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-   Canon XA and VIXIA Series AVCHD Camcorders (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xa-vixia-series-avchd-camcorders/)
-   -   First wedding with XA20 (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xa-vixia-series-avchd-camcorders/519595-first-wedding-xa20.html)

Tim Akin October 31st, 2013 07:19 AM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Thanks Jeff and Robert. Robert I'm sure the XA will perform well for you. I was amazed at how well it did at the reception for this wedding. The venue was very dark and drab but the XA handled the light on the brides dress and dark venue very well I thought.

Craig Chartier November 1st, 2013 11:06 PM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Nice work Tim. Soft focus on the bride gives it that nostalgic Hollywood leading lady look. ;-)

Tim Akin November 2nd, 2013 09:54 AM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Thanks Craig. haha yep, we fine tuned that focus to get that look :)

Tim Akin November 2nd, 2013 09:57 AM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
1 Attachment(s)
Here's a frame grab from the timeline comparing the XA and the 90. The XA is on the left and is hand held with an LED lamp mounted on it. The AC90 is on a tripod with an LED mounted on a stand a few feet away. Edit: just remembered I set shutter speed to 30 on the XA when I went in the room where the cake was and never turned it back to 60. Just checked the media in camera to make sure, it was 1/30th. So not really a fair comparison since the AC90 shutter was 1/60. I'll leave the pics up anyway.

Robert Young November 2nd, 2013 10:17 AM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Wow
The XA image looks decisively better in this example.

Tim Akin November 2nd, 2013 10:37 AM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
2 Attachment(s)
Yes it does but take into account it is several feet closer to the subjects than the 90. Also, looks like I might have chosen a frame grab that was either out of focus or not on frame well for the 90. When I went back and looked at it on the timeline it doesn't look so out of focus like it does in this pic.

I had the XA's gain limit set to 18db and I don't think it ever went above 13db or so. The AC90 does not have a gain limiter so I'm not sure where the gain was on it.

Here's a couple more.

Tim Akin November 2nd, 2013 03:14 PM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Young (Post 1819055)
Wow
The XA image looks decisively better in this example.

I've been thinking and wondering about why the XA looked brighter than the AC and just remembered I set shutter speed to 30 on the XA when I went in the room where the cake was and never turned it back to 60. Just checked the media in camera to make sure, it was 1/30th. So not really a fair comparison since the AC90 shutter was 1/60.

Don Palomaki November 3rd, 2013 06:52 AM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Manual or auto (program) exposure?
In any case the brightness difference should be readily correctable.

On my PC the XA image looks warmer, a bit richer, and the people healthier
At 1/30 the dancing movement could introduce some motion blur.
With the AC on a tripod, something should be in sharp focus unless we are seeing noise reduction image softening artifacts.

Tim Akin November 3rd, 2013 07:03 AM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Both camera's are in manual mode with auto exposure.

In most scenes the XA does look more pleasing right out of the cam but the AC can be made to look like the XA with color correction in post.

I didn't notice any motion blur at all, very surprising.

The AC footage doesn't look out of focus in the video or on the timeline, it's just the frame grab that looks that way for some reason.

Anthony McErlean December 1st, 2013 07:49 PM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper (Post 1818614)
I like it Tim! Very nice trailer, great work.

Yes, great work Tim, wouldn't mind an XA20 myself.

Max Palmer December 11th, 2013 11:18 AM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Akin (Post 1818606)
Good points Don. I was able to correct most of it in post. The worst being overexposure. I don't think any non professional will notice.

Here's a trailer for it, ya'll can tell me if it looks bad.

Tiffany+Matthew - Trailer on Vimeo

Edit: Well I just watched the trailer to make sure the linked worked and realized there's not many ceremony shots in there. The only overexposed shot is the B&W shot at the end of him saying vows. Her vows is the AC90 which is focused on the trees behind them :(

Hey Tim- I'm considering my cam options as I want to think about moving away from dSLR as a B-cam (use it for more like a C-cam) for a lot of shots, and it's too hard to match to my Canon XF100. I'm watching your trailer- how far away were you from the subject on the detail shots such as the hair preparation, in order to get the depth of field you desired? Was that done on the Canon, or the Panasonic?

Tim Akin December 12th, 2013 10:23 AM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Most of the prep shots were shot with a GH2, some with the XA. If the shot has blurred background then I'm sure it was GH2.

Tim Akin December 12th, 2013 06:26 PM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony McErlean (Post 1822892)
Yes, great work Tim, wouldn't mind an XA20 myself.

Thanks Anthony! I have shot another wedding with the XA know, this one was indoor and the XA performed well and out performed the AC in most same situation scenes.

Anthony McErlean January 12th, 2014 09:40 AM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper (Post 1818284)
I still like the XA20, but the more I work with it the less I like it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper (Post 1818284)
I agree that the wrong exposure with the XA20 can produce some very poor looking shots. It's a strange camera.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper (Post 1818284)
It can be very tricky to adjust settings in certain situations and get anything decent out of the camera.

Reading through Jeff's post regarding the XA20 and comparing it to other posts in the same thread, you wouldn't think its the same camera that everyone is talking about :)

Just, that I'm thinking of buying the XA20 and Jeff's posts are not very encourageing.

Maurice Covington January 12th, 2014 10:12 AM

Re: First wedding with XA20
 
What type of shooting are you planning to use the XA 20 for? And, do you need the XLR jacks or can you get by with the less expensive HF G30?


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