A1 for weddings?

Thomas J. O'Hara

Thomas J. O'Hara

Senior Citizen
do we have any A1 wedding shooters in here?

I'm planning on doing a lot more weddings, and I want to upgrade to HD 16x9, because those are the TV's that most of my couples will be watching their weddings on.

Right now I'm a DVX100a shooter, and it's been a great camera for me. I would love to go with an HVX, but it's just a little too pricey for me.

One of the biggies is that the canon has a longer lens, which would be huge for me. So I've nearly decided that this is going to be my next camera.

Does anyone have any suggestions/stories/footage I can soak up?

Thanks :)
 
Hit me up Tom, I just aquired this camera like a month ago, and have some footage from Santa Cruz. I would highly suggest you get one and practice using it to get used to the controls. Some things about the DVX controls I like better, but all in all, I am enjoying this camera.

kevin.bb@gmail.com
 
Yes yes yes yes yes.

I don't have any footage to show you. Yet. But I am a DV-ex user that couldn't be happier with the A1 for event shooting.

Long lens=huge plus. Plus, I'm able to do all kinds of rack-focus thingys with that sweet Canon lens. And you know that poo poo goes over well when shooting b-roll for weddings & such.

Lens wise, if you compare it to a stock HVX, I think you'll be happier with the A1. More zoom is great for weddings, especially when you can't get in close.

The overall plus for me is that the A1 is a great camera for narrative work as well as event work. I was never happy with the DVX for shooting live events, although I still think it's a great camera for films, programming, etc.

My vote is go buy an A1.
 
I have shot about 15 weddings on the A1. No issues here.

Only that... one of the guys I shoot with has a VX2100, so we shoot 4:3 60i. Gross.

It's not the greatest in low light by any means, but it's one of the best sub-10k HD cameras low-light wise, if that means anything.

Don't plan on receptions looking even decent without light.
 
It is a fab, just need more light and there is plenty of presets to play with on the web. Is your final product HD? i shot many wedding with it but it all SD. None of my clients have the big buck :violin: for the HD players.
 
I shoot weddings with a DVX, FX1, and A1. By far, the DVX is the one I enjoy using the most due to it being lighter and more "ergonomic". I also like its variable zoom rocker better. However, the footage blew me away on the A1.

Probably with more time I'll get use to it and learn to love it more than the dvx for weddings. I do like the A1s setting rings. I find myself zooming in very far and stepping back much farther when doing location prep shots (zoom out to reveal subject shot) than with the dvx.
 
tjohara99 said:
I'm planning on doing a lot more weddings, and I want to upgrade to HD 16x9, because those are the TV's that most of my couples will be watching their weddings on.
Click to expand...

I've been really happy with the A1 so far, though I haven't been able to take it out as much as I'd like. The footage looks great once it's captured but I was blown away the first time I hooked it up to an HDTV. It really does look incredible.

My question to you (and also something I've been trying to figure out) is how you plan on outputting to HD for your customers. Besides downconverting to SD or exporting back to HDV tape, I can't find a solution (at least for PC).

Though I did find this:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/hd_dvds_on_sd_dvds_young.html
 
You need a blue ray burner and your clients need to have a blue ray player. Every body i know uses HD for the future but the final products is SD.:violent5:
 
Sawra said:
You need a blue ray burner and your clients need to have a blue ray player. Every body i know uses HD for the future but the final products is SD.:violent5:
Click to expand...

Oh cool, I wasn't aware of the burners yet (I must be a little behind technology). Does anybody have experience with one of those?
 
Sorry to but in on the burner topic but I've shot 10 XHA1 weddings now after using XL1 series for years so you may be interested in my findings.

After initial disappointment with flat, grey picture out the box I've spent ages tweaking presets and now get a better picture each time! In good light it's stunning but it's a big effort to get anything decent in low light and for weddings that's not good. Decided to not attempt to use it for the winter weddings and will go back to XL1-S which is 4:3 but good down to candlelight level. I use XHA1 in SD 16:9 and the lens is really wide, a joy for many wedding situations.

To handle it's a challenge as you can't support it properly. After looking and trying several restrictive, scaffold like contraptions I've designed my own simple shoulder brace and it works a treat, transforming it so it's even better to handle than the XL1. I aim to market it soon and retire on the proceeds so watch out for it.

The audio is another nightmare- er, sorry I mean challenge. I use the on-board for general filming which is OK but unlike the XL1 you must switch in the attenuator for the band or disco and remember to switch it off before the next wedding as it's hidden under a cover. For service and speeches I have to go through the menu to switch to external channels where I use two separate mics, channel 1 on camera, channel 2 radio. Having to click through a menu under frantic wedding conditions is crazy, what a design failure that is.

Using this camera for weddings is a real challenge and far from ideal. I have to really concentrate to switch in the correct presets or menu settings as conditions change. Even though low light is best in class (better than the Sonys) it's still poor. But on a fine day you are rewarded with stunning images throught a very wide zoom lens range.

I just hope Canon consult us before they design the XHA2!
 
Thanks for the stories and opinions guys. Kev, if I'm ever up in nor cal and i'm not busy visiting with family, i'll definitely hit you up.
 
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