Canon's XMI may look a lot like Sony's VX2000 and cost about the same, but what the XMI has over 2000 is 30 frame per second progressive mode.
MiniDV camcorder aficionados will recognise Canon's new XMI immediately. Can you say Sony VX1000? While the XMI is not blood related to the VX1000, it shares many of the same professional features, including three CCDs, zebra stripes, and colour bars. But the good news for the budget conscious is the XMI can be had for about AU$1,200 less. The XMI may look and act a lot like a VX1000, but in reality, it's more like a distant cousin to Canon's XL1, an awesome camera in its own right. Does the XMI measure up to the more expensive XL1? You bet. The main differences between the two are: The XL1 has four audio inputs, while the XMI has only one; the XL1 has a removable lens, while the XMI's is fixed; and the XL1 cannot transcode analog video stream into a digital stream while the XMI can. Aside from that, the cameras are practically identical. If you need a camera with four audio inputs and a removable lens, then you're obviously a professional who doesn't care how much a camera costs and will purchase the XL1 without question. But if you're an independent videographer and would like to make low-budget shorts or even feature films and just need a camera that delivers a really clean picture, save US$2,000 and pick up the XMI instead. With the money you save, you could buy an IEEE-1394 capture board, a whopping 30GB hard drive, and still have money leftover to throw a cast party at the end of your shoot.
Speaking of 1394, one of the major benefits to the XMI is its IEEE-1394 interface (also referred to as FireWire and i-Link). This digital interface lets you hook the camera up to other 1394-compliant video devices, such as 1394-compliant cameras like Sony's VX1000 and Canon's GX1, or video capture boards, such as Radius' MotoDV, DPS' Spark, and Pinnacle Systems' DV200. The 1394 interface sends both the audio and video signal through one cable, as opposed to the old-fashioned analog method that requires three cables, either an S-Video or composite video cable and two RCA audio cables. Of course, the camera supports those old ports as well, so you could technically shoot in digital video, then output an analog stream back to your television or VHS deck. We tested the XMI with Pinnacle Systems' DV200, a 1394 capture board, and it worked great. In fact, all the frame-grabbed pictures you see in this review were snapped with the DV200.
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