XH A1 or something else?
 

I want to upgrade from my HV30 to a larger and "more pro" camera and was thinking of getting an XH A1 (mostly because it's also a Canon and it's within my budget), but just stopped to think if I should get an HVX or something else along those lines? Is the XH A1 really the best bang for my buck or should I look into something else instead?

Just for my cents worth Jackie, I have just up-graded my HV-30 to an HF-S10, a totally different approach but for the following reasons :

1 - Records direct to its inbuilt 32g memory or to an SD card.

2 - Although to date I have been totally tape, I think this one with the latest AVCHD recording at 24MBts and not having to download (Capture) files, is the icing on the cake. No other camera at present, that I am aware of anywhere near this price, records AVCHD at 24MBts.

3 - Also, it has very good low light capability & has a larger lens and having no HDD is totally quiet in operation.

The main drawback is that it has no viewfinder but I was not impressed with the HV-30's VF either as it was mechanically fixed.
Also, the manual is in PDF only. - See my other post on this one as I was not impressed. However, over here in PAL land the Canon customer service people are excellent. - I used to be an almost exclusive Sony buyer but their help side of things has been most unimpressive over the last few years.

Hope this helps.

Ron C.

I had a Sony FX7 and sent it back to the store I bought it from. Not because it was a bad camera, far from it. However, it's 1080i only, and I couldn't find a way to get an acceptable film-like look in post-production.

So this Friday I went out and bought an HF-S100, which is the same camera as the HF-S10, the only difference being is that the 'S100 lacks the 32GB of onboard flash memory found on the 'S10.

The biggest reason why I bought the 'S100 is that it has most of the manual controls found on the FX7, and costs about $1000.00 less. Plus the sensor size is substantially larger than any of the individual sensors in the FX7.

I've yet to scratch the surface of its capabilities, but so far I like it. The images it produces are excellent for a camera of its size and cost.

Some test footage I shot on the weekend can be found here Canon HF-S100 Test on Vimeo if you're interested.

Thanks guys, but to clarify, I'm looking for a larger camera with a ton of customizable features.

Both HVX and XH A1 should give you tons of customizable features, but their intended usage are worlds apart...
Just to simplify, consider HVX an ENG camera, with limited recording time in HD (DVCProHD codec), and consider the XH A1 as an event style camera due to HDV on tape...

This is a gross simplification, but you get the gist...

To me your only options are the XHA1s and the HVX200. If you have extra $$ get an HVX. Otherwise get the Canon. Have you read through the "gigantic" thread?

What are you doing with the HV30. I've been considering getting one as a second cam, but might spring for another XH if business pics up.

JS

An HMC150 is worth a look. Personally, I'd sooner have an HMC150 than the HVX (even if the price of the cameras were the same).

This camera is simply stunning, I'm on the verge of buying one:
JVC | GY-HM100U ProHD Camcorder | GY-HM100U | B&H Photo Video

hey, don't let the price and size fool you, HF Sx series is an amazing camcorder,
take a look, and without reading comments guess where is A1 and where is HF S10
HF S10 vs XH A1 vs EX1 on Vimeo - pretty low light , and HF S10 is closer to the real colors too,
you can't create as many picture profiles with HF Sx as with A1, but other than that you'll have full manual control. I just want to say between A1 and HF Sx not a lot of difference in picture quality to justify a price gap :)
I still have some footage from my Z1, HF S10 beats it in day light no doubt.
but if you really want to go prosumer, do your reading, go with your budget, buy the latest.

best.

Full manual control with an HF-S series camera? You can manually control gain???

There is a limited form of gain control available in the HF-S100. It has an AGC limiter which can be set by the user and there is an 'Exposure' control which gives you a choice of -1, 0 and +1 adjustments, although sadly not any finer gradations.

What's an ENG camera?

XHA1s, not XHA1? What's the difference?

Also, why would you pick the HVX?

ENG=Electronic news gathering...

Picture being setup with a tripod on the corner of an accident scene, and you've got to get a report back to the station in time for broadcast...
You probably won't be recording for more than 5 minutes at a time, totalling perhaps 30 minutes...
Get the P2 cards back in time, and edit directly off the cards...


I believe the HVX only records HD to the P2 cards. DV can get recorded to tape (60min).
Whereas the XH A1 allows both DV and HDV to tape.
If you're taping wedding ceremonies where the speaches alone are sometimes 30 minutes, it's nice to know that the tape can run for another 30 minutes. Plus it's a great backup medium.
You can choose to go tapelesss also on the XH A1. There's a whole subforum dedicated to the subject.

You also need to understand, any post production issues with either cams.

The biggest difference on the XH A1/s model, is that audio issues were addressed..But there's more. Chris Hurd makes some points in the Canon XH Series HDV Camcorder forum.

Your clientelle is the biggest answer to the XH A1>HVX questions...

Good luck!!!

It's actually for making short films and practicing filmmaking in general. Still at a loss as to which based on what you said. But definitely plenty of recording. Can't you just get a bunch of these P2 cards (not a clue what they are) as you would tapes?