much else with the XC15, as the low light was the first thing really check and was a no go for us.

THOMAS S.

2017-06-01T11:47:56

If you're looking for a lightweight run-and-gun setup you can't go wrong with the Canon XC 15. Audio is supurb with my rode ng2, setup is easy as pie, and picture quality is fantastic in Canon c-log. I use this to shoot documentary style interviews out on the street and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Couldn't recommend it more!

CORLIS G.

2017-03-24T13:19:45

The 4K quality of this camera is remarkable. I'm somewhat of a beginner and wouldn't recommend a similar purchase for starters... however, I have embarked on a venture that demands the quality. I recommend using with a Delkin 256 GB Cfast card. Cfast is required if you'd like to record in 4K, you can use an SD Card for lesser quality recording. also, you will need a computer with the performance specs necessary to to receive the massive 4k files. I'd recommend editing on Final Cut Pro.

Joshua W.

2016-10-27T15:14:04

In short, I will say that I am truly amazed by how much punch the XC15 brings to the set. This camera's ability to quickly and accurately match skin tones in post thanks to C-Log makes it a worth while investment.

Lennart K.

2016-10-26T14:31:31

Great product and delivery!

Bert H.

2016-10-26T13:29:06

This is one of the best compact camera I have used in the field. First of all I love that its so light and compact, second the quality of is very crisp and sharp at the HD level. For me its really a step up from using a DSLR like the 70D.

Romeo M.