The Digital Video Information Network - Canon XH Series HDV Camcorders

my Spiderbrace broke

Ravi Kumar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:09:30 GMT

I've been using the Spiderbrace2 with center handle to shoot a few events and I've found it to be quite handy. Its slightly awkward when adjusting aperture/shutter or zoom/focus but overall it is useful. I use it with the Manfrotto 577 quick release adapter so you can mount and dismount in seconds from tripod to brace.

It is made out of a PVC lightweight type tubing, and one of the joining sections came apart. The guys from Spiderbrace said to cement it back together after cleaning off the extraneous paint and cement. While this will probably work, I am a bit leery of using the same cement that they used to put it together.

Any thoughts from fellow Spiderbrace users?

Canon XHA1 problem - purple line through footage

Tony Edgar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:20:32 GMT

I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this problem with their Canon XHA1. I've included a photo so you know what I'm talking about. There's a purple line going through all my footage. The camera has been great until it just showed up one day. The photo is of the camera plugged into a tv - as you can see it's still there. That rules out anything to do with the tape heads. I hope it's not a ccd problem :(

Attached Thumbnails

External Capture Card

Graeme Coutts — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:10:41 GMT

I recently purchased a Netbook to be used for general travel requirements as well as capturing my still pics. I would love to be able to use it for video capture but obviously cards are an issue.

Does anyone know of an external video capture card that will enable me to capture footage from my XHA1S via USB ports i.e. 6-pin Firewire through card to USB 2.0?

Custom preset for vivid colors and low light perfo

Mark Shea — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:10:34 GMT

I've been using the factory preset and I think my colors are looking flat compared with my mates sony and jvc cams.

So I am wondering if someone could suggest a preset which will give me more vivid colors and a bright (noisefree) image in lowlight?

I've been reading forums and found positive feedback on the:

Panavision preset - OFFICIAL A1 Custom Presets thread - Page 13 - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking

and the

PanaFilmVision preset - http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xh...ht-preset.html

Any suggestions and/or footage of people's fav presets?

Canon Video - How are camcorders made? - Virtual Camcorder Plant

Daniel Browning — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:06:12 GMT

Canon released a pretty interesting 17-minute video:

How digital camcorders are made.

Pro Water Housing for XH A1

Jonathan Pears — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:16:09 GMT

Hey Guys

I am selling my Waterhousing for the XH A1.

Made by Delmar Housing Projects, this has only had pro use so it is very very clean and maintained at all costs. Never had any water leeks or even any other issues with it!

This is one of the best housings i have ever used for shooting with, full control over Zoom, Start stop recording and on/off.

Here is an auction for it, but feel free to PM me - Professional Carbon Fibre Waterhousing for Canon XH A1 - eBay (item 180432934593 end time Nov-18-09 07:13:10 PST)

I will also throw in a Porta Brace PB-2750 that has the foam already cut for the housing and a XH A1...

Thanks!

how in the world do u export to tape in PPcs4

Arthur Abramov — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:19:04 GMT

with the xh a1 ?

Reasons I hate the A1s but still love the A1!

Jeffrey Fuchs — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:55:40 GMT

I have owned a XH-A1 and like it. About 6 months ago, I purchased an A1s and have been very disappointed. Below are the reasons:

� The terminal cover on the headphone and firewire port keeps falling off (I lost it at my last wedding).
� The auto focus is NOT as good as the focus on the A1. It is slow and not as accurate.
� The color presets do not match the original A1. The camera is set to have more saturation from the factory.
� When shooting outside on sunny days the auto exposure is set to dark, I have to manually override it.
� When in manual focus, you really have to crack the focus ring to change the focus. On the original A1 it is much faster.
� There is no �Standby� switch on the A1s by the record button. I love that switch on the A1. I hate that it is not there anymore and that you have to turn the dial to re-start the camera. Canon - please bring this back for the next camera.
� And the biggest reason I hate the A1s: it drops frames during recording. I know it is NOT a tape issue because when recording I see it on the screen. It is the strangest thing; I see the missing frame on the camera screen while recording. It has happened about 3 times within about 10 hours of use.

These issues are not because I have a defective camera, the current A1s is the 2nd one I have had. The first A1s I sent back because I thought it was a lemon.

Has anyone else noticed these �features� on the A1s?

Audio from sound board and mic at same time

Jon Shuler — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:42:43 GMT

I have a XH-A1 and if the mic/line switch is set to line I cannot plug in a mic is what I understand? What are my options if I wish to get audio from the sound board and want to plug in a mic?

Thanks,
Jon

Audio Question: XH A1S

John D. Griffin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:23:32 GMT

I sometimes use a Sony Wireless hand held mic (UTX-H2) and receiver (URX-P2) attached to CH1 on the camera. I have tried it in CH2 but it does not work. I also have a camera mounted shotgun mic in CH2.
My problem is that I can run the hand held mic in CH1 no problem but when I shut it off I have to plug in the shotgun into CH1 or it does not work. I would like to be able to not have to replug the shotgun and have it work when the hand held is shut off without having to plug it into CH1. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I have the Audio Setup as follows:

Output CH ----All CH/All CH
CH 1 Input --- XLR Mic
CH2 Input --- XLR Mic
XLR REC CH --- CH1/CH2

Recall time and date for a tape?

Peter Dunphy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:00:19 GMT

Hi Guys

Is it possible to bring up a time and date for a tape recorded on the XHA1, so I verify what date my footage was recorded please?

I didn't originally record with a time and date onto tape, but was hopeful of this information being 'invisibly' recorded onto the tape?

Warm regards

Peter

xha1s external monitor with focus assist?

Paul Cook — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:14:22 GMT

Quick question - I'm thinking of getting an xha1s and pairing it with an external monitor (like a smallHD) and was wondering if using the 'External EVF monitor output terminal', will the peaking and zoom focus aides show up on it (the smallHD) ?

Does anyone use this monitor or similar and use this feature?

Final Cut from XHA1 and HV30

Morgan Cox — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:13:25 GMT

Hey guys,

I am brand new to the forum, so my apologies if this is in the wrong section. I currently use a XHA1 and a HV30 and want to share my final cut with you guys. It's from earlier in the summer, and was my first cut using the cameras and newer editing techniques, but I am satisfied with the results. Let me know what you guys think!

Grassroots Drifting: Triple Threat II Drift Event Round 2 on Vimeo

XH-A1 DV 30f Final Cut Capture

Brandon Katcher — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:29:46 GMT

I have seen a lot of threads covering HDV capture settings into Final Cut, but I haven't been able to find anything on DV Capture settings.
I had an XL2 before, and 30p captured into a 60i timeline always looked great. But now, capturing 30f from the A1 the same way gives me a lot of interlacing effects. Should I be using different capture and sequence settings for this camera? What should field dominance be set at?
Any help would be much appreciated,
Thanks,
Brandon

Lost Summit Films

Problem with LANC, firewire, and headphones...

David Beisner — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:01:24 GMT

Ok, so I've read a number of stories on here of the LANC port dying, of the headphones jack breaking, and a couple stories of the firewire port not working right. I've got a problem with all three.

About a week ago the LANC port (using a Varizoom StealthZoom) started working intermittently. If I unplugged and re-plugged the cable it would work again for a while, or if I pushed ever so slightly down on the cable so that the pin would go up inside the jack, it would connect and work. As of today, it doesn't work at all.

For the past two-three months I often have had to wiggle the firewire cable around in the jack for it to connect to the computer (tried multiple cables, so I know that's not the problem) and for about the past week, firewire capture has resulted in my audio being 17 frames out of sync with (coming in before) my video. I've tried capturing several different tapes, to two different computers, with the same problem. Playback on the camera itself is fine--the sync is perfect.

Finally, for a couple months the audio in the headphones has been staticy unless the jack is just right. It's still the same, no change, but I figured it might be germaine to the situation.

So, that's what I'm having problems with: all three ports next to each other giving me issues. I can't point to any rough treatment (I treat this thing really carefully) or any drops or jerks on cables or anything that might explain it. Any suggestions or possible fixes? I can live without the LANC if I absolutely have to, though I do lots of sports shooting so having it for my shoulder mount is really nice, and I can deal with the headphones being staticy, but the firewire issue is really a pain because right now I've gotta go in and adjust the audio 17 frames with my video on everything.

Any help or advice is appreciated!