XH-A1 (or HVR-V1E)

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DaveEP

Member
Sorry if this has been covered endlessly. I did search but to no avail.

I shoot mainly stock footage, and am looking for an HDV camera with good manual controls. I need mainly good performance in the 'manual focus' and 'exposure' control, but good zoom control would also be nice (I rarely zoom while recording). While Audio can be important from time to time, that is not the highest priority at this point.

What is VERY important to me to is getting a 100% coverage view finder. I can't afford to have things appearing on the footage that are 'just' outside the view on the viewfinder/LCD, because that can take otherwise great footage and put it straight in the bin.

So, firstly, lets look at the XH-A1.

Is the viewfinder actually 100% as Canon claim ?

Is the LCD display actually 100% too ?

How good/bad is the manual focus for (a) close distance (a few feet), b) long distance (for few hundred yards). How predictable is the AF system? Can you move the focus points or is it stuck in the middle?

How much "turning" do you need on the focus ring to go from completely "out of focus" (think gausian blur) to completely "in focus" for a subject that is only a few feet away?

Is the focus ring a mechanical or electronic control device?

What reasons would there be to chose the Sony HVR-V1E over the Canon, and visa versa?

I only want to buy this gear only once - i.e. I don't want to find I made a mistake and have to sell it and buy something else.... so it's probably going to take a few questions.... which I can't seem to find explicit answers to. There are lots of hints and 'implied' stuff, but I really need to know specifics rather than assumptions.

Any help you can give would be appreciated..... Thanks..... :)
 
Hey Dave. The iris control ring is VERY good in comparison to the sony. The manual focus is also fab as it seems to be able to get rather shallow depth of field for a prosumer camera. And I mean pretty shallow. Like focusing on 3-4 keys of a piano at a time. (see "the roach project"). I researched the market for two years oto but my XH-A1.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=106521

If you have a look at the lower pic i've managed to focus on the edge of page (although the max blur is not achieved you can make stars of lights etc)

Not a pro, but happy with the cam
 
The LCD on the A1 (and the V1E) overscans, meaning that it cuts off a bit on each side. I think only the HVX and the DVX have underscan LCD. Same with the viewfinder.

Both the focus and the zoom on the A1 is electronic servo and not true manual. Neither is the V1 although the lense and focus control is supposed to be better.
 
Thanks - shallow depth of field is always usefull, but I am also interested in how easy it is to control the focusing from a completely ou of focus shot (nothing in focus and a completely blurred screen) to a complete 'in focus' (large depth of field) shot, almost like a transition is generated, but by manual focusing.

Can any one coment on this aspect, and also the other thinkgs like 100% viewfinder and LCD? These are show stoppers for me if they are not pretty much 100%. 95% is not good enough.
 
DaveEP said:
Can any one coment on this aspect, and also the other thinkgs like 100% viewfinder and LCD? These are show stoppers for me if they are not pretty much 100%. 95% is not good enough.
Click to expand...

Then you're pretty much screwed. As I've said, the only HD camera in this price range to offer the underscan feature is the HVX.
 
Thanks Jade.... we must have cross posted earlier.

Canon claim the viewfinder is 100%, so is this part true?

How much do you actually lose on the LCD? Can eny one give me an example still shot with how much cannot be seen on the LCD ?
 
If overscan is such a huge issue for you, you could by an external monitor like the Marshall and an XH-A1 for about the same price as an HVX. That would give you a great HD focusing/underscan option to add to your A1. The HVX is a great cam, too. It's just a different beast in terms of workflow and recording options.

Really though, I've been working for many years with overscanning lcds/viewfinders, and it has never been a "deal breaker" for me when buying a camera. All things considered, it's just a small issue that you can get over with proper framing habits.
 
Dave, I would check out this guys small short. He shot this with the A1 and that's about it. No 35mm adaptor and I would say that he got some pretty stellar focusing with the camera. This camera is hard to beat for the price and with anything you buy there are going to be things you must work around... (like the LCD and view finder) ; )

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=106261
 
The A1 can give you safe guides for your framing then you can just crop a bit in post. That should get around the overscan issue.
 
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