special effects and chroma keying

[teupaksa]

has anyone any opinions about adding special effects and bluescreening on film from the xh a1. how is the quality? i read somewhere that the sony v1u was better for these purposes since it uses 24p instead of 24f... is this true, or is it working just as well with the xh a1? thanx a lot for any comments in advance...
teupaksa

 

[Drew Ott]

No, the v1u will not look any better. HDV has 4:2:0 color space. You can get good results as long as you have even lighting.

 

[Invisibility]

has anyone any opinions about adding special effects and bluescreening on film from the xh a1. how is the quality? i read somewhere that the sony v1u was better for these purposes since it uses 24p instead of 24f... is this true, or is it working just as well with the xh a1? thanx a lot for any comments in advance...
teupaksa

We two are at the same decision point Teupaksa. Good to see the $250 rebate has been extended too.

I'm a new vfx student at SF AAU and I want the A1 now. I just need to keep reading to really understand the difference between 24 progressive frames(i.e. non-interlaced) and 24 Framemode(Canon's special 24P?)

Thanks for the answer bballplaya!

INVISIBILITY

 

[Noel Evans]

I just need to keep reading to really understand the difference between 24 progressive frames(i.e. non-interlaced) and 24 Framemode(Canon's special 24P?)

24f is not like the Sony cineframe mode - fake 24p. It gives you an end result of 24 full frames and looks every bit as good as "24p". We all wondered on this question before the A1's release, but since release the results have proven to be nothing but stellar.

Marlon Torres recently posted a short with a lot of VFX and the shots are outstanding.

 

[Invisibility]

Thanks for the confirmation Ncie!

I'll be buying my first non-VHS camcorder next week, the Canon XH A1, from my local shop. I'll also pick up a set of used tripod legs, a new head, tapes, batteries, an XLR shotgun mic, one short XLR cable and one 25' long XLR cable, a UV filter and a new camcorder bag.

Oh and thanks for the reference to Marlon Torres' post. I'll go find that and check it out.

I'm sooooo stoked!


Invisibility

 

[Alan Craig]

Thanks for the confirmation Ncie!

I'll be buying my first non-VHS camcorder next week, the Canon XH A1, from my local shop. I'll also pick up a set of used tripod legs, a new head, tapes, batteries, an XLR shotgun mic, one short XLR cable and one 25' long XLR cable, a UV filter and a new camcorder bag.

Oh and thanks for the reference to Marlon Torres' post. I'll go find that and check it out.

I'm sooooo stoked!


Invisibility

Canon recomend an xlr lead no longer than 3 Metres with the XH A1 check it out before you buy you may be wasting your money on a 25' lead

Regards alan

 

[Invisibility]

Well thanks Alan.

I had thought as long as it was "balanced" it could be plenty long but then the issue of resistance/impedance? hadn't occurred to me.

Less than 10 feet...is that enough for a boom mic or do folks generally just go wirelesss?

 

[Huy Vu]

Canon recomend an xlr lead no longer than 3 Metres with the XH A1 check it out before you buy you may be wasting your money on a 25' lead

Regards alan

This is absolutely untrue. With balanced cable you can run hundreds of feet without disturbance. I frequently use more than 25' cable with my A1 with no ill effect whatsoever.

 

[Alan Craig]

This is absolutely untrue. With balanced cable you can run hundreds of feet without disturbance. I frequently use more than 25' cable with my A1 with no ill effect whatsoever.

Jade Why dont you read the manual before trying to make me out to be a liar.
I was trying to save the member some money, what you say may be true that you have used more than 25' of cable with a xlr mic I did not say that you coudn't I said Canon do not recomend using more than 3Metre's look at page No. 48 in your A1 manual under section menu last line of part 2 and then say what I said is absolutely not true and an appologie would be accepted.

 

[Huy Vu]

Jade Why dont you read the manual before trying to make me out to be a liar.
I was trying to save the member some money, what you say may be true that you have used more than 25' of cable with a xlr mic I did not say that you coudn't I said Canon do not recomend using more than 3Metre's look at page No. 48 in your A1 manual under section menu last line of part 2 and then say what I said is absolutely not true and an appologie would be accepted.

Why should I apologized? Even though it might be in the manual, that particular fact is certifiably false; in fact, being able to have long cable run is one of the reason for having a balanced XLR input in the first place. You quoted a false fact as true without any first-hand experience, which spreads FUD (uncertainty, fear and doubt) for no good reason.

 

[Alan Craig]

Why should I apologized? Even though it might be in the manual, that particular fact is certifiably false; in fact, being able to have long cable run is one of the reason for having a balanced XLR input in the first place. You quoted a false fact as true without any first-hand experience, which spreads FUD (uncertainty, fear and doubt) for no good reason.

Why dont you read exactly what i stated which was that canon recomend using a lead no longer than 3meters this is not my recomendation it is canons if you are so fxxxxxxxxg clever why dont you take it up with canon and tell them that there manual is ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT I just quoted what the manual said and I also advised the member to check it out and I did not quote a false fact because anybody who has bought an A1 has the manual to prove it

 

[Huy Vu]

I did not quote a false fact because anybody who has bought an A1 has the manual to prove it

Ask any audio professionals and they'll tell you that the manual is wrong. There's nothing you can say that can change the fact that your original post was incorrect. And note that I never called you a liar, I said that what you wrote was untrue, there's a difference. Now you're angry for no real reasons.

I've allowed myself to get sucked into this pointless debate so from now on I won't respond anymore. You can have the last words if you wished.

 

[Zach Janky]

I have an A1 and I use a 25 foot XLR cable.

During my initial search for an XLR cable, I snagged a 25 footer, and in my haste (this is still a day I regret, but I learned a lot), I assumed the cable would also power the mic. I didn't realize a battery had to be inserted into it. The 25 footer didn't work, and so I read the manual and found the page recommending nothing longer than 3 meters. It was off to the store again to get the 3 meter cable, and I was kicking myself for not reading more into it before embarking on this journey.

After arriving home with the 3 meter cable, it still wouldn't work properly, and it was at this point that I discovered the battery needed to be put in. I tried it out, and the cable worked. However, the guy at the store mentioned that XLR cables are designed so distance wasn't a problem, and I quickly realized that 9 feet of cable just sucked when booming (especially when you can't extend the boom more than 9 feet when you're standing right next to the camera). I went to the store again and tried out a 25 foot cable. It worked, and I couldn't tell the difference between it and the 9 foot one in terms of sound. I know from experience that the 25 foot cable will work fine compared to the 3 meter one. Don't make the same mistake I did. Just get the 25 footer, and don't forget to put a battery in the stupid mic.

 

[Alan Craig]

Ask any audio professionals and they'll tell you that the manual is wrong. There's nothing you can say that can change the fact that your original post was incorrect. And note that I never called you a liar, I said that what you wrote was untrue, there's a difference. Now you're angry for no real reasons.

I've allowed myself to get sucked into this pointless debate so from now on I won't respond anymore. You can have the last words if you wished.

OK Final word on the subject in future if I try and give somebody a bit of advice by quoting what was printed in black and white in the manufacturers manual I think I shall add "but somebody Might contradict that advice by insinuating that I am telling lies". Lets face it neither I or the manual said you could not use leads over 3Metre's it just recomended it why should someone jump in and say that what I said is absolutely untrue, it would have been better for them to say that canon might recomend it BUT I have used leads a lot longer than the recomended with no problems and give them the benefit of their experience the idea of this net is to help people not to alianate them. As I am embarking on using a Rode NTG2 balanced xlr mic I may have gained some knowledge from this experience I bought a 3 metre lead on the recomendation of canon I did want a longer one but sought to read the manual.

Anyway I hope that the member who was originaly going to buy the 25' lead has been sorted out and my best regards to Him.

 

[henry cho]

xha1 can provide 48v phantom power to condenser mics that require it to operate -- that's what the phantom power switches on the front side of the mic jacks are for (just don't turn these switches on if your mics don't need it).

zach, not sure what mic you're using but many battery powered shotguns, like the at897 and me66, can take battery OR phantom power. mics generally sound better powered off phantom power rather than a AA battery. anways, i'd check with the spec sheet on your mic.

i will confirm that xlr cables can run well over 100 feet and work perfectly fine. if the mic isn't receiving phantom power through the cable, the cable is either bad or not properly wired to send power through it. sometimes this happens with home-made or cheaper cables.

finally, always look for higher-quality xlr cables (canare wiring, neutrik connectors, etc.). they make a difference.