Any test requests? at DVinfo.net

Kevin Shaw · February 13th, 2006, 01:18 PM

I have an XL-H1 on loan through Wednesday and will be running a variety of comparison tests to other cameras. Anything specific people want me to check?

By the way, this is one nice piece of equipment. Slick black color, nice lens with a good zoom range, physical controls for most camera settings, lots of connections including XLR and the HD-SDI out, etc. If Canon ever gets around to making a GL3 HDV camera, hopefully with the same 1/3" sensor, that would be a hot-ticket item.

Rogelio Salinas · February 13th, 2006, 03:10 PM

Would you be able to do a quick test shot of a person in a darkened room with a close up of a face with half of his/her face lit up while the other half left in darkness. The best image I can think of is a person in a police interrogation room. If you are able to get this test shot, will you be able to post it here for PC users to download? Thanks.

Kevin Shaw · February 13th, 2006, 04:14 PM

Low light tests are definitely on the list, and I like your idea of doing a light/dark face shot. I should be able to post short sample clips in M2T format, which can be viewed on a PC using the VLC Media player.

Wayne Crawford · February 13th, 2006, 08:09 PM

Kevin-

How hard or easy do you find it to be sure of focus? Is it apparent in the eye piece when the (HDV) picture is not sharp?

Do you find yourself needing to use the focus assist?

Is the auto-focus responsive?

We're going to be doing a remote doccie shoot and I doubt we'll have a HD monitor along. Lots of sunrise and sunset shooting. High sun- middle of the day and night shoots with a spotlight. And it's all animals. Rarely do you get "Take 2". Hence the concern.

Would really appreciate getting any of your feedback.

Wayne Crawford

Kevin Wild · February 13th, 2006, 09:42 PM

I can chime in on some...

-It is VERY difficult to be 100% sure of focus in HD without having an external monitor. The Canon EVF is not adequate for ensuring great focus. You can definitely get it close, but an external monitor helps a lot.

-The focus assist only works only when you are not in record mode. So, for set up situations, it is great and necessary. Basically, it doubles your zoom to help you focus. I use it every time when I can. If you're in the focus assist mode and hit record, it will pop back out to your normal zoom depth.

-Auto-focus is...a little slow. It's worse in darker conditions, but is usable in bright conditions. At a live event, I several times used it to get focus and then shifted to manual to make sure I stayed at that focal range while I followed someone's movements.

-Sunrises and sunsets? No problem at all...the picture will blow you away.

-Animals at night with a splotlight and only 1 take? Start praying to the video gods now...

Hope this helps!

Kevin

Barlow Elton · February 13th, 2006, 09:47 PM

Only the magnification (2x image zoom) focus assist doesn't work while recording. Peaking works while recording and is what I use the majority of time. Backfocus works, so you can zoom into a closeup of a subject, focus, and then pull out to your shot with reasonable confidence.

In all honesty, it's best to have an HD monitor in any production, but I don't think the EVF and focus assist features are all that bad in a pinch.

Kevin Shaw · February 13th, 2006, 11:40 PM

From what little I've seen so far the autofocus seems to work reasonably well, but like other Canon cameras it starts to hunt in poor lighting. And it stands to reason that you can't be sure about focus from such a small monitor, so plan accordingly if focus is critical. For my purposes, relying on autofocus is at least as likely be accurate as focusing manually on the run, for what that's worth.

Vincent Rozenberg · February 14th, 2006, 04:59 AM

I've shot a couple of tv shows with my XL H1 in the last couple of weeks and my experience with the peaking mode is very very good. I really trust on it and I found out when viewing my material back that you can.

Rogelio Salinas · February 14th, 2006, 09:54 AM

Kevin just a couple other requests:

- A quick 5-10 second profile shot of someone throwing some quick punches
- A couple different slow-motion shots of anything
- A some close ups and full body shots of a person with overhead lighting

I really appreciate you offering some test shots. Your test shots may be the determining factor on whether I decide to invest in the Canon or the JVC. I love the pictures that the Canon produces, but the JVC, of course, is a little easier to budget. Thanks.

Kevin Shaw · February 14th, 2006, 12:25 PM

Rogelio: for the slow-motion shots, are you saying you'd like to see what happens when some XL-H1 footage is slowed down in post?

Rogelio Salinas · February 14th, 2006, 01:04 PM

Yes. I would like to see how the canon footage looks in slow-motion added in post. Thank you my friend. I look forward to seeing the footage.

Rogelio Salinas · February 14th, 2006, 02:03 PM

Kevin, one last one if you are able to:

- Stobe Light on a moving individual in a pitch dark room

I know I'm requesting a lot of shots, but whatever you shots you can would be greatly appreciated. Anything that inconveniences you, please do not worry about.

Rogelio Salinas

Wayne Crawford · February 14th, 2006, 02:53 PM

"It is VERY difficult to be 100% sure of focus in HD without having an external monitor. The Canon EVF is not adequate for ensuring great focus. You can definitely get it close, but an external monitor helps a lot."

Kevin-
1. Do you think the 500 line B&W eyepiece offers enough detail to "ensure great focus"? This B&W eyepiece would not negate any of the other focusing features would it?

2. Is the Marshall 7" HD field monitor big enough to judge focus? Any opinions?

3. I'm in Winston-Salem. Did you get the loaner in NC from a dealer?

Thanks for your feedback.

Wayne Crawford

Kevin Shaw · February 14th, 2006, 03:19 PM

Wayne: are you referring to a separate B&W eyepiece option? I don't know about that so can't comment. A 7" HD field monitor would be a big improvement over the small LCD built into the camera for focusing purposes, but whether that's adequate would probably depend on how precise you need to be.

I borrowed the XLH1 from someone here in California who bought one recently. I couldn't find a dealer who has the camera in stock.

February 13th, 2006, 01:18 PM	#1
Kevin Shaw Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,488	Any test requests? I have an XL-H1 on loan through Wednesday and will be running a variety of comparison tests to other cameras. Anything specific people want me to check? By the way, this is one nice piece of equipment. Slick black color, nice lens with a good zoom range, physical controls for most camera settings, lots of connections including XLR and the HD-SDI out, etc. If Canon ever gets around to making a GL3 HDV camera, hopefully with the same 1/3" sensor, that would be a hot-ticket item.

February 13th, 2006, 08:09 PM	#4
Wayne Crawford New Boot Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 20	Ease of Focus Kevin- How hard or easy do you find it to be sure of focus? Is it apparent in the eye piece when the (HDV) picture is not sharp? Do you find yourself needing to use the focus assist? Is the auto-focus responsive? We're going to be doing a remote doccie shoot and I doubt we'll have a HD monitor along. Lots of sunrise and sunset shooting. High sun- middle of the day and night shoots with a spotlight. And it's all animals. Rarely do you get "Take 2". Hence the concern. Would really appreciate getting any of your feedback. Wayne Crawford

February 14th, 2006, 02:53 PM	#13
Wayne Crawford New Boot Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 20	Ease of Focus- still "It is VERY difficult to be 100% sure of focus in HD without having an external monitor. The Canon EVF is not adequate for ensuring great focus. You can definitely get it close, but an external monitor helps a lot." Kevin- 1. Do you think the 500 line B&W eyepiece offers enough detail to "ensure great focus"? This B&W eyepiece would not negate any of the other focusing features would it? 2. Is the Marshall 7" HD field monitor big enough to judge focus? Any opinions? 3. I'm in Winston-Salem. Did you get the loaner in NC from a dealer? Thanks for your feedback. Wayne Crawford

February 13th, 2006, 03:10 PM	#2
Rogelio Salinas Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 75	Would you be able to do a quick test shot of a person in a darkened room with a close up of a face with half of his/her face lit up while the other half left in darkness. The best image I can think of is a person in a police interrogation room. If you are able to get this test shot, will you be able to post it here for PC users to download? Thanks.

February 13th, 2006, 04:14 PM	#3
Kevin Shaw Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,488	Low light tests are definitely on the list, and I like your idea of doing a light/dark face shot. I should be able to post short sample clips in M2T format, which can be viewed on a PC using the VLC Media player.

February 13th, 2006, 09:42 PM	#5
Kevin Wild Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 540	I can chime in on some... -It is VERY difficult to be 100% sure of focus in HD without having an external monitor. The Canon EVF is not adequate for ensuring great focus. You can definitely get it close, but an external monitor helps a lot. -The focus assist only works only when you are not in record mode. So, for set up situations, it is great and necessary. Basically, it doubles your zoom to help you focus. I use it every time when I can. If you're in the focus assist mode and hit record, it will pop back out to your normal zoom depth. -Auto-focus is...a little slow. It's worse in darker conditions, but is usable in bright conditions. At a live event, I several times used it to get focus and then shifted to manual to make sure I stayed at that focal range while I followed someone's movements. -Sunrises and sunsets? No problem at all...the picture will blow you away. -Animals at night with a splotlight and only 1 take? Start praying to the video gods now... Hope this helps! Kevin

February 13th, 2006, 09:47 PM	#6
Barlow Elton Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UT Posts: 945	Only the magnification (2x image zoom) focus assist doesn't work while recording. Peaking works while recording and is what I use the majority of time. Backfocus works, so you can zoom into a closeup of a subject, focus, and then pull out to your shot with reasonable confidence. In all honesty, it's best to have an HD monitor in any production, but I don't think the EVF and focus assist features are all that bad in a pinch.

February 13th, 2006, 11:40 PM	#7
Kevin Shaw Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,488	From what little I've seen so far the autofocus seems to work reasonably well, but like other Canon cameras it starts to hunt in poor lighting. And it stands to reason that you can't be sure about focus from such a small monitor, so plan accordingly if focus is critical. For my purposes, relying on autofocus is at least as likely be accurate as focusing manually on the run, for what that's worth.

February 14th, 2006, 04:59 AM	#8
Vincent Rozenberg Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands Posts: 475	I've shot a couple of tv shows with my XL H1 in the last couple of weeks and my experience with the peaking mode is very very good. I really trust on it and I found out when viewing my material back that you can.

February 14th, 2006, 09:54 AM	#9
Rogelio Salinas Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 75	Kevin just a couple other requests: - A quick 5-10 second profile shot of someone throwing some quick punches - A couple different slow-motion shots of anything - A some close ups and full body shots of a person with overhead lighting I really appreciate you offering some test shots. Your test shots may be the determining factor on whether I decide to invest in the Canon or the JVC. I love the pictures that the Canon produces, but the JVC, of course, is a little easier to budget. Thanks.

February 14th, 2006, 12:25 PM	#10
Kevin Shaw Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,488	Rogelio: for the slow-motion shots, are you saying you'd like to see what happens when some XL-H1 footage is slowed down in post?

February 14th, 2006, 01:04 PM	#11
Rogelio Salinas Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 75	Yes. I would like to see how the canon footage looks in slow-motion added in post. Thank you my friend. I look forward to seeing the footage.

February 14th, 2006, 02:03 PM	#12
Rogelio Salinas Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 75	Kevin, one last one if you are able to: - Stobe Light on a moving individual in a pitch dark room I know I'm requesting a lot of shots, but whatever you shots you can would be greatly appreciated. Anything that inconveniences you, please do not worry about. Rogelio Salinas

February 14th, 2006, 03:19 PM	#14
Kevin Shaw Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,488	Wayne: are you referring to a separate B&W eyepiece option? I don't know about that so can't comment. A 7" HD field monitor would be a big improvement over the small LCD built into the camera for focusing purposes, but whether that's adequate would probably depend on how precise you need to be. I borrowed the XLH1 from someone here in California who bought one recently. I couldn't find a dealer who has the camera in stock.