With the XC10 4K Camcorder from Canon, professional Ultra HD 4K recording capability is presented in a package ergonomically designed for handheld operation and portability. The camera incorporates a 10x f/2.8 to 5.6 SLR-style manual zoom lens with auto and manual focus capability. The 4K recording in a compact form factor is made possible by the camera's 1" CMOS sensor that is backed by a DIGIC DV 5 image processor. With a 4224 x 3164 total resolution, it can capture video at up to 3840 x 2160 and 4:3 photos in up to 12MP (4000 x 3000). The 8.9 to 89mm lens yields a 35mm equivalent focal length of 27.3 to 273mm in video mode, and 24.1 to 241mm in the 4:3 photo modes. Video is recorded with H.264 compression and packed in the widely supported MXF wrapper. Bit rates of 35 and 50 Mb/s are available for 1080i/p recording, and there are 205 and 305 Mb/s modes (depending on frame rate) for UHD 4K.

The size of the XC10 lends the camera to run-and-gun applications, such as documentary and many types of event shooting, where the larger form factor of an interchangeable lens cinema camera or DSLR might prove impractical. Another use case for high performance in a small body is mounting on a medium-sized UAV such as a hexa-rotor. The camera features a hot shoe that supports Canon speed lights or works as a standard cold shoe for LEDs, microphones, or other third-party on-camera accessories. Still photos, user settings, and video up to 1080p are recorded to SDXC/SDHC memory cards. To handle the up to 305 Mb/s bit rate of 4K video there is also a CFast card slot. Compatible memory cards and card readers are available separately.