XH-A1 Alternative?

Marc Villafan

Marc Villafan

Well-known member
Ok im gonna keep this short.
Im thinking of buying the XH-A1 but noticed the resolution is 1440x1080.
The images ive seen of footage look great in my opinion but i also notice that the camera is somewhat old and some newer cameras now support 1920x1080.

Is there anything comparable in price that is better than the XH-A1 in most if not all fields. Low Light, and other situations.

Basically if there isnt a better alternative to the XH-A1 im probably gonna purchase the camera soon. Just dont want to buy it and discover a camera around the same price that is much better in all aspects.

Thanks for your time!
 
Im a die-hard XH-A1 user, but i would say like an EX1/ EX3.

Also take into consideration the HVR-V1U,l the Z7U, the HMC150 etc.

But like i said at the top. An EX1 would work but it might go over the price of an A1. :)
 
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You've got to decide what media you want to record to. HDV is great cause tapes are cheap and are able to be kept as backups. P2 workflow can be quicker, but it can also be more expensive and harder to keep backups. HDV's compression does capture at 1440x1080 and then is stretched at a 1.2 pixel aspect ratio and uses 4:1:1 color spacing. It needs that compression to fit on an HDV tape. That doesn't mean that you can't get a good image from it. I just means you'll have to do some minor or major color correction to any footage you capture.

I love my Canon XH-A1. Feel free to check out pictures of my rig on my blog: http://nextwaveg.blogspot.com
 
Thanks for all the information everyone. I wouldn't mind color correcting, even if I have to color correct every shot. Helps in my opinion to color correct, for the reason I can make it look how I want it to.
Looks like im getting the XH-A1.
 
Don't forget the camera allows custom presets that may reduce or even eliminate the need to color correct depending upon what "look" you are trying to get.
 
Again, i'd like to thank everyone for the info. I also want to learn about lenses and what kind fit on my camera and the works. Where can I learn all of this stuff?
Is there a tech spec type number i should look for to match with lenses so they can fit?

Things like other lenses, 35mm, 50mm etc.
Im planning on buying a Letus in the future but dont know if i can buy some lenses before that, that would work without it and maybe with it when i do happen to get it. :Drogar-Happy(DBG):
 
Most DOF adapters have different mounts you can purchase depending on your lenses, i.e. Pentax, Nikon, Canon, etc. You want to stick with one lens type so you don't need to swap mounts on the DOF adapter. One way to decide which type to use is to decide if you plan on using a DSLR too. I used Pentax lenses with my first rig (for my HV20) because I didn't have a DSLR and got my Brevis used. When I got my Redrock M2 for my XH-A1, I had a Nikon D90 so I wanted to use lenses for both my Nikon and Redrock.

When you get lenses, you want them to be as bright as possible...so f1.4, f1.8, f2.0, and f2.8 are good lenses to look for. Anything past that and you'll need to really light the scene bright to get a good image. As for focal lengths, a 50mm lens is a great lens to start with. Then I'd get a anywhere from a 25-35mm and anywhere from a 70-100mm lens. You will usually want to get a prime lens, which means it can't zoom. This is mainly because you wouldn't want to control the zoom manually on the lens and it's less expensive to purchase fast prime lenses then fast zoom lenses.

Hope that helps.
 
NextWaveG said:
Most DOF adapters have different mounts you can purchase depending on your lenses, i.e. Pentax, Nikon, Canon, etc. You want to stick with one lens type so you don't need to swap mounts on the DOF adapter. One way to decide which type to use is to decide if you plan on using a DSLR too. I used Pentax lenses with my first rig (for my HV20) because I didn't have a DSLR and got my Brevis used. When I got my Redrock M2 for my XH-A1, I had a Nikon D90 so I wanted to use lenses for both my Nikon and Redrock.

When you get lenses, you want them to be as bright as possible...so f1.4, f1.8, f2.0, and f2.8 are good lenses to look for. Anything past that and you'll need to really light the scene bright to get a good image. As for focal lengths, a 50mm lens is a great lens to start with. Then I'd get a anywhere from a 25-35mm and anywhere from a 70-100mm lens. You will usually want to get a prime lens, which means it can't zoom. This is mainly because you wouldn't want to control the zoom manually on the lens and it's less expensive to purchase fast prime lenses then fast zoom lenses.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Nice. This is just the information I was looking for. So without a DoF adapter can I still buy different lenses or is it required?
Also i've read that for a DoF adapter you need Manual Focus lenses, is this true?
 
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The Canon XH-A1 doesn't have an interchangeable lens structure. You would need to get an XL-H1...but lenses for that camera would be a lot more expensive. If you're looking for DOF, you're better off getting an adapter.

Yes, you do need to have a lens that has manual focus...but most auto focus lenses have manual focus too.
 
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Ok so looks like i'll be shooting with the stock one for a bit until I save up a few more hundred dollars to buy a Letus Extreme and a few lenses.

Thanks.
 
Oh additionally, would I have a need for a step ring for any possible reason? or is that not necessary with a XH-A1 and Letus Extreme.
 
Also look at the Sony Z5u. Got my hands on it at NAB and, while I wouldn't replace my XH-A1 with it, I would consider buying it if I were in the market for my first prosumer HDV camera.
 
also remember that none of the hd cameras that we buy today are true 1920x1080 not even the hvx200 or the hpx170 they all do some sort of pixel shifting. i think the a1 is the best hd camera on the market today and the ex1 is the only competition the hvx has a few better features such as a bigger lcd and intercgangebke frame rates but the ai1 footage is obviously more crisp call it an artificial look if you want but its awesome to my eyes lol.
 
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