Hey guys,

I'm about to shoot an 8 week sailing documentary with an XH-A1 and but have only have 2 days to play with the camera itself before we set sail. I have shot a lot with Sony Z1u's and V1u's and have only just received the Canon in the mail for this project. It seems by speed reading this forum that few if any of you shoot the camera with it's factory setting. It also seems the consensus thinks the A1 has a red bias. I don't have time to trail a lot of different settings. I want to shoot clean, fairly saturated footage that's not over worked and will be easily manipulated in post. I'm shooting in 1080 60i to cater to all the outlets for this footage (both potential and actual) which include SD Pal, web and NTSC 1080 60i. One more thing, I'm also shooting a HV20 as a second camera and matching the two would be really handy.

It seems Steven Dempsey is a bit of a guru round here. Any advice mate?

Oh and if anyone has any tips for colour balancing at sea that would be nice too.

Cheers
Josh.

Here is your tip of the day.

Shoot the documentary with the Sony Z1, you know the camera and will therefore be able to concentrate on the important thing, i.e. the sailing. The Canon will do an excellent job, but it is one big risk to go on an 8 week assignment with equipment you don't have any experience with.

Good luck

A few tips maybe: USE A GOOD COVER FOR THE WATER! I use one from KATA. Salt and water don't mix with XH-A1 hardware. I will KILL your camera.

About the rest:

Presets: VIVID RGB (Steven) or REALITY (Kees). Both are sharp and give really nice colors.

White balance: automatic on SUN, or depending on the weather: MANUAL
(You don't have much time to do experiments on the boat I presume...)

Set the DAIL on Av or Tv.

And try to make as much recordings with the sun shining on your back. Also don't zoom, walk towards the subject or person. Try to concentrate on the stable picture in stead of the little details.

Apply the rule of 1/3.

Matching with the HV20 is hard, but there is a thread on that subject somewhere on this forum. (Use the search).

Have fun! Don't drop the A1 in the water....

P.S. Get real good ensurance!

And yes....if you are a bit unsure about the whole situation: Use the Z1.

Hey guys,

Thanks for the pointers.

I totally agree with you, shoot the gear you know. I don't have that situation, I have an A1 and I'm going to be shooting an A1. I guess that puts me little in damage control right from the start (not that the Canon is a lesser camera, just my in-experience with it )

Gert, Thanks for your concern. I have a Kata RC14 as well as a EWA marine housing for when it gets really bad. I also have everything in pelican cases with silica desiccant to draw moisture.

Lastly I'm taking my Macbookpro with me so I can review footage as we go. The reason I posted the question is, I would hate to begin in one setting only to discover it was the wrong one half way into it.

By day 10 we'll be on Midway and the potential for stock footage is huge. I need to know I have it nailed but I also want the docu to look consistent.

Cheers guys,
Josh.

I recently purchased the A-1 and also own a Sony HDR-HC1. I have balanced the HC1 to my Merlin Steadicam finding they make a great combination. I tried the A-1 on the Steadicam but I think it is a little too heavy to be practical so I have resigned myself to using the HC1 only on the Merlin.
Being so new the the Canon I am wondering if anyone has suggestions or comments about using this combination of cameras? I could try to create a preset to emulate the A-1's colour to the HC1 but that seems like "detuning" the better camera to the lesser camera. Alternatively I could do the colour matching in Eduis Broadcast. Obviously this would be more time consuming. I shoot educational doc's (mostly interior shots) and weddings (much exterior stuff).

...that seems like "detuning" the better camera to the lesser camera.But that's the only direction you can go in though.

Alternatively I could do the colour matching in Eduis Broadcast. Obviously this would be more time consuming.You pretty much have to make a decision, as to whether you want to save time by matching the cameras once in pre-production, or whether you want to spend time and match them in post-production.

I guess my next question is how is it best to develop a preset that matches the HC1?
Thanks

I guess my next question is how is it best to develop a preset that matches the HC1?
Thanks
Hook both cameras up to their own identicaly calibrated monitors; use a colour chart or bars from the camera to calibrate the cameras to one another. Or.... throw the hc1 overboard and forget about it :) said with smile...

Is there any chance someone could type out the settings for the Kees REALITY preset. I'm having trouble opening the preset files.

Many thanks,

Mark

Hey Mark,

Here is a XLS file with all the settings typed out.
If you don't have Microsoft Office, you can use a EXCEL viewer. You can download that program for free. Just Google for 'excel viewer'.

Print it out on paper and you have all 42 presets available right now.
Number 20 is the preset made by Kees.

Good grief,

Gert

Hey Mark,

Here is a XLS file with all the settings typed out.
If you don't have Microsoft Office, you can use a EXCEL viewer. You can download that program for free. Just Google for 'excel viewer'.

Print it out on paper and you have all 42 presets available right now.
Number 20 is the preset made by Kees.

Good grief,

Gert


Thanks Gert, much appreciated.

Mark

Gert,

Here is the complete list of presets I sent you.
For some reason, the Excel file I sent did not include the 42nd preset, JTL 5, which is one I developed after compiling this list, analyzing the differences and coming up with one that suits my taste.
I look forward to your next movie with all 42 presets!

Ooops!
I forgot to attach the Excel file.
Here are all 42 presets.
James

Gert,

By the way, I contacted Lauri Kettunen to try to get the original NOMAGENT2 Preset. She was very kind and went through here old files but was unable to find NOMAGENT2. She no longer has a XH A1. She moved up to a RED!

Anyway, if anyone has both the NOMAGENT1 and NOMAGENT2 presets, I would appreciate receiving a copy of both to complete the data for preset 22.

James

I don't know if you have seen this video but I found it very useful.

http://www.vimeo.com/846830?pg=embed&sec=846830

Cheers

Mike

I tend to think anyone making such a video for observing preset differences should have skintones included in the shot. Some of these have always looked great as they are, but throw a human into the mix & they can look a bit ill... mannequin-ish, plastic, etc.

My penny's worth :)

Mike,

Yes, I enjoyed Gert's movie and learned a lot from it.

His generosity in sharing his video of 28 presets - not to mention the work that went into making the movie - is what induced me to send him my list of 42 presets. He has now undertaken to make a new movie with the 42 presets; and also mentioned the possibility of a night version of the same! Who knows, he may be able to get someone to model for him so we can also see skin tones…

Gert, did you ever imagine what you were getting yourself into?! : )

James

I've got a shoot tomorrow where most of the footage will be taken outside. There will be my XH-A1 as well as a Sony V1U. I've downloaded all of the 42 presets and don't see one labelled that specifically matchs the V1U.
Has any one developed a preset for this camera?

James, Gert and you guys, you rock! Thanks for the dedication, the generosity.

Hey guys,
I just got my A1 last night and Im loving it. Im coming from the XL2 and was wondering is there a wedding and/or documentary preset just like what the XL2 has? Appreciate it.

Hi
i've just downloaded the 42 prestets with the exel file and put it into a folder called PRESET.
But I can only select the 20 first presets.?
WHat am I doing wrong?
Thx

Nothing.

The A1 can only use presets numbered 1-20. I suggest that you get another SD card and take presets 21 -40, renumber them 1-20 and load them onto the 2nd card. I guess you'll need a third card for the last two presets. Then you can just switch cards when needed.

Hey thx for rply,
and whats with the exel file?

I got an suggestion for the next version: Make a movie with skintones and use all the new presets (more than 40).

Right now my camera is away for repairs (I almost lost my firewire port last year after I pulled way to hard on the firewire connector and I decided that it was time to bring it to a repair centre so I can pick it up after our vacation).
After our vacation I also switch to Apple Pro (with Final Cut) and I'm planning to go for another extra 100% on the next version of the preset movie.

Any EXTRA suggestions like the skin tones are welcome. For instance: I also have a color card I can use in the next version.

But first, I hope to get the good news next week: your camera is 100% again......

Hey thx for rply,
and whats with the exel file?

The excel file is just a list of the presets, the creators and what it's supposed to do.

Hi Gert,

Loved your work last time--thanks. If your camera does come back 100% and you make another sample clip, the inclusion of a Macbeth (or similar chart) and skin tones would be great (as you've already suggested). Could you also consider including colour temperature?

I don't know if you have seen this video but I found it very useful.

http://www.vimeo.com/846830?pg=embed&sec=846830

Cheers

Mike

Nice, very helpful....Thanks

This thread is temporarily closed while I work on it a bit...