Canon XH A1 Questions

F

FutureDVXUser

Well-known member
Hi,

Just wonderin' if somebody can answer a few questions about the cam.

Do I need something like a p2 card or firestore to record HD?

When I record in HD I automatically get the 4:2:2 color or do I have to add something to the cam before I do that?

Can I edit the footage in Vegas 7?

How does a transfer to film look? (it really doesnt matter, but I'm just curious)

Is there some type of DVD/Book/Barry type thing for this cam? (God knows I'd need it!) Something, I can see what settings I should use to mimmick film besides (24F).

Also, whats the difference between 24F and 24p(A)?

Overall, please let me know if I should sell my DVX and use the money towards it...

Thanks...
 
FutureDVXUser said:
Do I need something like a p2 card or firestore to record HD?
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No, it records HDV on tape.

When I record in HD I automatically get the 4:2:2 color or do I have to add something to the cam before I do that?
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No 4:2:2; HDV is 4:2:0.

Can I edit the footage in Vegas 7?
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Yes.

How does a transfer to film look? (it really doesnt matter, but I'm just curious)
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Don't know, haven't seen one. Probably pretty good.

Is there some type of DVD/Book/Barry type thing for this cam? (God knows I'd need it!) Something, I can see what settings I should use to mimmick film besides (24F).
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Not yet at least. But there are some people who've been working with it who are sharing settings profiles.

Also, whats the difference between 24F and 24p(A)?
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24pA is recorded within a 60i data stream, so you need to drop a frame out of each five-frame sequence to get back to pure 24p. 24F is not recorded within 60i, it's recorded as 24p. That means no pulldown is necessary, but it also makes the footage incompatible with any camera but Canon. As for motion rendition they're the same.

Overall, please let me know if I should sell my DVX and use the money towards it...
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Depends on what you're doing and why you'd be considering selling, and whether the A1 is the right thing to move up to. You'd have to tell us more about your plans.
 
Hey,

Thanks for the reply.

Well, I'm looking to shoot documentaries and short films, and even special events like weddings if they come along... But I wanna do it in High Def... I jumpped on the DVX so fast just because of it's 24p mode and other various recording modes... Also because I have Dell credit and when it came on the Dell site I was like "YES!!!" But for the past few days I've been thinkin of High Def.

About the 4:2:2 / 4:2:0:

"BTW: the Canon A1 uses 4:2:2: color inside before the codec. So everything you change in color in the camera is in the 4:2:2: demain!"

I found that on a post somewhere in this forum... That's why I was askin about that...

Also, about the 24F... So it records pure 24 frames a minute? No 23.976? Is that better or worse? Does it make a difference at all?

I'm gonna see if I can take a look at the cam at B&H, but I still like the advice I get from this site...

Thanks
 
23.976 is the same as 24p/F. All HDV camera records 4:2:2 internally but when output to tape downsampled to 4:2:0. If you have a component capture card you can tether the camera to your computer and capture uncompress 4:2:2.
 
Thats cool... As long as the footage doesn't come out with grain or noise... Can I do the shallow DOF easier with this rather the DVX?
 
Yes, 20x zoom vs. 10x. Won't help you much in tight spaces but outside the difference should be clear.
 
There's going to be grain and noise. All these cameras have grain and noise. The only one that is significantly "cleaner" than the rest is the Sony FX1/Z1.

DOF will be identical to a DVX at equivalent focal lengths. But with the longer zoom of the Canon you can get shallower-DOF shots in circumstances where you can bring that longer zoom into play.
 
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Barry_Green said:
There's going to be grain and noise. All these cameras have grain and noise. The only one that is significantly "cleaner" than the rest is the Sony.

DOF will be identical to a DVX at equivalent focal lengths. But with the longer zoom of the Canon you can get shallower-DOF shots in circumstances where you can bring that longer zoom into play.
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For the Z1 I think this is true, but in my experience using the V1U and A1 side by side the V1 is as grainy, if not slightly noisier than the A1.

Now it could have been a settings issue, however both cameras were set to 0DB gain, but in the shadows the V1 produced some severe nastyness.

But going back to the original question, yes the A1 has some noise, however it is far less than what I ever saw in the DVX.

Whether you should keep your DVX or not to get the A1, I would say keep the DVX and get the A1 if you can. The DVX is a great B cam, and although It is not HD, I still have calls for using the DVX specifically.
 
Really? Wild. The V1 is of course different technology (CMOS vs. CCD) and so that's been a possibility. Still haven't seen 'em side by side.

I should edit my quote above to say that the Sony FX1/Z1 is significantly cleaner...
 
Well, I put the DVX up for sale... Nobody around here knows the difference between one cam or the other, they do know how to read HD or MiniDV though haha... (Which is pretty much all I do also...) If it doesn't sell, than it doesn't sell... But if it sells with my DCR, I'm running to the XH A1... (In a strange way, I feel like I'm cheating on the DVX as if it's my girlfriend... :undecided )
 
I was refering that to myself also... Besides, I was talkin about the people that I know from my town... Why do so many people jump at everything? Thats why the world will never be at peace... (now, that... is a bold statement... true also... haha)
 
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Well, I got what you meant. Assumed you lived somewhere like Buzzard Breath, Wyoming and were referring to the folks there.

Actually, that may be assumtive on my part. Buzzard Breath may be a hotbed of HD for all I know?! :Drogar-Shock(DBG):
 
Eh, I really meant it by the look of the camera though, (not the footage) when I bought my DCR, just because it was bigger than the smaller consumer cams, I automatically thought it was HD because I didnt read anything... *smacks head* stupid me... lol...
 
Sorry, but I was just wondering if somebody can tell me where I get the Canon editing deck to make the XH A1 footage in the 4:2:2 RGB. Are they like... thousands of dollars? or a few hundred? Do they look like those Sony Alta editing decks? SRW5000? (I saw that thing can turn into 4:4:4 RGB, but maybe I could be wrong.)

Please let me know.

Thanks
 
If you're referring to recording the uncompressed live camera signal from the A1 in order to get true 4:2:2 color sampling, there really aren't any affordable HD decks to do this. The closest I know of is a Panasonic DVCPRO HD for around $20K. And that would be subsampled 4:2:2 also.

You would need to convert the analog signal through a computer capture station or use the Wafian recording device with the CineForm codec. The former is the cheapest option (I use a Kona LH card w/FCP) but it's also a major PITA for most situations other than interiors or greenscreen/studio shooting.
 
Oh, can't afford that... But it did give me a few other questions... I'm full of them haha...

If I got one of those $20K decks, would the XH A1 be able to compete with say... a CineAlta?

What would Firestore do if I used it? Anything special?

Another question: What if I downconvert HD to SD. I heard that can lift the color sampling level... But will it make the image look grainy and crappy on a widescreen/ big screen? Say I sent that to festivals... would it look stupid?

Please let me know...

Thanks
 
Here's an article on Canon XL-H1 to 35mm transfer, it could apply to the G1 but maybe not as much to the A1:

Billups had special praise for the 24 F feature of the XL H1 as well. “Canon's 24F system produces an output that looks and feels like 24-frame movie film,” he says. “While the technology is a closely guarded Canon secret, the proof is in the image. When digitally projected or printed to film, the image from the XLH1 compares more closely to those of ultra-high-end HD cameras than it does to the growing assortment of consumer HDV camcorders.

Full article:

http://videoediting.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=43573
 
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