After my first 30 minutes of " familliarizing shooting" with the new A1 I have tried a few modes in a few different outdoor conditions and trying to get a feel for everything. So far I have run into a couple issues but am not sure if it user error. So far all are regarding play back and the quality of my footage. Could sure use some help regarding these.

1- Auto mode seems like pretty good playback quality on my HD TV but I notice what looks to me like digital noise in the Manual Mode footage. (I am not a huge fan of Auto in my Still Photography and shoot almost everything in Manual) What I see is simillar to "too high of an ISO" in still Photography. What I see can best be described as a faint snow throughout the playback but only footage shot in Manual Mode. Standing back from the HD TV while viewing you hardly notice but the closer you get the more apparent it is. It is faint but it is there. In Auto Mode footage it is tack sharp and crystal clear. Is this exposure related? Does this sound like Digital Noise perhaps from bad exposure or an off setting. I did not mess with the gain at all it is on L and the AGC is set to on. I would try to show an example but am not at the point of being able to render anything to PC yet as I have not yet gotten to a point of capturing with Vegas Pro but hope to get in to that later tonight or tomorrow.

2- When connected to my Aquos HD TV I use the Component Cable supplied with the A1. I have no sound at all. I am pluggged into the correct input terminals and on the correct input selection, any tips? I do have sound when using the standard RCA Cables but not the HD cables.

Thanks Everyone for the help, I appreciate it Very Much!!!

Tim

Congrats on your purchase!

1. AGC is "Auto Gain Control." That means that the camera is ignoring your "L" level gain setting and is selecting whatever gain it feels is best.

One reason that Auto may look better than Manual:

In auto the camera probably sets itself to 1.6F and 1/60. Meaning the sensors are getting the maximum amount of light and therefore Gain is kept low. In Manual the exposure settings could be 5.6F and 1/250. Meaning that the sensor isn't getting much light and so the camera is increasing the Gain to compensate.

So to fix this:

Turn AGC off. In Manual mode keep Aperature numbers low and set the shutter speed to 1/60 or 1/48.


2. Look at pg 98 of your camera manual. The component video cable only gives you a video signal. You have to connect the stereo cable, that came with your camera, to your tv in order to get sound.

Component video is just for video. You need to hookup audio too.

Are you shooting 60i HDV?

Your problems sound like exposure related. "L" is not a gain setting. It's a preset for gain that is assigned to it. You can customize the value for each (H, M, L). It's a number like -3db, 0, +3db, +6db, +12db. I don't recall what the default is for L but it doesn't matter because you have automatic gain control on. Unlike still photography where manual "locks in" the ISO, AGC will vary the gain even in manual. Also, you want to watch your shutter speed and keep it at 60 if possible.

Yep, like Russ said ... turn off the Auto Gain Control.

Setting the A1 to -3db gain can also help.

Cheers,

Matthew.

Russ, Ernest and Matthew....You guys are great Thanks. I have breezed through the manual once but need to sit down with it and give it a good pouring over. Aside from HD Video I am also trying to learn Vegas Pro 8, DVD Architect along with Blue Ray Disc Authoring all at the same time and only a week or so into all these thus far. No Excuses but a lot to grasp initially. Hopefully I will have a video to share in the coming weeks when I start getting a handle on all of this.
Thanks Again for the help.
Tim

Yep, like Russ said ... turn off the Auto Gain Control.

Setting the A1 to -3db gain can also help.

Cheers,

Matthew.

Matthew, Does this mean for outdoor shooting I should change the GAIN preset for L to -3db?

Matthew, Does this mean for outdoor shooting I should change the GAIN preset for L to -3db?

Hey Tim,

That's what I've been doing. I used to run my XL2 at 0db gain but I've found that the A1 is a bit noisier and shooting at -3db helps.

Cheers,

Matthew.