Comparison photos: XH G1S vs. XH G1
 

So here are some comparison pics which will show you some of the physical differences between the original XH G1 / A1 and the newer XH G1S / A1S (remember the A models are identical to the G models except for the pro jacks... SDI, TC and GenLock).

1. Gone from the new "S" class XH cameras is the dreaded Standby / Lock switch, which has caused so many uninformed G1 / A1 owners to assume that their camcorder was dead (in Lock mode the camcorder is rendered completely inoperative except for VCR mode). The switch has been removed from the new S models, which will probably save countless numbers of service calls.

2. The screws holding the removable mic clamp are now much larger; going from jeweler's size on the previous cameras to a standard size which can be handled by the average everyday Philips head screwdriver. The clamp itself is now shock-mounted with a lot of give; this piece is no longer the most easily broken item on the XH camcorder series.

3. The hand grip is much larger and is the same one used on the XL H1S and XL H1A camcorders.

4. Audio pots are marked with number values and the mid-point position is changed 90 degrees to vertical. The switch formerly controlling Auto vs. Manual audio levels has a new function; it's now a positive lock which ensures that the audio recording levels won't change if the pots are moved, unless the switch is set to the "off" position. Basically this prevents a change in recording level if the pots are touched by accident.

1. The only change to the front of the XLR block is that the switches used to have red flags... now they don't.

2. The top of the XLR block has some re-purposed switches... the two on the right side of the block (formerly Line / Mic and Ch.1 > Ch.1, Ch.2) are now changed to configure the audio recording level as Auto or Manual for each channel.

3. There's now a raised bezel around the WB Set button and the AGC and AWB switches. There's a larger bezel along the bottom of the lower left switch row.

4. The Exposure Lock button now functions as a momentary Push-AE when shooting in Manual mode.

1. The eyecup is a removable rubber hood which can be slipped onto the EVF and positioned for either right-eye-dominant or left-eye-dominant orientations.

2. The name of the selected Custom Preset now appears in the EVF, but remains on screen for only about five seconds or so, after which it reverts to its CP number (this function is identical to the XL H1S and XL H1A).

3. The connections block has removeable covers for all of the various jacks and terminals.

4. Somebody commented that they had not seen any photos of the camera's right side, so here they are.

The audio setup menu has obviously been revamped; I didn't get any pictures of it, but it's very similar to the audio setup menu of the XL H1S / XL H1A (see those photos at Canon XL H1S / XL H1A - DV Info Net Gallery).

Basically, the XH G1S / XH A1S has been brought up to the same level and same capability (regarding audio, gain control, custom presets, etc.) as the XL H1S / XL H1A. The idea is that all four cameras match now.

Wow, excellent information, Chris, as usual. I didn't even have to hold my XH-A1 up to the screen in order to see the difference. :)

I forgot to take a right rear oblique of the XH G1... oops.

Little Christopher, go to your corner for a timeout! :)

Thanks for the photos & info!

Has anyone heard if you are able to buy the eyecup separately?

you can buy a sony eyecup that fits the xha1 I think if my memory serves me right that there about $38.00 do a search for sony eyecup and you should find it.

Regards Alan

I find it both amusing and gratifying that Canon has included a new eye piece cup that looks like and functions in a way similar to the Sony eyecup (on the Canon camera). Both are loose and can be pulled up into position or rotated for left or right eye use. Both can be loosened and pushed back out of the way if you have a snug fitting camera bag. Canon does pay attention to what people are doing with their cameras and what they seem to want.

Pat

At last--they removed the totally useless standby/lock switch. I think I've got one frantic call from just about every XH A1 owner in this area: "My camera won't come on!" Just last week was the latest call, from a friend shooting in Arkansas. It was the usual problem, switch accidentally flipped.

I like the standby switch myself. But as for dumb mistakes, the one that caught me was having the custom profile switched off. In other words, I could see changes take place in the LCD when I would adjust the profile, but as soon as I left the menu it went back to default because I didn't have the custom preset button toggled.

One area where I think the XH-A1 could use some improvement, is when the zoom rocker is in the variable speed mode. The rocker switch is small and sensitive. I ended up using it in the continuous speed mode instead. The EX1 rocker is a little better in this regard.

I do as well. I use it exclusively to turn the camera on and off between shots. Perhaps this is because I started using consumer camcorders over a decade ago and they all powered up that way.

We're all comfortable with what we're used to.

Now that's odd - my 1 year old PAL XH-A1 doesn't have any red flags on these switches either. I have it in front of me because I just checked when I read that.

I don't have red flags on mine (PAL 1 yr Old) either, I don't think that it would be a deal breaker for me though ;)

I also found the standby switch very useful when walking around with the camera. Is it completely gone or did they move it elsewhere? It's not a "must have" feature, but if it's gone, I will miss it a little. Otherwise, it's a very nice upgrade to the line. They've definitely listened to the customers. Lots of nice functional enhancements. Thanks for the photos Chris!

I'm kinda bummed about this one.. I loved this feature.. infact so much I don't know if I'll part with my A1 just yet.

Seriously I know its a pain for people who don't know about it; but man its just super cool and fast for run & gun battery life!

Chris,
So they didn't do anything about widening the battery bay?

Why would they need to widen the battery bay? Canon batteries are a perfect fit in the XH series battery bay. I've heard of third-party batteries being a tight squeeze, but Canon doesn't want you to use off-brand batts -- they want you to use Canon batts, so they're not about to do anything to accommodate off-brand batteries.

It's just that when I was using my XL-1 I didn't think Canon even made a 7hour battery, so I used the Lenmars and they fit fine. But I can't do that on either of my XHA-1s. I guess I'm the only one who thinks it would be nice if all my old batteries would fit in the new bays.

No "Lock/Standby" anywhere on A1s?
 

I video horse shows, videoing riders who pay me to capture their 2 minutes of fame in the ring. (I attend 20 or so shows a year, videoing 50-100 riders at each show). There can be 3 or 4 horses near the end-gate ready to enter the ring and I might have an order to video 1 of them. I wait - with A1 on Lock - when I see my horse approaching the gate I flip to Standby ready to push the button. I replaced my XL1s with the XH-A1, and found the Standby/Lock which is an incredibly useful feature for me. So how would I do this on the A1s? Let the camera run for the 10 or so minutes between horses? I have a dust/rain cover over the camera, so if I turn off the camera must I dig around on the left side to turn it on? Will it retain my manual focus setting if I powered it off via the dial?

I'm a little confused by the Canon web site then. Because the product comparison page says that the XH-A1s and XH-G1s both record to SD/SDHC instead of MiniDV. That would seem to be a pretty big difference between the XH-G1 and XH-G1s cameras.

Am I missing something? Did Canon just replace the tape transport system with writing directly to SDHC? Because if so, that would be a big advantage (in my book at least).

They do not record to SD Media (or any other digital media other than Tape); unless it is referring to photo capture.

See, that is what confused me, because their product comparison page didn't mention MiniDV casset for the recording medium. See attached screen shot.

Canon certainly dropped the ball in such a simple game as this :D

Canon Video guys have a lot of catching up to do with the Canon Photo team.

The direct link is http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...modelid3=12152

Wow, what a serious error that is. I wonder how long that page has been like that.

Michael, I was merely commenting on the elementary misinformation such as this. In my "game rules", there's no excuse :)

I'm sure Canon has something up their sleeve regarding tapeless video. They just always seem to be last in the running with new technology and I think it's because they wait and observe what other manufacturers are doing and keep an eye on pros and cons from those users feedback before they come out with their own solution. I think it's a somewhat smart move.

yes that is true, however i've already sold all of my canon video cameras and replaced them with the 5dm2 - it makes canon video team look silly all the way arround! So its a big "shame on Canon (Video)" in my opinion.. and how long has the 5DM2 been out?!

And here I was getting super excited that the "s" rev was tapeless, but still recording in HDV format. Because just the tapeless part would be enough to entice me to buy one A1s because that would make SDE work and a lot of other work a bit easier. Darn.

Yeah! It's not just Canon, though. ALL the video camera manufacturers look silly and shameful. They wasted the last 10-15 years and billions of R&D on technology that doesn't have aliasing artifacts and other problems. Then here comes the 5D2 with an innovative new design that no one ever thought of before: line skipping! This amazing technology skips 2 out of 3 lines on the sensor to get the readout speed up high enough for 30 FPS.

Of course, maybe it's possible that the video camera manufacturers had considered this option before (though I doubt it because it's obviously such a novel idea), and maybe they chose to avoid that design because of the inevitable aliasing artifacts and other terrible image problems that it causes.

Those poor duffers must have thought that some of their customers actually cared about quality! The egg is on their face now, because the wide use of the 5D2 clearly proves that no one cares about aliasing artifacts. They could have given up all their efforts years ago and no one would have known the difference.

Hopefully they've learned their lesson and they will start pumping out more cheap cameras with line skipping and junky artifacts like the 5D2. They rake in the money and customers get the artifacts they so desire. Everybody wins.

Or maybe they will stick to their old-fashioned and outmoded ideas about "quality". If so, they will probably have to spend a lot of time and R&D on a design that doesn't use line skipping, or at least a custom OLPF. (Pfft. Luddites.)

Less than a year. So I really don't understand your point of view. How often should the product rev happen? Every month? Once a week? I don't get it.

The point is canon photo has been knowingly developing this camera.. while canon video just releases a lame "s" update (probably over a year ago) to their now 3+ year old hd technology.

What Canon video should do is make a 5DM2-Like video (primary) camera with a kit zoom lens with an eos mount using the 5D's sensor, flip out screen (widescreen format). etc..

Nobody who has actually used the newer S/A models considers them "lame."

See http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-xl-...e-upgrade.html for example.

And who is to say that Canon isn't working on the concept that you're proposing? We have
a fairly speculative ongoing discussion on that exact topic right here: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/area-51/2...l-h2-when.html
-- although the biggest challenge to that particular idea is going to be the lens, as we've
already outlined in that thread.

Three years is the short-end average for any given pro-series camcorder model, by the
way... although some go on much longer, such as the Panasonic DVX100 and Canon GL2.

yes and the XL2.. all great cameras in their day. And yes the XLH1s is a worthy upgrade.. but still just complementing it to the XHA1 when it came out with some of its unique features.. don't get me wrong, after all I am a Canon guy.