XH-A1 suggested for this project r not?

Giovanni Bertani

Giovanni Bertani

Active member
I am deciding to buy a Canon XH-A1. Before actully buiyng it...
Is there any news about new Canon models replacing the XH-A1 or an
expected price reductions?

I need this camera for and indie documentary. So the budget is around
its price. We are still at the beginning of the scripting and
research. I would like to stat some screen tests and research footage, but we will need the camera for sure by november.

Shooting in Sardinia Italy will be also underwater so it is very
important for us to have decent low-light performance.

Any suggestion? Should I wait for maybe for a coming XH A2 or
something really 1080p?

Thanks in advance!

Giovanni
 
this is definitely not a low light camera. from what I understand, many of the HD cameras perform poorly in low light because the pixels are small and do not soak in a lot of light. I would imagine that you need a camera with a larger (less dense) ccd or perhaps a one-chip with a less dense CCD to get good performance in low light.

i shoot docs as well. you need plenty of light with this one.
 
I'm going to Hawaii for a 2 week shoot in September...half of which will be underwater. I'll make sure to post some A1 underwater clips so you can see how it performs underwater. I'm interested in seeing how it will perform as well...
 
Of you really need low light, the DVX is your best bet for a 24p camera. If you want HD, a Sony FX1/Z1 would be the best, but no 24p. The Canon has both, but as said, isn't great in low light.
 
Funny timing.

I just read an article in Documentary magazine (Sept 2007) that compares many of the cameras available.

It specifically says the A1 is faster than the Sonys and would be better for low light.

It might be true if you are grading on a curve using only HDV cameras. I think it is safe to say that even a good low light HDV camera will be noticeably darker than an average standard def camera.
 
Oynk said:
Funny timing.

I just read an article in Documentary magazine (Sept 2007) that compares many of the cameras available.

It specifically says the A1 is faster than the Sonys and would be better for low light.

It might be true if you are grading on a curve using only HDV cameras. I think it is safe to say that even a good low light HDV camera will be noticeably darker than an average standard def camera.
Click to expand...

I understand that having a Cinema-like performance with a decent underwater performance is not easy from a single camera.

I've found this article about the XL1 HD underwater performance:

http://digitalcontentproducer.com/pr/canon_xl_h1_camcorder_120806/

The HX-A1 should have the same CCD right? So it should be comparable to the XL1 HD in this kind of conditions...

Thanks

Giovanni
 
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