DVInfo... Custome Presets Lifesavers..
 

Newbie to videography and I did a bit of research before I bought the Canon XH A1. A lot of people told me to go for the Sony FX1 which is now obsolete or the newer FX7. I wanted to be in a position of having a camera that would enable me to experiment with HD, give me the XLR inputs and provide me with great results.

Having owned the camers for a month now (and comparing the shots with my mates Sony VX2000) I was becoming concerned. The colours were not rich enough and the shots looked saturated.

Spent ages reading the manual, no luck... went on the net and hey presto DVInfo told me everything I needed to know. Brilliant!

Now I get the shots with the XH A1 with what I believe to be a good colour balance... especially when it comes to the capturing the rich colour of Asian clothing!
:o)

Keep up the good work and this site is firmly positioned on my favourites as number 2 (Number one being my beloved Liverpool Football Club - :o).

VividRGB preset
 

Steven,
Your VividRGB preset I've noticed skin tone is slightly more on red color, can you guide me which color settings to adjust to tone down reddish skin? Thanks.


Nathan

Which Preset?
 

Munaf,

Which preset do you use for best colour in Asian clothing? I too am a new purchaser of the XHA1 (2 weeks) but have not had much of an opportunity to play with it so far.

Regards,

Brendan

"Now I get the shots with the XH A1 with what I believe to be a good colour balance... especially when it comes to the capturing the rich colour of Asian clothing!
:o)"

I've been using the VividRGB. This one's my favorite, it gives great results.

Mark

Help!
 

I'm trying to load these presets, but I can only load up to 9 and the last three are taken. Is there a way to load all 18? This is driving me nuts. I see these other preset functions and those are up to 20, but it looks like something different than the custom preset...Help?

Thanks Mark (Rook). I've now loaded VIVIDRGB on to the camera and had a test fly. Looks good.

Regards,

Brendan

i am ameture with xha1 have a stupid question have been trying with the presets but have noticed that if i put the camera in manual mode with AGC on auto and AWB on auto at night during indoor all the preset looks great but if i put the AGC to gain 3 the picture still looks quite dark..... so my question is do i have to have them on auto while using the presets ??
sorry about this stupid question but everyone starts somewhere rite.........

I am Pretty sure that if you want more you have to store them on your SD memory card and use them from there.

Yes, just keep an SD card in the camera at all times, and you've got 20 more preset file slots that way. It doesn't have to be a high-capacity card. If you have an older 256MB or 128MB card, that's just fine. A high-capacity card will let you record more still photos though, and you can have the camera write the current Custom Preset file along with the photo, so the number of CP files you can have on hand is practically unlimited with a 1GB or 2GB Secure Digital flash memory card left in the camera. As inexpensive as they are, there's no reason not to have one.

Hi Mickey, the only stupid question around here is the one which isn't asked. First, make sure your viewfinders are properly set up. The might not be bright enough. Use the Display menu to make those changes by comparing their images to your best video monitor or an HDTV. Then keep AGC switched off, and try a higher Gain setting. You can use +6 or +12 without degrading the image too much. The Gain values for the L-M-H Gain switch are found in the Camera menu. Hope this helps,

Mickey, also keep in mind that there are limitations on the camera itself in terms of what it can "see" if there is very little light. When auto gain is engaged in a dimly lit space, it will tend to crank the gain up to the max. You may not be able to see the full effect of the noise being added to your picture until you look at it through a TV screen.

Try the presets in a number of different situations (with the AGC off) from brightly sun lit scenes to dimly lit interior night scenes and get a sense of what the camera is capable of doing.

thanks a lot guys i will follow the path you showed might comeback with more problems

Preset to match Panasonic PV-GS400
 

Hello Everone,

I am a new XH A1 owner. I've had it for about 2 weeks now and have been experimenting with it and am amazed at the camera. Before this I had (and still have) a Sony RTV900. I spent hours on this site before purchasing my camera and have gotten great info. Great site.

I am going to be shooting a small dance recital using my A1 and borrowing a friends Panasonic PV-GS400. Does anyone have a preset to use as a start that comes close to the PV-GS400. The last recital I shot I used 4 small consumer cameras and spent hours trying to color match them as close as possible. Even after that it was very noticeable when I switched from one camera to the other. I was planning on using the PV-GS400 to shoot the full stage and use my XH A1 to follow the principle dancer or get close ups.

Also, I've read a lot about shooting stage performances. The spotlights pose some interesting challenges in getting good coloring. I was planning on using full manual settings, Shutter speed 1/60th and getting the highest f stop so that I could have a decent DOF. My goal is to be able to set the focus and leave it so the camera doesn't hunt in low light situations. I also wouldl like to set the gain to 0 but am not sure if that will be possible. I may need to use +3. I was planning on using the PV-GS400 to shoot the full stage and use my XH A1 to follow the principle dancer or get close ups.

I would really appreciate any advice or tips you all could give me to get the best possible result.

Thanks and again, great sight.

Thanks to chris and steven i have been able to shoot quite a lot and have learned from you guys a lot might upload some footage later and get your opinion on what you guys think ...i still need a lot to learn........

what do you think about this my Gama2 setting (with low noise)
 

has a small noise and I can use this setting with +12dB gain with smaller noise
then other settings with +6dB (brightness between them looks closed, but this setting is a little better). Setting has a nice soft look.

GAM 2
CMX1
CGN -4
CPH 0

KNE L
BLK M
PED -3
SET 0

SHP 0
HDF M
DHV 0
COR -2

NR1 0
NR2 0

all rest 0