ESTEBEVERDE
Veteran
What size was the Apple Cinema Display?
Should I upgrade from the Canon AH-A1 to the Sony EX1?
- Thread starter Wendt
- Start date
As in any type of digital photography or video, the important thing is to avoid clipping the highlights. Of course this is sometimes easier said than done. :smile:
reem12
Veteran
i very much agree with you morpheus.i realy believe that we as gear heads half to fight a phycological battle everytime new equipment comes on the scene.i love my canon a1,and when it first came out with all the screen grabs and footage the same hype revolved around that.today i've finaly realized that our ficle minds, and human nature will never be satisfied with what we have.my point is this,how many people on line have computers or even the time to enjoy your 1920 by 1080 footage?all the footage i ever see on here is in standard def size anyway.and people have commented on how beautiful the dvx upconverts on hd tvs.my main concern is image quality and i think the hvx,canon a1,jvc and others do a good enough job to not warrant us letting sony rape us for an aditional $4000.not to metion them depriving people of the option of a tape dec.my feelings on this.
ESTEBEVERDE
Veteran
Tapes suck.
As to the 1920 x 1080 footage.
Yes, it can be problematic but it is the next stop on this technological ride.
Just like 8gig USB drives it will most likely be relatively cheap and common place.
As to the 1920 x 1080 footage.
Yes, it can be problematic but it is the next stop on this technological ride.
Just like 8gig USB drives it will most likely be relatively cheap and common place.
reem12
Veteran
i'd love to see someone shoot a 8hr. wedding at 1920x1080 on a couple of those stingy 16gb cards.they'll curse sony for the lack of a tape deck.as a matter of fact i think the focus enahnce levels the playing feild for sony,panasonic,or canon,when it comes down to tapeless solutions.
Yeah, looks like his exposure was a little hot in parts with the EX.
I could tell nothing from those clips at all except, the EX looks like it handles reds better than the A1, which makes sense.
ESTEBEVERDE
Veteran
Like I said... tapes suck. The Focus Enhance is hard drive based. This in itself is just an intermediate form of recording as solid state has so many advantages.
ESTEBEVERDE
Veteran
As you have said reem, the Focus Enhance or similar device such as Sony's hard drive based recorder.
And, if one goes with solid state storage they have to consider archiving as well. I prefer hard drives but others prefer tape such as LTO.
But, soon we should see 64Gig + cards. Based on todays measure I believe that would give us 4 hours so we would be half way there on just one set. With one swap you would have your 8 hours.
That is in contrast to your 8 tape swaps.
And, if one goes with solid state storage they have to consider archiving as well. I prefer hard drives but others prefer tape such as LTO.
But, soon we should see 64Gig + cards. Based on todays measure I believe that would give us 4 hours so we would be half way there on just one set. With one swap you would have your 8 hours.
That is in contrast to your 8 tape swaps.
BobDiaz
The Professor
An 8 hour wedding???
I've never been to any wedding that from the start of the wedding to the end of the reception lasted 8 hours.
I've also shot video at many weddings with both single camera and multi camera. All the important stuff that everyone wants to see on the final DVD will fit nicely onto 2 hours of recording media per camera. That would come to 2 or 3 16GB SxS cards per camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9pKTDCHzTI
I guess if someone worked for a reality TV show, they may have to shoot for 8 hours straight. In that case, they would need 8 or 9 SxS Cards and copy the footage every night. At $900 a card, today's price, it would add up, but the cards can be used over and over.
Given that Moore's Law is still in effect, the price per GB is going to continue to drop every year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_Law
Bob Diaz
ESTEBEVERDE
Veteran
Good post Bob.
I would suggest to you though that the speed with which card capacity will increase is not necessarily going to follow Dr. Moore's Law as it predicted to happen much faster.
I would suggest to you though that the speed with which card capacity will increase is not necessarily going to follow Dr. Moore's Law as it predicted to happen much faster.
reem12
Veteran
well i'm sorry for the misunderstanding, i should have been more specific when talking of an 8 hour wedding.i'm speaking more of those individuals who shoot wedding story style that require a person to shoot the event from start of the day until end of the night.nevertheless, until the 64g cards are made available one must still answer the question.how would shoot a run and gun wedding story on a couple of 16gb cards while having to keep stoping to offload ? now don't get me wrong,if you have the funds to throw around on 8 16gb cards to do what a tape based machine would do then i'm sure for most the ex1 would be a far superior advantage,but keep in mind your rig as of now would then be 4 times the price of a canon a1 that is still hdv in nature with no major image quality gap, but if not and your like most of the indi comunity who would seek a focus enhancement alternative vrs. tape for long shoots & quicker archiving,then what major advantage would the ex1 have over the canon a1, espeacialy for someone mainly concerned with quality of image like myself.can someone with a ex1 tell me the workflow they would use to shoot a run and gun wedding on a couple of 16gb cards?at the end of the day if the client sees the final product of the canon a1 and the sony ex1 and says these two images are indistinguishable then all my extra $1000s of dollars would have been spent in vaine.
An axe is great for splitting wood but it's lousy at doing finish carpentry.
You gotta select the right tool for the job, instead of expecting every tool to handle every available task. The EX1 isn't intended to be a cure-all for all types of coverage.
If the EX1 is overkill as far as resolution is concerned for weddings, and the SxS card doesn't have enough capacity, then the simple answer is that it's not the right tool for the job. Stick to a standard definition camera and shoot with tapes.
Hard drive recorders also have their drawbacks: The Firewire connector can be fragile, the drives are sensitive to vibration, and they need a whole different set of batteries to keep them running. They're also slow to boot up and you can't hot swap a Firestore like you could with a P2 card.
philip bloom
Veteran
yes, i think you are overshooting a wee bit if you have 8 hours of rushes. I have shot three for friends and the most i had was 3 and a half hours of rushes due to me doing sit down interviews with friends and families and very long speeches! I am probably going to do another one soon and the ex1 is the camera I will use for it.
reem12
Veteran
yes phillip,i guess it comes down to a persons shooting style.i'm very undiciplined in my shhoting,so for some the abscence of a tape deck would hurt.but my whole thing was not putting tape deck against solid state but at the end of the day would the advantage of the image on the ex1 over the canon a1 be worth the extra 4000 dollars to switch out.
As I have both the EX1 and the XL-H1 (which by stock configuration makes a very similar picture as the A1), I don't think the "upgrade" is worth it for you.
You have to put workflow considerations up there with image quality for your intended use IMHO. The image quality between the two can be quite similar. But I don't know how well long event shooting is suited for the Sony at this time.
You have to put workflow considerations up there with image quality for your intended use IMHO. The image quality between the two can be quite similar. But I don't know how well long event shooting is suited for the Sony at this time.
Ok...Bang for the buck the Canon XHA1 is the clear winner IMHO. It performs very well all around for the best price point. I have seen the footage of all the sub 10 cameras out there including the NKOTB (New Kid On The Block), and I am sorry no real comparison. I think the EX1 is awesome, but if you currently own an XHA1 I would keep it, unless you had to have the latest and greatest. I would also keep the HVX because of the investment into their technology. I am sure Panny will have a nice response for the HVX owners that will be on par with Sony. For Canon I am very happy where the XHA1 currently sits. Best bang for the buck IMHO, and I have seen many comparisons to both the HVX and the EX1 and I think it more than holds its own.
ESTEBEVERDE
Veteran
How is the Solid State EX1 workflow that different?
There is a $3500 difference between the 2 cams at the moment.
Is the increased resolution, solid state recording, and reported increased sensitivity worth this?
Like I said, I actually liked the XH A1 aquarium image much better than the EX1. In fact, everyone I showed it to did. They thought the XH A1 cam was more expensive.
But, like my wife said, were they shot under the same exact settings and were both optimized.
If you look at Philip Blooms stuffs it is spectacular.
The question a hand is a tough one. It boils down to the best way to spend that $3500.00
There is a $3500 difference between the 2 cams at the moment.
Is the increased resolution, solid state recording, and reported increased sensitivity worth this?
Like I said, I actually liked the XH A1 aquarium image much better than the EX1. In fact, everyone I showed it to did. They thought the XH A1 cam was more expensive.
But, like my wife said, were they shot under the same exact settings and were both optimized.
If you look at Philip Blooms stuffs it is spectacular.
The question a hand is a tough one. It boils down to the best way to spend that $3500.00
Stevet
Veteran
IMO, the Canon XH A1 is the best deal in HDV cameras period. The image quality is excellent.
I have seen nothing the shows it produces a better image than the EX1 1080P, but for HDV, it looks really good. Now if it only had SDI like the XH G1 !
Let's face it, all these cameras shoot decent images. One really needs to weigh the differences and features to decide which one is right for themselves.
I have seen nothing the shows it produces a better image than the EX1 1080P, but for HDV, it looks really good. Now if it only had SDI like the XH G1 !
Let's face it, all these cameras shoot decent images. One really needs to weigh the differences and features to decide which one is right for themselves.