Reasons I hate the A1s but still love the A1!

Bill Busby · November 25th, 2009, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allan Black

I'm aghast to Paul. Is that right, after you stop recording, the A1s doesn't stay in the selected recording mode, you've got to restart the dial..??

This threw me. Who said that? I've re-read all the posts here.

Allan Black · November 25th, 2009, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffrey Fuchs

.
• There is no “Standby” switch on the A1s by the record button. I love that switch on the A1. I hate that it is not there anymore and that you have to turn the dial to re-start the camera. Canon - please bring this back for the next camera.

Hi Bill, Jeff did ..or did I read it wrong?

Bill Busby · November 25th, 2009, 09:00 PM

Hi Allan. Oh I see it now, but guess I missed it because he's talking about something else, and think you read him a bit wrong as well. I believe he means since there's no standby/lock switch, there's no way to temporarily turn off the camera and have to revert to using the dial to do so now.

Allan Black · November 25th, 2009, 10:25 PM

Bill, so while recording you can still press the A1s stop function and it'll go into pause, but if you run out of pause time without any operation (30secs), it'll auto shut off then you have to restart using the dial .. is that how you see it?

My guess is Canon might have discovered that leaving an A1 tape sitting in standby lock for a long time was causing trouble, probably overheating, especially doing it repeatedly on a very hot day. Possibly cooked a few tapes.

And maybe the A1s standby lever is redundant, with the custom keys you can deactivate the power save function without losing your settings. A1s Power Saving Mechanisms P31, A1 P26. Cheers.

Bill Busby · November 25th, 2009, 11:53 PM

Allan, I only have the A1, not the A1s (even though I'd rather have it just for the audio "fixes" :) So I can't comment on the behavior of how the auto shut off (power save, I think it's called, which I think is ridiculous since the large capacity batteries can still run for so many hours it's insane). The first time the power save kicked in and shut down when I first got the A1 years ago, I dug through the menu to disable it. I did however assign the "vcr stop" to a custom key, which basically un-threads tape from the heads during pause mode.

And from what I gather, Canon omitted the standby lock switch because far too many users were accidentally hitting it (who hasn't?) and probably attributed to countless tech calls.

Trish Kerr · November 26th, 2009, 08:17 PM

having experienced the panic of discovering the standby switch the hard way - I have to say - I use it all the time now - they should have just moved it instead of removing it!

that sounds very suspicious on the tape drop outs after only 10 hours.

Trish

Allan Black · November 26th, 2009, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Busby

And from what I gather, Canon omitted the standby lock switch because far too many users were accidentally hitting it (who hasn't?) and probably attributed to countless tech calls.

Bill, yep could be right.

Hi Trish, just have to get used to being without it. With a customised function you can 'deactivate the power save function' and still keep your settings which is basically what the standby lock does.

Dropouts with a new camera has come up before. The consensus with a new vidcamera was to always run a head cleaner tape before any recording is done. This is to clean off any possible factory gunk. Wonder if Jeff did that?

Cheers.

Jeffrey Fuchs · November 27th, 2009, 08:50 PM

Ok I have an example of what I previously called "dropped frames" on the A1s. Looking at the clip closer I notice that it is really a jumping frame. There is no breaking in the timecode and the audio is fine, the footage just jumps! Also I noticed the jump on the camera screen while recording. I thought it was odd at the time.

I wonder if these has something to do with the stabilization in the camera.

Let me know what you think.

Allan Black · November 27th, 2009, 09:24 PM

Looks to me like the handheld camera gets bumped at those spots. I'd mount it on a tripod and record a lot more.
BTW did you run a cleaner tape before the first recording. Cheers.

Jeffrey Fuchs · November 28th, 2009, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allan Black

Bill, yep could be right.

Dropouts with a new camera has come up before. The consensus with a new vidcamera was to always run a head cleaner tape before any recording is done. This is to clean off any possible factory gunk. Wonder if Jeff did that?

Cheers.

Yep, on the 2nd one I received, I ran a head cleaning tape through the camera before I started to use it.

Also, the Jump is on 1 frame, it would be pretty hard to jar the camera to only effect one frame. Plus I do not remember anything happening that would cause this while I was recording. If you look at the video, the camera is panning at a constant rate, then 2 times it jumps.

Allan Black · November 28th, 2009, 06:04 PM

Jeff, I see 'em both during that fast pan. If you had the OIS on, then it could be a reaction to that..?

I'd try recording about 15 mins with the cam OIS on, then 15mins OIS off. On a tripod or sitting on a stable table. Point it at something like a fireplace or a goldfish aquarium so you don't nod off :) Cheers.

O/T email notifications are working .. I just got 27 old emails

November 28th, 2009, 10:54 PM

I bought an Xh-A1s about 3-4 months ago and I've run into the dropped frames, but it appears as though it doesn't happen on sony tapes, but so far only with fuji (so maybe a tape and head problem), however in my case the timecode does skip, and the color difference is annoying. I've tried everything to match the two and I've had no success. Anyone have any success at matching the presets on these? Like someone stated before the xh-a1s has a higher saturation. Cannon has stated that it was a white balance issue, but I've manually set it and I still get different coloring between the two.

November 25th, 2009, 10:25 PM	#19
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,929	Bill, so while recording you can still press the A1s stop function and it'll go into pause, but if you run out of pause time without any operation (30secs), it'll auto shut off then you have to restart using the dial .. is that how you see it? My guess is Canon might have discovered that leaving an A1 tape sitting in standby lock for a long time was causing trouble, probably overheating, especially doing it repeatedly on a very hot day. Possibly cooked a few tapes. And maybe the A1s standby lever is redundant, with the custom keys you can deactivate the power save function without losing your settings. A1s Power Saving Mechanisms P31, A1 P26. Cheers. __________________ Drink more tap water. On admission at Sydney hospitals more than 5% of day patients are de-hydrated.

November 27th, 2009, 09:24 PM	#24
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,929	Looks to me like the handheld camera gets bumped at those spots. I'd mount it on a tripod and record a lot more. BTW did you run a cleaner tape before the first recording. Cheers. __________________ Drink more tap water. On admission at Sydney hospitals more than 5% of day patients are de-hydrated.

November 28th, 2009, 06:04 PM	#26
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,929	Jeff, I see 'em both during that fast pan. If you had the OIS on, then it could be a reaction to that..? I'd try recording about 15 mins with the cam OIS on, then 15mins OIS off. On a tripod or sitting on a stable table. Point it at something like a fireplace or a goldfish aquarium so you don't nod off :) Cheers. O/T email notifications are working .. I just got 27 old emails __________________ Drink more tap water. On admission at Sydney hospitals more than 5% of day patients are de-hydrated.

November 28th, 2009, 10:54 PM	#27
Chris Martin Posts: n/a	I completely agree... I bought an Xh-A1s about 3-4 months ago and I've run into the dropped frames, but it appears as though it doesn't happen on sony tapes, but so far only with fuji (so maybe a tape and head problem), however in my case the timecode does skip, and the color difference is annoying. I've tried everything to match the two and I've had no success. Anyone have any success at matching the presets on these? Like someone stated before the xh-a1s has a higher saturation. Cannon has stated that it was a white balance issue, but I've manually set it and I still get different coloring between the two.

November 25th, 2009, 09:00 PM	#18
Bill Busby Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 959	Hi Allan. Oh I see it now, but guess I missed it because he's talking about something else, and think you read him a bit wrong as well. I believe he means since there's no standby/lock switch, there's no way to temporarily turn off the camera and have to revert to using the dial to do so now.

November 25th, 2009, 11:53 PM	#20
Bill Busby Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 959	Allan, I only have the A1, not the A1s (even though I'd rather have it just for the audio "fixes" :) So I can't comment on the behavior of how the auto shut off (power save, I think it's called, which I think is ridiculous since the large capacity batteries can still run for so many hours it's insane). The first time the power save kicked in and shut down when I first got the A1 years ago, I dug through the menu to disable it. I did however assign the "vcr stop" to a custom key, which basically un-threads tape from the heads during pause mode. And from what I gather, Canon omitted the standby lock switch because far too many users were accidentally hitting it (who hasn't?) and probably attributed to countless tech calls.

November 26th, 2009, 08:17 PM	#21
Trish Kerr Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 294	having experienced the panic of discovering the standby switch the hard way - I have to say - I use it all the time now - they should have just moved it instead of removing it! that sounds very suspicious on the tape drop outs after only 10 hours. Trish