Philip Hinkle
February 17th, 2007, 08:15 PM
We got a last minute opportunity to shoot a memorial service today so we put the 2 A1s through the paces.
First let me say....sweeeet!
We used the Outsiden preset from the download library. I wanted to use a DVX looking preset but the service was in a not so well lit gymnasium and when you zoomed way in it was a little dark.
Anyway...here is what I have learned so far.
I had never heard of the feature "Peaking: but once I started using it I almost never turned it off. With HD focus is so important. I used it about 75% of the time. Makes rack focus and just general focus easier. I spot checked a little footage at home and it was crisp and clear. I like this feature.
OIS....not sure what is up but when I would zoom in a little bit (about 1/3 to 1/2) and do a moving camera shot using the body and not the arms I was getting a little bounce in the video even though my hands weren't bouncing. I turned off OIS and it went away. In wider modes there was no problem. I don't do moving shots often zoomed in so it shouldn't be a problem.
I had a wireless mic plugged in and the XLR audio seemed clear, was easy to operate and worked well.
Because of the size and weight compared to my old VX/PD cams I need to learn new ways to hold the camera when going handheld. My fingers keep going to controls that don't exist out of habit. Once I learn them more in depth it will be fine but it fun reaching in new places for stuff.
Overall they worked very well. My wife was running second cam pretty much in auto mode on the center cam focused on the speakers. Her footage looked great as well considering I gave her a crash course this morning in 10 minutes on the main things she needed to know about it. She did not have the opportunity to play around with the cams as much as I did this week.
There is so much to learn with them and so many capabilities. Shooting 16x9 does take some getting used to but also opens up different capabilities.
I'm liking it lots so far.
Just some quick impressions after the first use.
First let me say....sweeeet!
We used the Outsiden preset from the download library. I wanted to use a DVX looking preset but the service was in a not so well lit gymnasium and when you zoomed way in it was a little dark.
Anyway...here is what I have learned so far.
I had never heard of the feature "Peaking: but once I started using it I almost never turned it off. With HD focus is so important. I used it about 75% of the time. Makes rack focus and just general focus easier. I spot checked a little footage at home and it was crisp and clear. I like this feature.
OIS....not sure what is up but when I would zoom in a little bit (about 1/3 to 1/2) and do a moving camera shot using the body and not the arms I was getting a little bounce in the video even though my hands weren't bouncing. I turned off OIS and it went away. In wider modes there was no problem. I don't do moving shots often zoomed in so it shouldn't be a problem.
I had a wireless mic plugged in and the XLR audio seemed clear, was easy to operate and worked well.
Because of the size and weight compared to my old VX/PD cams I need to learn new ways to hold the camera when going handheld. My fingers keep going to controls that don't exist out of habit. Once I learn them more in depth it will be fine but it fun reaching in new places for stuff.
Overall they worked very well. My wife was running second cam pretty much in auto mode on the center cam focused on the speakers. Her footage looked great as well considering I gave her a crash course this morning in 10 minutes on the main things she needed to know about it. She did not have the opportunity to play around with the cams as much as I did this week.
There is so much to learn with them and so many capabilities. Shooting 16x9 does take some getting used to but also opens up different capabilities.
I'm liking it lots so far.
Just some quick impressions after the first use.