Ergonomics - running and gunning with the XA10 at DVinfo.net

Jase Tanner · May 4th, 2011, 01:18 AM

I just got the camera today. Been going through the manual, familiarizing myself with the bells and whistles, haven't shot anything yet.

I chose this camera as travel has been on the agenda a lot lately. Much of it run and gun situations though not all and I generally work alone.

Not surprisingly the ergonomics of such a small camera will take some getting used to, so I'm curious as to how others are finding it, especially in a run and gun situation

One thing I really don't like are the audio gain controls. Even worse than on the XH A1. Trying to make a smooth adjustment will likely be next to impossible without knocking the camera. On the XH I always used a mixpre, but with this camera I really do want to go light. IMO it makes no sense to have a knob that you can't actually grasp in your fingertips. If I keep the camera, I'm thinking I'll velcro these controls to some appropriately sized wire nuts to give me something to hold onto. If anyone has a more ingenious idea, I'd like to hear about it.

Thanks for any input.

Adam Palomer · May 4th, 2011, 11:24 PM

I'm not sure if the sound quality of this device would rival that of the Canon attachment, but it does support stereo and is very compact.

I used a similar one back in the early days of the Sony VX1000

BeachTek DXA-2T Universal Camcorder Adapter

If the audio quality is not up to par with the Canon, then with a little custom work and some good soldering skills, you could transplant the guts from the Canon attachment into the Beachtek. If you decide to go that route, you could always check eBay for a used Beachtek that you can gut.

May 4th, 2011, 01:18 AM	#1
Jase Tanner Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 346	Ergonomics - running and gunning with the XA10 I just got the camera today. Been going through the manual, familiarizing myself with the bells and whistles, haven't shot anything yet. I chose this camera as travel has been on the agenda a lot lately. Much of it run and gun situations though not all and I generally work alone. Not surprisingly the ergonomics of such a small camera will take some getting used to, so I'm curious as to how others are finding it, especially in a run and gun situation One thing I really don't like are the audio gain controls. Even worse than on the XH A1. Trying to make a smooth adjustment will likely be next to impossible without knocking the camera. On the XH I always used a mixpre, but with this camera I really do want to go light. IMO it makes no sense to have a knob that you can't actually grasp in your fingertips. If I keep the camera, I'm thinking I'll velcro these controls to some appropriately sized wire nuts to give me something to hold onto. If anyone has a more ingenious idea, I'd like to hear about it. Thanks for any input.

May 4th, 2011, 11:24 PM	#2
Adam Palomer Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Summit, NJ Posts: 169	Re: Ergonomics - running and gunning with the XA10 I'm not sure if the sound quality of this device would rival that of the Canon attachment, but it does support stereo and is very compact. I used a similar one back in the early days of the Sony VX1000 BeachTek DXA-2T Universal Camcorder Adapter If the audio quality is not up to par with the Canon, then with a little custom work and some good soldering skills, you could transplant the guts from the Canon attachment into the Beachtek. If you decide to go that route, you could always check eBay for a used Beachtek that you can gut.