Did you find a low priced XH A1?

I ordered an HV30. I hope to someday be able to afford an XH A1.

Probably by that time, everyone will have moved off of HVD.

I read that Canon does not have plans to do that any time soon, however.
 
dam i'd love to find it legit for under $3000, i might have a near chance of buying it then!
 
I bought a used one off of a guy on craigslist for $2,300 with 3 batteries, a hard case, etc. Works perfectly. (Listen to some tutorials before you shop, then bring a battery and a tape and test, test, test before you buy.)

The A1 is a great camera, but it's been around awhile and there are new cameras now, so the deals are out there if you look.
 
I recently purchased one too used for $2300.00 came with rain cover as well. Works perfectly fine and now I am looking for a second A1 to purchase. If anyone is selling let me know please.

Thank you.
 
Hi
I'm about to buy an XH A1, but have noticed that in most example footage online the Sony Z1, and even the Canon XL2 look better. The A1 footage all seems a little dull and flat.
All the reviews recommend the XH A1 for the price, but I'm confused by the footage I've seen.
What should I do??? Please help.
 
I'm sure someone will show you samples to the contrary. What you're seeing is very likely the results of a very old saying: "It's the carpenter, not the tools".

Having said that, all the cameras do have a slightly different look, and slightly different strengths and weaknesses. And all will have slightly differing appeals to different people's eyes and tastes. Just as an example of what I'm saying - I really like the picture quality of the Sony V1u. Something about the chips I guess. However, it's about a stop or so weaker in low light than the HVX200, or A1, or 2 stops weaker in low light than the Sony EX-1.

Camera features also should play into your purchase. For example, while I think the HVX200 has the best "cinema" look right out of the box, I don't like the iris, and I hate infini-spinner focus lenses. The Canons put the iris on the lens (thank you), but their zoom has more lag than the HVX200. The EX-1 has neither problem, with stop-focus lens (like a real lens) and the iris on the lens. But it costs more.

Also, keep in mind as to how much color correction you are going to do in post, as opposed to dialing in on camera. The HVX200, being DVCPROHD, has more data to torque around in post (arguably), followed by the EX-1, then the HDV cameras. But how far do you plan on pushing it?

All these cameras are of very high quality, and in the right hands take gorgeous footage. Go play with them, see how you think they look, how they feel in your hands, and judge on that, more so than someone else's footage when you have no idea how they got that footage, or how they treated it in post.
 
ispy said:
Hi
I'm about to buy an XH A1, but have noticed that in most example footage online the Sony Z1, and even the Canon XL2 look better. The A1 footage all seems a little dull and flat.
All the reviews recommend the XH A1 for the price, but I'm confused by the footage I've seen.
What should I do??? Please help.
Click to expand...

The default settings for the A1 are flat for color grading purposes. If you want more vibrant color and gamma settings there are presets on the A1. They can be saved as a seperate file.

There are preset sections on various forums. (That's something of a problem because the preset areas weres moved and a lot of the links point to the wrong places now, but if you search you will find them.

I looked on this forum:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=80279

Mostly the same people have also put them here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-xh...-xh-custom-presets-download-library-copy.html

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-xh-series-hdv-camcorders/86026-bleach-bypass-look.html

This is interesting too as it shows popular presets in action.
http://www.vimeo.com/846830?pg=embed&sec=846830

Some of my favorites are:

Panalook
Truecolor
Bleachbypass (silver-ish)
Reality
VividRGB (a bit red-ish but there take offs on this one.)

Read the threads carefully. You must use a CF card. The file structure must be set up right on the CF card, and the presets must be named correctly.
 
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Any one got the XH A1S allready? It comes out @ 14th of december in Holland. I've pre-ordered it.
 
Man, prices haven't dropped for this camera one bit. I bought my XHA1 from Ebay a year and a half ago BRAND NEW for $2850 off of Ebay.
 
Ebay?

Ebay?

Im thinking about picking one of these up from ebay. Its from a store called DigitalRev in Hong Kong but seems a lot cheaper than enywhere else.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-XH-A1-X...14&_trkparms=72:1300|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

The price is £1,820.62 which comes to $2,643.31. They also pay for the shipping, it comes with 12 month manufactorer warranty and you can purchase an additional 3 years international warranty for another £100.

I can't find anything dodgy with this dealer. Their feedback is 99.1% and they have sold over 30,000 items.

What do you guys think of this place?
 
Grix said:
Im thinking about picking one of these up from ebay. Its from a store called DigitalRev in Hong Kong but seems a lot cheaper than enywhere else.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-XH-A1-X...14&_trkparms=72:1300|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

The price is £1,820.62 which comes to $2,643.31. They also pay for the shipping, it comes with 12 month manufactorer warranty and you can purchase an additional 3 years international warranty for another £100.

I can't find anything dodgy with this dealer. Their feedback is 99.1% and they have sold over 30,000 items.

What do you guys think of this place?
Click to expand...
Hey Grix,

The only problem I see with this camera is that its a PAL (European version) of the camera. If that is not a problem for you, then go for it. But, if you do live in the United States, then you are going to want the NTSC version of the camera, otherwise you are going to have problems with shooting video (25f/50i on the PAL version and 24f/60i on the NTSC version).

just thought id leave you with a heads up
 
It's also a gray market camera, meaning that you do NOT get warranty from Canon USA. If it arrives DOA or something breaks along the way then you're out of luck. Canon will only honor warranty if the camera is bought from an authorized dealer in the country that the warranty covers. The "international warranty" that they're talking about is fake, there is no such thing.
 
I live in England so PAL is not a problem. Could you please expand on what you were saying about the warranty. They seem to offer 12 months manufacturer warranty - surely this covers me if the camera has a fault (the damage is not my fault).

"Our products are covered under our own 12 months seller's warranty against any manufacture defects. If a manufacture defect is found within 12 months after the date of purchase, simply contact us and we will provide instructions on how to get your item(s) serviced. In some cases, we may ask you to return the item to us in Hong Kong and we will have it professionally serviced in a manufacturer appointed service centre. We will also cover all the postage costs involved*"

They also offer extended warranty plans from a company called mack. www.mackcam.com

Anyway, I have just realised that this camera has gone up in price since I posted yesterday! Its now just under £2000. Thats nearly £200 in a day. I think it is now out of my price range as I had planned on buying a mic and tripod with that money.

What are people's thoughts on buying second hand? There are a few on ebay in mint condition going for around £1800.
 
Grix said:
They seem to offer 12 months manufacturer warranty - surely this covers me if the camera has a fault (the damage is not my fault).
Click to expand...

The "manufacturer warranty" would NOT be covered by Canon. Like I said, Canon will only extends its warranty if you purchased the cam from an authorized dealer in the territory that it was meant to be sold. If this store is in HK and you're using it in the UK, then you're not covered under the warranty. Even if they promised to repair your camera, where are they going to send it off to? Only a Canon Repair Center is going to be qualified to repair your equipment (if they have to replace a board, then only they can requisition the necessary parts. I don't know about HK but here in the States there are a grand total of two Canon Repair Center. Yup, in the entire country. Chances are your camera is going to someplace that specialized in repairing microwaves or they'll just claim that the damage is your fault and refused to cover you. It's dicey to get things repaired even when you have the proper warranty (I should know, I had to pay $260 to have a defective firewire board replaced). I never recommend buying a camera through these ebay store. They're delicate instruments and if anything happen you're left high and dry.
 
If you're in the San Diego area, head over to Georges Camera. Mine was $2,785. They'll throw in a free SD card and a free lens cleaner :D
 
Moishe Kapoyr said:
Any thoughts on this XH-A1s listing?


http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-XH-A1S_W0...4|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50
Click to expand...

It has to be B.S.

It is going to be a grey market camera. If it says warranty at that price it is going to be an after market warranty that they buy for you through a third party. The Camera will not be fixed by Canon, but this other company. Maybe that is fine, but I paid more for a A1s through a reliable U.S. authorized distributor with a full USA Canon warranty.

I got mine at EVS in Glendale, Ca (EVSonline.com). They advertise here on DVXUser. Call Tommy and ask for a better price or a DVX user discount and he will work with you. You will pay more than e-bay but you know what you are getting and it will be backed up by a real warranty from an authorized and reliable dealer. They sell only pro video products (no cheap digital cameras or consumer stuff) and service the TV and Film business in LA.
 
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