Another A1 owner from the North! =)
 

You guys are terrible influences ;) after reading and watching all the A1 footage on this forum for the past month or so you guys have sold me on the A1, I was considering an older FX1 since I am familar with Sony but oh well!

Sadly my fully loaded HC1 is now officially demoted to my outdoors/B cam/merlin cam where & my new A1 will now be my primary workhorse. It will be nifty to do some low light testing, especially since I have a wedding this weekend that will be horriblely lit @ the Old Mill (I've shot there b4 with my HC1 and it was TOUGH).

Going to play around the A1 and throw it on my Merlin to see how well it balances! (Will post some footage later for those interested)!! Oh and compared to the Sony V1 that I played with a while ago, the Canon A1 is built like a TANK. Will definately need a full week to explore all the options with this badboy!

Matt, get ready for some 2 camera shoots :)

Edit:
Attached is a $h!tty pic (taken with my HC1) of the A1 camera with the Sony 10/20 light + the Rode VM (Yes the A1 has both line XLR + line in!... AWESOME) + Merlin. I will more then likely be using Merlin shooting with the HC1, i have played around with the Merlin with the A1 it feels like a totally different animal.

The A1 is the first non-Sony camera I've bought since 1985.

Congrats on the new cam. You won't be dissapointed in the low light capabilities.

Hey Mike... you've come to the dark side... of... err... cameras...

Go Canon!
P.S. We neede to hook up this week and test out my A1 and M2 on your editing system. And we can do 2 camera shoots now! Hurrah

Michael: how did you attach the Rode Videomic, as I thought that it had a built-in shockmount, and the A1 has that shotgun holder on the side so I didn't think the Rode would fit on there ...

Merlin Settings...
 

If you get your Merlin balanced with the A1, could you post your cookbook settings? Thanks in advance.

Definately will take some time this Sunday to balance it, wow I'm the first XH-A1 user to throw it on the merlin?

Danny, I basically just removed the windshield and slid the mic right thru the XH-A1's mic mount, tightened the mount and put the windshield back on the VM. I'll take a picture later but nevertheless its just a temorpoary solution, as I plan to pick up a jrod (hopefully with 2 shoe adapters) that will allow for a more flexible mounting solution for a video light, rode VM + wireless reciever.

Congratulations. Mine just arrived today I simply love it. I was more impressed with it during the 2 hours I tested it today than I was during one year shooting with the FX1.

Michael and Matthew I hope to join you guys soon in the canadian A1 owners club!

Cool Evan, we should all hook up for some 3 camera shoots :P

So that's where all the A1s are going--to Canada.

Ha ha :)

Bill, we had to wait a month while all you 'Mericans got your hands on em ;)

Honestly, I dont see how anyone can buy a Z1 ever again... this cam just blows everything I have used out of the water at this price point

I like it a lot, but I wouldn't slam the Z1. Except for the lack of 24f and the nice lens, it's cool. However, right out of the box, shooting 24f, with the cinegamma 1 slightly tweaked, the Canon is pretty damn spectacular.

Well, to be fair, the Z1 is basically a first generation HDV camera. I notice more artifacting on motion and the form-factor is much more plasticy and un-appealing. I mean, sure, I would never tell someone they are dumb for buying sony, and I don't choose by brand, I choose by quality, but this camera is literally the best cam i have used for under 10,000

I've been buying Sony cameras for a long time (first was a BVW300 in the Betacam SP days, then a DSR500 and DSR250) and have used many different ones, including the Z1. This Canon XH A1 is my first departure from Sony in years. The things that sold me on the Canon over the Sony were the lens and the 24F. I was pleasantly surprised that right out of the box (well, almost--minor tweaking) I like the look of it much better. It definitely has a less-videoish look. However, we had a film at our festival here this year, "Mojave Phone Booth," that was shot with a Z1, and it had a really great look. I think you can make any camera work for you, some are just easier than others.