Cool.

It's an amazing camera no matter how you rig it.

Hope it helps you get the beautiful shots and fun for days!

Thanks... all the handy gadgets will not make up for a lack of practice though. I need to get out and shoot :-)

This is the bottom line with any artform (which shooting is). Without practice, you can get good images, but not great ones. Jimi Hendrix was rumored to eat breakfast while wearing his guitar...he never left it alone.

I heard that about Hendrix as well. Practice is the key

Probably the wisest thing i've read on this board today.

Important not to get too obsessed with equipment. It's all useless unless you develop your skills to at least match the hardware.

I find myself now often watching movies with 2 different perspectives :
1) just as a regular movie-goer : watch and enjoy it
2) watching from a technical perspective : camera angles, the cuts they use, focus techniques, lighting, sound, editing, the whole thing. you can for sure learn a lot about what works and what doesnt and try to use that in your own filming and understanding of it all.

Not just movies for me. Seems like every TV show I watch I look at the perspectives. Watching Extreme Makeover home edition and looking at the angles they are using.

Still wondering how I can shoot a HS graduation where I need to shoot the graduates in the seats, then walking down the isle and then the stage. All from one spot. Focus dilema with this. Has anyone used the transition mode (cannot remember official name) where you pre focus on 2 objects and you can click back and forth?

It's called shot transition.

Shot transition mode is great. Really handy, especially on the A1.

You can either toggle between the two settings, or more usefully, have it transition to one setting when you start recording. I find the second more useful because the only way to toggle is via the touchscreen, which jiggles the camera. You can trigger recording via the remote.

So have you ever used it? would this be an option for my scenario?

I have found the A1 to not be well set up for manual focus. The focus ring runs a servo motor, so it is not direct mechanical focus with that positive "feel" that you get with a still camera lens. Also the image quality of both the viewfinder and the LCD screen is inadequate for Hi Def focusing IMO. The auto focus will do a good job of dead on focus. The problem is focus drift if the subject moves out of the center of the frame, or is small in the frame. Then the auto focus starts seeking another subject.
The best compromise I have arrived at is to autofocus on the subject (you may have to zoom in to get dead on) and then flick the switch to manual to hold the focus. You have to repeat the process for each shot, and if the subject is, for example moving towards you, it's not a practical solution. If you are shooting run n' gun realtime events it's a major pain. And the price is high. A little focus slip when seen on a Hi Def monitor is much, much more noticable than what we were used to with DV.
Unfortunately, to do real, effective, manual focus you need a very high res viewfinder and a true mechanical focus ring-- none of which are you going to find in this price range

Thanks. I am going to attempt manual with push button AF from the Manfrotto. I think this may be the best option for right now.

Yes. The shot transition mode stores focus settings as well. So you can pre-focus at two different distances and switch between them.

Agree absolutely with everything Robert said here. It is very hard to manual focus with a zoom ring when it's just activating a servo motor. It doesn't have that same 'linear' feel that manual focusing on an SLR has. So i agree it's difficult to find a perfect solution for all focus situations with this cam.

Well I got the Manfrotto 521Pro controller in today. Have not had the chance to play with, but the one push AF does work with the A1.

I agree with both of you. After messing around tonight I realized the limited capabilities of the lcd and viewfinder for really being able to pinpoint focus. I am going to rely a lot on the 521Pro that arrived today. Played with it for the last hour and have to say I am impressed. The one shot AF will come in handy IMHO and the ability to set zoom speed is another great feature.