Firestore FS H200 and Canon XH-A1
 

Looking for the real scoop on whether this unit works with my camera. the Focus website compatibility chart doesn't list the Canon under this product. Maybe because it's new and they haven't updated their charts yet? In addition, I need to confirm whether the tape mechanism on the Canon must still be used with this unit? I use the firewire port on the Canon to record to a firewire capable DVD recorder and or a Sony DVCAM deck without rolling tape. Is this possible with the FS H200?

David,

I purchased the FS-H200 recently to pair with my XH-A1 and everything seems to work fine. There are three control modes: Normal, External and Synchro. Normal is where recording is initiated on the device. External, which is recommended, allows recording to be initiated on the camera. Synchro is sort of the fallback mode that works for older cameras. It requires recording to tape concurrently. I got Normal working pretty quickly. Only just got External to work tonight (been fiddling with it just a bit for the past several days) after realizing "DV Control" was turned off on the camera ... Oops! The company probably hasn't run tests with a good variety of cameras, which would explain the inaccurate / conservative compatibility chart. You'll also notice that they only recommend using the Sandisk Extreme III 16 and 32 GB compact flash cards. Now, that's what I happen to be using but I'm sure cards rated at equivalent or better speeds from other manufacturers won't have a problem.

I haven't had a chance to test the unit extensively but so far I'm feeling pretty good about my purchase. I just hope Focus will do what they did for the FS-C line and add on-device video playback through a firmware upgrade. The color screen should be put to better use!

I'm currently in the process of setting up a blog about my cinematography / video interests and promise to write a detailed review of the FS-H200 for it when I can.

-David

hey thx for the reply.
when u mention "older cameras" are u referring to the original A1 or some other brand/model?

oops and BTW
 

btw,
what do u know about the supposed 2 gig file size issue? Does the unit start a new clip every 10 minutes or so? If so, how do u link them up in post without missing frames etc...?

thx for any reply
d

If you use FAT format you will have this issue. If you use UDF you can get around the 2GB gap when using M2T as the file source. I cannot say if it removes the limit when using Quicktime files though.

yep, that's what I'd be using, Quicktime as I use Final Cut Pro

The newer (FC2?) supports M2Ts. I should have a chance this saturday to try and do a quick 10 minute record in the Quicktime format and let you know if the file gets broken up.

alas,
I'm using ver 5.1.4 which is ver 1. Apple dropped basic color correction and added Color to FCS 2. I didn't upgrade. Now with FCS 3, they've dropped LiveType, which is a quick but powerful text generator. Your now forced to learn the complex program called Motion.

I have the XH-A1, not the XH-A1S. And again, it works fine.

I should clarify why External mode is important. The XH-A1 doesn't at all indicate any recording is going on while the FS-H200 is recording. If you're in External mod, the FS-H200 will start recording when you hit record on the camera. This sort of reassures you that the two devices are speaking properly. If it's extremely important that you're capturing footage (say, you're shooting an event or paying actors / crew by the hour), I'd stick with Synchro mode or hit pause and check each clip periodically. It's pretty easy to get the FS-H200 to playback into the XH-A1 to do this.

Firestore compatibility
 

I have a Canon XH-A1...and I want to buy a firestore fs-h200. Do all the frame rates record onto the FS-H200, such as 24f, 30f, 60i? Do they playback from the firestore through the camera? Do you set the firestore to record at HDV 1080i then record any of the fps? Thanks ahead of time

also with the xha1, if you are recording tape and roll past the end, will the fs h200 continue recording and if so, are any frames dropped when the tape ends?

Same question as Joe...
 

I have the same questions as Joe. Has there been an answer here or elsewhere?

Thanks,
Paul

I have the FS-H200 and it works a lot like the FS-5 units.

Yes, the files will play back through firewire on the camera.

The FS-H200, like the FS-5 only records:

Quicktime HD (NTSC):
1080/60
720/30

But the M2T format setting will record all the 24f, 30f and 720/60 type of formats.

Been shooting 1080/60 QT in both FAT mode and UDF modes without any issues.

Note: There is no missing footage between the clip breaks when shooting 1080/60 QT/FAT mode. Just drop the clips into Final Cut Pro and stat editing.

Jonas, Thanks for the response...
 

This will work great for me since I mainly shoot 24f or 30f. I should be able to use Clipwrap to bring the clips into FCP.