Well I just bought the A1....
 

Please tell me I did the right thing.

If you already like the Canon image, than you will not be disappointed.

Omigawd! You didn't buy THAT camera, did you? Sheesh! I hope nobody sees you in public with it!

I'm going to see one in the flesh for the first time tomorrow morning.

Congrats!

What kind of projects did you get it for?

Buyers remorse?

You bought a fine camcorder, and you should have no worries. If you bought it for home videos just put it on Auto mode and sit back and watch it on your plasma screen. If you are using if for professional use, it should suite everyone of your needs, and then some.

It isn't a perfect camcorder, but it is pretty close considering the image quality vs. pitfalls of functionality.

If you had enough cash too plunk down on it, I wouldn't be concerned in the least, regardless if you only are going to be using it as a fun hobby.


HAPPY SHOOTING!

I'm in film school right now. so, it's for short films.

Oh man bad move! You shouldn't have bought it. You should send it to me so I can take that burden off your hands and all deal with the horrifying experience of using it at my film school!

if you cannot get a good image out of a 4k cam then a 15k cam or more wont help you either. good luck with that baby.

James, don't worry -- be happy. Just a few years ago you'd have had to pay several tens of thousands of dollars to get an image as good as the XH A1 gives you. HDV cameras are used for HD broadcast TV, commercials, indie films, etc. The camera is the one who should be worried...is this guy gonna learn my features and make good use of me? Jeez, what if he drops out of film school? He wouldn't leave me in the back of the closet...would he???

Give your new baby a good home and lots of love!

Agreed completely, I've seen exceptional student films shot on XL1/DVX, the XH-A1 just gives you *that* much more ability to make beautiful images on the cheap.

No you did absolutely the wrong thing.

Well someone had to say it.

A good camera won't make good films on it's own. You should learn your craft on a pile of poo and then that way your directorial genuis will shine through. I began on hi8 camcorders hired from my local video store and made some of my favourite shorts on them. Of course, get the best you can afford, but even if that is the worst camera out there, you could still make a great film on it.

A local dealer here got an A1 in yesterday to put in rental stock, and I went and looked at it this morning. First time I've seen one in the flesh, and I have to say the Fondle Factor is great. It feels good, well balanced, and the build quality looks great. It seems just a little narrower than the Z1 and maybe a little shorter and an inch or so shorter in overall length; about the same weight but maybe a half pound or so lighter. The LCD screen is great, and I was surprised at how easy it was to focus with it. The lens is excellent and, a first for Canon--wide enough so you probably won't ever need a wide angle adapter except for some very rare occasions. The only lens on a fixed lens camcorder I've seen that I liked before this one is the one on the HVX200. I may like this one even better.

I didn't get a chance to shoot anything with the camera or spend much time with it at all. As far as I'm concerned, all the 1/3" chip HD cameras provide a high quality image that's good enough for most of what I need to do. The differences in what make me go for one camera over another are what I call the Fondle Factor--the way it feels (balance, controls, weight, etc.), build quality, and the lens, the lens and the lens.

I keep looking for negative things to keep me from spending money, but I really haven't found any. The hard eyecup isn't wonderful, but here's a 30 dollar fix:
http://www.adorama.com/VHI.html (OK, I know it's not a dvinfo.net sponsor, but I can't find this item or anything like it anyplace else. If somebody can find it at a sponsor site, delete this and post a new link.)

Yep - there's more than a grain of truth in this comment for sure.

Quality footage :
75% camera-user
25% camera

And, if you need proof, check this out:

http://blogs.s60.com/tommi/2006/11/r...video_fil.html