That tells you how the XH-A1 is outdated

[Steven Reid]

Originally Posted by Larry Secrest

I still love the image of my canon in broad day light or controlled lighting, so it's not that I wasn't happy with it, but you know, at a certain point, when you're not rolling on it and video is a hobby there's no point in having dozen pieces of equipment. One cam is enough. I was hoping to sell it and pay for half of a Panasonic Lumix GH3. I guess I'll keep my XH A1 for a while then.

Not long ago I had my A1 repaired for almost $700. I just checked eBay and noted a number of A1's being auctioned for far less than that, often with all kinds of accessories and goodies thrown in. Ouch.

For shooting concerts, it would be great to have another A1 picked up on the cheap. But then I'd have two almost unsellable videocameras when I really want to upgrade. <sigh> Like you, I'll keep my single A1 for awhile.

[Peter Manojlovic]

Sun Camera Service...

Call them to see if they have a sister company, or contacts out your way....

[Jase Tanner]

Thanks. I am pleasantly surprised to hear about
them as according to my local Canon dealer,
Canon Canada did not make service manuals
available to anyone.

[Don Palomaki]

...make service manuals available...

Several year ago, in the USA for an end user to get a Canon service manual one had to go through a gate keeper at Canon support, and had to sign a warranty waiver with repect to ony work one did on the camcorder. The reason being these are not simple things inside, require specialized tools and instruments, and are easily messed up by shade tree mechanics (Joe or Jane Sixpack). The cost was substntial - $70 or so for a GL1 or XL1.

[Mark Harmer]

Originally Posted by Larry Secrest

I still love the image of my canon in broad day light or controlled lighting, so it's not that I wasn't happy with it, but you know, at a certain point, when you're not rolling on it and video is a hobby there's no point in having dozen pieces of equipment. One cam is enough. I was hoping to sell it and pay for half of a Panasonic Lumix GH3. I guess I'll keep my XH A1 for a while then.

Yeah - I really like the XHA1 for its ease of use and good audio connectivity. I use a CF recorder to capture from firewire and it makes the whole process really quick.

I also have a hacked GH2 which is amazing image-wise but not so easy to get good video on - where you have to get shots quickly or in difficult places or just record for a long time, the XHA1 is still the one I use. Also did a multicamera streamed video event in 2010, using a software vision mixer and two XHA1 cameras - those firewire outputs have their uses!

[Jeremiah Rickert]

I keep seeing those XHA1 sales for really cheap, but unless it was the "s" version I wouldn't want to buy another one. Does anyone know if the "s" version allowed for 720p output? I was doing a concert shoot recently and the guy's switcher only took 720p or 480, it wouldn't take 1080 over component.

[Roger Van Duyn]

Sorry, no 720P on an XH-A1S. See my post on your DVD recorder thread.

[Jim Jordan]

Originally Posted by Eric Olson

The reason I think Canon doesn't service XH-A1 is because I filled out the online repair form for an XH-A1 that was purchased in 2007 and the website said so. I haven't called to confirm.

Canon does indeed still service the XHA1 and mine is in their NJ shop right now!

Eric, I ran into the same thing as you when I visited the Canon website a two weeks ago. I just called their 800 number and spoke with a rep who said the problem is with the website returning that message but they do indeed still service the camera. Their NJ contact info is below and they have pretty fast turnaround. Mine is to be completed within seven business days of approval.

As for longevity of the camera, I upgraded from a Panasonic DVX100A last year (finally!) and tape was one of my concerns. I got such a great deal on the camera that even when this repair issue arose and it cost $300 I still came out ahead. I recently picked up an Atomos Ninja to use for capture to extend the life until can justify dropping more $$$ for a newer model. I also like the fact that I can have a tape backup of critical shoots just in case!

Canon Factory Service Center
100 Ridge Road
Jamesburg, NJ 08831
TEL: 866-510-1335
FAX: 732-521-7069

Outside of the U.S., call:
Tel:+1-757-222-9025

[Jim Jordan]

Just a quick follow up here:

I authorized the repair of my XHA1 at just after 4pm on 03/06/2012. At 2:45p today FedEX dropped off my newly repaired camera! They replaced the complete tape transport, tape door and realigned and cleaned the heads. Total cost shipped to my door was $297.96. Now that's what I call a fast turnaround!

[Panagiotis Raris]

Canon repair is awesome; so is the XH A1/s. I had two; one i had modified to shoot NTSC/PAL. I think it cost $500 or $600 for the NTSC/PAL enable feature. miss them dearly. Whether straight to tape, to CF via DN-60, component out to recorder, 35mm adapters with F and FD mount lenses, great imagery out of them. Both used purchases, both had the 'front mic bonk/droop' issues that i managed to fix on my own.

I miss those cameras actually; optically they were incredible. My folks had a Minolta Series 8 81 model from probably 1989-ish; in 8mm. It worked for them until 2003, and the HD camcorder they replaced it with in 2005 was abysmal in comparison (image quality, audio; you name it). The Minolta produced incredibly crisp near-pro level footage for the time; same as the XHA1 did. When i gave the NTSC/PAL XH A1 to my folks, they balked at its size versus the Sharp 8mm they had at the time, until they used it. The Minolta would shoot single frames; that feature, coupled with Lego figurines and my dad letting me use his Minolta Maxxum 7D as long as i paid for film, paved the way for my interest, use, and later employment in this field. My dad always had a camera around. every picture of him and his brother, whom i never got the chance to meet, one of them had a stills/8mm film camera in hand. They still have some 8mm tapes of stop-motion animation crap i made with lego figurines, when i was 8 or 9. That crap is still better than half the stuff on youtube.

They still use their 'hand me down' XH A1 on vacations. Same with their 'hand me down' Nikon D50 (also a former camera of mine; they get all my 'old' equipment, from cameras and lenses to computers). Its still an incredible camera; and with IS and no CMOS jello, it looks so much better than about 90% of footage most people shoot with tiny single sensor CMOS cams; not blown out colors or super high contrast; more like slightly contrast compressed 8mm film, and the noise looks more organic, as its an analog sensor.

Yes, the XH A1 is outdated, but not replaced. I see no 3CCD camera in Canons' lineup; i have a huge problem with jello/skew in CMOS cameras. in fact, though i use them exclusively now, i actually hate the required workarounds. I loved those cameras. I miss having them around.

[Chris DeVoe]

I really should shop around for another one, if they are really going for $500. For my business shooting concerts, it works very well, and I'd love to have a second one with that amount of lens. I shoot to a laptop running Adobe's OnLocation, so the tape transport potentially dying does not concern me overly much.

[Larry Secrest]

Originally Posted by Steven Reid

Not long ago I had my A1 repaired for almost $700. I just checked eBay and noted a number of A1's being auctioned for far less than that, often with all kinds of accessories and goodies thrown in. Ouch.

For shooting concerts, it would be great to have another A1 picked up on the cheap. But then I'd have two almost unsellable videocameras when I really want to upgrade. <sigh> Like you, I'll keep my single A1 for awhile.

Well, I'm in Maryland, not too far, if you have concerts we can shoot together?

[Sherman Bahr]

Wow, there are a few things that come to mind here. First of all I would gladly buy your camcorder. Secondly these camcorders are not really out dated. A lot of people still shoot with these cameras and still very much love the performance that they offer. And thirdly when you are buying a used prosumer or professional camera you need to budget in a 3-5 hundred dollar allowance. The reason is because these cameras get used and things get worn out so they do need to be gone through before you trust it on that important shoot.

[Peter Adler]

Hi, and sorry for jumping in so late. Seing all the positive comments, I couldn't resist :-)

I fiddle with documentaries in my leasure time. I have also shot a few talking heads for short videos at work.

I have an XH-G1s and shoot to both tape and the Blackmagic HyperDeck Shuttle v2, via SDI. The quality of HDV is enough for what I do, however.

I really like the camera. I find the controls easy and fairly intuitive.

FWIW, I sold an XH-A1s for 1,395€ in February 2013 (eBay auction).

OT, I wanted to sell my HV40, but I realised that there is probably no market for it, so I decided to keep it as a compact/backup/B-roll camera. It can also be connected to the Blackmagic, via HDMI.

Cheers,

Peter

[Jan Luethje]

The XH A1 is outdated, no question. My new HPX 250 is doing a better job by any means – the difference is clearly visible. Nevertheless, I’ll keep it. First of all, to keep my DV tape archive accessible. Secondly, the price for used XH A1’s is so down, that it would be a dumb move to sell it. It’s simply too late. Better to keep the XH A1 as a decent B - cam for days, when “things get rough”. Finally, I'd feel somehow shabby to "ebay it". It served me well north of the polar circle as in the heat of southern Spain. It survived violent 1st of may demonstrations in Berlin-Kreuzberg or at the G7 summit. Like an old workhorse. You don't shoot it ;-)