i have shot footage using many different types of presets and gain (mainly 0 for the gain) and get grainy footage no matter what. does anybody know what might be the problem, cus i think ive tried everything.
thanks

Turn off the auto gain settings and you will see the difference

i have turned off the auto gain but there is still a grainy picture

What record mode are you using?

i am in 24f, 1080, and 1/48 shutter speed.

Do you have an HD screen you can hook it up to? If so, use it as a monitor.
Do it in the daytime, film out through the window or door. Set it on the factory preset and if it's still grainy, the camera's probably a dud.

What are you shooting?
What is the lighting?
What is the aperture?
How are you viewing/judging the image?
And to which record program (mode) is the camcorder set? (e.g., Auto, Tv, Av, M, Spotlight, Night, or Easy.)

Can you post a screen grab?

i am in 24f, 1080, and 1/48 shutter speed.

It could seems a silly things, but when I was new with my A1 I spent 2 hours trying to understand why the image in the lcd was so grainy: than i realized that peaking was on ... eh eh eh

Jokes apart, if the camera is well tweaked and in good lighting conditions, you should obtain a reasonably grain free picture. Try with full Manual mode, Gain -3db (auto gain off), sharpness -7 and coring + 5 (let noise reduction off). In this way I can't see any noticeable grain.