As a beginner I have a lot of questions. I did a search but didn't find
exactly what I was looking for.
1. Is the AH A1 capable of shooting tapeless?
2. Would the FS-4 Hd 40 gig be easy enough for a beginner to use?
Just a couple of many.
Thanks,

Charles Dodd

As a beginner, I think you would find the Firestore actually easier to use than the camera itself.

It's not tapeless. If you attach a firestore you should run a tape back up too.
I just saw one take a spill on a marble floor and it wasnt pretty.

The last thing you want to hear is the "click of death" after a day of shooting.

I would always recommend using a tape as an instant backup for important shoots. However, I thought it could record to an external device even though no tape is loaded.

Page 74 of the XH-A1 user manual addresses this.

If I had a FS (ya hear me Santa?!), I'd probably skip using tapes for most of my casual shooting...you know, trying new techniques, CP's, etc.

Woz,

At this point I don' have any important shoots. Just going to use the
camera for fun. Just thought that it would preserve the video heads
for the future. Maybe when I learn how to use the camera properly
I might consider trying to make some extra money. For the years
that I have owned several Canon DSLR cameras I have taken a few
motorhome pic's for a friend to post on the internet. Maybe $300
over the years. Thanks.

Charles Dodd

You can shoot tapeless with your A1 and Firestore. Choose tapeless on your Firestore and that`s all. However I find the connection between the drive and the camera not safe which can led to missing or corrupt files. So my advise is always using a tape as a backup.