Xh a1 or XL H1A?
 

I'm planning to buy a camcorder this summer and I know the XL H1A is coming out soon so I was wondering if it will be far superior than the XH A1?
any recommendations?
I will mainly be shooting music videos and short films for film school.
thanks alot,

david

Well from what I have read there are a few improvements to the camera. Audio wise they have added a limiter to both channels. You can use the onboard mic as well as an XLR input at the same time. They have also improved the lens to where it can zoom and focus at the same time. The other "big change" is the body style. Do you want the shoulder mount or will the smaller body fit fine? The other question is the added cost and the ability to use an A1 now. In terms of visual quality they will be virtually the same as they still use the exact same imaging block and I have not heard of any visual improvement to the lens.

There is no difference in image quality.

There are differences in the way that audio control is managed, and there are certain advantages to the lens design in the XL H1A over the XH A1. The improvements in the XL H1A make it a better camera in certain respects, but the fundamental concept to grasp is that they both contain the same image sensor block, image processor, and optical quality. The post above from Josh is dead on.

That is really the 2-3 thousand $ question.

The XL is a different form factor with more weight and a few easier to access controls (direct buttons vs multi step menus).

From the footage I have seen, I detect some difference in optical quality. The two cameras do not share the same identical lens.

There are times I really like the smaller Xh but when it comes to ease of use and the ultimate in HDV quality, the XL is tough to beat.

Manual focus+electronic zoom
 

Sorry for my ignorance, but what means this? If I'm doing a zoom I can't adjust focus?
When happens this: manual focus+manual zoom ring or/and manual focus+electronic (buttons) zoom?

Thanks.

The cannon lens for the XHA1 is servo controlled. In the XHA1 lens the servo is shared between the zoom and focus feature. So it can only adjust one at a time. Most of the time this issue does not impact people for day to day shooting but if you are trying to zoom and focus at the same time it wont. The new one can do both at the same time. I usually zoom in and set critical focus and zoom out and I am good.

Only if Canon significantly dumbed down the lens from the GL series, which has separate servo motors for focus and for zoom. The issue goes more to the complexity of sensing, tracking, and controlling both zoom and focus at the same time. That requires significantly more computing power.

If the lens on the new upgrades is the same as the XL H1, then the lens on the XH A1/G1 is significantly wider, which to me makes the camera more desirable. For the types of shooting I do, I'd have to buy the wide angle lens too if I used an XL camera.

If that is the case I stand corrected, but in the end, you can still only do one or the other on the A1. Thanks for the info.

Bill is right: the built-in lens on the XH series has a wider field of view than the stock lens included with the XL series.

Don is right: the lenses have always had separate motors for focus and zoom, but only the new stock 20x lens for the XL H1S / H1A is able to pull focus and zoom at the same time. The XH lens cannot do this.

The XH is wider than the XL. Both are 20X so you will lose some telephoto reach on the XH but gain on wide angle shots. I have noticed more chromatic aberrations (purple fringing) on the XH when opened to full wide. While the two cameras share the same imaging system, the optical end is different. Your application and budget would dictate which will fit your requirements best.

I hit this whenever I am trying to dolly in or out while zooming to keep the framing the same. Thats a problem :/

Ah, they used that in jaws right? Flew in to the girl in the water while zooming out.

I love that shot, so hard to get it right though isn't it.
I had been meaning to try it with my new merlin and the remote control for my XHA1
in my hand using the zoom button on it at a fixed speed.
It now seems I'll be fighting a losing battle eh.

My recollection of the early days of the XH-A1 was the issue of "focus pulsing" when zooming. Thereafter, we came up with the explanation that the servo couldn't zoom and focus at the same time.

I didn't see it at first, until I viewed the frames I could see the focus go out, and then in, during the zoom, pulsing.

But I don't think I saw the zoom itself pulse. And the auto focus doesn't just wait until the zooming stops, it makes stepped movements.

So it doesn't seem entirely true to me, that the lens can't zoom and focus at the same time.

Very attractive, to be able to change lenses.

But if you really want to take full exploit of this extra feature, and go for additional high end optics, I assume the total cost of your XL H1 will increase very significantly.

On the other hand, the lens of the A1 with magenta chromatic abberation under some circumstances, is also not the summum of what could expect. At least, with the H1 you still might have some choice.

Already stuck with an A1, and relatively pleased with this camera, good that I don't have to make the choice myself now.

David, you didn't state what other equipment you have. Both camcorders are great and should be able to accomplish whatever your goals are. But if you don't already have great mics, a tripod, etc... then the money you save with the XH-A1 will go along way to getting you a complete kit.

If you've got a $6,000 budget (or whatever) and you blow the whole wad on a really nice camcorder but have no high quality mics or camera support, then how will that affect the finished product? ;)

Good point Philip,
It reminds me of the ability to fit the A1 on a merlin. An ability lost by the new machine. So to get a steadi shot you need a different rig and if that rig must carry the steadicam name then your looking at significantly more bucks on top of the extra for the camera as well.
All for ultimately the same or similar picture quality & shot

Thanks for the reply and helpful insights guys.

To the person who asked me what kind of equipment I have; I have bunch of amatuer external lights, a pretty good tripod, and a poor man's steady cam kit.

I am planning to buy a wide angle lens with bunch of different filters when I make my decision of which camcorder to get.

XL H1A's new technology sounds really tempting but the price difference is pushing me back.

Would you guys say the XL H1A has a significant advantage over the XH A1? What camcorder would you pick if you could choose from either of those two?

Thanks again,

David

Advantages of the XL H1A are already described in posts #2 and #3 of this thread.