XH A1 and HV30 as a 2nd cam?

Brian David Melnyk · March 7th, 2009, 10:49 AM

does it do 30f?

Stu Dwyer · March 12th, 2009, 06:09 PM

I've recently got myself the XHA1s - love it. But I also use the HV30 as my second angle with filming wedding ceremony's. To the un-trained eye its hard to tell which is which from a quality standpoint. Particually since I always shoot in Cine mode. The HV30 may be small, and only have one chip, but you won't get any better for that price point.

Carlos Flores · March 12th, 2009, 07:38 PM

actually ive shot a video with the HV30 as a behind the scenes camera for the A1. you can check them back to back here:

YouTube - Production Diaries Episode 5

Tim Cee · March 16th, 2009, 08:26 AM

For what it is worth, I shoot with My XHA1 and use my HV30 as a capture and playback deck only. I picked it up from the Dell Store believe it or not for $500.00 on sale last November as a way of saving wear and tear on my XHA1 drive and internals.

Kyle Prohaska · March 16th, 2009, 08:36 AM

I think the HV30 would make a fine B cam (if it's matched with the A1 to cut together better). 1 chip or not depending on the situation you should be just fine.

Honestly besides special circumstances, it'll be tough to tell the difference between a 3chip camera and 1chip camera (especially if its HD), when you put everything on a DVD. Granted it does depend on what your shooting (low light for instance), but honestly you should be good.

HV30 would be good for wide angle master shots of things, that especially is where it might come in handy.

Angus Findlay · March 21st, 2009, 10:06 AM

I've had excellent luck shooting with an A1 and one or two HV30s. Here's a shoot I did with one HV30 and one A1.

The JFR Project - Nutshell on Vimeo

The audio is being fed to the A1 via Sennheiser G2, with the on-board mics on the HV30 providing a bit of ambient sound for character.

I'm editing another concert from the same band, which we shot with 2 HV30s and the A1 right now. I should be able to post videos from it next week, once I get their approval.

Ian Wright · March 21st, 2009, 10:59 AM

yes, that's great. I'm doing similar things here in the UK. Couple of questions:

what setting do you use for the HV30? I've tried spotlight but it comes out a bit dark

Have you tried white balancing in the editor? Was that a white face cloth you could use, or were half those concentric rings on the guitar white? I find that white balancing this way also brightens up the video.

Here's one where I used the organ player's shirt: The Victim - Tam White & The Sermon Organ 3rio Festival Previews Video Blog

Ian
Festival Video and Audio Previews - Festival Previews Ltd

Angus Findlay · March 22nd, 2009, 10:03 AM

Nice work, Ian. I shot in 24F, and used the tungsten preset for white balance. I found that gave the closest matched image, and it's a pretty faithful match to stage lighting, which averages about 3100-3200k.

To match the cameras, I mostly used the levels control in Vegas. That took care of most of the black/white level differences, and desaturating the HV30 brought the colours pretty close.

Both cameras were run on manual - With the HV30, you let it pick an exposure first, then lock the exposure, and tweak as necessary. Not great for unmanned cameras though. I've got another show from the same band that I just finished editing, and am waiting for approval on. I used 2 HV30s, one unmanned. Again, tungsten white balance on all the cameras. I neglected to write down the settings I used, but I seem to recall that the unmanned 30 was just left on the standard auto exposure setting. It did fairly well. I'll be sure to post a link to one of the songs here as soon as the band approves it.

BTW - I noticed you had some issues with tripod vibration on your video. I was shooting close to the full extent of my zoom on the last video I posted, and had to put foam under the tripod feet to keep the vibration from making my shot unusable. You might want to try the same thing - I found it very effective.

March 16th, 2009, 08:26 AM	#19
Tim Cee Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Orange County, California Posts: 179	For what it is worth, I shoot with My XHA1 and use my HV30 as a capture and playback deck only. I picked it up from the Dell Store believe it or not for $500.00 on sale last November as a way of saving wear and tear on my XHA1 drive and internals. __________________ www.socalt.com

March 16th, 2009, 08:36 AM	#20
Kyle Prohaska Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ransomville NY Posts: 239	I think the HV30 would make a fine B cam (if it's matched with the A1 to cut together better). 1 chip or not depending on the situation you should be just fine. Honestly besides special circumstances, it'll be tough to tell the difference between a 3chip camera and 1chip camera (especially if its HD), when you put everything on a DVD. Granted it does depend on what your shooting (low light for instance), but honestly you should be good. HV30 would be good for wide angle master shots of things, that especially is where it might come in handy. __________________ Online Portfolio \| Feature Film on XHA1

March 7th, 2009, 10:49 AM	#16
Brian David Melnyk Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Winnipeg Canada Posts: 532	does it do 30f?

March 12th, 2009, 06:09 PM	#17
Stu Dwyer Tourist Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 1	I've recently got myself the XHA1s - love it. But I also use the HV30 as my second angle with filming wedding ceremony's. To the un-trained eye its hard to tell which is which from a quality standpoint. Particually since I always shoot in Cine mode. The HV30 may be small, and only have one chip, but you won't get any better for that price point.

March 12th, 2009, 07:38 PM	#18
Carlos Flores New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lima Peru Posts: 24	actually ive shot a video with the HV30 as a behind the scenes camera for the A1. you can check them back to back here: YouTube - Production Diaries Episode 5

March 21st, 2009, 10:06 AM	#21
Angus Findlay New Boot Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Edmonton, AB Posts: 12	I've had excellent luck shooting with an A1 and one or two HV30s. Here's a shoot I did with one HV30 and one A1. The JFR Project - Nutshell on Vimeo The audio is being fed to the A1 via Sennheiser G2, with the on-board mics on the HV30 providing a bit of ambient sound for character. I'm editing another concert from the same band, which we shot with 2 HV30s and the A1 right now. I should be able to post videos from it next week, once I get their approval.

March 21st, 2009, 10:59 AM	#22
Ian Wright Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Edinburgh UK Posts: 94	yes, that's great. I'm doing similar things here in the UK. Couple of questions: what setting do you use for the HV30? I've tried spotlight but it comes out a bit dark Have you tried white balancing in the editor? Was that a white face cloth you could use, or were half those concentric rings on the guitar white? I find that white balancing this way also brightens up the video. Here's one where I used the organ player's shirt: The Victim - Tam White & The Sermon Organ 3rio Festival Previews Video Blog Ian Festival Video and Audio Previews - Festival Previews Ltd

March 22nd, 2009, 10:03 AM	#23
Angus Findlay New Boot Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Edmonton, AB Posts: 12	Nice work, Ian. I shot in 24F, and used the tungsten preset for white balance. I found that gave the closest matched image, and it's a pretty faithful match to stage lighting, which averages about 3100-3200k. To match the cameras, I mostly used the levels control in Vegas. That took care of most of the black/white level differences, and desaturating the HV30 brought the colours pretty close. Both cameras were run on manual - With the HV30, you let it pick an exposure first, then lock the exposure, and tweak as necessary. Not great for unmanned cameras though. I've got another show from the same band that I just finished editing, and am waiting for approval on. I used 2 HV30s, one unmanned. Again, tungsten white balance on all the cameras. I neglected to write down the settings I used, but I seem to recall that the unmanned 30 was just left on the standard auto exposure setting. It did fairly well. I'll be sure to post a link to one of the songs here as soon as the band approves it. BTW - I noticed you had some issues with tripod vibration on your video. I was shooting close to the full extent of my zoom on the last video I posted, and had to put foam under the tripod feet to keep the vibration from making my shot unusable. You might want to try the same thing - I found it very effective.