Fascinating. Thank you for the examples. It makes my next purchase of a cam even harder. :-)

I was very supprised to see that the HVX had so much RED in its coloring when compared to the H1; Did you boost the red on the HVX or are the color adjustments at 0 on both cameras?

With the HVX I seem to notice it likes the reds a lot. I had the color temp at -1. I tried to make it look as it appeared to my eyes.

I could have made the A1 look a better (color wise) if I had done the test after more experience with the camera. Now in the second day of ownership I have a much better grasp of the CP settings.

Yeah it seemed to me that the A1 wasn't picking up color nearly as well, but I could only imagine that was settings/experience with the camera.

Glad to see something positive about the low light situation, and in comparison to the PD 170 no less !!

Blows the recent posts that were bad-mouthing the Lowlight capabilities out of the Sony water!

Thanks for this test, appreciate it ... one question, if the A1 was shooting at 60i, instead of 24f, would that have any effect on its lowlight?

From what you posted, it appeared to me that the A1 and PD170 were very similar in terms of lowlight ability, with the slight edge going to the PD170 ... though I'm wondering if that if both cameras were shooting at 60i and a shutter speed of 60, would the difference be greater?

Joe, thanks for these tests! I'm really getting excited about this cam. I can't wait to purchase one the end of this month. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Monday

Yes, if the A1 was in 60i at a 60 shutter it would be more than twice as less sensitive. The shorter the shutter, the more time the light has to hit the CCD, thus being brighter.

I think that the colors can be improved from what I had. You just need to go into the CP setttings and get the look you want. I'm going to shoot some more stuff tomorrow, it will be fun.

Wow!!! The XHA1 footage in low light is extremely impressive, surprisingly more impressive then the HVX! Thank u for posting!

yep, and based on what i see here, the A1 has a much cleaner image and better highlight handling.

I would balance color level for both cameras though, color generates noise, and the HVX has a ton of color.

The A1 has a far cleaner, brighter and sharper image than the HVX200 in the tests. This really is the only choice for me as I will shoot everything at 25fps and the lowlight capabilities being on a par with the PD170 at 25fps really make this the camera I have been waiting for for a very long time!

Thanks, yes I understand the different lowlight performance due to shutter speeds, but I was wondering about different frame rates ... would the picture look darker at 60i as opposed to 24f?

Thanks Joe ... I thought the A1 shot of the leaves in the sky was particularly stunning and filmic ...

if you do more comparison tests, could you do some at 60i?