How useable is the A1 for every day use?

[Jerome Marot]

Originally Posted by Robert Wertheimer

Does anyone out there use one of these for the daily family outing, and if so, how bad do you wish the camera was half it's size?

We always wish our gear were half its size when carrying it around.

Seriously, the size limitation of the A1 is simply that it needs its own bag. It can be a pretty small bag, especially if you take the mic mount off, but it needs its own bag. A smaller cam can be tossed in a bag with other gear, that's all.

So if you don't mind to carry a bag with you, the A1 is small enough. If you do, or if you want to use your bag for a SLR, it's too big.

As to whether the A1 works well in auto mode, it does if you don't use auto gain. I also find that the handle with controls is very convenient for filming children. And it has a decent wide-angle, which is indispensable at home.

As a side note: one strategy is to first buy the A1 for the baby and your work, and if the criticism arises that "you are always lugging that huge thing around", you'll have an excuse to buy whatever tiny camera is available then. ;)

[Robert Wertheimer]

Originally Posted by Jerome Marot

As to whether the A1 works well in auto mode, it does if you don't use auto gain. I also find that the handle with controls is very convenient for filming children. And it has a decent wide-angle, which is indispensable at home.

As a side note: one strategy is to first buy the A1 for the baby and your work, and if the criticism arises that "you are always lugging that huge thing around", you'll have an excuse to buy whatever tiny camera is available then. ;)

I really like the way you think. We should open a new thread entitled "Ways to get your spouse to WANT you to buy gear."

Seriously though, I also thought the controls on the handle were very conducive for getting great shots at "kid" height.

[Dave Stern]

Originally Posted by Robert Wertheimer

I really like the way you think. We should open a new thread entitled "Ways to get your spouse to WANT you to buy gear."<snip>

that one's easy... just tell them that the kids weren't going to get into college anyway.. or, that learning this stuff will help them pay for things later!

as you can see, I haven't found the magic answer either (other than doing paid work and then keeping that in a separate bank account to finance the equipment)

[Stephen Claus]

One thing that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet in this thread, it that a big pro-looking cam like the A1 attracts a lot of attention and is somewhat "intimidating".

I've heard of people being stopped, questioned, and denied access to museums, sporting events, etc. because that had a big fancy camera, whereas no one cared if the had a consumerish-looking camera like an HV-20 that takes almost as good pictures. Unfortunately expensive cameras also get the unwanted attention of potential thieves.

Also, people in front of a big cam might feel less comfortable and act less naturally, feeling like their going to be on tv or something, rather than just a plain old home video.