Nano for XLH1... worth it?

[Ken Diewert]

I have an original XLH1 that is really not seeing much duty these days as I reach for the 5d2 for just about everything. I always did love the H1 and I was wondering about adding a nano to get the tapeless workflow and then I would reach for it when I wasn't worried about low light or wanting shallow dof.

Also, I do mix the two (H1 and 5d2), but I think that they would match much better with the nano, and I could get 720 60p, as neither cam now has it.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone with thoughts on the topic....

Thanks...

[Ronald Jackson]

I use a Nano with my XLH1 and am very happy with it apart from the occasional glitch and the necessity of having a cat's cradle of wires (I also use a monitor for focussing).

Not so sure that you'll get 720 60p out of an XLH1 though. I have the camera set to 25f and the Nano to 1080 25psf.

I think you'll find your DSLR footage a bit "harsh" compared with what you'll get off the XLH1 but this can presumably be fixed either via camera settings or "in post".

Your NLE system must be able to handle the XDCAM/.Mov files off the Nano. Mine's Apple which necessitates having Final Cut Pro.

As well as the Nano you'll need a power source. I use a Canon CH-910 Dual Battery charger which can be picked up off e-bay plus the power cable as supplied by NanoFlash.net. Advantage is same batteries as power the cam.

You'll also need, from the same source, a Time Code cable, assuming you'll want to trigger the Nano via the record button (or wireless remote) on the camera.

An additional and handy piece of kit is the baseplate/Nano mounting bracket, again supplied by NanoFlash.net as this incorporates a very nice tripod plate which screws properly into the base of the XLH1. (There is room for improvement with the mounting bracket as I've given up reminding Convergent Design!)

All in all a convenient way of up-grading your kit, particularly as it appears unlikely that Canon are going to introduce a direct successor to the XLH1.

Ron

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Ken,

The XL H1 was and is a very nice camera.

The nanoFlash greatly enhances it.

Going from 25 Mbps 4:2:0 to much higher bit-rate 4:2:2 is a very visible improvment in many cases.

However, the camera does not output 720p60 or any other 720p mode, thus this will not be available on the nanoFlash.

I personally have owned an XL H1 since around 2005 and I still like it very much.

We shot a live music performance with a wide variety of cameras, and the editor liked the images from the XL H1 + nanoFlash the best. And having the 20x zoom made it very easy for me to get nice closeup images from the rear of the venue.

Of course, there are better cameras today, for certain purposes, but since you have an XL H1, you can definitely improve it by adding a nanoFlash.

[John Richard]

As an XLH1 user I would like to add the following notes on improvements provided by a nanoFlash:

- no more time lost time "capturing" video off of tapes - nano allows immediate drag and drop into the NLE
- audio is greatly improved from the 16 bit in HDV to the higher headroom of 24bit in the nano
- and the choices of video flavors, in addition to the huge improvement of going from 4:2;0 color space to 4:2:2 as noted by Dan, provide great video improvements ... interlaced or progressive; data rates up to 280mbps allow you to match production needs; .ability to supply .mov or .mxf to meet any NLE's need.
-speed of making dups/backups
-random access to playback vs. tape playback

Basically it takes the aging XLH1 HDV camera and breathes new life into it and makes it a camera that exceeds the quality available from most cameras many thousands more in the current market.

[Ken Diewert]

Originally Posted by Dan Keaton

However, the camera does not output 720p60 or any other 720p mode, thus this will not be available on the nanoFlash.

My mistake. I guess the camera would have to output it in order for the nano to record it.

Dan, I would think that H1 (via nano) and 5d2 footage would look pretty decent when matched together. I currently do it now on certain projects, but the H1 footage does look a little soft. Has anyone directly matched the two that you know of?

[Dan Keaton]

Dear Ken,

I hope others respond, I have not done that.