View Full Version : Canon XL-H1 prototype at RESfest Los Angeles
Ralph Oshiro
10-02-2005, 06:18 PM
Just came back from looking at the RESfest XL-H1 footage and engineering protoype demo XL-H1 camera Canon had on display--these comments are made based on images viewed on a Sony high-def CRT monitor. Both HD-SDI live output and off-tape HDV output from the camera was observed.
• 24F looks great!
• Nice build quality/cosmetics.
• Overall image quality looks great.
• Images off of tape, shot of some palm tree frawns blowing in the wind, show slight MPEG artifacting, but overall, motion artifacting was extremely minimal and surprisingly good.
• Chroma noise in the blues was pretty darn low, but it was there.
• There is very slight, color fringing (chromatic abberation) at the very long end of the lens (magenta fringe). Again, it was VERY slight.
Ralph Oshiro
10-02-2005, 06:49 PM
http://www.24framefilms.com/H1.jpg
http://www.24framefilms.com/H1-girl.jpg
http://www.24framefilms.com/H1-CU.jpg
Canon XL-H1 Engineering Protoype at RESfest Los Angeles 10.02.2005
Barry_Green
10-02-2005, 07:54 PM
That guy in the background of the top picture is the cinematographer for "Cry Wolf."
Tibby
10-02-2005, 08:06 PM
That is a beautiful looking camera. This is the only camera thats gonna give the HVX some competition.
evinsky
10-03-2005, 12:27 AM
There was one fly in the ointment... Motion rendering.
Although the footage I saw outside from the camera did not seem to display this the projected demo footage had a very slight temporal jump about every 1/2 second (12 Frame GOP)
. Everyone in the theater noticed it and we asked the Canon reps what the deal was and they basically said they had no idea. Because the footge was originally shot SDI to an Sony HDCAM deck then transfered to a DVC-Pro HD tape for projection at Rez-fest so it could be either the camera or the transcoding. 24F it's self looked great and the most "35mm" of any camera save the Varicam/Cinealta. Were just going to have to wait for a deck and a better sens of the HDV footage and it's motion charachterstics.
It's a beautiful camera, no doubt. As a (dedicated) XL-2 user, I'm more than a little disappointed that they haven't improved the iris control (easily the worst thing about the XL-2) or that they haven't moved the "standby" button somewhere else - as a documentary filmmaker who sometimes has to white-balance quickly, I have accidentally hit that damned button - and it sure does slow things down.. Oh well, since those of us who are used to these flaws have learned to live with them , I guess it's no biggie - Now, if we just had a deck that we could actually play the HD back on - I do not, will not - EVER - settle for using a camera as a source deck...
evinsky
10-03-2005, 01:54 PM
Amen!
David G. Smith
10-03-2005, 02:00 PM
It's a beautiful camera, no doubt. As a (dedicated) XL-2 user, I'm more than a little disappointed that they haven't improved the iris control (easily the worst thing about the XL-2) or that they haven't moved the "standby" button somewhere else - as a documentary filmmaker who sometimes has to white-balance quickly, I have accidentally hit that damned button - and it sure does slow things down.. Oh well, since those of us who are used to these flaws have learned to live with them , I guess it's no biggie - Now, if we just had a deck that we could actually play the HD back on - I do not, will not - EVER - settle for using a camera as a source deck...
That is difinitely an issue. Someone needs to adress the deck incompatability problem. We'll see.
The Canon is a beautiful camera though, it will sell well.