What is a good step up from the XHA1?

[Jeff Harper]

Bill, I don't know about the EX1 much, great camera, but the batteries and cards are quite expensive, I thought. Nice chips though. Used I thought they were still expensive, but I would snatch one up if I had the chance.

[Steve Wolla]

Originally Posted by Patrick Janka

Have you looked at the Panasonic HMC-150?

I would second this one. It is an improvement in low light performance. Currently I use two HMC150's, switched from my XHA1. Still have the XH, and use it in multi-cam shoots. Matching them has not been a problem for me.

[Bill Edmunds]

Steve,

You mean to say that the HMC150 is a better cam than the XH-A1 in low light? Do you mean it's brighter, or cleaner, or both? I'm actually looking at an amazing deal on a HVX200a.

[Jeffrey Fuchs]

I am in the same situation. What to buy to replace my XH-A1's. They are getting old. I am really looking at the new Panasonic AG-AC130. It is to come out in November I believe. It has a 22x lens and can record to two cards at once, nice to have a back-up. The camera seems very promising. I have never bought a Panasonic camera before, so that would be a change for me.

[Steve Wolla]

Originally Posted by Bill Edmunds

Steve,

You mean to say that the HMC150 is a better cam than the XH-A1 in low light? Do you mean it's brighter, or cleaner, or both? I'm actually looking at an amazing deal on a HVX200a.

My apollogies for not seeing this earlier....
In my case it seems a little brigter and a lot less "noise" in very low light situations.
I believe the HVX 200a has the same chip set as the HMC150.

[Jeff Harper]

There are a lot of experienced shooters with much more skill than me that like the HMC150, and who tout it for low light ability.

But I got to say I've shot with it along side other cams, and I thought it was bad in low light.

I have an occasional shooter who is very skilled with his HMC150, and same thing; the footage in a church is absolutely abysmal in low light compared to the FX1000.

I owned the HMC-150. Mine was nearly new, I got it for $2400 less than six months after it came out. I sold it less than a month later. It looked sick to me compared to the FX1000, but that is just me. The HMC-150 can without question produce gorgeous images, and I suppose I never learned to use it properly. I don't know. I saw people debating the issue and I couldn't get past what I saw with my own eyes.

The XH-A1s that I've rented were equally poor in low light if not even worse. But all this is subjective, I suppose. Mark VonLanken uses the HMC150, and he's forgot more than I'll ever know about video. I still don't understand it though.

I came into the business using the Sony PD150/170 and VX2000-2100 cameras and I find that those cameras still shape my idea of what is acceptable in low light. You turned them on, and they performed flawlessly even in auto, they were phenomenal, as many of us know.

At any rate I shoot with the GH2 and while not a real video camera, at least I have the ability to shoot great images in low light again, which is great.

[Greg Clark]

Possible alternative could be the AG-AC130 with SD Cards and a fantastic 22x lens. The only problem I see is the CMOS chips.

[Phil Murray]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

Bill, I don't know about the EX1 much, great camera, but the batteries and cards are quite expensive, I thought. Nice chips though. Used I thought they were still expensive, but I would snatch one up if I had the chance.

I just made the jump from my A1 to an EX1r this weekend. While I've got a LONG way to go to get used to it -- it seems FAR more capable than my A1 and equally more complex though familiarity has a lot to do with complexity -- it is a fabulous camera.

Batteries are expensive -- look for about $250 for a big 4-4 1/2 hour battery.

The cards, however, are not bad at all. While the original owner of my camera included 16gb and a 32gb SxS cards -- both probably worth over $1000 together -- I use a simple $60 adapter that uses the same SDHC cards that I use on my Canon 60D DSLR. So far, it's worked flawlessly.

While I got an incredible deal on a barely used EX1r, it still cost about twice as much as my A1 did when I bought it used a couple of years ago.

I haven't really tested it's lowlight capabilities yet at high gain. -9 looked a little grainy, but still a lot better than the A1. I read this afternoon that it's pretty good even at -18, but I haven't tried that yet.

Perhaps the best part is the incredible EVF. I can hold it with one hand and accurately focus with the other just using the EVF and the peaking function. Try doing that with the A1! The fold-out viewscreen is equally useful when it's on a tripod. (Don't have a rig to use with it yet.)

I was about to go for an EX1 when this EX1r became available. I really like the HDMI connection for a quick view on any TV including many hotel televisions. The EVF has proved to be more than worth the difference. Haven't used the recording cache function yet, but I know there are situations where it will be useful for me. If anyone's considering these two, watch Doug Jensen's 40-minute piece on Vimeo explaining the differences between the two to see if it's worth it for you.

This is one upgrade that I definitely am feeling good about, but even though I read everything I could about the EX1 for a couple of months while considering the purchase, there's still going to be a pretty decent learning curve for me. No buyer's remorse here with the EX1r.

Looks like I've got a lot of A1 gear that I'll be selling soon. :)

[Les Wilson]

FYI ... The Vortex Media DVD on the EX1 has an extra section that includes the EX1R. It's well worth the money and will get you up to speed fast. I had to shoot a music video 2 weeks after I got mine and the DVD made that possible.