Proud new owner of an XH-A1

D

davbeisner

Well-known member
So I got my brand new XH-A1 today--my first HD camera ever to use full-time (I've gotten the opportunity to work with a Varicam and a Red ONE, but both times I was more of a PA than anything else so I was never able to really "use" the camera).

I've been doing lots of reading up on it and watching footage over on Vimeo, so I feel like I've got a pretty good idea about how the camera works.

But I've got two questions for y'all:

First, if you could give one piece of advice to a new XHA1 user--something you wished you had known when you first picked up the camera--what would that be?

Second, what is your favorite trick in film making/video production to get spectacular results?
 
Congratulations.

First Q:
Dvxuser.com

Second Q:
Gotfealing trust your instincts
and dvxuser.com.

I can't say I learned so much here.Just wished I knew about it when I
first started a few years ago.
 
Congratulations on your purchase. I just got my XHA1 in last week as well. Picked up an HV30 this morning to use as a second camera and deck.
 
I've owned mine since April, and have used it constantly, as a hobbyist. To answer your questions: 1: does your first question imply a regret? because if so, i can't say that i have any. what i can say is that i'm the type of person that will buy something then always think the grass is greener. (HVX, EX-1, etc)...but as i use my A1 more and more, i realize that this is the perfect camera for me, both in performance and value.

To answer your second question: i am not a lazy shooter, but i have found comfort in certain custom Presets that some great A1 owners have shared with us. Presets are an excellent way to instantly dial in a look that i am after, given the envoirnment, lighting, and the subject that i am shooting. In my opinion, and the Preset i have had the best results with, is called TERRA1, and if you, or any readers of this thread would like more info, i'd be glad to share. it works well in almost any daytime situation, as i beliecve it delivers true color and proper contrast. as i am yet to buy a decent editing program,, this Preset requires virtually no color correction. just pay attention to your lighting and iris settings!

my piece...


Chris
 
this sounds weird but....

when I use my 35mm adaptor, I have to turn off my OIS because if it is on, the edges of my GG move into frame when handheld.
 
That makes sense, even Cinevate recommends this because if your adapter is a vibrating one, the OIS will be constantly trying to correct the image when the adapter is on.
 
in my experience the xh-a1 doesn't handle reds or whites very well. it has become so much of an issue for me that whenever I shoot I tell actors never to bring any clothes that are white or red, becaue the xh-a1 blows out the whites and the reds are the brightest reds you'll ever see.
 
These issues don't seem specific to the XH-A1:

1) Video cameras, as a rule, don't handle whites very well. That's why TV people always wear dark suits. That's why walls are never white on TV.

2) As for reds being too saturated, isn't that a function of the color matrix you are using? Regardless of that, saturated reds don't look too good on video either (color sampling), so it's not a bad idea anyway.
 
Skinny, yeah, there is a bit of regret in that--I had thought I would be getting an HVX but last minute budget cuts meant I had to look for a cheaper camera (this is for work). I would be very interested in getting the TERRA1 preset from you... either PM me or post it up here, would be great!
 
davbeisner said:
First, if you could give one piece of advice to a new XHA1 user--something you wished you had known when you first picked up the camera--what would that be?
Click to expand...

A1 doesnt offer any particular challenges, but, really learn how the color matrixes work, they are very powerful.

davbeisner said:
Second, what is your favorite trick in film making/video production to get spectacular results?
Click to expand...

Lighting.
 
i really find this preset useful for me, so i hope you like it too....i don't have in a cpf format, to i'll type it with your preset screen in mind...


Preset: TERRA1

GAM : 2
Knee : Low
Black : Stretch
Ped: -9
Set: 0
Sharpness: -3
HDF: High
DHF: 0
Coring: 0
NR1: 0
NR2: M
Color Matrix: 2
CGN: 0
CPH: 0
RGN: 0
GGN: -4
BGN: -12
RGM: -4
RBM: 16
GRM: -8
GBM: 24
BRM: 4
BGM: -24


it's a good general preset, i hope it's pleasing to your eye. The colors are very lifelike, and you get a bit more contrast than with the "film-like" presets most commonly shared. Think of a wedding, if that's something you plan to ever shoot, and the bride made 42 shopping trips looking for a certain shade of green for the bride's maids to wear, and it's your responsibility to capture that color while at the wedding, for all eternity, it's very important that you capture that damn color within a millionth of a shade in the color matrix of your A1. trust me.
 
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you bet. and i generally shoot in HD 24F @ 1/48 shutter, but i recently tried the preset in HD 60i, and was equally pleased. not that it would differ much, but some presets make 60i look odd...i usually have to lower the sharpness in 60i because of the "HD detail illusion" of better resolution.
 
Thanks Skinny! Used that preset yesterday for shooting a basketball camp in a gym and I was really impressed with the colors. I shot in 60i (sports promo video so I don't want the film look) with tungsten white balance. Looked really good! Plugged the camera up to my HD TV and was blown away by how beautiful it was! I'm lovin' this camera already...

Oh, and just so everyone knows--an overclocked AMD FX 64 3.4GHz with 2GB of Ram on XP Pro is not enough to do HD video in Premiere--doesn't work. Gotta have a multi-core processor! Thankfully this camera is for work so they're buying me an editing computer and I don't have to pay to upgrade my own computer!
 
cool, David!

eggh...i just upgraded my comp from an Amd athalon 64 single core 2.2Ghz, 2.5GB RAM, to an Intel Core 2 duo 2.6Mhz and 4GB RAM, new MSI gaming motherboard...spent only about 325 bucks in all, and it seems like it's just enough...still stutters every now and then. oh wait...forgot to mention that i'm running Vista. that's my regret hahaha
 
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