Initial User's review of the Canon XH-A1

[Greg Rothschild]

>>a big thanks to the authors of the original presets for giving us all a nice >>starting point to work off of.

Henry- can you point me towards this thread/link? I'd love to see what you're talking about.
Thanks,
Greg

[Chris Hurd]

Henry refers to our XL H1 Custom Presets Download Library .

[Greg Rothschild]

Thanks Chris. This forum is a treasure!

[Chris Hurd]

As soon as folks start sharing their XH custom presets, custom functions, and custom display settings, then we'll fire up an XH Custom Settings Download Library.

[Chuck Fadely]

I've shot enough tape to get a feel for the camera now and wanted to post a couple things I haven't seen yet.

First is that the image stabilizer is amazing. You'll be able to shoot handheld in situations you wouldn't think possible.

Second is that the lcd and viewfinder really suck. The lcd is almost unuseable in sunlight. And the viewfinder, though high-resolution, is way too small. The type from essential info display covers most of the image. If you wear glasses, the high magnification of the viewfinder means you have to work at it to get your eye centered on it. And the lip of the rubber eye piece doesn't fold down so you can't get your eye closer.

On the other hand, the lcd folds every which way, so you can have it on the side of the camera, which is great for keeping an eye on framing during interviews.

chuck

[Matthew Nayman]

Hey Chuck,

Unfortunatly that is a drawback to all LCD's... grab yourself a lieel lens hood from Hoodman, and you're good to go.

[Jason Strongfield]

the built in lcd monitor is not in a symmetrical shape , therefore it would be hard to find a hood to completely shade it off. I hope there will be not much light leak from the gaps.

I do have an 7" external LCD, but I still have to use the built in LCD or Viewfinder because the zebras will not transfer to an external LCD.

[Kevin Kimmell]

I've been closely reading and watching this forum and keeping the tissue handy to wipe away the saliva.

I just ordered mine from ZGC and should be fiddling this weekend. Now to decide what to do with my partially broke GL2...

[Steven Glicker]

I emailed Hoodman about the A1 and got the following response today.

Originally Posted by Hoodman Corp. Customer Service

Dear Steven Glicker,

Thank you for contacting Hoodman about a hood for the 2.8" LCD on the Canon XH A1. At this time we don't have a hood that will work well on it but we will be working on a new hood that will fit the widescreen LCDs that are being used on several new professional camcorders. We will place your inquiry into our file of customers to contact when this new hood does become available.

We hope this information is helpful to you. Please contact us again if you have additional questions about our products.

Sincerely,

Charlene Gordon
Hoodman Corp. Customer Service
20445 Gramercy Place, Ste. 201
Torrance, CA 90501
(800) 818-3946
(310) 222-8608
(310) 222-8623 Worldwide Fax
charlene@hoodmanusa.com
www.hoodmanusa.com

[Dave Lammey]

Originally Posted by Chuck Fadely

I've shot enough tape to get a feel for the camera now and wanted to post a couple things I haven't seen yet.

First is that the image stabilizer is amazing. You'll be able to shoot handheld in situations you wouldn't think possible.

Second is that the lcd and viewfinder really suck. The lcd is almost unuseable in sunlight. And the viewfinder, though high-resolution, is way too small. The type from essential info display covers most of the image. If you wear glasses, the high magnification of the viewfinder means you have to work at it to get your eye centered on it. And the lip of the rubber eye piece doesn't fold down so you can't get your eye closer.

On the other hand, the lcd folds every which way, so you can have it on the side of the camera, which is great for keeping an eye on framing during interviews.

chuck

Thanks for this, chuck ... when you say the LCD sucks, are you comparing it from memory to another camera's LCD? For instance, I assume it isn't as good as the LCD on the FX1, but is it comparable to the one on the PD170 (or whatever camera you're familiar with)?

[Henry Cho]

i'm using the hoodman 300 right now. the strap closest to the camera has to be stretched a little further to accomodate the swingout hinge, but it's wrapped on tight and very stable. a must when using the lcd and shooting outdoors during the day.

[Matthew Nayman]

Henry,

Can you read my post on 24F SD and let me know in this thread?

Thanks bro.

[Henry Cho]

hey matt... just saw your post here. i already replied in your thread.

you can capture 24f sd footage to a 60i timeline using 2:3 pulldown, and export to tape on any 60i deck.

[Steven Glicker]

Originally Posted by Henry Cho

i'm using the hoodman 300 right now. the strap closest to the camera has to be stretched a little further to accomodate the swingout hinge, but it's wrapped on tight and very stable. a must when using the lcd and shooting outdoors during the day.

Thanks, I'll order an H300.

[Jonathan Plotkin]

Originally Posted by Chuck Fadely

Just a note on attachments.
There's no way to attach a stud to put a light or monitor on it. Hot shoe only. You could clamp something to the vertical part of the top grip, but the grip itself is chock full of controls, so you can't clamp to it.

The mic holder seems to be 7/8" -- it's smaller than a sony holder, but bigger than a sennheiser shotgun. Time to get out the gaffers tape.

Check out K-Tek's adapter. It's basically a cylinder that inserts into the microphone holder with a 3/8" screw on the end that you can then extend with any number of grip gadgets. The trick is figuring out the size. I emailed K-Tek and they didn't know. The dimensions aren't listed on the K-Tek website, but I found the diameters here: http://www.thebroadcastshop.com/sale...%20Accessories . If the inside dimension of the XH-A1 holder is about 7/8", then it looks like the K-BWJ (.85") is the closest fit. My camera should come in next week and I'll probably get one to check out.

JP