Canon Announces New Cameras

hi there

i have noticed that the rough price of the canon XHA1 in the usa will be $3999
so i thought might be interested as i will move up to HD eventually.

As i live in PAL land (uk) i thought this would be about the same price as a
sony FX1 in uk i know the prices are always higher in uk but having checked
out a reputable dealer i was amazed how much again we get ripped off in uk
compared to states the price is with vat £3.519 pounds so in dollars thats a
hellava more than $3999 dollars so i am thinking again any ideas.
 
The thing I don't like about the Canon is that they give you the same old 1080i interlace format. 1080i used to make sense because 8 years ago most of the HD televisions were the 1080i CRT interlaced format. But today most people buy flat panel HD televisions that are natively progressive. So it makes sense to shoot in the progressive format. 720p at 60 frames per second is the best broadcasted high definition for the fast action sports and it is even better that 1080i60 or 1080p24. And with all this talk about only 1080i being real high definition its nice to know that Panasonic still supports 720p as the best high definition. Now of course Canon supports 1080f24 but I don't think that 1080f is that much of an improvement over 720p24.
 
Have you seen any footage for the canon at 1080i/24f? I would like to see it.

Speaking of not making sense, the DVX100 a filmmakers camera with no 16:9 chips?
 
Are you aware that the extra horizontal resolution of 1080i can make better 720p than a lot of 720p cameras?
It's easy to just write-off any interlace format but there's more to 1080i than you would think at first blush.

It's probably more multi-format capable than 720...and I like 720 progressive. It's just that there's more to the story than just poo-pooing 1080i.
 
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Barry_Green said:
The A1 may breathe life in a format that seems destined to die.
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Destined to die? What's the basis? Everyone and their momma is supporting HDV. FCP 6 will have support for the Cannon 24f and people have gone gaga over the format. The fact that people are already burning HDDVDs from their Macs based on the HDV format say something in itself. The question is are we ready for a new format war or will ACV and HDV co-exist side by side. If AVC is already compatible with people's editing systems (which I believe it will be for the Apples and others) then I think it will take off.

If prosumers and filmmakers are satisfied with the HD images they're getting from their FX1s, H1, HD100s, and HVXs I think they'll wait. Example: Like the XL and DVX100 (and VX line from Sony) The HD100 (an HDV camera) has quite a fan base. I don't know how sales are going but those who have it seems to lose their mind after they get and shoot with one. I think JVC fixed the SSE without people knowing and added some kind of hypno thing to it, because these people seem to love it. You're going to have to pry these cams out of the users cold dead hands or come up with something way better.

People like me are the people to impress, those who haven't bought into a system yet. I'm looking at a Mac Book (I could actually buy one in a few weeks but I'm waiting) and possibly one of these A1s. I'm pushing for Panasonic. If they do an ACVHD 100 to replace the DVX100 I'm game. I love the image from my DVX100 but ACV giving me the quality of HD and the space (or more) of DV I will buy this in a heartbeat.

The Canon does (as of now) have the Panasonic beat in design and space saving ability, plus no P2. And by the time I get ready to buy one FCP 6 will be out and tested, so if Panasonic or Sony come out with something hotter by then, they'll have my attention, but once I buy I'm not going to be playing this switching game. I know people still working with the XL1 or XL1s and love it like I do the DVX. I was thinking of trying to get an XL2 but everytime I think about selling my DVX100 I just can't do it but this A1 is a different story. The HDV space saving codec, image handling and top mounted flip out monitor makes all the difference. I've played with the XL and don't really mind the feel of the focus rings so that's not an issue. The AI is everything I wish someone had (and finally has) made.

Barry_Green said:
Or Sony may introduce an AVC-HD FX2 that renders the A1 an afterthought. It remains to be seen.
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AVC FX2 means nothing to me if it doesn't have 24p and knowing Sony it won't. I think I'd jump to buy a Sony cam that can do 24p like the DVX100 in HDV/ACV if it's the same image quality Sony is known for and after Barry or Adam Wilt or someone looks it over and it's proven of course (because we know Sony will lie if they feel they have too, remember the FX1 24p question). Of course in the end I buy nothing until I see the footage. And honestly I always find it difficult to completely trust Sony. I know the image is good but I always find myself questioning what they will do to undermine the consumer (prosumer).

-Nate
 
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Nate I agree if panasonic would make a move that would give me native 16:9 I would listen. I'd even try out AVCHD. But I have the money sitting in the bank and if they don't do something I'll probably own a Canon XH-A1 in October.

If they don't then I guess we can see AVCHD as a handycam type camera for a few years.
 
But no one's doing HDV at 1080i/720p/24p on DVD. This is the next and obvious step. DVDs are supercheap. Making a camera that burned footage to DVD 4s or 9 (like the XDCams but only using DVDs) would be awesome and would surely give P2 a run for it's money, plus it would bring the price of DVD 9's down. $600 for 4gb versus $1.00 or less per disc. How much 1080i HDV footage can fit on a DVD.

-Nate
 
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Nathyn said:
How much 1080i HDV footage can fit on a DVD.-Nate
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On a DVD 4 probably about 20 min. for 25mbs HDV.

I would think it would be have to be some kind of mini-BluRay/HD DVD disc to do it in a camcorder. Imagine what the camera would have to look like to have housing for full-size disks?
 
I am really not looking for any extra horizontal resolution for 720p and to be framk with you I hate it when they use 1080i video cameras on a 720p sports channel. However this is an on the fly live broadcasting conversion so it may be that given the proper time for rendering 1080i can be converted to 720p with good quality.
 
I understand what you mean and it's not like I'm going to argure that a combed/interlaced frame is ideal. The fact is that good 1080i can look pretty amazing when fields are converted to frames and then scrunched into the 1280x720 frame. The other fact is that 1080i, for better or worse, is the HD broadcasting standard for the foreseeable future, (with the exception of ESPN and Fox) and with the proper conversions it should look excellent on 720p HD sets too.

At home I have a 1080i/720p Sony CRT RPTV, a Sony 720p HD projector and a Gateway 21" LCD monitor with HDTV inputs (component and DVI) with Faroudja processing/deinterlacing. Canon HDV 1080i has always looked stunning for its lucid, hyper-real look on all of them. Same with Discovery HD 1080i.

Most 720p HDTV's have deinterlace processing anyway so the issue is fairly moot. The way I see it is horizontal resolution has a lot of value too, and that's why all my cross-conversions from XL-H1 1080i have always looked stunning as 720 60p.
 
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Just when I made up my mind to get the p2 now people are mentioning the H1s! I happen to be a former canon xl lover until I got turned on to the p2. I'm seeling all my xl equipment. does anyone know waht the changes are going to be for the H1s? Just when you thought you had it all figured out, they hand you something new!
 
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