The reason why the camera does not show aperature in TV-mode might be the internal ND-filter, that engages in order to keep the aperature at the sweet spot for the lens. On the XA10 I believe that was F4.

If this is the case an aperature reading might not be that usefull.

Yes it seems the XA20 is the same. The manual says the ND filter engages at f4.

Jos, I'm not the most technically experienced in this game, so I could easily be misunderstanding some of these things, but what happens if the subject matter is still too bright with the max ND filter engaged, will the cam maintain F4 and just increase the shutter speed, or will it first go to max f-stop and then increase SS?

My point is that I would like to see what the camera is doing so I can intervene if I want to, eg I might want to let the aperture go a little wider than f4 and keep the SS lower.

Hi Neil,
The way I have the custom dial setup is for adjusting the aperture, shutter speed & gain when in manual mode. When I do have it in manual mode, I can adjust the aperture with a turn of the dial, or then press the little button just behind it & the wheel then adjusts the shutter speed. Another push of the button adjusts the gain. Each time one of these things is adjusted, the custom dial remains active for that function. Therefore, you need to press the little button until you have the function highlighted that you want to adjust. I have only had the camera a week or so now, so haven't fully explored what it can do. What I can say though, for anyone considering this camera, it is a huge step up from the XA10 or HF G10. I have just got back from a 4 day hiking trip & used the camera to film it all. I am very excited with how it performs, especially the IS at full zoom! The wider lens is very nice, however, where we were hiking I would have liked something even wider, so may invest in a wide angle adaptor.
Yes it is still a small (consumer camera small) camera, & buttons are small, there are still things that you need to go into the menu to adjust etc, etc, but for what I want this camera for (an ultra light weight hiking set up), so far, I couldn't be happier.
Regards,
Bryce

Hi Bryce

I'm very happy with the camera as well and for much the same reasons you've given, so I'm convinced the problem I'm having must be with me. I've done exactly what you've suggested a number of times, tried TV/ all the diferent options: AV, M, AGC, Exposure. sometimes they work perfectly and other times the wheel or a short press on the button does nothing. Holding the button will open the options. I will try it again in the morning and post a more detailed description.

Hi Neil,
Well I think I may have found why things are a little weird with your camera. I didn't know that you could hold down the button to change things for the custom dial so tried it myself. What I found though, was that it all worked great going between the different options, but then when I tried going back to manual, I couldn't seem to get it to change from AV mode. Not even sure if I changed it to be honest, but anyway, it all went back to normal when I changed the function to manual via the function menu. It's a little hard to explain exactly, but if you find it is acting a little weird, try checking the settings in the function menu & see if that sorts it out.
Regards,
Bryce

Has anyone used one of these in a dark indoor environment (or more specifically, a wedding reception)? I would love to hear how it performed. I would like something that handles low-light better than a VG30 in about the same price range.

I am looking at buying the XA20 as a second camera to my trusty ex3. I notice there are some others who also have an ex3, how close do the colors match? secondly and most importantly, I presume that you can manually change the iris whilst rolling however I can't find anywhere where this is explicitly stated. Could someone please confirm this?

Ian

Hi Ian,
Yes you can certainly change the iris setting whilst recording. I have only used the camera on a hiking trip so far & haven't been able to put it side by side with my EX-3. There is very little that can be adjusted color wise on the XA20 short of some tweaking in the cinema mode. I haven't played with it too much yet. Hopefully I can set the EX-3 up to match well enough with the XA20. In the coming weeks I hope to spend some time filming the mountain caribou around here & will use the XA20 for the wide shots & EX-3 for close ups, so I will find out soon enough how they play together.
I have to say though, I do like the weight difference!! :)
Regards,
Bryce

Hi Niel,

In Tv-mode.the camera will try to stay at F4 as long as possible, then it will lower the aperture value until minimum. After that you get an overexposure warning, I expect.

Cheers

..... but anyway, it all went back to normal when I changed the function to manual via the function menu. It's a little hard to explain exactly, but if you find it is acting a little weird, try checking the settings in the function menu & see if that sorts it out.

Hi Bryce, you're right, changing the settings in the FUNC menu to TV, AV or M and then in the Button menu to correspond was the answer. It's all working perfectly now.

It's a brilliant little camera with fantastic image quality.

In Tv-mode.the camera will try to stay at F4 as long as possible, then it will lower the aperture value until minimum. After that you get an overexposure warning, I expect.

Jos, that sounds right. I'm sure after some more practise it will all make sense to me. BTW, does anyone have any idea how to set the cam onto Standby/Sleep mode. I have searched the menus but can't see anyting like that option.

Hi Niel,
Glad that worked for you. As far as putting the camera into sleep mode, I have a Canon ZR-1000 pan & zoom remote that I have on the pan handle of my tripod that will put it into standby. It's just like turning the camera off really, & starting back up again while quicker to do on the tripod pan handle, is still the same as turning the camera on & off.
Hope this helps.
Bryce

Thanks Bryce, I'll give it a try.

Hi there. A few weeks ago I was talking on this thread about some teething problems we were experiencing with the XA25. In particular was our "workflow" when using the camera files in Final Cut Pro 7 as opposed to Final Cut X.

Lets take the MP4 35mb files first. They are in fact encoded using H.264 in an MP4 wrapper. Now as some of you may already know, H.264 whilst being a very efficient codec is a complex mathematical code which NLE's like Final Cut 7 will not handle too well. We have discovered that the only way to work with H.264 in FCP7 is to convert the footage to a more suitable codec ie Apple Pro Res or Cineform. You can do this via MPEG Streamclip ( free software on the net ) The downside being, you will now have additional converted files that not only take a long time to convert, but use about 4.5 times the storage space as the original files !

So why did Canon give us the MP4 35mb option ? Surely not for fast news acquisition !

So unless anyone can tell me different the quickest way to use the files of this camera in conjunction with FCP7 is to record in AVCHD 24Mbps as FCP7 can't handle the 28Mbps either, and use Log & Transfer tool for the import.

As for the batteries, we are still waiting to here back from Canon Europe on that one, and don't even try the FTP application (OK for sending up quickies to YouTube etc... but not for News!)

Oh and one last thing. Has anyone seen the Chromatic aberrations you get when half way down the lens against a contrasting background ?

It is not realistic to expect Canon to design their hardware for obsolete software. The mp4 footage works fine with Premiere Pro, and I expect it will with the more recent versions of other editors as well.

You are blaming a new camera for compatibility problems with outdated and obsolete software ...

You may need to invest in some computing hardware and software that can handle the latest camera equipment if that is what you intend to use for your video work.

Maybe I just didn't word it right ... but many times I've bought new equipment, whether it is camera or other digital related products and on the front end I did my homework and had to come to the realization that I had to do a PC or software upgrade if I was going to move forward and make the new stuff work right.

FCP is a fine program, but I am always baffled with the hoops the users have to jump through to edit AVCHD footage. Especially FCPX. I had two separate editors that wanted to work for me but they could not deal with the files. True enough, there is a workflow to use, and many thousands edit AVCHD footage and more using FCP, but for such a widely used program to not handle these files directly, it is a shame.

Anyway, as you say, Derek, it does help to have more CPU power rather than less. It's just necessary. Another place these files will bog down: on a sluggish external drive, particularly for multicamera edits.

Maybe I just didn't word it right ... but many times I've bought new equipment, whether it is camera or other digital related products and on the front end I did my homework and had to come to the realization that I had to do a PC or software upgrade if I was going to move forward and make the new stuff work right.
Indeed, a camera using a new format almost always means a software and probably a hardware upgrade. I know several people (myself included) who have extended the life of HDV and even DV cameras by buying card-recorders, such as the Sony MRC1K, to avoid expensive computer upgrades and the need to learn new software.

Hello
Adding the new Atomos Samurai Blade to the XA25 via SDI , will it make any deference ?

Hello
Adding the new Atomos Samurai Blade to the XA25 via SDI , will it make any deference ?

You'll be able to record in 4:2:2 which you can't do any other way.

Bob

Thanks , Bob
I found the XA20 is more requested as some feels that the SDI as it not 50mb recording
dose the 4:2:2 quality is noticeable ?

Note that the XA25 does not have 3G-SDI so you cannot record 1080p60 to an external recorder unless it's HDMI.

you mean the Samurai Blade will work .

The SDI output on the XA25 is SMPTE 292M 1080i/720p. That means it will transfer uncompressed 1080i or 720p video at a rate of 1.5Gbps. The Blade will work with this just fine since it has the same specs. I would like to see a comparison between an SDI output ProRes file and an internally compressed MP4. It's a lot of extra money and loss of portability to get that ProRes

Bob

Here is a comparison between the low light capability of the X920, the XA20 and the older G25:

Low light battle: Canon XA20 vs HF-G25 vs Panasonic x920 on Vimeo

It is interesting that although the X920 appears to have greater light sensitivity than the two Canons, the auto white balance is off. Also, the Canons (in particular the XA20) are able to capture detail in the sky at max gain, whereas the X920 is black noise.

Steven,

a very good comparison of the three camcorders together with comments so that there are no doubts. Thanks!

Regards,

/Bo

Has anyone noticed on any of these three units (XA25, XA20 and G30) that their touchscreen display has very little contrast? The blacks on my XA25 are quite grey.

Without looking at a grey-black card, I'd have to say no, my blacks look black and the greys grey. There are a few OLED brightness options, maybe you've got it on auto dimmer or something?