Is the XH-A1 the best $3000 camera?

R

rackdude

New member
I'm planning on doing film for action movies, so we need mostly on camera recording with probubly the 30p, so the action will be more smooth when we put the 24p in the post

I was just wondering if the XH-A1 is the way to go on a $3000 budget

I've already got decent XLR mics
 
rackdude said:
I'm planning on doing film for action movies, so we need mostly on camera recording with probubly the 30p, so the action will be more smooth when we put the 24p in the post

I was just wondering if the XH-A1 is the way to go on a $3000 budget

I've already got decent XLR mics
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You do not want to record in 30p and then try to convert it to 24p. The results will be bad.
 
I did as much research as I could, then bought the A1. The HVX was in my budget (and in some ways my first choice) but is not at all practical for intensive documentary shooting (you either have to shoot to a drive or rent lots of P2s).

I feel really good about my purchase. No buyer's remorse.

It was basically down to the A1 one the Sony V1 for me. The three things that convinced me the most were:

The "beatbox" video. It is just an example of the raw potential of this camera.

No Final Cut support on the Sony 24f/p yet. Sort of a deal breaker for me.

And a HDV compression example from the Sony posted by NCJE. It seemed to demonstrate that Canon handled the HDV compression better.

I have owned it for more than a month, and I am very happy. If I had any gripes they would be:

- I would like better low light - I know it is a result of the chip pixel density.

- I would like more audio options - split one source into two channels with different levels.

- I miss my zebra switch from my DVX to go from skin tone to clipping with one button.

Having said all of that, ff you are looking in this range. I can't imagine anything that comes close to the A1.
 
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rackdude said:
I'm planning on doing film for action movies, so we need mostly on camera recording with probubly the 30p, so the action will be more smooth when we put the 24p in the post

I was just wondering if the XH-A1 is the way to go on a $3000 budget

I've already got decent XLR mics
Click to expand...



You could just shoot interlaced video with a fast shutter speed, retain as much as possible of the action, and then you have ALL kinds of options in post.

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I think the whole "convert to 24p in post" is more often said than done. It's completely impractical for anything other than a short film (a very short film). The option is there for when you need to mix materials shot at different frame rates. Assuming a shoot ratio of 10:1 then for a 5 minute piece you'll end up with 50 minutes of footage that you have to render out as 24p. Then you'll have to change the sound track so that it matches. I've only went through that once, and it was for a music video where we didn't need sound. Still took nearly a week to render all the files. Can't imagine going through it again.
 
jade8472 said:
I think the whole "convert to 24p in post" is more often said than done. It's completely impractical for anything other than a short film (a very short film). The option is there for when you need to mix materials shot at different frame rates. Assuming a shoot ratio of 10:1 then for a 5 minute piece you'll end up with 50 minutes of footage that you have to render out as 24p. Then you'll have to change the sound track so that it matches. I've only went through that once, and it was for a music video where we didn't need sound. Still took nearly a week to render all the files. Can't imagine going through it again.
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Funny I would have said it the other way. That is more often done than said. Not to long ago most cams didn't have 24p. That is why the whole 60i to 24p software was such a big deal.
I think it is possible to have more flexibility with 60i as you can get some mean slow mo.
 
Nik Manning said:
Funny I would have said it the other way. That is more often done than said. Not to long ago most cams didn't have 24p. That is why the whole 60i to 24p software was such a big deal.
I think it is possible to have more flexibility with 60i as you can get some mean slow mo.
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Some of us were shooting interlaced video on Hi8 and Betacam like 12+ years ago and then de-interlacing and using a few other easy tricks in post to make it look like film.

I used to work for a guy who did this ALL the time (with dialog footage too) way before 24P tape cameras were available.

It's really NOT rocket science and in fact, when the DVX first came out and everyone was yelling "24P, 24P, 24P," I thought it was a neat gimmick to sell cameras especially since the XL1 long since already had a 30P mode which most people can't even tell the difference from 24P.

An argument could be made for just shooting everything in interlaced video since you DO have more options in regard to slow motion, you get more sensitivity, and you have more options in general in terms of frame rates.

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