I bought the XHA1 today because I wanted to get a camera to shoot HD weddings. I already own the HVX 200 which is an amazing camera, but it has been hard trying to shoot run and gun weddings. So I decided why not compare these two bad boys. So I took the cameras out in my backyard and shot some test footage. I did mess it up a bit because I always shoot 720p with my HVX , so this was the setting it was on. Anyway I didn't realize this till after it was dark. Check out this footage here.
(Please right click to download)

www.joesimonproductions.com/shootout/daytime.mov

I just bought the XHA1 today so I only used it for about 1/2 hour before i shot this stuff. I'm sure the settings weren't optimal, and after spending more time behind the camera I learned it has tons of CP settings and you can really match these two up if you needed to. Here is a color corrected version of the footage.
(Please right click to download)
www.joesimonproductions.com/shootout/daytimecc.mov

I also did a low light comparison between the HVX-200(in 1080/24p), XHA1 and the PD170.
These are the settings -
XHA1 - 24f, 1/24, 1/6
HVX - 24p, 1/24,1/6
PD170 - 60i, 1/30, 1/6
I used settings that I would normaly use when in a low light enviroment.

Here is the link for the small version.
(Please right click to download)
www.joesimonproductions.com/shootout/lowlight.mov

HD version -
www.joesimonproductions.com/shootout/lowlightbig.mov

I was really impressed by the low light capabilities of the XHA1. When you use the NR1 setting on low it does a great job of cleaning up the grain. But don't set it to medium or High because it makes a ghosting pattern on moving objects as you will see. I hope this will help people out there who have not seen footage from this great new camera. I should have some new stuff shot in the next few days for some more comparisons.

thanks very much Joe. downing now to check it out. Look forward to more of your testings and footage :)

Wow, that's really impressive. I was expecting the A1 to be more grainy but it holds up to the PD170 really well.

The NR seems to help reduce the grain quite a bit too, mainly on the indoors shot.

Very good info indeed.

thanks for putting in the time joe. showing the camera settings in the video works great.

Do I understand correctly that the PD170 has a 1/60 shutter while the A1 used 1/24th? both had the indicated gain settings (+6 and +12) and iris (1.6/f)?

Thanks Joe -- if you find yourself needing more bandwidth, just drop me an email. I'll be happy to help host these clips for you on our media server.

very cool tests, showing the settings along with the footage is really helpful. thanks joe...

After using both cameras I think that the HVX still has many advantages. With the variable frame rates to the many recording formats and 100mbit recording you can do almost any job. Also having to go back to tape again sucks, especially when the HVX separates each clip.

The A1 is very nice, I picked up 2 of them yesterday at Precision camera here in Austin because I was anticipating them selling out quickly. They will be a great camera to film weddings with especially since I can shoot in 24 or 30f.

Out of the box the cameras footage looks very similar to the FX/1, but it is when you go in to the CP menu that the magic happens. There are so many settings even more then the HVX like separate color gain and color matrix controls. With these you can tune the picture for the look you want. The HVX's controls go from -7-+7 while the A1's have a -30-+30 variation(on most of them, Ped and a few others are less, but color controls are -30-+30) which I think will give you a bit more to play with.

I found the low light on the A1 amazing, inside and outside. If you watch the smaller version of the low light test it does better job of giving it justice because of the compression. On my computer in FCP You can barely see any gain in the 12db setting with NR1 on low. Did I say amazing! Also I feel that it looks less grainy then the PD170 when its settings were 1/6f, 1/60frame rate 12db, and the pictures are pretty equal in brightness!

I have a documentary that I will be shooting this winter that I think I can use both of the cameras and it would be very hard to notice. I'm going to have a great time with this new camera shooting events and I will be sticking with my HVX to shoot commercials and short film work.

Joe, thanks for that comparison footage and your assessment!

Joe- very nicely done- thanks....should help allot of "ponderers."

Do I understand correctly that the PD170 has a 1/60 shutter while the A1 used 1/24th? Yes could someone definitively confirm all shutter-speeds used here please? thanks

Yes could someone definitively confirm all shutter-speeds used here please? thanks

The shutter speeds are posted on the video clips. But the here they are.

XHA1 - 24f, 1/24, 1/6
HVX - 24p, 1/24,1/6
PD170 - 60i, 1/30, 1/6

EDIT !!!

OK I must have been to tired last night...I just went and looked at the data code on the tape and the PD170 was at 1/30th!!!!!! Sorry for the misinformation I am reuploading the video clip with the correct stats.

I'd like to see the comparison with the PD170 at 1/30 shutter speed, which would then be closer to the other two. Did you shoot any 24F at 1/48?

Thank you Joe. These images are worth thousand words. XH A1 keeps up with PD170 very well. One more reason to be happy about new Canon. I agree. NR1 Low does the best job.

I am impressed and very thankful that you took the time to administer these tests. They are the most objective ones that I have found so far and they seriously blew me out of the water. The color was impressive at 12db.

Fascinating. Thank you for the examples. It makes my next purchase of a cam even harder. :-)

I was very supprised to see that the HVX had so much RED in its coloring when compared to the H1; Did you boost the red on the HVX or are the color adjustments at 0 on both cameras?

I was very supprised to see that the HVX had so much RED in its coloring when compared to the H1; Did you boost the red on the HVX or are the color adjustments at 0 on both cameras?

With the HVX I seem to notice it likes the reds a lot. I had the color temp at -1. I tried to make it look as it appeared to my eyes.

I could have made the A1 look a better (color wise) if I had done the test after more experience with the camera. Now in the second day of ownership I have a much better grasp of the CP settings.

With the HVX I seem to notice it likes the reds a lot. I had the color temp at -1. I tried to make it look as it appeared to my eyes.

I could have made the A1 look a better (color wise) if I had done the test after more experience with the camera. Now in the second day of ownership I have a much better grasp of the CP settings.

Yeah it seemed to me that the A1 wasn't picking up color nearly as well, but I could only imagine that was settings/experience with the camera.

Glad to see something positive about the low light situation, and in comparison to the PD 170 no less !!

Blows the recent posts that were bad-mouthing the Lowlight capabilities out of the Sony water!

Thanks for this test, appreciate it ... one question, if the A1 was shooting at 60i, instead of 24f, would that have any effect on its lowlight?

From what you posted, it appeared to me that the A1 and PD170 were very similar in terms of lowlight ability, with the slight edge going to the PD170 ... though I'm wondering if that if both cameras were shooting at 60i and a shutter speed of 60, would the difference be greater?

Joe, thanks for these tests! I'm really getting excited about this cam. I can't wait to purchase one the end of this month. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Monday

Yes, if the A1 was in 60i at a 60 shutter it would be more than twice as less sensitive. The shorter the shutter, the more time the light has to hit the CCD, thus being brighter.

I think that the colors can be improved from what I had. You just need to go into the CP setttings and get the look you want. I'm going to shoot some more stuff tomorrow, it will be fun.

Wow!!! The XHA1 footage in low light is extremely impressive, surprisingly more impressive then the HVX! Thank u for posting!

yep, and based on what i see here, the A1 has a much cleaner image and better highlight handling.

I would balance color level for both cameras though, color generates noise, and the HVX has a ton of color.

The A1 has a far cleaner, brighter and sharper image than the HVX200 in the tests. This really is the only choice for me as I will shoot everything at 25fps and the lowlight capabilities being on a par with the PD170 at 25fps really make this the camera I have been waiting for for a very long time!

Yes, if the A1 was in 60i at a 60 shutter it would be more than twice as less sensitive. The shorter the shutter, the more time the light has to hit the CCD, thus being brighter.

Thanks, yes I understand the different lowlight performance due to shutter speeds, but I was wondering about different frame rates ... would the picture look darker at 60i as opposed to 24f?

I think that the colors can be improved from what I had. You just need to go into the CP setttings and get the look you want. I'm going to shoot some more stuff tomorrow, it will be fun.

Thanks Joe ... I thought the A1 shot of the leaves in the sky was particularly stunning and filmic ...

if you do more comparison tests, could you do some at 60i?

Thanks, yes I understand the different lowlight performance due to shutter speeds, but I was wondering about different frame rates ... would the picture look darker at 60i as opposed to 24f?

You cannot do 60i at a 24th shutter speed.

Hi Joe, thanks for the clips, you are great, thank you for taking the time, one question, if you view this on a HD monitor, do you see resolution loss when the shutter speed is below 60th of a second like the FX1/Z1?
Thank again.

You cannot do 60i at a 24th shutter speed.

Let me phrase the question differently: does frame rate (not shutter speed) have any impact on lowlight sensitivity?

In other words, would shooting in 24f increase your lowlight sensitivity over shooting in 60i?

Hi Joe, thanks for the clips, you are great, thank you for taking the time, one question, if you view this on a HD monitor, do you see resolution loss when the shutter speed is below 60th of a second like the FX1/Z1?
Thank again.

Hi Khoi: I know from reading your previous posts here and on weva.com that you were one of the early adopters of the FX1 ... are you planning on getting the CAnon A1? I'd be very interested in your impressions.

Let me phrase the question differently: does frame rate (not shutter speed) have any impact on lowlight sensitivity?

In other words, would shooting in 24f increase your lowlight sensitivity over shooting in 60i?

Yes it should.

provided that the XH-A1 uses a 1/48 shutter speed when shooting 24p, vs 1/60 when shooting standard 60i (~30p).

All other things relatively equal, a 1/48 shutter speed allows more light capture then 1/60 shutter speed, and hence also more blur. More light capture equates to better low light performance.

As a general rule, the more frames/sec, the more light you'll need. That's why when when shooting slo-mo (many many frames per second + very fast shutter) you need an abundance of light just to get a 'normal' exposure.

Yes, at 60i you need more light. 30f is a middle ground and 24f has the best low light sensitivity. But what you film at depends on how you want the footage to look. 30f and 24f have a great film feel!

"Hi Khoi: I know from reading your previous posts here and on weva.com that you were one of the early adopters of the FX1 ... are you planning on getting the CAnon A1? I'd be very interested in your impressions"

I think I will, I need bigger zoom, I like shalow DOF and all of these camera are 1/3 CCD, the only thing that will help is more zoom, plus 24f and 30f is a plus, the low light seems to be as good if not better than FX1 so I think my FX1 and Z1 will be on sale in the near future. (-:

Yes, at 60i you need more light. 30f is a middle ground and 24f has the best low light sensitivity. But what you film at depends on how you want the footage to look. 30f and 24f have a great film feel!

Thanks Joe and Michael. As someone who needs to work with slo-mo, I'm probably more interested in 60i performance ...

Thanks Joe and Michael. As someone who needs to work with slo-mo, I'm probably more interested in 60i performance ...

That is why I need to know if there is any resolution loss when going below 60th of a second shutter speed.
I meant at 60i with 30th, 15th...

The shutter speeds are posted on the video clips. But the here they are.

XHA1 - 24f, 1/24, 1/6
HVX - 24p, 1/24,1/6
PD170 - 60i, 1/30, 1/6

I gather that the last item in each of these is the iris setting, which should then be written as f/1.6:

XHA1 - 24f, 1/24, f/1.6
HVX - 24p, 1/24, f/1.6
PD170 - 60i, 1/30, f/1.6

Interesting split-screen effect for the daylight clip, but when you get a chance it would be nice to see some full-size clips with identical framing from the three cameras.

Good to get te comparisons up Joe. Does take time and effort, maybe get some more time with A1 before you do comparisons again. Also please tr and get optimal focus.

That is why I need to know if there is any resolution loss when going below 60th of a second shutter speed.
I meant at 60i with 30th, 15th...

I hear ya ... when I put the shutter speed at 30 on my FX1, it really boosts the lowlight performance, makes it about equivalent with the PD150, but unless the subject is stationary, you get a lot of stuttery motion ... I'd imagine the same thing will happen with the Canon A1 ...

There is resolution loss on some SD cameras but my guess is that it would be very little on this camera. In fact, the posts shot at a 1/24 shutter at the 24f mode look nice and crisp. As noted above, anytime you shoot at a slower shutter speed, that's going to give you a slower shutter effect, which sometimes is a desireable effect. You really can't use shutter speed for exposure control in video unless nothing's moving much.

I too am very surprised to see the HVX's resolution that much softer and more blurred than the A1! I would have thought the HVX would be stellar compared to the A1, Sony's Z1 and other cameras in that class - I'd expect the HVX to be in a class above.

Hmm.. I didn't expect that low image - and I'm not referring to low light here.

I mean, isn't the A1 shooting at 24F going to experience a drop in resolution than what it could achieve? That A1's footage looked *really* good, better than other HD cams I've tested. But I was expecting the HVX to be sharper than the Z1U, but it didn't look that way

That's the first thing I noticed, aside from the great low light of the A1. I noticed that my dreams of the HVX are not so dreamy after all.

Hey, all the more power to the A1! Hurrah!

The HVX doesn't have the resolution of the A1 or the Sony Z1 either. They are all 1/3" chip cameras, so they're more alike than different, but higher resolution is a good thing. The best thing about the HVX is that you can do variable frame rate and therefor get good slomo. It's a very cool camera...but I bought an A1 instead.

Thanks, I enjoy watching the video a lot. Great job.

Variable frame rate can be achieved with any camera in editing. Shoot interlaced with a shutter speed of 100 or 120 depending on whether you're using PAL or NTSC and lower the playback rate when editng. Say if the playback rate's 0.5, that would equal 50 or 60fps and your editing software should interpolate the fileds so each becomes it's own frame. Well, at least Vegas works this way. Of course some vertical resolution may be lost, but still, I doubt end quality would be any worse than that of the HVX.

At the first clip is,I see clear that the HVX have more depth in the
colours and because of this depth also more depth in the picture.
Is this a question outher setting in gain of the A1 and the result will be the near the same as the HVX ??