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(More customer reviews)03/10/2011 - I've owned the XF300 since August 2010. I tape running events (cross country & track), then edit (with Premier), post the clips to YouTube and then link a team's website to those clips along with written race stories and photos (from frame grabs). I run with the camera a lot (it has survived a couple of bad falls and drops) and so the camera's size is a significant issue. But as big as it is, it is surprisingly light. It is definitely front-heavy even with an extended-life battery loaded in the rear. That is due to the fabulous giant lens that Canon has given this camera. Optics are beautiful and the focus is dead sharp. Zoom is critical in my application and so is stabilization. Both functions are flexible and serve 90% of what I need from them. Battery life has been outstanding. I have a spare but have never used it. My scene sequences can be as long as 20-25 minutes. This is where the star gets deducted. The clips are stored on the flash memory in maximum chunks of 2 gig (there is that 32 bit limit again). So, long scenes are broken into multiple files which I have to string together in Premier. Also, make sure that your editing software can read the file format. Some still can't. Final Cut can but it was not native last time I checked - plug-in required. Requires high quality CF cards, which are expensive (but not in relation to the cost of the camera). The star also gets deducted because of the AWFUL power switch. Even with months of constant experience, I cannot get the darn thing into the off position (in the center) on the first try. It slides right over to playback. Grrrrr. The whole XF experience, from shooting to editing, was a bit of a steep learning curve for me. But well worth it. The shots I'm getting are amazing and look great on HD sets (and certainly - YouTube).
I mentioned at the beginning that I move a lot with the camera. So, I pre-ordered the 300's little brother - the XF100. I assumed that it would be a flash-based version of my old GL-1. Well, it arrived today and what a shock when I opened it. It is less than half the size of that old GL-1 and a quarter the size of its big brother. It is large by consumer camera standards but tiny for a prosumer model. It uses the same batteries and flash cards as big brother. The power button has positive stops but is still a bit tricky (but a big improvement over the 300's). The lens is obviously smaller so I'm looking forward to comparing its performance with it's sibling's. I have a track meet this weekend and I will be shooting with both cameras, intermixing footage in the edits. I'll try to get back with an update.
Update (03/16/2011): Shot with both cameras on Saturday and mixed together the footage in the edit. The electronics in the XF-100 must be very similar (perhaps exactly the same) because the hues and saturation are exactly the same. In fact, the footage is indistinguishable. So, what is the big difference besides the physical sizes of the cameras? The power of the lenses and the ease of framing while shooting. The XF-300's zoom is considerably better both in its magnification and in its movement. With regards to framing - I tend to use both the eyepiece and the LCD interchaghably during a shot. The two LCDs are roughly equal but the XF-300's eyepiece is far superior, offering a bigger box that is much easier for the eye to grasp the framing. The XF-100's tends to fall out of local focus too easily (does not affect the focus of the actual shot). Finally, the larger and heavier XF-300 is the easier camera to use on a tripod (NOT a monopod) when following a moving subject. Despite its bigger size and heavier weight, it is simply an easier camera to shoot well with. However, if you need to move around with the camera or are packing it, the XF-100 is the obvious choice. Plus, it is the superior monopod choice.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Canon XF300 - Camcorder - High Definition - professional - widescreen - 2.37 Mpix - optical zoom: 18 x - supported memory: CF - flash card
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