Hey, I'm a novice with video. Having a problem with my XH-A1. I normally just shoot sporting events for our high school. (Good Light) Presently I am trying to help some students doing a three camera shoot of a musical. This is a SD / 4:3 video. The other cameras are older and SD only. The GL1 and DVC-30 are working fine. The XH-A1 is looking plastic like and almost like it's going in and out of focus or blurring. Neither of the other cameras are having this problem. I could use some guidance.

Shooting TV, 1/60th, Gain at +3, autofocus, SD, 4:3.

I would certainly appreciate some guidance from those in the know!

Ben

autofocus
Notoriously unreliable under stage lighting. Will tend to "hunt" when you least want it. Use manual focus - can always use the push auto function if you need it.

looking plastic like Are you using the Canon without any custom presets?
It often looks very bland compared to other cameras.

Colin: Thanks for your response. I personally would use manual focus. But I'm working with 9th and 10th graders on the cameras. Really trying to keep it simple. I tried using Instant Focus last night and it appears a bit better. The video still looks more plastic-like than the other two cameras. I wonder if I'm missing something in my settings?

The plastic look in SD (especially regarding skin tones) is a bug of the A1, if using it 'out of the box'. Reducing the coring and enhancing the sharpness is the solution, but you'll have to find the right balance. Get hold of a good monitor plus an experienced tv - cameraman and tweek the settings together with him. Then, the A1 will easily blow away the GL1 - but one problem will remain: You really have to take care, that your setting is always activated (it's easy to switch it off by hitting the custom preset: on/off button accidentally) Eventually I put a little sticker beneath my LCD that reminds me to always check it before recording.