XHA for still photography? at DVinfo.net

Kevin Lewis · March 24th, 2009, 07:56 PM

I've never used my XHA1 to take still photos. Has anyone used theirs for this and if so, what the quality of the photo?

Richard Hunter · March 24th, 2009, 10:59 PM

Hi Kevin. I tried taking some still pictures at an indoor event recently. The resolution is not very high and the pictures were fairly noisy. You would be a lot better off buying a small digital camera for stills.

Richard

Jay Bratcher · March 25th, 2009, 09:49 PM

I agree with Richard, although it's better than nothing, and is acceptable as long as your expectations are in line with the camera's capabilities. I don't know that the results are any better than grabbing a good frame of video though. Also, with video frame capture, you get image stabilization - I'm not sure it works when taking stills...

Bill Watson · March 26th, 2009, 09:17 PM

The stills aren't too bad. The resulting pix is 1920 x 1080, giving you a roughly 1.2mb file. Overall picture quality (especially skin tones) is very dependant on camera set up and available light. Get the exposure right and they're quite usable, otherwise needs a bit of tricking up in photoshop.

Stills taken from frame grabs are lower resolution. Pix size is 848 x 480, file size about 180kb. Not much good for anything apart from low quality web work.

Richard Hunter · March 26th, 2009, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Watson

Stills taken from frame grabs are lower resolution. Pix size is 848 x 480, file size about 180kb. Not much good for anything apart from low quality web work.

Hi Bill. That's only if you shoot SD or downsample to SD resolution. If your video is HDV then you can grab stills that are 1920x1080.

Richard

Bill Grant · March 27th, 2009, 02:43 PM

Kevin,
I've used mine for still photography with just about every gig. All of the artwork I do for covers and the like is still frames from HDV. I have had my still frames published in magazines and newspapers in lieu of digital photographs. I think the quality is honestly just fine. They won't blow up too big or hold up without alot of light, but you shouldn't be shooting without proper light anyway.
Bill

Art Lee · March 27th, 2009, 04:55 PM

If shootin in 60i you can get some great stills from the footage. I use a program called Topaz Moment. Not near as good as stuff shot on my Still camera but usually more than good enough for web.

Steve Wolla · March 28th, 2009, 10:13 AM

I have used mine a lot to capture stills fromvideo, and for that it works great.
I have also used it for limited still photography and find the results ok. Certainly better than a lot of lower end digital cams, but nothing like my 40-D. It does OK if your goal is web work, or putting the results in a Powe Point presentation. It's definately a "plus" that helps set it apart from some of its competition.

March 24th, 2009, 07:56 PM	#1
Kevin Lewis Major Player Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Philadelphia, pa Posts: 705	XHA for still photography? I've never used my XHA1 to take still photos. Has anyone used theirs for this and if so, what the quality of the photo? Last edited by Kevin Lewis; March 24th, 2009 at 08:53 PM.

March 27th, 2009, 02:43 PM	#6
Bill Grant Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Columbia,SC Posts: 806	Kevin, I've used mine for still photography with just about every gig. All of the artwork I do for covers and the like is still frames from HDV. I have had my still frames published in magazines and newspapers in lieu of digital photographs. I think the quality is honestly just fine. They won't blow up too big or hold up without alot of light, but you shouldn't be shooting without proper light anyway. Bill __________________ Cinema Couture www.cinemacouture.com

March 24th, 2009, 10:59 PM	#2
Richard Hunter Trustee Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Lipa City Batangas, Philippines Posts: 1,110	Hi Kevin. I tried taking some still pictures at an indoor event recently. The resolution is not very high and the pictures were fairly noisy. You would be a lot better off buying a small digital camera for stills. Richard

March 25th, 2009, 09:49 PM	#3
Jay Bratcher Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Round Rock, TX Posts: 110	I agree with Richard, although it's better than nothing, and is acceptable as long as your expectations are in line with the camera's capabilities. I don't know that the results are any better than grabbing a good frame of video though. Also, with video frame capture, you get image stabilization - I'm not sure it works when taking stills...

March 26th, 2009, 09:17 PM	#4
Bill Watson Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Noosa Queensland Australia Posts: 248	The stills aren't too bad. The resulting pix is 1920 x 1080, giving you a roughly 1.2mb file. Overall picture quality (especially skin tones) is very dependant on camera set up and available light. Get the exposure right and they're quite usable, otherwise needs a bit of tricking up in photoshop. Stills taken from frame grabs are lower resolution. Pix size is 848 x 480, file size about 180kb. Not much good for anything apart from low quality web work.

March 27th, 2009, 04:55 PM	#7
Art Lee New Boot Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Mission, BC, Canada Posts: 13	If shootin in 60i you can get some great stills from the footage. I use a program called Topaz Moment. Not near as good as stuff shot on my Still camera but usually more than good enough for web.

March 28th, 2009, 10:13 AM	#8
Steve Wolla Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 477	I have used mine a lot to capture stills fromvideo, and for that it works great. I have also used it for limited still photography and find the results ok. Certainly better than a lot of lower end digital cams, but nothing like my 40-D. It does OK if your goal is web work, or putting the results in a Powe Point presentation. It's definately a "plus" that helps set it apart from some of its competition.