Not in Europe, the xh-a1 allways had a price around 3400 Euro since it came out, that's why i was surprised the 1s was so much more expensive. The only reason why I had to pay less was for a temporary cash back from Canon and because I found a dealer that sold it at bottomprice. Ofcourse the cashback is also a temporary discount to clear their inventory like you said.

I would be using it mostly to shoot weddings. How is it in low light situations? And stupid questions, but 24f mode, that is supposed to be like 24p I assume. What is the difference? What is 60i and 30f? And it still shoots standard definition, right (another stupid question)?

Sorry for all the obviously stupid questions, but I'm an editor first and only really shoot when I need to.

One thing on the new updated cams that kind of interests me is the way the handle strap is orientated. It's the same slant as the DVX and makes it more comfortable to hand hold.

Any comment on that Chris H.?

Thanks

Although I don't always subscribe to Chris' theory, in this case it's definitely worth it. The A1s addresses all of the significant shortcomings of the camera's functionality. Even if you pay US$200 for the A1s over a new A1, you could easily save that and more if you need to source audio from a mic and line input simultaneously. A good line/mic mixer will cost much more than that.

I don't think I've ever seen the A1 ever advertised at any retailer at MSRP. Oh wait. I did see that price at the big box electronics store that just went chapter 11. I got mine for about US$3,250 in October 2007 after US$250 rebate. Price is now US$3,100 without rebate. It will be interesting to see what the A1s street pricing ends up being.

To follow up on your previous questions, if you're using it for this I'd recommend the A1s. You'll want to new functionality.

That's a huge thread in and of itself. Oh wait. I think there is at least one. (grin) Try this one first.http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-xh-...non-xh-a1.html

It's functionally equivalent to 24p. Canon's implementation is sufficiently unique that they call it it 24f. I could bore you with details. Oh... actually I can't.

60i= 60 fields per second/interlaced 30f= 30 frames per second/progressive

It will shoot SD but most (including me) like to shoot HDV and convert to SD in the camera during transfer to the pc.

There is no difference between 24F and 24p.

60i is the normal interlace mode. 30F is 30p, which is the progressive scan mode. The difference is in the look of the video.

Yes, all those frame rates in standard definition as well as HD.

Daniel, on this site there is no such thing as a stupid question. The only stupid question is the one that doesn't get asked, because somebody might be afraid to ask it. We tend to get highly annoyed and mildly belligerent with frequently asked questions, no doubt about that. But there are no stupid questions here.

Well there's no change in the orientation really -- it's just a bigger hand strap (the same one that's on the XL H1S / H1A). It's much bigger and definitely more comfortable than the old one, that's for sure.

I've got the XH A1...started drooling as soon as I read what Chris said about the tactile feeling of the control rings; but Daniel, if you're ever going to shoot off-tripod, read this again and know from someone who knows....you want the OIS as a button instead of a menu item. That is the one thing I can barely stand about my sweet camera.

Thanks for answering all my stupid questions. If you ever have a silly Avid one, let me know and we'll be even.

Heres another one- what is OIS? And why why do you shoot HD and then convert to SD? What is the advantage of that?

Optical Image Stabilization -- helps eliminate shake when holding the camera by hand.
HD downconverted to SD yields a better looking SD image.

It also future-proofs your material if you ever want to go back and work with it in HD.

OK, question...can you set a custom key to control the OIS, like on my GL2?

This whole A1, A1s thing is killin' me.
In February I will have enough cash put aside to buy the A1 at B&H's current price, which is just over 3K.
At least that was the plan.

Now I don't know what to do.
Do I save up the extra to get the A1s at an unknown higher price, or pick up a used A1 for less...

Arggghh....

Yes -- see http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/965399-post66.html

Remember, the money is spent just once -- the camera is used over and over again.

For what it's worth, I've owned an A1 for something like a year and a half, have used it to shoot everything from short films to paid jobs where it was cut against cameras like the F900. It's been a solid camera and I have enjoyed it. Incidentally I use a Blackmagic Intensity Pro card to capture it as ProRes for editing--have never cut in HDV.

For me that would be an easy choice. If money would be no problem I would have bought a hd shouldercam long ago, also money spend once as chris said and its the camera that you use over and over again. But unfortunately most people, like me, are on a tight budget and (In europe) 1500 euro more is a lot of money. You get what you can afford and for me that would be the A1. Eventhough the a1s is an improved camera it will not mean I will make better productions with it.

Charles, maybe a dumb question, but when you capture footage as ProRes, is the Intensity Pro tethered to your XHA1 or do you go from tape to Intensity to editor?

Since this came up, I'll ask a couple of additional details:

What software are you using to edit?
What computer are you using (processor, motherboard, video card)?

Thanks!