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.

After playign aroudn with it for a few ddays now here are some thoughts & some comparisons to Sony: (yes another ME TOO review) ;)

The good IMO:
- the lens on wide mode is actually WIDE. Altho I am comparing with my HC1, the HC1 + 0.7 Sony wide angle lens on full wide mode is pretty much exactly as wide as the XH-A1 on wide. I was pleasently surprised. From what I recall when using an FX1, the XH-A1 has the widest lens compared to its HDV competition in its class.

- excellent audio flexibility:built in mic + XLR + Line in (I dont believe there are any competing hdv cameras that have this). I was happy to find out that I can use my trusty rode videomic on this camera, I really didn't want to spend the money on a rode ntg-2 or even an xlr->-line adapter. The sound quality of the built in mic does suck tho, surprisingly the HC1's mic is MUCH better

- beautiful colour - the fx1 has nice colour too but IMO the colour/overall look of the of the XH-A1 is more filmic then the FX1. Finally I konw wut I've been missing in terms of colour when comparing a single chip cam to a 3 chip cam.

- good low light performance, although I haven't done a direct comparision with the fx1, with a 10/20 video light this camera will be fine for me to use @ dim weddings. I have yet to experiment with black stretch/coring so I look forward to further tweaking the low light performance. Without saying the low light performance absoutely BLOWS away the crappy muddy performnace of my HC1 in low light. The XH-A1 @ 1/60 shutter 18 db of gain altho does have grain but is still useable. Compared to my single CMOS cam @ 18 db of gain the image would be pretty much garbage. XH-A1 via 12 db of gain is quite usable and pretty clean after some minor colour correction in post imo.

- instant af works WELL, I may actually use this sometime! No more slow focus HC1 problems.


The bad IMO:
- eye peice rattles somewut? It feels a little flimsy

- lcd although good resolution/colour, and lcd compartment is solidly built, it is SMALL

- peaking/magnification for manual focusing is poorly executed compared to sony's implemntation of peaking/expanded focus. Sony's expanded focus is actually very useful IMO.

- crappy lens hood requireing a cap to cover the lens, Sony's barn door lens hoods like the HVR-A1U hood I use on my HC1 is much better.

- noisey zoom motor, a pretty sad flaw imo. Unless zooming in slow you will PICK up the zoom motor noise in your recordings.

- reduced lens aperature when in telephoto. I can't recall if the FX1 behaves similarly (I assume it does) but HVR-A1U/HC1 does not, so I suppose I am spoiled

- Quite weighty. I think I read that from the specs that this camera is supposed to be lighter then the FX1 but I think it's a tad heavier, even tho the unit is slightly smaller then the FX1.

- Not suitable for long periods of time via Steadicam Merlin. Of cousre I am spoiled coming from using a Merlin with an HC1 but I honestly cannot fathom how a Merlin operator woudl enjoy using this clunky XH-A1 on it. I was able to get it properly balanced (fully open arc, and on the bottom 1 start wieght, 5 mid weights NO finishing weight, and @ the frotn of the arc just one start weight) and ran aroudn for a bit but did notice that shooitng with one arm wasnt fun. Also I dindt use the G-platz which you DEFAINTELY need to reduce vibrations @ the front of the camera. I will try it again this weekend and post some footage. Nevertheless for HDV Merlin footage, I recommend using HC1/A1U and avoid the 5lb cameras.

As for the HVR-Z1 vs the XH-A1, I believe that the XH-A1 is much better value for the money. From a high level view, both have apprxoimately similar video performance (altho I believe XH-A1 is the winner here), both have XLR audio inputs, black stretch as well as the many other quirks expected from 'professional hdv offerings' in this product class. etc etc. I just cannot see the justification for the 1000$+ price differnce the Z1 commands over the XH-A1. I did want the HVR-V1 for quite some time but the 1/4" sensors really turned me off, and although the video output was good, I must admit that the images did not blow me out of the water.

I just ordered the LARGE BP-970 battery + a J-Rod (with 2 shoes) allowing me to mount my 10/20 Sony Video light + Rode VM + a wireless receiver cleanly on the A1. Will take more pix when it all comes in.

Pix up!
 

Some pix of the XH-A1, so far (and pretty much capping the XH-A1 specific accessories @ this point) picked up the BP-970 mammoth battery + the J-Rod.

Sennihesier G2 will come later provided I find the work that justifies the added expense

the XH-A1 is possibly the BEST HDV camera on the market today. It is a lot of value for $3699

What about the Focus FS-C? Are you using one? I order one from Scott at Tapeworks Texas, but haven't receive it yet.

100% AGREED! I love the Sony Z1U & the V1U but they do not provide the per dollar value that the XH-A1 does.

LOL Anthony my friend, I wish I had the budget for that but I dont.

If you do get one you'll definately be the hero of many XH-A1 owners on this forum. The J-Rod will definatley safely mount a wireless lav receiver + a mic safely so provided that the FS-C is about hte same wieght as a wireless reciever it should mount on teh J-Rod wihtout problems

Michael, If you don't mind me asking... Where did you get the softbox for your sony 10/20 light. I had to fabricate something for mine, that one looks like it was made for it.


Thanks,

Steve

Hi Steve,

Of course its not a problem, I come from a Sony HC1/A1U world and everyone with that setup has this Sony 10/20Light since it shares hte same batteries as the camera. It was on that community where I discovered this softbox:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...u=89908&is=REG

It isn't made for the Sony light but fits fine on top, and costs 17$ USD.

I have yet to test the setup with the Canon A1, but with the Sony A1 it works good, the results will definately be better with the Canon.

Thanks for the info Michael, I am about to order one, looks alot slicker than the setup I had.

By the way, your posts and a few others have made me decide to buy the Canon A1, Ive been looking to jump on the HDV ship and get rid of my old
vx2000. Now I've started saving to get one, hopefully by next month I can get it.

Thanks again.

Mikey Mikey...

I remember when you were all like "Oh, you just love Canon cause you're a Brand lover"... or "Let's wait for the camera to decide!"

And now look at you, convincing people to buy Canon over Sony... my how the worm has turned!


Just kiddin around. Nice pics mike... better than the ones we took :P

I have seen guys that have used the bottom cut out from an opaque dish soap bottle like "Dawn", which works, but isn't as neat.


Michael,
Nice pics, and glad the J-Rod is working out for your new rig.