FreshDV Video: Canon Releases XL-H1s and XL-H1a

Robert Sanders said:
And on top of it everything look way too soft and bloomy. I can only assume the softness, blooming and inability to actually hit the focus mark and not buzz any shots was because all these adapters shoved onto the front of an already inferior fixed lens is the culprit.
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I don't understand what you mean by not sharp enough? The newest crops of adapters are renown for their tack sharp resolution. There are a ton of examples around, in SD and HD; I'm not sure whether you can demand that it be any sharper. Here's an example shot in SD on a cheap FD 50mm f1.4 lens:

07.jpg


It's so sharp you can make out all the individual wrinkles on her face.

And what do you mean by "inability to hit the focus mark"? I haven't seen this problem before.
 
Which camera was this shot with? Which 35mm adapter? Any filtration in front of the lens (it looks like there's a strong Promist filter)?
 
Robert Sanders said:
Which camera was this shot with? Which 35mm adapter? Any filtration in front of the lens (it looks like there's a strong Promist filter)?
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Canon XH-A1 with the Letus Extreme. FD 50mm f1.4 lens at f4. No filter or color correction in post. This is straight out of the camera. I took the bitmap file from the timeline and compress to jpeg for size.
 
Huy Vu said:
Canon XH-A1 with the Letus Extreme. FD 50mm f1.4 lens at f4. No filter or color correction in post. This is straight out of the camera. I took the bitmap file from the timeline and compress to jpeg for size.
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It looks good. Nice lighting and composition. The adapters have definitely improved.

Do the new adapters require a fair amount of fiddling with to setup each shot like the older ones did (ground glass speeds, back focus checking, etc.)?
 
Robert Sanders said:
Do the new adapters require a fair amount of fiddling with to setup each shot like the older ones did (ground glass speeds, back focus checking, etc.)?
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I've only had experience with the M2 and the Extreme, and I'll say that the Extreme is very painless to work with compared to the M2. You check your back focus once, note the numerical readout, and then just make sure that it stays that way. I can zoom all the way through to Z99 without any image degradation, something that I couldn't do on the M2. Image is sharp and flipped, making it very easy to get tack sharp focus on the A1's LCD. I can set up the adapter on the rail in about two minutes, and after that I can almost run and gun with it. Light loss is very minimal. Setup for each shot is as simple as get the focus mark and roll camera.
 
It's good to see that the adapters have finally improved. They're actually usable on a serious film shoot now. I wasn't so confident when I started my feature last year.
 
Open architecture??

Open architecture??

I do not understand why canon does not expand what they say is the biggest plus of the XL series, the so called open architecture. Imagine if you could buy a XL H1a, do a couple of projects then buy the jack pack. Better yet be able to upgrade to the subsequent XL cameras. If they could do this they would blow the competition out of the water.
 
ktaniam said:
I do not understand why canon does not expand what they say is the biggest plus of the XL series, the so called open architecture. Imagine if you could buy a XL H1a, do a couple of projects then buy the jack pack. Better yet be able to upgrade to the subsequent XL cameras. If they could do this they would blow the competition out of the water.
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Could you evolve this a bit please? Sounds interesting.

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What I am trying to say is canon should build a camera that user can adapt to their needs and budget without having to buy a completely new camera. eg Buy an XL H1a now then be able to upgrade it into an XL H1s better yet the XL H2 etc for an additional fee. Sounds unlikely considering that all companies prefer to sell new products as opposed to making their current products last longer.
 
It's called "planned obsolescence". No major camera manufacturer puts everything they've got into a one camera. It's frustrating, sure. When I bought my first gen H1 I knew in the back of my mind that two years later Canon would embed audio and timecode in the HD-SDI stream. And sure enough they did. But I needed a camera then and I needed it right away.

And that goes to the heart of the matter. If you need something now then get it. Kinda like buying a car or a new Mac. You know three months later it's going to be out of date.

I guess what I'm saying is that I agree in principle with ktaniam. I just don't see Canon, Sony or Panny changing their ways. RED is the only company right now producing cameras that are continuously upgradable. And they still cost a fortune compared to an H1, HVX, or EX1/3.

NOW, if Canon would make more than just two XL mount lenses I would be a very happy Canon customer. A mechanical zoom would be nice. A set of primes (and I don't care if they're just rehoused DSLR lenses) would be killer. But I can already hear Canon's executives in my head saying, "How many Canon buyers would actually plop down for a set of primes? 100? 200 max? Yeah, that not enough to spend millions in R&D."
 
I agree with you Robert, to add on the emergence of Red as a major player is probably going to shake up the industry if it hasn't already. I have read that Red cannot manufacture enough cameras to meet demand. I am sure this is a problem canon, sony, panasonic, etc would love to have. With the release of the Red scarlet, I think the major camera manufacturers will have to reinvent themselves if they want to remain relevant in the future. Its only a matter of time before Red begin mass producing cameras. This reminds me of when sony was the market leader in the mobile music player industry with the walkman, discman, etc up until apple came up with the ipod. Hopefully they learned from this.
 
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