Yet Another XH-A1 vs. DVX100b thread...

[nocoast]

Yes, there have been a slew of these threads, but my situation (as far as what Im shooting) may be a little different...I plan on shooting mostly documentaries/short stories, etc...But this summer Im going to create a full length (30 min) bmx video covering the chicago scene, that will be sold in various bmx stores across the country...anyways, Im wondering which performs better in natural lighting conditions, how they compare at night, how well the a1 is at shooting a sport at bmx, how long do the stock batteries compare as far as duration, if century is making a fisheye for the a1, which stock lense can you achieve better Dof with...etc etc...your help is much appreciated -nocoast

 

[PaPa]

ooo, thats a tough call. because they would both do the trick.

the DVX has underscan and is better in low light.
the A1 is a few hundred more, but you now have the option of HDV
the DVX is 4x3 native
the A1 is 16x9 native
the DVX can record seperate tracks on left and right
the A1 records all inputs to a single track

 

[Barry_Green]

The DVX will give you better performance at night and better natural light sensitivity. The XHA1 may actually hold a bit more dynamic range.

You wouldn't likely want to shoot too much BMX in HDV, that seems like exactly the kind of circumstance that could push HDV too far. But then again, for DVD you could always just shoot DV on the XHA1 and that would totally bypass any motion artifact questions.

The XHA1 has more telephoto, so if you need long telephoto reach the A1 can do it. Both lenses will have exactly the same DOF at the same focal length (but you can force shallower DOF with the A1 because you can use the longer telephoto length of it).

 

[nocoast]

Im in such a tough position, I think Im gonna get a dvx and wait for the quality of hd cameras to go up (and hopefully prices to go down) and upgrade my computer with the spare cash...

 

[Marshallarts]

You wouldn't likely want to shoot too much BMX in HDV, that seems like exactly the kind of circumstance that could push HDV too far. But then again, for DVD you could always just shoot DV on the XHA1 and that would totally bypass any motion artifact questions.

Barry, I just read this thread today and am veru curious about this statement. The other day I shot 360 degree pans of views off a roof in NYC with my HV20. I shot both DV (which I gave the client) and HDV (for my own use) and was very disappointed with the HDV results. I was shooting 24p and the pans were VERY jumpy looking, sorta like the strobing effect you get with 24p sometimes but this was unwatchable. Is it because too much is happening information wise for the HDV codec to properly image? I have yet to download to my Mac and see if it looks better from a computer and not off my HV20 deck. I thought *maybe* I was in cine mode and it was shooting at shutter speed 1/24th because of low light but I'm pretty sure it was locking at 48 in TV mode. Also..

The XHA1 may actually hold a bit more dynamic range.

I've been looking for data to support this specifically. I haven't found a thread here that addresses this but there's a lot to sift through. Do you have one off hand?

 

[Barry_Green]

I was shooting 24p and the pans were VERY jumpy looking, sorta like the strobing effect you get with 24p sometimes but this was unwatchable.

Panoramic pans are the single worst thing to try to do in 24p. I dare say (without seeing your footage) that the problem was general 24p strobing, and you likely would have encountered this with any 24p camera, whether HDV or not.

Keep in mind the rule for a pan -- if you want it smooth, you have to allow 7 seconds for an object to cross the screen. Any faster than that and it's going to strobe. So go back to your footage, and watch how long it takes from the time a building comes on the screen on one side, until it leaves the screen on the other side. If it's less than 7 seconds then you were moving too fast.

If it's more than 7 seconds, and you still find the footage unwatchable, then there's some other problem. Maybe your shutter was cranked too high? Put on the "data code" on playback and look at what your shutter speed was.

I've been looking for data to support this specifically. I haven't found a thread here that addresses this but there's a lot to sift through. Do you have one off hand?

Don't have an XHA1 on hand to test against. Haven't heard of anyone performing a proper dynamic range test on an HV20.

 

[3CCD]

Yeah I'm looking at the A1 but I like to shoot alot of action moving and faster pans and something is telling me to hold off which sucks b/c I'm game for a new camcorder. Sold my AG-DVC30 and looking to upgrade soon. There's a nice gap in Panasonic's line up from the DVX100B to the HVX200. How sweet would an inbetween camcorder be for like $4000ish with DVCPRO HD? I know I'm dreaming but I'm in a bind right now...

 

[Barry_Green]

It's obvious to anyone with eyes that there's not just a "nice gap" in Panasonic's lineup, there's a massive gaping chasm. Approximately the size of a certain gorge in Arizona. I mean, in HD they have the tiny HSC-1U, and then the HVX200, and nothing HD in-between. This is a company that's done quite well with the DV lineup of DVC30, DVC60, and DVX100. They don't have anything HD in that range at all right now.

I can't fathom that they'll abandon that market segment, but I don't know when they intend to address it. This year they've totally overhauled their higher-end cameras, with an HPX3000 at 1/2 the price of the CineAlta, the HPX2000 as a P2 version of the red-hot HDX900, and the HPX500 offering 2/3" chips at half the cost of the 1/2" Sony XDCAM-HD F350. Maybe they've been so busy on the high end that they haven't gotten to the low end yet? Or maybe they've got lots of new stuff to spring on us but just haven't yet?

There's a big HD hole in their lineup, and they have a new HD format (AVC-HD) which could plug that hole. Will they? Unquestionably. When? No clue. It's only May, there's not really a big broadcast show until, what, IBC? In September? Maybe some good announcements then?

 

[3CCD]

Yeah I agree. I think I'm going to end up holding off to wait for HD to mature a bit more. I love the A1 but not HDV.