HVR-A1U Accessory Questions:

[Dave Blackhurst]

QM71d and 91d are in fact compatible with the A1U - if HC1 is in the list, it's the same battery. I use an HC1 myself, same 20DMA/Sto-Fen/QM71d/QM91d setup - works well. HG series lenses are heavy and pricy, but NICE!

DB>)

[Graham Hickling]

Originally Posted by Laurence Kingston

For a wide angle lens you also want to get a lens hood. The Cavision LH80M/P can be ordered with an adapter ring to perfectly fit the VCL-HG0737Y. If you use the VCL-HG0737X, be sure to tell them because the outside diameter is a little smaller

The VCL-HG0737X that I just bought has a 67mm outer diameter, which is certainly significantly smaller than the 80mm and 77mm hoods I see advertized at Cavision.

Is an 67mm hood available there ... or anywhere???

[Martin Labelle]

I use the np-qm91d and I can run the camera for more than 3 hours.but it is true, its a bit big if you also add the converter 0737y.I also use an external charger: ansmann,digi charger plus model#50250023.
it sells for $60 canadian and it can charge also my battery for canon 20d and aa battery.

[Hugh Mobley]

I recently sold my A1 and got a V1, but When I buy extra batteries I put the model in and hit search. I get my tapes from Tapestockonline, excellant service and prices, Although I have a V1 now, one hell of a cam I do miss my A1, probably regret selling when I need a cam for a two cam shot.

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

Please do not link to non-sponsor websites.

[Dave Haynie]

Originally Posted by Lee Kazimir

John,
I don't plan on using the "premium" Sony Digital Master tapes. I don't think there's any improvement in image, just lower chance of dropouts.

It's digital -- that's precisely right. No tape has any effect whatsoever on image quality, just on dropouts. You probably want to use a high quality tape for HDV if possible. HDVs absolutely no more or less likely to drop out than DV (though more likely than DV-CAM, due to the slower speed), but the damage incurred in a dropout can obviously spread across multiple frames.

I'm very happy with Panasonic AY-DVM63MQ "Master Quality" tapes... (also available in 33, 43, and 83 minute lengths, and I think the "MQ" has just been replaced with "AMQ", a tweaked formulation). I buy these in in bulk from B&H, the price is only a bit more than plain old consumer grade tapes from a big box retailer. If you're doing serious shooting, it's not just the tape, either, but a reasonably well made shell and other mechanicals, so when you want to do something with tape 10 years from now, you not only don't have dropouts, but the tape still works.

Originally Posted by Lee Kazimir

I did actually use one Digital Master tape that came with the camera, and a few others that were just standard DV tapes you buy in a drugstore. I haven't noticed dropouts when playing back any of them. At 3x the price I simply can't justify the extra expense, so I will live with the slighter chance of dropouts.

My belief is that the question of dropouts TODAY is probably pretty small, but over time, it'll increase, perhaps dramatically. I did a project back in 1994, shot on consumer grade analog tape of the day, mastered on pro-quality SVHS. When I went to make the DVD eight years later, I had planned to restore everything from the original tapes, and found that they were full of analog dropouts, even having been kept in reasonably good conditions (sealed and kept in a cool and dryish cellar, which is my home office... I have original $50 "Gold Disc" CDs that still work, stored here, despite the expected <5 year life on those in the day).

I do also believe that some of the "pro" quality tapes are overpriced. Thus, I settled on the Panasonics, and I'm quite happy -- pro quality, reasonable price.

Originally Posted by Lee Kazimir

J
I have not used the telephoto lens so I can't comment.

I've been using a 3rd party wide angle (Raynox 0.5x... looks like it was custom made for my HV10, which I actually bought a year after the A1), a moderate priced ($150-ish) I bought before I owned the A1U. I haven't tried either Sony. Technically speaking, if the lens is designed specifically for the A1 lens, they might deliver a better add-on. I do agree that some of the 3rd party lenses, including pretty much any of these 1-element things, are crap.

Originally Posted by Lee Kazimir

J
Hey Laurence, what do you do about batteries for the light on the A1U? I imagine a QM91 would be far too big and bulky to stick on the back of it. Do you use smaller M-series batteries? If so, how long do they last on the light?

I like the QM71s... I have bunch of them, but don't run lights from them. They're about a large a thing as I could have poking out the back of the A1, and deliver decent (~3hours) life.

[Dave Haynie]

Originally Posted by Laurence Kingston

Lot's of people recommend getting one brand of tape and sticking with it. On my older Mini-DV cams I used whatever was cheapest for years and never had a problem mixing tapes, but currently I'm sticking with the Sonys. Sony uses a wet lubrication system and everyone else uses a dry lubrication.

The reason for this was that, back in the days of everyone using wet lubrication, there was apparently a very real chance of the different lubricants mixing together, reacting in weird ways, and gumming up your camera. I never had this happen either, though it's certainly depends on the volume of "spew" you get, which is proportional to the number of tapes you run, and perhaps the design of the tape mechanism.

I think many are still suspicious there's a potential issue with dry lube, but I don't know of any actual documented case. I stick with my favorite tapes anyway, just because they're a good buy, I have no problems, and I know there's no "gumming" issue. That' wouldn't stop me from using another in a pinch.

Originally Posted by Laurence Kingston

I feel that since it is a Sony camera, the "wet lubrication" tapes must be OK. I do however seriously doubt that it really makes any difference.

Sony's big enough that you can't really expect the tape people and the camera people are in cahoots, anymore than the Vegas designers talk to the Sony PC people. While I'd be surprised if they didn't test on Sony cameras, no one making tape is going to suggest you can't use it in any camera, and the camera maker is designing the camera to use any old DV tape. At best, they might maintain a list of known problem manufacturers, but given the handful of companies that actually make DV tape, I doubt that's even an issue.

Originally Posted by Laurence Kingston

The way I see it, the "wet/dry" lubrication issue affects the camera longevity. The "master" line of tapes is less likely to have dropouts, but not neccessarily any easier on the tape heads. Since I'm not having dropout problems on the cheaper Sony tapes, I'm not spending the extra money on tapes designed to avoid dropout.

I think it's more likely the dropouts you're avoiding 8-10 years from now, versus today's dropouts. Certainly in frequency and severity.

[Larry Vaughn]

sorry, wrong post. I was worried about the Russians I can see from my house.