I see where this was a great rated camera, it will be here tomorrow. I hope I have made a good choice. Sometimes I reaserach things too far, but just getting started in video and figuring this a a good place to start.

Congratulations! I'm a newbie too and bought my camera just a few months ago. I love the manual controls. Much better than my previous consumer DV camera. Enjoy!

Don't worry. You made a GREAT choice. For the price, you aren't going to get a better picture... heck, for even a higher price you may not even get a better picture.

If you are new to video, I suggest you take some time and educate yourself as much as possible so you can get the most out of your camera and more importantly, your overall experience. The more you know, the more you will enjoy it. Video/film is a science.

This place is a great hub for information- there are tons of knowledgable people in here, make sure you take advantage.

I just got mine about a month ago - upgraded from a DVX100A I've been using for a couple of years.

My first impressions of the image quality were less than I expected. Then I downloaded the presets found on this site and now I am blown away. Focusing was a huge concern of mine - and it still is. But I just did a series of interviews and I was able to get really sharp focus using the peak and magnification functions. I'm not sure what the footage will look like on a big screen but it looks amazing on my 60" Sony.

I am new to HD so I am still developing my workflow. But for the interviews I captured HD 1080i 24f, captured to disk using Vegas 7, edit in HD in Vegas and then render DVD Architect compatible MPG/AC3 files. I'm not sure if that is what anyone else is doing but I am VERY happy with my results.

Focusing a moving object will prove to be a completely different animal. Haven't gone there yet.

Tim, can you explore a little bit when you said the downloaded presets blew you away? In what way it does? I am new to the H1 too. Thanks

Tim, can you explore a little bit when you said the downloaded presets blew you away? In what way it does? I am new to the H1 too. Thanks

I'm just saying that footage taken with the A1 right out of the box seemed a little bland to me. I experiemented with the presets and got some footage I thought looked amazing. The presets are good for showing what the camera can do. But you will eventually want to tweak to your own taste.

I'm just saying that footage taken with the A1 right out of the box seemed a little bland to me. I experiemented with the presets and got some footage I thought looked amazing. The presets are good for showing what the camera can do. But you will eventually want to tweak to your own taste.

I agree. You can't really use the camera's full potential with the presets already on the camera. For awhile I was just using the Cine.V. and I thought it was great at first, but then I started using some of the ones on this forum and tweaked one to make my own, and I like it sooooo much better.

But you definitely got a great camera. It is surprisingly easy to learn everything. Perfect choice man.

Hi all,

I have to agree with everyone else. I'm a newbie to HD and have had my camera for about 3 weeks now. So far I've found every excuse to lug it out and shoot with it for the practice. The first few videos I shot using the included presets were ok but nothing to be blown away about. After downloading the presets and tweaking them I have to say this is an amazing camera.

Tim, I too am using Vegas 7 to edit and it actuall isn't as combersome as I thought it would be to work with HDV footage. It did take me a little figuring out why I was getting jittery videos when shooting 60i and making DVD's. Duh, HDV has the opposite field order than DV.

I do love the ability to shoot 24f and when I show people what that looks like they can't believe it's coming from digital video.

Great camera and a great tool to help us artistically challenged people express themselves.

Also a HD newbie here. Just got my A1 today! Did a lot of research and believe this is the best camera for the money. One thing I have not researched is a good case to carry this beauty around in. Any suggestions?

Check out the Petrol bags here...

http://www.petrolbags.com/

I have the PWR-HDV. The cam fits snug and well protected. Other room for a few accessories, tapes, mics, etc. The roller wheels/handle are a lifesaver too.

...I highly recommend to anyone with a Canon HX 1A to order the following two items:

(1) Sony Eye-Cup
http://www.xha1.nl/?p=24 (awesome piece!) additional thread http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=80777&highlight=sony+eyecup

(2) Inside the Canon XHA1 and XHG1 (a VASST DVD Training Video)
http://www.vasst.com/product.aspx?id=af5b083b-3102-4624-aafa-9d5315f4ee3d (you'll be up and running in no time! Watch the video at least twice, there's a lot of usefull information and tips).

BTW, as for my first carrying bag, I did purchased the "Porta Brace" CSDV4U ($229) http://www.portabrace.com/productA-CS-DV4U which is very well padded and lightweight bag. Don't forget to get a UV-Haze filter ASAP (the 72mm B+W pn 70147 is the choice I made).

Enjoy!

I've had mine for about a month and am really happy with it. I wanted to get the most protection as I could so I opted for a hard case. A friend of mine works for NASA doing prelaunch work on the space shuttles. He showed me the "super high end" Pelican cases they use for their equipment they shoot into space. I was increadibly impressed. I saw one that had literally about a $1M worth of equipement in it and a Hummer drove over it. Well after that I opted to get one of their normal cases. I got the model 1560 which has wheels and pull handle. I can fit the cameral and all the accessories that came with it plus a couple of extra tapes and batteries. It would be nice to have space for headphones, mics, and some extra cords but I just carry those in another case.

Congrats, I think you will be happy when you see the quality footage this produces. Plus this forum is great. I have had mine about a month. I also recommend the Pelican case that you think will work for you with the accessories you plan to carry and I did as Armando had suggested here as well and got the AVAST video. The beginning of it is no-brainer stuff, but then it gets into the settings and features an HDV primer as well. That was helpful to me as it was my first time working with HDV.

The Sony eyecup is a must. I couldn't live without it.
I got the Portabrack PCUB1-N bag and like it as well as my Portabrace bags.
Pelican cases are good too if you want a hard case. I used a number of Pelican cases back when I traveled a lot via air on shoots and had to ship equipment. They're cheaper than most and very good for the money.