I'm New
 

Hi Everyone

I’m new to the forum and would like to introduce myself. My name is Byron Santo and the XH-A1 is my first camera EVER! I’ve only had it for about three weeks now. Up until Oct-07 I had no interest in video until a friend asked if I could help them learn how to use a Sony DVD-201 consumer camera that they had purchased a few years ago. I’ve been hooked every since.

I do have one question. What f-stop scale is used on the XH A1? At times it appears to 1/3.

Regards,
Byron Santo
www.ByronSanto.com
www.myspace.com/byronsanto

Welcome to the list, Byron.

The NTSC user manual on p56 and elsewhere lists only the aperture range – F1.6 to F9.5 .
Are you sure you don't mean shutter speed as 1/3 is one of values used in 24F mode?

Thanks for the welcome.

I'm positive, f-stop scale. From what I've gathered these are the following scales for f-stops
1, 1/2 & 1/3

Right, I understand you now – F-stop scale as in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number#Fractional_stops

Sorry, I don't know. 1.6 to 9.5 doesn't seem to fit these conventions. If my camera wasn't packed away I'd have a look and see what appears and if it's consistent. But If never been able to find out similar values for focussing distances as it seems different every time.

I have them.
1.6, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 2.8, 3.2, 3.4, 3.7, 4.0, 4.8, 5.2, 5.6, 6.2, 6.7, 7.3, 8.0, 8.7 & 9.5

2.6, 3.4, 3.7, 4.4, 5.2, 6.2, 7.3 & 8.7 do not match the 1, 1/2 & 1/3 scales.

2.6, 3.4, 4.4, & 6.2 could be a rounding issue.

That's interesting to note, Byron.

For a beginner you seem to be doing quite well:-)

Welcome to dvinfo! You've got a sweet camera...

Ok,
so why do you ask? what does it mean and why does it matter?
Bill

Hey Colin

Not sure if this makes a differnce in my beginner status but I do have 20 years experience in audio, i.e. recording, mixing, live sound, mastering and MIDI. :)

They're 1/4 stops.

Good luck with your new cam and adventures in video.

Thanks Josh!

Because my main goal is to learn how to use the "manual" mode and not rely on auto modes to obtain a "correct exposure" or creating a specfic look, etc.

The sequential f-stop values in the camera are a 1/4 stop apart which allows for greater flexibility in obtaining a correct exposure and creating a specific look (long /short DOF) or effect when used in conjunction with shutter speed and at times gain which I try to avoid using due to the noise added.

Oh,
Ok that's a little too scientific for my taste :) I've just judged by using zebras in conjunction with the meter on the lcd. It works pretty well for keeping it exposed properly. I don't even know how to put this cam in auto, is it the green box thing? :-o
Bill

Just out of interest, what did you use most of the time in your work?

A few years back I had got nicely settled with ProTools for straight audio and Cubase VST (and sometimes Sibelius) for MIDI and scoring but found that when Cubase SX came along none of my archived files could be opened. One of my colleagues suggested we invest in Logic instead since we had some new Macs - and then promptly got another job. So now I have a real hotch potch of software which is all just different enough to drive me nuts (plus PC and Mac platforms). It's a form of Purgatory - I must have been very bad in my previous life.

Currently I’m using Sonar 6 Producer Edition for about 95% audio recording and 100% MIDI sequencing. Now if I have serious notation to do I'll use Finale. The remaining 5% of the time I’ll use Acid Pro 6 if I’m working with loops but that is only in the compositional stages. For mastering Sound Forge 9 and to many plugins to keep track of. Ha ha …………….

I cannot even remember all of the recording medians I’ve used through the years. I do remember starting my mastering using the first Finalizer when it hit the market. Currently my Finalizer is used on my bands PA system.

Oh, and all of this is running on a custom Sweetwater Creation Station PC.