Couple XH A1 Questions

E

Eastcoaster

Member
First, you can shoot SD on it right?

Second, assuming it can shoot SD, how well would its SD footage match up with a Panasonic GS500?

Third, I would not want to capture with it. So do you have to have a Canon HV10/20/30 or or other Canon HDV camera to capture the footage shot in HD?

Thanks for your help.
 
Ok, thanks for your help. One more thing, would it be so much of a difference that I couldn't use the GS500 as a B camera without it looking awful?
 
Hm, probably. What types of video are you shooting? If you're using it for quick cutaways, it might be okay...but otherwise it may just be too noticeable.

If it were weddings though, I'd keep it on a tripod on the balcony as a backup if that's all you have.

-Kegan

EDIT: What a lame 1000th post, heh.
 
Ditto on the congratulations.

The times that I would be using both cameras would be primarily during weddings. So like you said, the gs500 would be used for quick cutaways. I will try and keep the shots more distant so that the difference will hopefully be less obvious.
 
Eastcoaster said:
Sorry to double post, but I have another question. How well would HD footage from the Xh a1 match up with an HV20?
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They match relatively well. The A1 has better latitude and is capable of many different image types due to the custom presets. The A1 has better color as well. I usually use a preset by Disjecta called VIVIDRGB. On the HV20 I have the saturation pumped up a bit by using the picture menu options, but the picture tweaking on the HV20 is no where near what you can do with the A1. This matches pretty well but I usually need to do some tweaking in post to match them better. Another thing with the HV20 is that its 24p is recorded in a 60i stream and needs to be deinterlaced to be a true 24p like the A1 records.

The thing that separates them the most is low light ability and latitude. Color can be tweaked in post but the HV20 doesn't come close to having the low light capability of the A1. When outdoors the HV20 will blow out the highlights much faster than the A1. So if you are shooting an outdoor wedding on a sunny day and you can't babysit the HV20's exposure settings then you will probably get some blown out highlights. Having said that, the HV20 is still a great little camera. I have used the HV20 as an event B-cam for a while now with no complaints from clients. It is the best thing short of getting another A1 for a secondary camera. Plus you can now get an HV20 or HV30 for approx. $700.00. This is not a bad investment and you get a cheap capture deck for the A1 as well.
 
Eastcoaster said:
Ok, thanks for your help. One more thing, would it be so much of a difference that I couldn't use the GS500 as a B camera without it looking awful?
Click to expand...

if you're going to buy an hv10/20/30 to import why not use that as your b camera. it will match more easily.
 
yommytacoe said:
if you're going to buy an hv10/20/30 to import why not use that as your b camera. it will match more easily.
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You're absolutely right. The thing is I already have a GS500 and I'm trying to get another camera as my main camera. If I buy an XH A1, and then have to buy an HV20 as my capture cam/B cam, I would have to sell the GS500 which is fairly new. It just seems like kind of a hassle and I would obviously take a bit of a hit by selling the 500.

Do you guys think I'm better off just getting a DVX for the time being until I can afford to upgrade completely to HD. Or do you have any suggestions for another SD/HD capable miniDV cam that would match up relatively well with the GS500?
 
Just throw the GS500 away that way It will be like you never had it. Problem solved !

It 's hard to match these two together. I've tried, had to set the XHA1 to the standard preset which is just ugly but it worked.
The more expensive sony z1 will easily match and the pd-150 which is a pro SD- cam.
Also there is a link on vimeo where you can see different "looks " of the xha1 .Maybe there is one you can find but I dought it.
link http://vimeo.com/846830
 
I've actually mixed sports footage from a GS400 and a Canon XH-A1 and can honestly say that I had to check back to footage dates to know which was which. Upon closer examination I found maybe a slight clarity advantage to the A-1. The GS400 and 500 were actually very, very good consumer cameras at the top of their class. Both are 3ccd cameras. The GS500 has a very good widescreen mode unlike the DVX's squeeze mode which causes a loss in resolution when the anamorphic adapter is not used. The disadvantage with the 400/500 is that they don't do 24f or 30f, so that footage would be very difficult to match up. In that regard HV10/20/30 is a much better choice as well as a deck alternative. So if you plan on using only 60i footage you'll be fine with what you have. If not, sell and get an HV model. That way you could also have the option to deliver HD from both cameras.

As far as setting up the cameras to match I pumped up the color a bit and turned the sharpness down to 0 on the GS. When I used the A-1 I used VIVIDRGB with the red gain turned down slightly. I also shot both in manual so with the A-1 I took special care to expose at similar levels. Also I recorded in 1080 on the A-1 and down-converted in camera. That way the footage was useable for SD television broadcast as well as HD plasma screens at the athletic facility. Another interesting note, when I aquired the A-1, I asked the TV people if they noticed anything different about my footage. They said no, and that it always looked very good. I actually have a grand opening for a new artificial turf sports field event coming up and am considering doing a multi cam shoot using the two cameras. If I do I'll let you know how it turned out.
 
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Hey Atwinator. That's good to hear. The reason I bought the 500 was because of its good manual controls for a consumer camera. But now I'm looking to move toward filming semiprofessionally. So ideally I'd be be better with 2 other cameras.

Anyone want to buy a pretty much brand new 500? haha
 
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