Drowning in the wonderful options.

[detellz]

Ok so after playing ..um.. *cough* peeping tom and watching all of the great footage on this forum I decided to get an a1 for a cinematography class. I got my a1 today and what do you know they cancel the class the same day, (I also bought a thousand dollars worth of lights but I guess I would have bought them eventually). Got a great cam out of it though. Well anyways, this is my first camera over $1,000 and I'm completely lost on what each preset does. Can anyone point me toward (or give me) information on where I can decipher this code. I'm good on the simple stuff (shutter speeds, exposure ect..) I even kinda get the gamma curve (I've been trying to learn CC in fcp with the books). But stuff like coring and Horizonal detail balance or the difference between color gain and matrix. Color phase? :shocked: I'll play with it all tomorrow but if I could just get a please get a place to start from I promise to be a contributing member and not just a.. uh .. peeping tom.

Detellz

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

Ok so after playing ..um.. *cough* peeping tom and watching all of the great footage on this forum I decided to get an a1 for a cinematography class. I got my a1 today and what do you know they cancel the class the same day, (I also bought a thousand dollars worth of lights but I guess I would have bought them eventually). Got a great cam out of it though. Well anyways, this is my first camera over $1,000 and I'm completely lost on what each preset does. Can anyone point me toward (or give me) information on where I can decipher this code. I'm good on the simple stuff (shutter speeds, exposure ect..) I even kinda get the gamma curve (I've been trying to learn CC in fcp with the books). But stuff like coring and Horizonal detail balance or the difference between color gain and matrix. Color phase? :shocked: I'll play with it all tomorrow but if I could just get a please get a place to start from I promise to be a contributing member and not just a.. uh .. peeping tom.

Detellz

if you look in your A1's manual it explains all of it. Also, i would do color correction in adobe's after effects opposed to FCP. Although fcp does have good cc tools. By the way, welcome to the A1 club, great choice in cam. ;)

[detellz]

Thanks for the welcome. I'm reading the manual for the second time now. Just curious why After effects?

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

Thanks for the welcome. I'm reading the manual for the second time now. Just curious why After effects?

because its a great application if you want to go in depth. ;)

[SamKam]

detellz, here's a link to white papers on the Canon sight (for the XL H1 but they're applicable to the A1) that explain, in more detail, a lot of the options:

http://www.usa.canon.com/app/html/HDV/XLH1/download_library.shtml

[AuditoryVisuals]

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-XH-A1-Camcorder-Review.htm

Some professional DP's may object to using camcorderinfo.com, but I like reading about cameras in a rather basic way, along with all the complicated stuff that camcorderinfo.com rarley even mentions or tests. Anyway, you should find most if not everything you're looking for in this review.

[scharky]

I have no objection to the style that camcorder info writes their articles, however I do object to the fact that 50% of what they say is usually misinformation, flat out wrong or just rumored to be true.
Camcorder info = Unreliable at best.

[Huy Vu]

Here's a nice promotional video from Canon that shows you visually what each of the setting does (click on Product Tour). It's for the XL2 but the settings still apply:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=165&modelid=10350

It's about 10 or 12 minutes in

[detellz]

Thanks for the responses. I'll check those links out.