XH A1 recording to compact flash...a how to?

Noa Put · September 29th, 2010, 04:04 PM

I use a sony hvr-dr60 in combination with my xh-a1, as it's a Sony the battery usage is very good, i can shoot all day on one battery. And I don't have that "camera wrong recognized" thing that many HVR-MRC1K users have experienced, the dr60 has a switch to force it into the right mode. Been using it for almost 2 years now and been very satisfied with it.

Roger Lee · September 30th, 2010, 12:32 AM

Noa,

Tx for the info. This Sony unit doesn't seem to be available anymore?

Noa Put · September 30th, 2010, 01:44 AM

The DR60 is already a few years old and from what I read it was never that popular because of its' high price, I also think dealers are preferring to sell newer technology like the HVR-MRC1K. In Europe though you can still get it easily, I bought mine 2 years ago for 1000 euro while I found dealers also selling at 1700 euro. Now I see the price has dropped everywhere with prizes around 1100 euro.

The only disadvantage it has is the slow startup time, it takes about 12-14 seconds before it's recording ready but I hardly found that an issue on my shoots, big advantage is also if I run out of tape I can still continue recording to the DR60 without any stops and even though it is a fat32 system longer files are stitched together with a free software util sony provides and without any framedrops.

Roger Lee · September 30th, 2010, 03:13 AM

Thanks Noa,

The unit doesn't seem to be available here in the states.

Roger Van Duyn · September 30th, 2010, 07:26 AM

Hey guys,

In answering the other Roger's questions about the DN-60, you answered most of mine too. One thing left, how about batteries and battery life. Any problems with running out of juice on a long shoot with a 32G card?

Any other gotcha's I should be concerned about? I'm shooting seminars and they usually fit on an 80 minute tape, but not always. Would be great to have the longer recording times from a 32G card.

Panagiotis Raris · September 30th, 2010, 10:08 AM

i get 4+ hours with eneloop rechargeables, about the same with energizer rechargeables; i think they are 2300mAh

Roger Lee · September 30th, 2010, 01:54 PM

Lots of good info here.

I'm usually the first to jump on the newest and latest technology...

In the case of the DN-60 though, I think I'd like to know many or most of the bugs are worked out with the DN-60, Adobe Primiere(latest version) and the XH A1 in combo.

I'm going to talk to a few more folks but I'm thinking the DN-60 is as there for me as any of the newer technologies I've worked with.

If there are other thoughts, I'd love to hear them before I pull the trigger.

Tx

Roger Lee · October 2nd, 2010, 06:55 AM

Follow up:

I spoke with folks at Datavideo and they said the DN-60's that have shipped within the last 30 days have the newest firmware.

I also spoke with a reseller and they think that the DN-60 shows promise but was too new to evaluate for them.

That said, that retailer said that they had more experience with and liked the Focus Enhancements FS-H200.

Jimmy Toha · February 22nd, 2011, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Panagiotis Raris

Also the DN-60 records 60i, 50i, 24F, 25F, and 30F framerates, that is every framerate the XH A1/XH A1s can record in either PAL or NTSC or both. i have one camera that records both PAL and NTSC framerates, and the DN-60 requires no tweaking or settings changes, but you DO have to use a different CF card for each different frame rate (ie no mixing 30F with 24F on the same card) but this is a goof thing IMO; when i first started videography i would dump 24F footage in with 30F and 60i on the same tape, and then spend hours figuring out which was which. now i have cards with 24 or 30 on them so i KNOW which is which and so do my shooters.

Might sound like a silly question but, if I have a Canon XH-A1 NTSC model, can I use the DN-60 to record in PAL framerates 25p/50i? Guess I'm asking if the DN-60 will do the conversion for me or is it dependent on the camcorder's original recording mode?

It costs about S$800 to convert XH-A1 NTSC to PAL as quoted by Canon here and I'm looking for ways to avoid that. I bought a used NTSC XH-A1 since the price was decent, but if I have to fork out additional S$800 to shoot PAL, it makes the deal really bitter.

Ken Wozniak · February 24th, 2011, 01:11 PM

The DN-60 will only record the format you feed it. You'll need to upgrade the XH-A1 to PAL to output PAL to the DN-60.

From the DN-60 manual:
Set the Signal Type
Select between DV+DVC 60Hz, DV+DVC 50Hz or HDV 50/60Hz. If the standard chosen is DV+DVC 60Hz, then the NTSC IRE LEVEL is dictated by the source equipment or camera.

Jimmy Toha · February 26th, 2011, 06:22 AM

Bummer.

What do you guys think? Should I spend that extra S$800 for a PAL upgrade to XH-A1 or use that money towards a new camera, 60D / 600D?

Thanks for the info by the way, Ken.

September 30th, 2010, 07:26 AM	#20
Roger Van Duyn Major Player Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Lakeland Florida Posts: 692	Hey guys, In answering the other Roger's questions about the DN-60, you answered most of mine too. One thing left, how about batteries and battery life. Any problems with running out of juice on a long shoot with a 32G card? Any other gotcha's I should be concerned about? I'm shooting seminars and they usually fit on an 80 minute tape, but not always. Would be great to have the longer recording times from a 32G card. __________________ Roger My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAp...2AHr_pHFID5LDA Last edited by Roger Van Duyn; September 30th, 2010 at 07:29 AM. Reason: typo

February 24th, 2011, 01:11 PM	#25
Ken Wozniak Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Bend, IN Posts: 179	Re: XH A1 recording to compact flash...a how to? The DN-60 will only record the format you feed it. You'll need to upgrade the XH-A1 to PAL to output PAL to the DN-60. From the DN-60 manual: Set the Signal Type Select between DV+DVC 60Hz, DV+DVC 50Hz or HDV 50/60Hz. If the standard chosen is DV+DVC 60Hz, then the NTSC IRE LEVEL is dictated by the source equipment or camera. __________________ Woz

February 26th, 2011, 06:22 AM	#26
Jimmy Toha Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Singapore Posts: 59	Re: XH A1 recording to compact flash...a how to? Bummer. What do you guys think? Should I spend that extra S$800 for a PAL upgrade to XH-A1 or use that money towards a new camera, 60D / 600D? Thanks for the info by the way, Ken.

September 29th, 2010, 04:04 PM	#16
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	I use a sony hvr-dr60 in combination with my xh-a1, as it's a Sony the battery usage is very good, i can shoot all day on one battery. And I don't have that "camera wrong recognized" thing that many HVR-MRC1K users have experienced, the dr60 has a switch to force it into the right mode. Been using it for almost 2 years now and been very satisfied with it.

September 30th, 2010, 12:32 AM	#17
Roger Lee Major Player Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Western Minnesota Posts: 227	Noa, Tx for the info. This Sony unit doesn't seem to be available anymore?

September 30th, 2010, 01:44 AM	#18
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	The DR60 is already a few years old and from what I read it was never that popular because of its' high price, I also think dealers are preferring to sell newer technology like the HVR-MRC1K. In Europe though you can still get it easily, I bought mine 2 years ago for 1000 euro while I found dealers also selling at 1700 euro. Now I see the price has dropped everywhere with prizes around 1100 euro. The only disadvantage it has is the slow startup time, it takes about 12-14 seconds before it's recording ready but I hardly found that an issue on my shoots, big advantage is also if I run out of tape I can still continue recording to the DR60 without any stops and even though it is a fat32 system longer files are stitched together with a free software util sony provides and without any framedrops.

September 30th, 2010, 03:13 AM	#19
Roger Lee Major Player Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Western Minnesota Posts: 227	Thanks Noa, The unit doesn't seem to be available here in the states.

September 30th, 2010, 10:08 AM	#21
Panagiotis Raris Major Player Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Reading, PA USA and Athens, Greece Posts: 269	i get 4+ hours with eneloop rechargeables, about the same with energizer rechargeables; i think they are 2300mAh

September 30th, 2010, 01:54 PM	#22
Roger Lee Major Player Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Western Minnesota Posts: 227	Lots of good info here. I'm usually the first to jump on the newest and latest technology... In the case of the DN-60 though, I think I'd like to know many or most of the bugs are worked out with the DN-60, Adobe Primiere(latest version) and the XH A1 in combo. I'm going to talk to a few more folks but I'm thinking the DN-60 is as there for me as any of the newer technologies I've worked with. If there are other thoughts, I'd love to hear them before I pull the trigger. Tx

October 2nd, 2010, 06:55 AM	#23
Roger Lee Major Player Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Western Minnesota Posts: 227	Follow up: I spoke with folks at Datavideo and they said the DN-60's that have shipped within the last 30 days have the newest firmware. I also spoke with a reseller and they think that the DN-60 shows promise but was too new to evaluate for them. That said, that retailer said that they had more experience with and liked the Focus Enhancements FS-H200.