First A1 footage (Very very impressed with this camera)

[scharky]

So I had a little free time this afternoon about 3:30, right before sunset (how sad is that :))
Anyways, I set up my camera, my marshal HD monitor, adjusted some in camera settings and turned off everything auto (including AGC).
First impressions. . . Wow, what a nice monitor. Then I noticed that the footage in the monitor was what was really making it nice. I love how you can set the color temp manually.
The button layout takes a bit of learning to figure out where everything is, but that goes with just about every camera. I don't like some of the functions that have to be accessed by menu, like the OSD.
I love the focus zoom for better focusing, especially in the external monitor, makes focusing a pleasure.
I also have to say that after looking at the 7" display (which I calibrated beforehand) the little teeny tiny camera LCD sucks, although I havn't calibrated that one yet. It did tend to show less information in the highlights than the marshall did, but maybe the contrast is up to high, I'll have to check it out.

So here is a quick sample of my footage from the day. I only had about an hour to shoot, brought it back in vegas, adjusted some colors and curves, and uploaded for your viewing pleasure.

http://www.stefweb.net/cinematography/Water720P.wmv

59MB

[Stu Siegal]

Was the LCD deceptively bright? The A1 I played with was pretty misleading. Was the control that made everyone in the background of the first shot walk backwards difficult to access? :)

Serioiusly, the first shot held up nicely, even with the reverse. Just waiting for my fedex tracing #...

[scharky]

Man, your fast, it hasn't even finished uploading yet. Yeah, the LCD is very bright, washed out and just plain ugly. Honestly this isn't really a bad thing as it makes your footage look better later on. It's worse if your LCD looks really good and the footage looks like crap. I have to say though, using an external monitor really is a good idea.



Actually I just asked the people to walk backwards for me :)

It will be all uploaded in about 5 min

[Stu Siegal]

Just happened to sit down at the computer at the right time, I guess :)

[scharky]

Jeeze, my server is going crazy tonight. Sorry about that everyone, I'll get it up as soon as I can.

[Sacksnack]

Whoa, that was very cool. The 5th shot, guy fishing, the detail in the mountains is incredible. Thanks for sharing.

-Kevin

[Bionicpix]

I think Canon must have something against large, usable LCD's. Do they have to buy them from Sony or something??:Drogar-Angry(DBG):

What do you guys think about the issue of not being able to flip the image when using a 35mm adapter? This dampered my enthusiasm about the A1. Is there a hack like they found for the 100b/HVX200? Or is an external monitor the only option? (They should just make a damn switch already!!).

[Barry_Green]

No camera on the market (other than the new JVC HD200/HD250) flips the image. Besides, I wouldn't want to use a 35mm adapter on an HDV camera anyway as the moving ground glass makes the footage far more susceptible to MPEG artifacting. At least, the mini35 on the JVC caused it to go completely kaput on some scenes (not every scene of course, but some).

[J.R. Hudson]

Scharky

That is some sweet nice footy. This camera looks sharp.

[xray]

It's looking nice, beautiful scenery, is that your backyard? Thew. Good first start. I am not so fund on the reds, I know 'golden hour' and so, but the pink jacket from the baby and the jacket from the boy. The red is too pronounced, that is a personal view. Overall the sharpness is there and detail too. Sky and mountains are very beautiful, milky.

Was the marshall that very useful for you, how do you place the monitor on cam or on sticks?
Are you with monitor in line with your subject? Thanks for sharing.

[scharky]

I'll shoot a photo of my setup when I get a chance, but yes, the monitor is very usefull. I have it mounted with a little ball head on top of the camera. I also have a 7" hoodman which allows you to put your face right up to the edge of it, making the monitor a very large viewfinder for both eyes. Not only does it give you a better representation of your image, but it allows you to really see the area you are focusing on.
I havn't done to extensive a test using the 35mm adapter, but I did shoot some stuff of my wife with the letus 35 today and I must say that it is pretty nice looking.
I have heard the same issues with the JVC and 35mm adapters, namely the M2, but I have yet to see it in the various postings of 35mm adapters and the A1. As for the image flip, I was a tad bummed as well, but flipping with an external monitor is better in the long run.

The nice thing about this camera is that the image is so customizeable. I have the saturation about at about +20 or so on this one, which I then took down slightly in post. I also adjusted the red of the jacket on the little boy, desaturated, lightened and added a little green. I have found the footage to hold up quite well in post, as well as beaing able to adjust each individual color matrix within the camera. So basically what I am saying is that if you don't like the way a certain color looks, you have the ability to change it.

[Stu Siegal]

What do you use to monitor in studio, and how does the Marshall compare to it in terms of color and black accuracy?

I've heard that people are actually using the Marshall for double duty, and that it's pretty close for blacks in studio.

[scharky]

Right now I'm using a standard sony SD production monitor to edit. I really don't see the need to hook up an HD monitor at this point as I can see the resolution from my PC monitor, and see the color accuracy on my NTSC monitor. I also have a 720P LCD projector hooked up to my computer to test the HD image, but I usually do that just on the final project. I guess I could use the marshal as a production monitor as well, but I'd have to run it throught the A1, and I just don't have room on my desk for all this extra hardware.

[Stu Siegal]

I have a Sony pvm as my sd monitor too, how accurate are the hdv colors on the Sony? Planning to monitor a downconvert of hdv to sd on this monitor using a Kona LHe, wondering for which projects I'll be able to live with this instead of requiring a panasonic 1700w.

[scharky]

Well it all depends on you final delivery. 85% of my work is still for SD broadcast, therefore having an SD monitor makes sense. For HD stuff I have still found the colors to be accurate enough to work with, and then for a final pass I will use my Panasonic projector.

[Elton]

Scharky, that's beautiful, filmic stuff. What's even more impressive is that you encoded an HD WMV file at a realistic distribution-level bit rate and it still looks fantastic. The A1 will work very well in the future for HD DVD or Blu Ray delivery.

btw, I also monitor on a 720p LCD projector. (Sony) Nothing like watching HD on a giant 12ft 16x9 screen. :)

[Jay Rodriguez]

my god, that was some great footage scharky! simply in awe of what this little monster (the A1) is putting out!

can you link me to the marshall monitor that you're using? I need to invest in one soon.

Also, I noticed you named your file water720p, why the 720p? Isn't the clip 1080i?

[Drew Ott]

The clip is 720p.

[Elton]

Scharky, I take it you downscaled the image in Vegas, correct? That is very clean and sharp.

[scharky]

yeah, it's downsampled in vegas, posting a 1080P clip would just make the file too big for most people to download on the internet. Vegas does a good job scaling video. I edited on a 1080 24P timeline and set my render settings to WMV 6mbps 720 24P.
Here is a link to the marshal monitor at B+H

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=391161&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

The monitor resolution is only 800 x 480 but it has Component in and scales the 1080i stream very well. It blows the liliput monitor that I was using before clean out of the water, not only in sharpness but also in color reproduction and highlight handling.
Even at 800x 480 the image is very easy to focus with.

[t-h-e-w-h-o]

that footage is very tastey, great job. Now if only bh would hurry up with my order. lol

[scharky]

I don't think the north pole is on a direct route for UPS, you might be waiting a while.

[t-h-e-w-h-o]

I don't think the north pole is on a direct route for UPS, you might be waiting a while.

LOL, funny you noticed that. I really live in Emeryville CA. Since most people dont know where that is, ill name drop. I live on the same street as pixar headquaters and steal their wifi from my condo. hehe

[ahusain]

this gets my vote for soem of the most gorgeous footage i've seen yet from either the a1 or the v1.

[Amr Toukhy]

i think this is one of the best HDV footage i ever saw thanks for sharing scharky :) great job

[Stu Siegal]

Hey scharky, are you mounting the marshall on cam?

[scharky]

I sure am, using the accesory shoe of the A1, it is very stable.

[disjecta]

Beautiful footage Scharky.

I own the same Marshall monitor as you and I would not trade it for the world, it's a great piece of equipment and really necessary for HD in my opinion. The problem with shooting HD is that if the focus is even slightly off, it can seriously compromise the shot.

[disjecta]

By the way, I mount my camera on the handle section of my XLH1 using the greatest clamp known to man: The Ultra Video Clamp available from Kessler Crane: http://www.kesslercrane.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=7&Itemid=40#
Scroll down the page.

Sorry for the mini hijack, Scharky :)

[Noel Evans]

Besides, I wouldn't want to use a 35mm adapter on an HDV camera anyway as the moving ground glass makes the footage far more susceptible to MPEG artifacting. At least, the mini35 on the JVC caused it to go completely kaput on some scenes (not every scene of course, but some).

Havent seen this with the Canon A1 and m2 at all. Of course I am talking about two specific pieces of equipment here. Maybe with another 35mm adapter the result could be different. For reference I am using Canon FD lenses.

[Barry_Green]

My first experience with it was with the HD100, and the ghosting was outrageous. I'll try it with a Sony and see what happens. I wish I still had the A1 here so I could try it with that too.