Sticking with the XH-A1

[Don Palomaki]

@ Don Palomaki...What software are you using to burn DVD's that give you footage comparable to a Blue-Ray?

I mainly author DVD and Blu-ray with AW4 these days, encode with AW4 or TMPGenc 5 depending on the source material , and burn with AW4 or Nero using LG writers. And I occasionally author with DVD Lab Pro. But the point I was making is not with material I burn using affordable authoring/encoding products, but the material on commercial DVDs / rental movies.

Many commercial DVDs have, among the trailers, an ad for Blu-ray claiming the Blu-ray is much better than DVD and showing what they imply is a sample of Blu-ray quality. If fact the demo material looks spectacular - but the funny thing is that it is on DVD already therefor it cannot be better than DVD (well, DVD's potential).

As noted by others, DVD played on upscaling Blu-ray player connected via HDMI to an HD set looks very good, indeed and baring a side-by-side A/B comparison, it woud take a critical eye to object to the DVD.

My 2 cents. While the final viewed material cannot be better than the weakest link in the chain, there are many links in that chain. The most significant technology links are arguably (in order of increasing importance) the camcorder, the encoder, and the final display/viewing system. And they pale compared to the importance of the human creative links in the chain.

[Roger Van Duyn]

"But I understand if you are stuck on staying with Canon, well, you are stuck as they have abandoned the 3-ring, 3-chip, under $4k market."

I agree with you Les. The XF-300 has the right ergonomics, but the wrong price. The XF-100 has an attractive price, but the wrong ergonomics. I'd like a good used EX-1R, when I can afford it.

[Jan Luethje]

There's another point, why I hesitate to replace my XH A1. XF 300 and HPX 250 are options but cost a lot of money. And their (resale) value is likely to drop dramatically, when a new 1/2 chip camcorder at the same price point and quality level (4:2:2 / 50-100 Mbits) enters the market. I'm quite sure, that this will happen one day, the magic question is: When? Next NAB? 2014? Does it make sense to wait any longer? That drives me crazy...

[Noa Put]

Does it make sense to wait any longer? That drives me crazy...

It only make sense to make the best out of what you have now :)

[Les Wilson]

Originally Posted by Jan Luethje

... XF 300 and HPX 250 are options but cost a lot of money. And their (resale) value is likely to drop dramatically, when a new 1/2 chip camcorder at the same price point and quality level (4:2:2 / 50-100 Mbits) enters the market. I'm quite sure, that this will happen one day, the magic question is: When? Next NAB? 2014? Does it make sense to wait any longer? That drives me crazy...

Is there some information out there that someone is working on a 1/2 chip 4:2:2 50MBS camcorder?

You can see the current camera lineup in ascending price order here:
Camcorders (ENG)

Sony XDCAM camera line is the only one with 1/2" chips. JVC, Panasonic and Canon are all 1/3" 4:2:2-50MBS. Sony's 1/2" and the 1/3" 4:2:2-50MBS cameras are $5-$8K. That's the price of upgrading above AVCHD and HDV cameras.

The under $4k market is 1/3" based AVCHD (except for the 1-chip XF100) and HDV. The Panasonics are new and they show that 3-chip 4:2:2 50MBS is not an under $4K feature set. Canon was unable to put 3-chip 1/3" 4:2:2 50MBS in something under $4k. Panasonic was unable. JVC was unable. What makes you sure there's a 1/2" chip 4:2:2 3-chip camera coming out?

[Jan Luethje]

No sorry, neither do I have informations about an upcoming 1/2" / 4:2:2 / 50 Mbs unit ( I wish I had...) nor did I want to imply that. But considering the quick advance of camera technology it might happen quite soon, that's what I want to say. The line up - policy of the manufacturers is a barrier, there you're right. Otherwise, they do make mistakes sometimes. Remember what happend to the pro-market, after DV had entered the scene.

Sorry for the misunderstanding, I'm not a native speaker.

[Don Palomaki]

Price point rarely drops (if it was successful). They just add features to the next generation model.

Waiting almost always makes sense if your current gear meets your needs.

[Bryan Gilchrist]

The main reasons I want to sell my XH-A1 are:

- Dropouts.
- Capturing and sometimes recapturing.
- Being in Florida, weather extremes can get to the tape, heads, etc.
- NOT HAVING TO SIT THROUGH 20 MINUTES OF VIDEO TO CAPTURE IT. :)
- Did I mention capturing and sometimes recapturing?

Concerns:
- No good 1/2" CCD tapeless cameras out yet that are under $5k. :(

I've been pondering the XA-10...but not 100% on it yet. It seems like a nice camera and would be compact and light weight, and for the price (under $2k) I could buy several.

[Tariq Peter]

I recently switched to shooting with DSLRs but I always take my XHA1 as a backup.

A few weeks back as I shooting an wedding where the bride and groom wanted to spontaneously make a speech on the stage. I had no time to flip from my 50mm lens to a wide angle lens as so quickly ran over to my XHA1, which was placed on a tripod. After watching the finished DVD back I have to say the XHA1 quality is still amazing.

[John Stakes]

Originally Posted by Bryan Gilchrist

The main reasons I want to sell my XH-A1 are:

- Dropouts.
- Capturing and sometimes recapturing.
- Being in Florida, weather extremes can get to the tape, heads, etc.
- NOT HAVING TO SIT THROUGH 20 MINUTES OF VIDEO TO CAPTURE IT. :)
- Did I mention capturing and sometimes recapturing?

Sorry to hear about your woes with the A1 Bryan. I've only had 4-5 dropouts in about 4 years in business. Could it be the tapes you are using? I haven't had to recapture for any reason either...but there are tapeless solutions for the A1 though I have no experience there.

I plan on keeping my A1. I take it to every shoot along with my T2i. I may be picking up a second DSLR as well, but still keeping all of them in the arsenol.

JS

[Tariq Peter]

Very similar setup to me but I use the T3i. I am now planning on buying the merlin to use with the XHA1 to walk both the bride and groom into the hall. The t3i worries me as I don't want to be out of focus on such a crucial scene and the XH-A1s autofocus will keep my mind at ease.

[Bryan Gilchrist]

Originally Posted by John Stakes

Sorry to hear about your woes with the A1 Bryan. I've only had 4-5 dropouts in about 4 years in business. Could it be the tapes you are using? I haven't had to recapture for any reason either...but there are tapeless solutions for the A1 though I have no experience there.

I plan on keeping my A1. I take it to every shoot along with my T2i. I may be picking up a second DSLR as well, but still keeping all of them in the arsenol.

JS

The capturing/recapturing problems have only been of recent (the last video I did I ended up having to capture it three times) but have been rectified. I'm just burned out on having to sit through a video just to capture it then if you happen to get dropped frames or something during the capture, having to sit through it again to recapture again. Most of the shots I do are several minutes in length, so having to sit through it over and over again wastes time and also adds hours to the camera. I guess I've been part of the old-school for too long (anyone remember 3/4" tape?), and am wanting to move on. :)

[Les Wilson]

Originally Posted by Bryan Gilchrist

... I'm just burned out on having to sit through a video just to capture it then if you happen to get dropped frames or something during the capture, having to sit through it again to recapture again. ...

Those were the symptoms when one of my older tape cameras finally died. I think you'll enjoy a tapeless camera if for nothing else than stopping beating your head against the wall.