I played with the XLH1 today and have some questions at DVinfo.net

Brian Broz · December 7th, 2005, 12:09 AM

Ok,
I have been looking forward to this camera and have some important questions....
I should mention I am very used to the DVX100 and PD150/170 and Z1U and also have used the DSR570 and SDX900s...and only taken courses on the Varicam and F900. So I will admit my eye may be more critical than most...therefore the following observations:

The viewfinder seemed quite "soft" with very noticeable large pixels...yes I tried the peaking but it didn't seem to compare to the sharpness in a DVX100A/B or Z1U for that matter. Perhaps a menu setting I missed although the camera was shooting in 16x9 HDV 60i.

Secondly, can someone else try a fast pan with the camera when hooked to the component out? The camera I tried seemed to smear more than expected in 24 or 30 but in 60i if you did a fast pan (live component out to HD monitor) you would see noticeable blockiness in the image...not like the Z1u "softness" in pans you can expect (and live with/workaround) in HDV but noticeable large blocks that delay the picture (when admittedly waving the camera around more than normal).

And lastly the camera if not white balanced manually seemed to have a yellowish cast that I have not seen with Sony or Panasonic (which admittedly I am used to). When Manually white balancing this went away, but to clarify this wasn't a "warmth" to the image but a yellow cast to whites. Weird. It also didn't seem to handle mixed color temperatures as well as I expected.

Again maybe this is attributable to the camera being an early or pre-production version...I have no indication that it was. Before anyone panics these are observations after a few minutes with the camera in a mixed lighting environment. I am hoping someone else that has tested the camera more extensively can shed some light.

Thanks all for listening.
Best regards,

BBroz

A. J. deLange · December 7th, 2005, 09:46 AM

The XL series color viewfinders just can't be as sharp as a B&W viewfinder in which all the pixels go to showing you if you are focused as opposed to 1/3 of them in a color viewfinder. That said the magnification button, right next to the peaking button blows up the image by about 2x thus making it easier for you to tell if you are in focus or not. The peaking control makes things look sharper than they are and thus may dupe you into thinking you are focused when you are not so be sure to go back and forth through the sharpest point when using it.

Brian Broz · December 7th, 2005, 11:21 AM

Hi A.J.
I realize the limitations of the VF and used the focus assist, which is admittedly a nice feature. I was surprised how much softer it seemed to my eyes than the Z1U or especially the DVX100A/B. The larger size of the XL VF was nice however.
I'll give the camera another chance today and post what I have found.
Thanks all for listening,

Brian Broz
Sales

December 7th, 2005, 12:09 AM	#1
Brian Broz Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 61	I played with the XLH1 today and have some questions Ok, I have been looking forward to this camera and have some important questions.... I should mention I am very used to the DVX100 and PD150/170 and Z1U and also have used the DSR570 and SDX900s...and only taken courses on the Varicam and F900. So I will admit my eye may be more critical than most...therefore the following observations: The viewfinder seemed quite "soft" with very noticeable large pixels...yes I tried the peaking but it didn't seem to compare to the sharpness in a DVX100A/B or Z1U for that matter. Perhaps a menu setting I missed although the camera was shooting in 16x9 HDV 60i. Secondly, can someone else try a fast pan with the camera when hooked to the component out? The camera I tried seemed to smear more than expected in 24 or 30 but in 60i if you did a fast pan (live component out to HD monitor) you would see noticeable blockiness in the image...not like the Z1u "softness" in pans you can expect (and live with/workaround) in HDV but noticeable large blocks that delay the picture (when admittedly waving the camera around more than normal). And lastly the camera if not white balanced manually seemed to have a yellowish cast that I have not seen with Sony or Panasonic (which admittedly I am used to). When Manually white balancing this went away, but to clarify this wasn't a "warmth" to the image but a yellow cast to whites. Weird. It also didn't seem to handle mixed color temperatures as well as I expected. Again maybe this is attributable to the camera being an early or pre-production version...I have no indication that it was. Before anyone panics these are observations after a few minutes with the camera in a mixed lighting environment. I am hoping someone else that has tested the camera more extensively can shed some light. Thanks all for listening. Best regards, BBroz

December 7th, 2005, 09:46 AM	#2
A. J. deLange Major Player Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: McLean, VA United States Posts: 749	The XL series color viewfinders just can't be as sharp as a B&W viewfinder in which all the pixels go to showing you if you are focused as opposed to 1/3 of them in a color viewfinder. That said the magnification button, right next to the peaking button blows up the image by about 2x thus making it easier for you to tell if you are in focus or not. The peaking control makes things look sharper than they are and thus may dupe you into thinking you are focused when you are not so be sure to go back and forth through the sharpest point when using it.

December 7th, 2005, 11:21 AM	#3
Brian Broz Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 61	Hi A.J. I realize the limitations of the VF and used the focus assist, which is admittedly a nice feature. I was surprised how much softer it seemed to my eyes than the Z1U or especially the DVX100A/B. The larger size of the XL VF was nice however. I'll give the camera another chance today and post what I have found. Thanks all for listening, Brian Broz Sales