DV Info Net

DV Info Net (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/)
-   Canon XH Series HDV Camcorders (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xh-series-hdv-camcorders/)
-   -   Initial User's review of the Canon XH-A1 (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xh-series-hdv-camcorders/78730-initial-users-review-canon-xh-a1.html)

Matthew Nayman November 4th, 2006 02:35 PM

I imagine there is some trick people are missing to remove it.

Henry Cho November 4th, 2006 02:36 PM

last night, i tried to adapt/throw in some of the xlh1 presets for kicks and got some pretty nice looks. the h1 and a1 share the same adjustment settings, but the a1 puportedly has 140% of the color space of the h1. all i did was copy over the same values and multiplied the h1 setting by 4, for starters, to compensate for the differences in value range and color space wherever the value range was updated (-9 to +9 on the h1, as opposed to -50 to +50 on the a1). i have no way to compare these settings to what they actually look like on the h1, but there were some very nice results when i previewed out to my crt. a big thanks to the authors of the original presets for giving us all a nice starting point to work off of.

also, the lcd/viewfinder at the default settings is way too bright and does not give an accurate depiction of what it will really look like when output on a calibrated monitor. taking down brightness almost all the way, and cranking up both color and contrast almost all the way helps, and got me pretty close to what i was seeing on the crt brightness & contrast-wise. there is still a slight difference in hue which i don't think anything can be done about.

Henry Cho November 4th, 2006 02:58 PM

i've swapped in three BP945s without a problem.

Donald White November 4th, 2006 03:12 PM

So, unless I'm missing something - the 945 should be the same size as the 970G... and it ought to work.

Thanks Henry.

Chris Hurd November 4th, 2006 03:27 PM

Yes -- the BP930 and 950G share the same physical dimensions, as do the BP945 and 970 G.

Brent Graham November 4th, 2006 04:56 PM

No, you got me wrong, the 970G works, it's just such a tight fit and so sunk in the battery bay that theres nothing to grab onto in order to pull it out. To get a battery out you have to pull this plastic tab out to the side and the battery gets pushed out by two springs located on the back face of the battery bay, but if your battery is a tight fit, these springs don't push hard enough to get the battery out. Hence I had to stick tape to the battery to 'pull' it out. The batteries work fine, they're just a tight fit for the bay.

Andrew Ott November 4th, 2006 05:41 PM

I live in Austin too and am considering purchasing the camera. Never been to precision camera. What is their website?

Chris Hurd November 4th, 2006 06:16 PM

Andrew, it's http://www.precision-camera.com/ -- they're located at 38th and North Lamar.

Andrew Ott November 4th, 2006 06:23 PM

Sweet thanks.

Donald White November 4th, 2006 07:02 PM

everything is A okay
 
Battery goes in and releases just fine, no sticking - I actually like the balance with a heavier battery in it.

Thanks!

Greg Rothschild November 4th, 2006 08:38 PM

>>a big thanks to the authors of the original presets for giving us all a nice >>starting point to work off of.

Henry- can you point me towards this thread/link? I'd love to see what you're talking about.
Thanks,
Greg

Chris Hurd November 4th, 2006 08:45 PM

Henry refers to our XL H1 Custom Presets Download Library .

Greg Rothschild November 4th, 2006 08:50 PM

Thanks Chris. This forum is a treasure!

Chris Hurd November 4th, 2006 08:53 PM

As soon as folks start sharing their XH custom presets, custom functions, and custom display settings, then we'll fire up an XH Custom Settings Download Library.

Chuck Fadely November 6th, 2006 08:38 AM

I've shot enough tape to get a feel for the camera now and wanted to post a couple things I haven't seen yet.

First is that the image stabilizer is amazing. You'll be able to shoot handheld in situations you wouldn't think possible.

Second is that the lcd and viewfinder really suck. The lcd is almost unuseable in sunlight. And the viewfinder, though high-resolution, is way too small. The type from essential info display covers most of the image. If you wear glasses, the high magnification of the viewfinder means you have to work at it to get your eye centered on it. And the lip of the rubber eye piece doesn't fold down so you can't get your eye closer.

On the other hand, the lcd folds every which way, so you can have it on the side of the camera, which is great for keeping an eye on framing during interviews.

chuck

Matthew Nayman November 6th, 2006 09:09 AM

Hey Chuck,

Unfortunatly that is a drawback to all LCD's... grab yourself a lieel lens hood from Hoodman, and you're good to go.

Jason Strongfield November 6th, 2006 09:23 AM

the built in lcd monitor is not in a symmetrical shape , therefore it would be hard to find a hood to completely shade it off. I hope there will be not much light leak from the gaps.

I do have an 7" external LCD, but I still have to use the built in LCD or Viewfinder because the zebras will not transfer to an external LCD.

Kevin Kimmell November 8th, 2006 10:21 AM

I've been closely reading and watching this forum and keeping the tissue handy to wipe away the saliva.

I just ordered mine from ZGC and should be fiddling this weekend. Now to decide what to do with my partially broke GL2...

Steven Glicker November 8th, 2006 11:47 PM

I emailed Hoodman about the A1 and got the following response today.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoodman Corp. Customer Service
Dear Steven Glicker,

Thank you for contacting Hoodman about a hood for the 2.8" LCD on the Canon XH A1. At this time we don't have a hood that will work well on it but we will be working on a new hood that will fit the widescreen LCDs that are being used on several new professional camcorders. We will place your inquiry into our file of customers to contact when this new hood does become available.

We hope this information is helpful to you. Please contact us again if you have additional questions about our products.

Sincerely,

Charlene Gordon
Hoodman Corp. Customer Service
20445 Gramercy Place, Ste. 201
Torrance, CA 90501
(800) 818-3946
(310) 222-8608
(310) 222-8623 Worldwide Fax
charlene@hoodmanusa.com
www.hoodmanusa.com


Dave Lammey November 9th, 2006 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck Fadely
I've shot enough tape to get a feel for the camera now and wanted to post a couple things I haven't seen yet.

First is that the image stabilizer is amazing. You'll be able to shoot handheld in situations you wouldn't think possible.

Second is that the lcd and viewfinder really suck. The lcd is almost unuseable in sunlight. And the viewfinder, though high-resolution, is way too small. The type from essential info display covers most of the image. If you wear glasses, the high magnification of the viewfinder means you have to work at it to get your eye centered on it. And the lip of the rubber eye piece doesn't fold down so you can't get your eye closer.

On the other hand, the lcd folds every which way, so you can have it on the side of the camera, which is great for keeping an eye on framing during interviews.

chuck

Thanks for this, chuck ... when you say the LCD sucks, are you comparing it from memory to another camera's LCD? For instance, I assume it isn't as good as the LCD on the FX1, but is it comparable to the one on the PD170 (or whatever camera you're familiar with)?

Henry Cho November 9th, 2006 09:48 AM

i'm using the hoodman 300 right now. the strap closest to the camera has to be stretched a little further to accomodate the swingout hinge, but it's wrapped on tight and very stable. a must when using the lcd and shooting outdoors during the day.

Matthew Nayman November 9th, 2006 09:57 AM

Henry,

Can you read my post on 24F SD and let me know in this thread?

Thanks bro.

Henry Cho November 9th, 2006 10:52 AM

hey matt... just saw your post here. i already replied in your thread.

you can capture 24f sd footage to a 60i timeline using 2:3 pulldown, and export to tape on any 60i deck.

Steven Glicker November 9th, 2006 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Cho
i'm using the hoodman 300 right now. the strap closest to the camera has to be stretched a little further to accomodate the swingout hinge, but it's wrapped on tight and very stable. a must when using the lcd and shooting outdoors during the day.

Thanks, I'll order an H300.

Jonathan Plotkin November 11th, 2006 07:52 AM

Attachments
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck Fadely
Just a note on attachments.
There's no way to attach a stud to put a light or monitor on it. Hot shoe only. You could clamp something to the vertical part of the top grip, but the grip itself is chock full of controls, so you can't clamp to it.

The mic holder seems to be 7/8" -- it's smaller than a sony holder, but bigger than a sennheiser shotgun. Time to get out the gaffers tape.

Check out K-Tek's adapter. It's basically a cylinder that inserts into the microphone holder with a 3/8" screw on the end that you can then extend with any number of grip gadgets. The trick is figuring out the size. I emailed K-Tek and they didn't know. The dimensions aren't listed on the K-Tek website, but I found the diameters here: http://www.thebroadcastshop.com/sale...%20Accessories . If the inside dimension of the XH-A1 holder is about 7/8", then it looks like the K-BWJ (.85") is the closest fit. My camera should come in next week and I'll probably get one to check out.

JP

Piotr Wozniacki January 20th, 2007 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd
You're talking about the daylight vs. tungsten WB switch. Agreed. This is shaping up to be my single biggest complaint about the XH. It's an important switch that has definitely been put in the wrong place. There is a work-around however. Dial in a custom WB setting for Preset Position A of 3200 degrees Kelvin. Then dial in a custom WB setting for Preset Position B of 5600 degrees Kelvin. Problem solved... you've now successfully relocated the daylight / tungsten switch where it belongs, at the expense of giving up the custom WB settings.

Thankfully there's very little else to find fault with.

Chris, could you please elaborate on this method? I can't figure out how to K-dial anything for a Preset Positions:(

Chris Hurd January 20th, 2007 08:52 PM

You're right. Was I hallucinating when I wrote that? Maybe.

You can use warm cards or other-color bounce cards to cheat the preset positions into the colors you want; and the default Daylight and Tungsten settings can be tweaked up or down by several steps... although I have no idea how many degrees Kelvin each step represents. We'll have to find out.

Bill Busby January 21st, 2007 04:09 AM

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that the (K) Color Temp is a separate function unto itself & useful for example, if one knows the Kelvin Temperature such as studio lighting, etc. you can just dial it in & does not change default values for the daylight & Tungsten selections.

On page 62, it states there's auto white, indoor & outdoor, 2 manual modes (A&B) & color temperature setting (based on Kelvin degrees) which says is in 100 degree increments.

Bill


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:36 AM.

DV Info Net -- Real Names, Real People, Real Info!
1998-2024 The Digital Video Information Network