Canon XH series -- various sample clips

Nathan Quattrini · January 30th, 2008, 10:18 AM

woah thanks for the tip. I`ll give it a shot

Robert Wide · February 9th, 2008, 05:40 AM

I just have the XH A1, so here's a little impression after one week playing. I used the music that Steven Dempsey also used for one of his clips from "The Village", not very original but it's just to try out the camera. The location is the place we were maried 10 years ago.
VividRGB, Tripod. No adapters. FCP 5.1.4. Quicktime plugin required.

http://www.wijdh.nl/page2/page2.html

Robert

Christian Nachtrieb · February 10th, 2008, 05:17 AM

Here's a song from one of the bands I filmed tonight, it's heavy, be prepared.

The lighting was awful in this basement, all I had was that one work light sitting on the cab in front. I guess you could call this my first low light test.

I had to shoot 30f, shutter was at 1/30, and aperture was at 1.6. I think I was using 0 db gain. Does this look as good as possible given the scenario? Or does someone sense there could have been more done to help the image?

Thanks!

Chris

Christian Nachtrieb · February 10th, 2008, 05:18 AM

aaaand here's the link:
http://students.oneonta.edu/nachcj44/bulldozer.mov

Trish Kerr · February 10th, 2008, 10:40 AM

I found the position you were shooting from not ideal - both visually and light wise - the band was playing more towards the dark open area and that would have been a better place to be parked to get more of the 'front' of the band and give us more of an audience feel. This would have also avoided the worklight being so close to the camera blowing out the highlights on the guitar player

if the light had been positioned to cover more of the band - off to the side but more frontal (as opposed to direct side lighting) and your camera was positioned in the audience you might have had more to work with

the footage itself doesn't show much noise, if any, so I think the camera did as well as is to be expected in this situation

very pumped up group : )

trish

Christian Nachtrieb · February 10th, 2008, 12:05 PM

Yes they are always pumped, haha.

I wish that even one of your suggestions were possible that night, but unfortunately none were. There was no where for me to stand in the crowd, this was the most cramped basement I've ever seen. And also, all the amps and mixers were taking up all the outlets, the only one left was in that corner.

Sadly, what you see is the very best option I had!

Tony Ferguson · February 10th, 2008, 02:04 PM

Hi, I'm an amateur starting out. I've been playing with my xh a1 for about a year and will be shooting my first short this week inside, with the existing florescent lighting (and some spot and fill where its needed). I am wondering about any suggestions from folks about suggested camera settings for my horror/mystery as I see that many of you are jogging between 24f and 30f (30 appears to be nearly exactly like 60i except perhaps a bit softer?).

Also, if I shoot in 60i with highest settings, can I in post apply various film looks and still have great quality and blacks or is it better to shoot in 24f or 30f to achieve that softer film like look?

I just did some test shooting and the 60i, and 30f came in normally, the 24 came in as individual clips. I am feeling like "holy crap, now I got to figure out how to deal with these individual clips" before my deadline on Friday for a short film festival. Any feedback is welcomed. What to do what to do.

I use Sony Vegas Pro to edit in hdv.

Thank you

Tony in Duluth

Paul Cox · February 12th, 2008, 02:34 PM

If you are using Sony Vegas 8 you cannot capture 24F,, however you can capture 24F in Sony Vegas 7, I ran into the same problem but it does work great in Vegas 7, then just open that captured footage in Vegas 8 for you editing.

Hope that helps

Paul Cox

Tony Ferguson · February 12th, 2008, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Cox

If you are using Sony Vegas 8 you cannot capture 24F,, however you can capture 24F in Sony Vegas 7, I ran into the same problem but it does work great in Vegas 7, then just open that captured footage in Vegas 8 for you editing.

Hope that helps

Paul Cox

Thanks I will try it.

Tony

Morgan Crossley · February 16th, 2008, 11:02 PM

Valentine's Day:

Came home from school with all my gear for an epic swell that hit New England. Newport, Rhode Island was firing all afternoon at a beautiful spot right in front of some of the most historic and beautiful mansions in the country.

waves were BIG with up to 15+ foot faces. water temperature was frigid around 40 degrees and the locals were all thinking of excuses to tell their sweat hearts for why they were MIA on valentine's day.....

enjoy:
http://www.vimeo.com/698184

Michael Wisniewski · February 17th, 2008, 12:34 AM

Can't believe that's Rhode Island! Looks like Santa Cruz, except for the wet suits. What frame rate did you shoot it in?

Morgan Crossley · February 17th, 2008, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Wisniewski

Can't believe that's Rhode Island! Looks like Santa Cruz, except for the wet suits. What frame rate did you shoot it in?

yeah i know looks like Mavericks huh? i shot it all in 60i

Tom Kubicki · February 18th, 2008, 07:27 PM

Looks like great footage. Unfortunately Vimeo sometimes does not do it justice. It runs a bit choppy. But the editing and music works very well.

Morgan Crossley · February 18th, 2008, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Kubicki

Looks like great footage. Unfortunately Vimeo sometimes does not do it justice. It runs a bit choppy. But the editing and music works very well.

thanks

Yeah I noticed Vimeo makes it choppy, which is quite annoying, but I think if you let it load all the way through and then watch it, this helps.

Russ Motyko · February 20th, 2008, 09:45 AM

Saw some of the great things people were doing with B&W and decided to make something of my own.

All of the footage was shot the next day after I got my A1 so the settings were: 60i. Auto Shutter and Aperture. Factory Color Preset. Auto WB. Auto Gain. Handheld. OIS on.

1. Placed 60i footage into 24p Vegas timeline.
2. Slowed it down to anywhere from 80 to 30 percent of original speed.
3. Increased saturation and contrast.
4. Used Levels filter to crush blacks.
5. Added Film Effects filter. (Dust, Hair, and a few Scratches.)

Used the Sony AVC template for Render. 1280x720. 4mbps.

Uploaded to Vimeo:
http://www.vimeo.com/710112

Any advice and critique is welcome. I am especially hesitant about the really high contrast of the piece. I know its probably much too high for most applications but I figured since this was more of an artistic piece...

Also, what do you guys think of the dust/hair/scratches? Should I keep them or take 'em out?

January 30th, 2008, 10:18 AM	#286
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	woah thanks for the tip. I`ll give it a shot __________________ Cinematography Site

February 9th, 2008, 05:40 AM	#287
Robert Wide Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 49	First clip with a1 I just have the XH A1, so here's a little impression after one week playing. I used the music that Steven Dempsey also used for one of his clips from "The Village", not very original but it's just to try out the camera. The location is the place we were maried 10 years ago. VividRGB, Tripod. No adapters. FCP 5.1.4. Quicktime plugin required. http://www.wijdh.nl/page2/page2.html Robert

February 10th, 2008, 05:17 AM	#288
Christian Nachtrieb Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 65	basement show -- low light Here's a song from one of the bands I filmed tonight, it's heavy, be prepared. The lighting was awful in this basement, all I had was that one work light sitting on the cab in front. I guess you could call this my first low light test. I had to shoot 30f, shutter was at 1/30, and aperture was at 1.6. I think I was using 0 db gain. Does this look as good as possible given the scenario? Or does someone sense there could have been more done to help the image? Thanks! Chris

February 10th, 2008, 02:04 PM	#292
Tony Ferguson New Boot Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Duluth, Minnesota Posts: 16	Suggested settings for indoor florescent lighting Hi, I'm an amateur starting out. I've been playing with my xh a1 for about a year and will be shooting my first short this week inside, with the existing florescent lighting (and some spot and fill where its needed). I am wondering about any suggestions from folks about suggested camera settings for my horror/mystery as I see that many of you are jogging between 24f and 30f (30 appears to be nearly exactly like 60i except perhaps a bit softer?). Also, if I shoot in 60i with highest settings, can I in post apply various film looks and still have great quality and blacks or is it better to shoot in 24f or 30f to achieve that softer film like look? I just did some test shooting and the 60i, and 30f came in normally, the 24 came in as individual clips. I am feeling like "holy crap, now I got to figure out how to deal with these individual clips" before my deadline on Friday for a short film festival. Any feedback is welcomed. What to do what to do. I use Sony Vegas Pro to edit in hdv. Thank you Tony in Duluth

February 16th, 2008, 11:02 PM	#295
Morgan Crossley Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 113	HUGE waves - surfing footage from Rhode Island Valentine's Day: Came home from school with all my gear for an epic swell that hit New England. Newport, Rhode Island was firing all afternoon at a beautiful spot right in front of some of the most historic and beautiful mansions in the country. waves were BIG with up to 15+ foot faces. water temperature was frigid around 40 degrees and the locals were all thinking of excuses to tell their sweat hearts for why they were MIA on valentine's day..... enjoy: http://www.vimeo.com/698184

February 10th, 2008, 05:18 AM	#289
Christian Nachtrieb Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 65	aaaand here's the link: http://students.oneonta.edu/nachcj44/bulldozer.mov

February 10th, 2008, 10:40 AM	#290
Trish Kerr Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 294	I found the position you were shooting from not ideal - both visually and light wise - the band was playing more towards the dark open area and that would have been a better place to be parked to get more of the 'front' of the band and give us more of an audience feel. This would have also avoided the worklight being so close to the camera blowing out the highlights on the guitar player if the light had been positioned to cover more of the band - off to the side but more frontal (as opposed to direct side lighting) and your camera was positioned in the audience you might have had more to work with the footage itself doesn't show much noise, if any, so I think the camera did as well as is to be expected in this situation very pumped up group : ) trish

February 10th, 2008, 12:05 PM	#291
Christian Nachtrieb Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 65	Yes they are always pumped, haha. I wish that even one of your suggestions were possible that night, but unfortunately none were. There was no where for me to stand in the crowd, this was the most cramped basement I've ever seen. And also, all the amps and mixers were taking up all the outlets, the only one left was in that corner. Sadly, what you see is the very best option I had!

February 12th, 2008, 02:34 PM	#293
Paul Cox Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Vancouver Posts: 27	If you are using Sony Vegas 8 you cannot capture 24F,, however you can capture 24F in Sony Vegas 7, I ran into the same problem but it does work great in Vegas 7, then just open that captured footage in Vegas 8 for you editing. Hope that helps Paul Cox

February 17th, 2008, 12:34 AM	#296
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	Can't believe that's Rhode Island! Looks like Santa Cruz, except for the wet suits. What frame rate did you shoot it in? __________________ "Ultimately, the most extraordinary thing, in a frame, is a human being." - Martin Scorsese

February 18th, 2008, 07:27 PM	#298
Tom Kubicki New Boot Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 7	Looks like great footage. Unfortunately Vimeo sometimes does not do it justice. It runs a bit choppy. But the editing and music works very well.

February 20th, 2008, 09:45 AM	#300
Russ Motyko Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 56	B&W Camp Short Saw some of the great things people were doing with B&W and decided to make something of my own. All of the footage was shot the next day after I got my A1 so the settings were: 60i. Auto Shutter and Aperture. Factory Color Preset. Auto WB. Auto Gain. Handheld. OIS on. 1. Placed 60i footage into 24p Vegas timeline. 2. Slowed it down to anywhere from 80 to 30 percent of original speed. 3. Increased saturation and contrast. 4. Used Levels filter to crush blacks. 5. Added Film Effects filter. (Dust, Hair, and a few Scratches.) Used the Sony AVC template for Render. 1280x720. 4mbps. Uploaded to Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/710112 Any advice and critique is welcome. I am especially hesitant about the really high contrast of the piece. I know its probably much too high for most applications but I figured since this was more of an artistic piece... Also, what do you guys think of the dust/hair/scratches? Should I keep them or take 'em out?