Just found a small fine tuning tool for the A1:

http://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Aktionen/XHTuner---Slashcam-Freeware-Tool-zum-Feintuning-der-Canon-XH-A1-und-XH-G1.html

I did not test it yet.

THANKS!

I haven't used it yet but it looks great for making profiles.

Excellent, thanks for posting this link!

The English version is here:
http://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Aktionen/XHTuner---slashCAM--freeware-tool-for-finetuning-the-Canon-XH-A1-and-XH-G1.html

If we can get some positive feedback as to how well this works, then I'll make it a "sticky." Y'all check it out and report back, please!

It doesn't work for Mac, so I can't use it.

Yes indeed, it is PC-only. I should have indicated that earlier, sorry. Thread title changed.

I've replaced the Google translation link in my post above with the English version of the page as forwarded to me by the program's author, Rudi Schmidts.

That link again is http://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Aktionen/XHTuner---slashCAM--freeware-tool-for-finetuning-the-Canon-XH-A1-and-XH-G1.html

I just tried out the tuning tool. It seems to be a very good utility for managing custom preset files, but it doesn't actually work with the camera directly (unless I am missing something drastic), so you can't see the effect of changing a parameter until you save the preset to an SD card and then plug that into the cam.

It's not really a replacement for Canon's CONSOLE program, unfortunately.

Richard

Hey All,

I don't think this has made it to the forum here just yet.

But, a european company called slashcam has developed a freeware program called 'XH Tuner'. It allows the user to modify cutom presets and save to an SD card. It Looks like a neat little program that could save some of the in-camera menu hassle associated with complete CP changes.

Only snags: PC-based with no mac option. And no XL H1 version (A1 and G1 only).

Given that I'm a Mac/H1 User, I can't report. But thought this thread may enjoy it.

English Link: http://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Aktionen/XHTuner---slashCAM--freeware-tool-for-finetuning-the-Canon-XH-A1-and-XH-G1.html

Already discussed in this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=82729

Please direct all replies there. Thanks,

Following a link from Mike Curtis at HD for Indies to this slashcam page.

http://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Aktionen/XHTuner---slashCAM--freeware-tool-for-finetuning-the-Canon-XH-A1-and-XH-G1.html

Windows only and requires .NET 2.0 but might be worth a try since it's freeware.

YMMV,

-gb-

For easier reference, I've merged three separate topics into one single thread.

Sorry Chris, I didn't see the original. I did scan down several thread titles in the XH forum before posting, but it apparently was more than a page back.

-gb-

Yeah, Mike Curtis was a little late with the notice on his blog, but it's all good.

A Mac version of the Custum Preset Tuner Tool is here:

http://www.slashcam.de/news/single/Aus-XH-Tuner-wird-der-XH-Editor-fuer-Mac-OS-X-6194.html

So any chance of porting this over for the H1?

I think I recall you saying that you need an H1 to test this. Couldn't you just access some H1 preset files and see what is in them? Perhaps you can just customize it without actually having the H1 on hand. That would at least be an option. I'd be willing to try it out with my H1 if you need.

Peace!

A Mac version of the Custum Preset Tuner Tool is here:

http://www.slashcam.de/news/single/Aus-XH-Tuner-wird-der-XH-Editor-fuer-Mac-OS-X-6194.html

Hi, I have written the Mac version of the tuner tool (XH Editor) and ported it
now back to windows. For people who don´t want to have the whole net
framework installed for XH Tuner. Until last week I had no A1 so all my
information about the file format was from Rudi Schmidts (he wrote
XH Tuner).
If you use any of the mac or windows version of XH Editor use it with care,
because I was not able to test it under real conditions.
I take no responsebility if anything goes wrong.
May be test beforehand with the custom preset libary (I did a little, but I
have not written any of the preset files, so I cannot verify.)
If you find bugs - please let me now.
(As far as I understand the only thing that could happen, that the Canon
could not read a faulty preset file)

here is the link:

http://www.felixtheissen.com/apps/XHEditor.html

Regards - Felix

So any chance of porting this over for the H1? Couldn't you just access some H1 preset files and see what is in them?

if you send me some different H1 preset files (at least you should give any
option different values) and send me the readout from your display (what
option has what value and what is the internal name of the preset) and if you
have some patience (I have to find time to work on this, but maybe it
is not a big deal) I would try to make a H1 Editor.
If you are interested here is the link to the XH Editor:
http://www.felixtheissen.com/apps/XHEditor.html
The website contents my email.

Regards - Felix

Hi Felix, you already have access to a bunch of downloadable XL H1 Custom Preset files... just download them yourself from our H1 Presets library located at http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=66776 -- hope this helps,

Hi Felix, you already have access to a bunch of downloadable XL H1 Custom Preset files... just download them yourself from our H1 Presets library located at http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=66776 -- hope this helps,

Hi Chris,
I downloaded them and the excel file. May be it´s even more easyier than
I thought. One question, because I don´t have an H1 to verify:
Are the H1 color gain and matrix settings -9 to + 9 in opposite to - 50 to + 50
at A1/G1?
(If I look at the files, it seems to be like that)

Felix

Hi Felix,

Yes that's correct, and perhaps this discussion will be helpful for you:

"XL vs. XH Custom Preset adjustment scales"

Located at http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=81457

Felix, thank you so much for taking the time to create this tool.

It's so fiddly creating presets in camera. Thank you.

Felix,

I downloaded this to my mac, but the .sit file wont even uncompress.

I have tried everything, and no luck. I really would love to have this tool, so if you can recompress the file or offer suggestions I ould appreciate it.

I think it´s done.
I have a mac and a windows version of an editor for XLH1 presets on the site:
http://www.felixtheissen.com/apps/XHEditor.html
Hope they are working ok.
Again i take no, responsibilites, if something goes wrong.
Maybe try with the presets library first.
But if all works well, then i could try to make an conversion tool
for preset XH to preset H1 and vice versa.
Let me know, if they are working.

Felix

Felix,

I downloaded this to my mac, but the .sit file wont even uncompress.

I have tried everything, and no luck. I really would love to have this tool, so if you can recompress the file or offer suggestions I ould appreciate it.

Hello Holly,

a few days ago i recompressed them and loaded them up to the site,
because i got an email that it would not open. But then it worked.
Have you tried recently to redownload?
It should work with Stuffit Expander.
If it does not work i load them up as zip files.

Felix

Felix,

I downloaded this to my mac, but the .sit file wont even uncompress.

I have tried everything, and no luck. I really would love to have this tool, so if you can recompress the file or offer suggestions I ould appreciate it.

there are zip files for the mac apps now online (.sit is still on the site too)

Felix

If anyone has used these editors:
Did everything worked like you expected?
I would be interested in your experiences with the XH Editor and XHL1 Editor.
I don´t know whether anybody found a bug or even have tested it.
Especially the XHL1 Editor.
With the XH Editor you can open preset files from the XL H1 but the gain and
matrix settings in the left area will have wrong values. The same happens
if you open preset files from XH A1/G1 with the XLH1 Editor. You have to
correct them by hand then. But if you save it then the generated preset is
readable from the camera the Editor is written for.
From outside you can´t see the difference - for which type of camcoder
(H1 or A1/G1) the presets is for - both have the appendix .CPF and
are 40 bytes long.
But the first byte in the preset file is a flag which would make it easy for
an application to distinguish them.
If there is any interest i could add functionality to these editors to convert the
settings of the XL H1 to the XH A1/G1 and vice versa.
I think there is a thread which discusses how to do it by hand and how the
preset values of the H1 relate to the preset values of the A1.

Felix

Felix,
Sorry I have been crammed at work and really haven't had a chance to test out the H1 editor yet. I will see if I can squeeze a test in tonight.

Thanks for the hard work! I will let you know!

Marty

I would be interested in your experiences... Especially the XHL1 Editor.Felix, please be sure to post this in the XL H1 forum as well.

Felix,
Sorry I have been crammed at work and really haven't had a chance to test out the H1 editor yet. I will see if I can squeeze a test in tonight.

Thanks for the hard work! I will let you know!

Marty

thanks, no problem, but when you have tested, let me know...
in the moment i load up new versions which can convert the preset files
from each other.

Felix, please be sure to post this in the XL H1 forum as well.

i will do when Marty tells me that he has tested the presets in the camcorder...
The apps can convert now if you try to open a preset from an other camorder
model XH -> XLH1 and vice versa.
They are calculated on the basis of what i have read in this thread about
matching presets from H1 to A1.
So sometimes they are exact and sometimes they need further tweaking.

i will do when Marty tells me that he has tested the presets in the camcorder...


I am kinda secretly beta testing it for him....shhhhh.......

Felix

Thank you for an excellent tool.

I don't want to spend a fortune on the Canon Console software, not to mention it is not available for the Mac, but your application with a bit of visual feedback to show what the settings are doing on a "standard" picture I would more than happy to pay you for it. I suspect other people would be willing to pay as well. It would speed up the production of presets no end.

Well done for providing a very useful tool to the community.

Cheers

TT

I am kinda secretly beta testing it for him....shhhhh.......

Hello Marty,

if you feel uncomfortable, please don´t do it.

But if someone wants to use it - be sure to download the latest
version 0.5.2 beta of the apps.
They should be now safe to not produce faulty presets
when you open a totally wrong file and save it then.
(Try to make it idiot proof. At least I hope it)
The mac apps had defintely a bug where the value of the noise reduction 2
could be wrong - high setting could change with low or vice versa.
Maybe play around (open and save) with the custom presets you know already,
before using in the camera. I did and have not expected this NR 2 bug.
I don´t know what happens if you would try to put a text file of your
word processor on the sd card and try to read it in the camera.
I think the camera would refuse to load it, but may be it
shuts down forever. Don´t know, but maybe someone from Canon could
say.
Anyway the version now should be better than the one before.

Felix

Hello Marty,

if you feel uncomfortable, please don´t do it.

Felix

Oh no....I am completely comfortable with it. I was just teasing around saying that! No worries. I just haven't had an extra 5 minutes these last 2 weeks.

Marty

Felix

Thank you for an excellent tool.

I don't want to spend a fortune on the Canon Console software, not to mention it is not available for the Mac, but your application with a bit of visual feedback to show what the settings are doing on a "standard" picture I would more than happy to pay you for it. I suspect other people would be willing to pay as well. It would speed up the production of presets no end.

Well done for providing a very useful tool to the community.

Cheers

TT

Thank you, Tony.
I think this visual feedback is a thing which would take time i never
will have. To calculate some numbers in a 40 byte file when you
know the file structure is a different programming task then producing
some realtime image manipulation.
Well in the moment I try to finish what i started with these little apps.
I am in writing a screenplay and sometimes i like to challenge my
brain with logical exercises.
And when i was looking for an affordable camcorder for a project i
came across this great XH A1.
But you are right it would be good to see what the changing of the presets
values do to an image in realtime.

Felix

Felix,

I finally got a chance to test this and I have some bad news regarding the XL-H1 editor. The editor works and lets me manipulate files.....but when put on the memory card and then put back in the camera, the H1 just ignores these. I have other presets that I downloaded that do work, but as soon as I open in your editor and rename the preset, it no longer loads.

Any ideas?

Marty

Marty,

it would be great if you could send me the file you did with the editor and send
me the same preset file generated with the camera (same values), then it
should be no problem to find the fault.
my email: felix.theissen at freenet.de
(you have to put that emailsign were the at stands)
Thank you for the help and testing.

Felix

p.s i assume you tried the right one - the XLH1 Editor not the XH Editor
Until i found the bug i took the XLH1 Editor download files from the website

Felix,
It was definitely the XL-H1 editor. I am at the office right now and I don't have the SD card with the presets I made. I will try to grab them from home shortly.

Marty

Marty,

was it the windows or mac editor?

Felix

Marty,

was it the windows or mac editor?

Felix

It was the windows editor and I just sent you 2 preset files to review.

Thanks

To everybody who downloaded any windows version of XH Editor or XHL1 Editor
from my website, please don´t use them any further. They had a bug which
would make a preset unreadable for the camera if you use anywhere in the
sliders a value of +1 and safe the preset with editor app.
New window versions (0.5.3 b) are on the website.
I am aware that the mac versions won´t allow a space in the internal
preset name. I will change that in an update for the mac version soon.
But remember everything is still beta software.

Felix

Edited: new mac versions 0.5.3 beta which allow spaces in the internal preset names are online

I don't have a card reader yet, but when I connect my A1 with firewire, the "Canon Camera Storage Device" appears in My Computer, with the PRESET folder accessible for reading the cpf files. Why is that I cannot write to this folder? It would make saving presets so much easier! And what's strange, I can delete files in the PRESET folder; just no writing permission. Is it just me?

Of course, Console 1.1 can export any preset do the memory stick via firewire, so it's not a hardware issue.

Hi Piotr,
did you try to copy one of the downloaded presets from the presets library
of dvinfo to this memory device?
(or did you try to copy one of the presets generated from the windows
XH editor? If yes, be sure to have the latest version 0.5.3 b, because the
windows XH editor earlier to this version could produce presets, which would
not be recognized by the camera).
Or may be it´s not possible to copy directly without console. I don´t know.
I can´t match your setup because in the moment i am without the A1.

Felix

Felix, it seems no file (regardless how generated) can be copied to the card over fiwi - but then, I have the Console and its drivers installed, perhaps this is the reason (as I said, Console can export presets to card just fine).

Can anyone explain the theory behind all the color matrices (R-G Matrix etc), in layman's terms?

Can anyone explain the theory behind all the color matrices (R-G Matrix etc), in layman's terms?

The R-G matrix shifts the image colour more red or green leaving blues in the image untouched.

TT

The R-G matrix shifts the image colour more red or green leaving blues in the image untouched.

TT
Tony, I get it that with negative values it shifts towards red, and with positive values - toward green. Fine, but we have separate R, G, B gains as well, not to mention the G-R matrix - why the redundancy? Frankly, I couldn't tell a difference when playing with them live, using the Console...

Piotr

The effect of the matrices will depend on the colour content of the image you are shooting. Think of R,G & B as being axes of a cube and the Matrix functions of the XH-A1 are warping the colour space as represented by the cube along a particular axis.

Do a google search for 3d LUTs for a bit of background reading.

TT

Piotr
Do a google search for 3d LUTs for a bit of background reading.
TT
Thanks Tony - I've found a lot of reading, this will take me a big step forward!

Hi,

i have moved the website (which has now a kind of layout)
with the download links of the XH and XLH1 custom preset editors to:

http://www.felixtheissen.com/apps/Web-Site/custom%20presets%20editors%20for%20mac%20and%20win.html

The old link still works too, but i had to change the statistics provider, because
it was so slow it prevented the site from loading.

Felix