XH A1 question before I buy...

D

Dre

Active member
Hey all - I'm getting really close to buying either the XH A1 or the hvx200a. But I've been reading about chromatic aberrations on the XH A1. I'd like to know if it's really bad, because it could be what ultimately pushes me to the HVX200A. And does the HVX200a suffer from it too?

Thank You-
Andre
 
All the cameras for the most do suffer from it to a degree. The A1 does have some CA but it's not as apparent as people make it seem. If you plan on using a 35mm adapter for some reason the brevis (don't know about the others) fixes the CA. Its definetly workable.

I think there are way more important reasons to choose one cam or the other, I don't think CA is one of those reasons.
 
Thanks for the reply - What if I buy the Canon WD-72 Wide Angle Adapter? Will that help resolve some of the aberration?
 
Dre, I understand your concerns as a new camera buyer. I went through the same thing when I spent $9,000 on our JVC200U - the professional Fujinon lens exhibits not only chromatic aberration but other chroma problems when tested with calibration charts and fares much worse than the XH-A1, however, in real world applications and once it has been through post production the last thing you'll be worrying about is chromatic aberration ;) I recently started using a consumer based Canon HV30 on my Glidecam and I'm blown away by how close the image quality came to the XH-A1 in good light.

So, don't loose any more sleep over it just go out and buy the XH-A1 because you won't get a better camera for that kind of money, unless you can afford a Sony EX1 :)
 
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Want a used A1? Check my for sale thread in market place..... 2300USD plus shipping.
 
Evro,

How could I fix it in post - color correction? Also i read that the aberration only occurs when the lens is at it's widest. Is that true?

Thanks again.
 
Yes CA happens on every camera's wide end.

Hmmm... I don't know of any way other than converting the whole image to B&W that will fix CA in post. Guys, I honestly would not even bother with it, it's really not noticeable and I guarantee that it's the last thing you will be worrying about once you start shooting. All cameras exhibit CA and some are a lot more expensive than the XH-A1!!

BTW Noel, that's a very good price for your A1 - is it NTSC or PAL?
 
Just a quick bump for Noel, it is NTSC as he mentioned it in the post I believe.

-Kegan
 
As of late, chromatic aberation became a greater concern for photographers/cinematographers of all experience levels because the higher resolution images produced by today's cameras quite obviously accentuated these faults in the lens and/or sensor and DSP design. While there are a number of factors to consider, the lens in use is generally the number 1 culprit.

A lot of people will understandably shrug it off knowing the images are rarely viewed at their highest resolution and that it only becomes an issue when fellow photographers, cinematographers, or camera/lens engineers gather and talk shop (which, audiences rarely care to hear).

But the fact of the matter remains that the existence of CA does undeniably present us and the camera/lens manufacturers with another obstacle to overcome.

After all, if CA were truly a non-issue then we wouldn't have these manufacturers employing various forms of chromatic aberation compensation within their lens packages.

For digital still photography, there is greater progress being made in both the hardware and the software, allowing professional photographers to achieve virtually CA-free images all the time. Eventually, these same advancements will be implemented into video as well.
For now, just try to ease up and/or avoid high contrast lighting,
and properly expose a shot with a medium-high aperture setting.
The wider you open your lens, the more CA you'll see. That's about all I can suggest for now. :)
 
Digigenic,

Thanks for the reply. Very informative read. I'll definitely remember not to keep the lens at its widest.

-Andre
 
Dre said:
Digigenic,

Thanks for the reply. Very informative read. I'll definitely remember not to keep the lens at its widest.

-Andre
Click to expand...
No problem.
Btw just to clarify so there aren't any misunderstandings, when I correlated CA with leaving the lens wide open, in this context I am only talking about the iris of the lens. Leaving the iris of the lens wide open at its fastest aperture setting tends to leave your images more prone to CA.
 
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