Is The A1 Massively Underrated?

[Alex Leith]

I had a play with a friend's HVR-A1 yesterday, and I have to say I was incredibly impressed. The image coming out of it is fantasic - especial considering the price. I've used FX1/Z1, and in daylight the A1's images seemed to easily equal to those.

Didn't like the zoom. I can't believe that Sony weren't able to fix it so the zoom and image stabilization didn't fight each other... But not a problem if you don't zoom in-vision. I wasn't bothered about the exposure control. Not having f-stop and gain info didn't really seem to be as bit a problem as i thought it would be.

But image-wise I couldn't fault it!

So what I want to know is why more people aren't raving about the A1... Have I missed something?

 

[mmm]

So what I want to know is why more people aren't raving about the A1... Have I missed something?

I think people are! They are buying them to, by the truck load. I may get one as a 2nd camera for my HD101.

 

[Fugitive]

Could you post images of the FX1 and A1 side-by-side in various conditions (low lux etc) for a comparison? You never know, your post might just spark off that interest in the camera that its worth.

 

[xray]

I saw some clips in low light, and it falls apart fast, and the highlights are burning, for a small camera in difficult shooting circumstances it can do the job. But what did you think shooting in low or high contrast ? Put in on a Merlin and you make easy flowing shots.

 

[myfriendimage]

If anything this camera is over rated, its claim to fame was its singel CMOS sensor and fake XLR Input, I dont think it can hold a candle to its older brother The Fx1, yes I will admit it if caught a situation where the Fx1 looked to proffesional to bust out in a public area I know some people have bought the A1 to goto tibet or what have you, but it dosnt even have an XlR input it is an adapter.

Great concept but in my opinion a single chip HDV camera falls flat because its so much detail but not enough depth leaving the image flat in many situations. If I ever used it I would certainly change the gamme in post to try add depth in the shots.

 

[Alex Leith]

..it dosnt even have an XlR input it is an adapter.

The only difference between the A1 and any other camera with XLR is that the XLR housing is external on the A1. You're not losing anything - the audio path is the same: XLR plug --> preamp --> AD converter. There is nothing inherently lower quality about using an adapter.

Great concept but in my opinion a single chip HDV camera falls flat because its so much detail but not enough depth leaving the image flat in many situations. If I ever used it I would certainly change the gamme in post to try add depth in the shots.

You're right, the colour and gamma is fairly flat (not particularly film-like) but at the same time it doesn't have the harsh feel of video either. Of course flat images are good for tweaking in post.

But what did you think shooting in low or high contrast.

The low light performance isn't great - but to be honest by the time it's dark enough for the camera to struggle, I would turn some lights on! Personally I thought the latitude seemed fairly good, and it seemed to cope with highlights without blooming or smearing. Generally it seemed to have a slight tendancy to overexpose on AE.