Motion won't stutter at 1/30. Motion will be blurry. The attached was shot on an XL1s at 1/30 and matched to an A1 also at 1/30.

It might be better to spend money on stage lighting than a new camera. I would not get an A1 if there was insufficient stage lights. For that matter, why are you even shooting HD? What are you post producing to? Is your IMAG HD? Used XL2's go for $1000-$2000 these days. You can get a used 4:3 studio camera with CCU and 2/3 chips for the money you are looking at for a camcorder.

Brand loyalty only serves the vendor not you. It makes you buy stuff that doesn't serve your needs. I got over that last year. The best thing you can do is spend your money with manufacturers that deliver the product that does what you need. In this case, loyalty making you go for an A1/s when a Z5 has a 20x lens, better low light and gives you the option of solid state recording and a tape for comfort.

Look in the Custom Presets Sticky in this section of DVInfo for low light presets..

Bruce,

A good low light preset will be PFVision.

GAM CINE1
CMX N
HDF L
Black S
Knee L
NR1 off
NR2 off
CGN 25
RGN 48
GGN 49
BGN 50
SHP 9
SET -9
COR 9

Everything else zero.

As I said, unless there's a new preset I don't know about, they all considerably knock brightness down and force you to up the gain, so they're pretty much pointless...

EDIT: Matthew, thanks I'll give this preset it a try.

People want HD - even though they end up getting a DVD without realizing the contradiction. Event videographers who don't own an HD camera will lose a lot of gigs.

This isn't a general event videography situation. This is a specific weekly event the OP says is the majority of what he does..

I doubt he's preparing to spend $4,000 for a camera he's going to use only on a once-weekly gig. An SD camera would severely impauir his ability to get other gigs, and what business person would want to do that?


J.

Cameras are tools. The right tool in this case could be a used SD camera for less than half of that. It will pay for itself quickly and be earning money for the other toys ummmm errrrr I mean tools. :-)

I buy my Panasonic tapes from this ebay seller. Free shipping, and they come out to about $4 each when I buy 20 at a time. you can ask for volume discounts:
eBay My World - ecbuy_shop

I also bought two long-life batteries from this seller. They look exactly like the originals, same sturdy build, and they last as long - and at less than $20 a piece! Even the cheap-o lookalikes I got two years ago still work, I never buy name brand batteries that may be made in the same factory, anyway:
Battery for Canon XH-A1 XHA1 3CCD HDV Camcorder BP-924 - eBay (item 110563677405 end time Jan-19-11 02:29:53 PST)


J.

I find it interesting that I'm being judged on what's right for me and my particular usage and environment. Well, certainly everyone has a right to their view. I bought this gear from my personal savings exclusively for church ministry use as I participate as a freelance videographer/volunteer. The church can't afford it. The mission is important enough to me to invest my own skin in something I strongly believe in to be worthwhile.

I will never earn 1 cent in this endeavour nor do I intend too as this is not a paying "gig".

I ready have 2 SD cams, a pair of GL-2's which have served well over the years.

I cherish being enabled to reap quality footage even though it's on the costly side.

Matt, thanks so much for the suggestion along with settings.

Was that shot at 60i or 30f? I always shoot events at 30f, which I find a better look than 60i. And if it's really dark and motion isn't too fast, I'll knock shutter speed down to 1/30 before cranking the gain above 3db.


J.

That was shot in Frame mode so yes, 30f.

external light recommendations
 

hi guys, I use this light on my xh-a1s and love it. It is totally self contained with it's own battery attached, not in a holder of any kind. there is a knob you can turn to adjust the brightness and the battery lasts many hours - like -3-4.

Comer CM-LBPS1800 On-Camera LED Light | L.A. Color Online

also the vendor, Taky, has a comparison of a bunch of lights on his blog. Taky uses XH-A1s among other cameras. You can get a tripod adaptor for holding your light separate from the camera as well as a table top stand.

Taky posts many great articles on his blog, among them this comparison of lights:

Six On-Camera Video Lights Shootout | L.A. Color Blog

check him out for a wealth of information.