First wedding with XA20

Maurice Covington · February 4th, 2014, 10:24 PM

Don sounds like really good advice.

Anthony McErlean · February 17th, 2014, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony McErlean

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

Still wouldn't mind an XA20 :)

Quick question, when using the camera outdoors in daylight, how do you see whats going on in the LED display?

Thanks.

Don Palomaki · February 17th, 2014, 11:48 AM

The XA20 LED panel is brighter than many I've seen and is reasonably visible in many outdoor situations. However, do NOT expect it to be great in all ambient light situations.

Use of a hoodman-like shade on the LCD panel should help in bright situations
Camcorder Hoods-Hoodman Corporation
or perhaps
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/835407-REG/Vello_LHV_3_5_3_5_LCD_Hood.htmlif you need easier reach to the touch screen.

Anthony McErlean · February 17th, 2014, 03:01 PM

Thanks Don.

Rainer Listing · February 17th, 2014, 03:21 PM

And don't forget, you don't need to use the LED - it's optional on the XA20, just get used to using the EVF and the joystick.

Anthony McErlean · February 17th, 2014, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rainer Listing

And don't forget, you don't need to use the LED - it's optional on the XA20.

Thanks, didn't think of it that way :)

Anthony Lelli · February 28th, 2014, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

I have found for me that if I did not get the white balance right with this camera it can be very difficult to correct in post.

maybe you guys find the XA20 difficult compared to the XA10 , and I don't know much about the XA10 but I can report that the XA20 gives one of the best WB handling I had the opportunity to work with. It is a little "conservative" and the LCD doesn't represent the actual colors (at least in the camera that I had and without calibrating it, just out of the box). Anyway there are two presets , select the first one and find something white under the average lighting of the room or outdoors, fill the frame and set. After that add 100 to the kelvin set by the camera . I was able to nail it pretty much all the time. +200 will give a slightly warmer footage that I don't mind (depending on what we shoot: for a commercial use a little "fiction" with the colors is to be preferred in my opinion.
auto WB is to be avoided with any camera (not just the XA20). The temperature that the camera will set (in the touch of the 2 presets) is indeed a little too conservative. how can I say it better..? pale(ish)? add 100 and the camera will be back in the colors business.
just my 2c

Jeff Harper · February 28th, 2014, 07:17 AM

Only two of users I know of complained about the WB on the camera, me and one other person. I never used auto white balance on the camera, it was impossible much of the time.

I sold my XA20 but do not miss my issues with WB. As one other person brought up (Tim), if you set it wrong it's ugly. I found it to be nearly non-fixable at times. This is just me.

For me it was only in select lighting situations where the issue arose. Most time it was fine.

I have replaced the XA20 with a $500 Lumix which has a longer zoom range, has a more noise-free image at full zoom, and is much more portable. I only bought the XA20 for long shots, so I do not miss it at all.

I like my XA10s, but the XA20 wasn't right, not to me. The LCD was way off in it's colors and I just could't figure it out. If the camera's working for you I congratulate you!

The XA20 has some very nice features, really not a bad camera overall.

Anthony Lelli · February 28th, 2014, 09:33 AM

Jeff,
well, we covered an entire soccer game with the XA20 via blackmagic and youtube live , and my main sony ea50 for the taped version. Before the game started we sent a girl with a white shirt standing facing the cameras and we set both cameras with the shirt in the frame. They came out exactly the same, just added 200 kelvin for youtube to make the colors rich. repeat for the second half and again the WB was correct in both cameras. Honestly, that's what happened. I don't work with the XA20 but it looked fine to me. But if you say that's not good with the colors then I believe you: you had more experience with the camera so I go back to the corner and shut up

Jeff Harper · February 28th, 2014, 09:50 AM

Anthony, I only had issues indoors in certain lighting conditions, not outdoors. If you had read the thread earlier you would have seen that, but no worries, it's a long thread.

There are are some very good, experienced shooters here that will tell you the camera is just fine. It has even been suggested my issues were more operator error than a camera issue! That may be true, I don't know! I might have given up on it too soon, who knows.

The color thing originally came up when someone else mentioned the WB and ugly shots, and I realized I was not the only one with that experience.

February 4th, 2014, 10:24 PM	#46
Maurice Covington Major Player Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Plainfield, Illinois Posts: 236	Re: First wedding with XA20 Don sounds like really good advice.

February 17th, 2014, 11:48 AM	#48
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	Re: First wedding with XA20 The XA20 LED panel is brighter than many I've seen and is reasonably visible in many outdoor situations. However, do NOT expect it to be great in all ambient light situations. Use of a hoodman-like shade on the LCD panel should help in bright situations Camcorder Hoods-Hoodman Corporation or perhaps http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/835407-REG/Vello_LHV_3_5_3_5_LCD_Hood.htmlif you need easier reach to the touch screen. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

February 17th, 2014, 03:01 PM	#49
Anthony McErlean Trustee Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 1,076	Re: First wedding with XA20 Thanks Don.

February 17th, 2014, 03:21 PM	#50
Rainer Listing Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Nowra, Australia Posts: 440	Re: First wedding with XA20 And don't forget, you don't need to use the LED - it's optional on the XA20, just get used to using the EVF and the joystick.

February 28th, 2014, 07:17 AM	#53
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: First wedding with XA20 Only two of users I know of complained about the WB on the camera, me and one other person. I never used auto white balance on the camera, it was impossible much of the time. I sold my XA20 but do not miss my issues with WB. As one other person brought up (Tim), if you set it wrong it's ugly. I found it to be nearly non-fixable at times. This is just me. For me it was only in select lighting situations where the issue arose. Most time it was fine. I have replaced the XA20 with a $500 Lumix which has a longer zoom range, has a more noise-free image at full zoom, and is much more portable. I only bought the XA20 for long shots, so I do not miss it at all. I like my XA10s, but the XA20 wasn't right, not to me. The LCD was way off in it's colors and I just could't figure it out. If the camera's working for you I congratulate you! The XA20 has some very nice features, really not a bad camera overall. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

February 28th, 2014, 09:33 AM	#54
Anthony Lelli Major Player Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: New York City Posts: 329	Re: First wedding with XA20 Jeff, well, we covered an entire soccer game with the XA20 via blackmagic and youtube live , and my main sony ea50 for the taped version. Before the game started we sent a girl with a white shirt standing facing the cameras and we set both cameras with the shirt in the frame. They came out exactly the same, just added 200 kelvin for youtube to make the colors rich. repeat for the second half and again the WB was correct in both cameras. Honestly, that's what happened. I don't work with the XA20 but it looked fine to me. But if you say that's not good with the colors then I believe you: you had more experience with the camera so I go back to the corner and shut up

February 28th, 2014, 09:50 AM	#55
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: First wedding with XA20 Anthony, I only had issues indoors in certain lighting conditions, not outdoors. If you had read the thread earlier you would have seen that, but no worries, it's a long thread. There are are some very good, experienced shooters here that will tell you the camera is just fine. It has even been suggested my issues were more operator error than a camera issue! That may be true, I don't know! I might have given up on it too soon, who knows. The color thing originally came up when someone else mentioned the WB and ugly shots, and I realized I was not the only one with that experience. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."