Originally Posted by Buzz

Photo camera was not created to shoot video. Yeah I know there are many indie directors shooting with 5d II and they get pretty good results, BUT the cam was made to shoot STILLS. For me the main issues are
focusing
holding the cam - got to use tripod which is unacceptable

I'd go for Canon XF300 (or 305 if you need HD-SDI). It shoots full HD (not HDV like XH a1), and the quality is visibly better.
Also you can save on flash cards - the cam utilizes CF which are 1$ a dozen compared to e.g. Sony's cards. And you can hot swap it.

Sony EX1r is good as well, but since you're Canon guy you'd rather stick to XF305.