Canon XH series -- various sample clips

Steve Kachocki · March 6th, 2008, 12:40 PM

Do you have a housing for the U/W stuff?

Should be on National Geographic Channel. Except maybe the 4-way with the girl and three guys! LOL.

Richard Gooderick · March 6th, 2008, 01:00 PM

Thanks for the comments. If anyone has suggestions about how it could be improved I'd be pleased to have them.

I left out the more pornographic shots and tried to make it family viewing!

The sound is a live recording. So it's in real time but I did cheat a bit by adding snippets here and there for the shots that weren't miked.

The sound was recorded simultaneously with the water level shots. I used two miniature mics taped to a coathanger to record the stereo sound. Recording onto a Fostex FR2 LE sound recorder.

There's a bit of my hand splashing around in the bath in the shot of the crowd of frogs hopping around as it seemed too quiet. All the other splashes are real time recordings.

The film was actually shot with two cameras, an XH A1 and my older camera, a Sony A1E.

I bought a secondhand 'sport housing' which isn't made for the A1E but works with a minor modification.

Greg Joyce · March 6th, 2008, 01:33 PM

Shot some video segments for my brother's online music magazine, Amplifier Magazine.

http://www.vimeo.com/757267

It's the XH-A1, but standard def, unfortunately. I'm doing other stuff in HDV as I continue to learn about the camera, lighting, sound, editing, etc. Any recommendations for where to host full-size HDV clips? Dreamhost maybe?

Anyway, if you like this clip or are a fan of indie pop music, you'll probably enjoy his mag: www.amplifiermagazine.com.

--Greg

Doug Davis · March 7th, 2008, 12:27 AM

Might try adding some 'creative lighting' to the interview shot... You can also create some depth if you can get her off that wall a little bit and move the camera way back and zoom in so that she is framed on one your thirds... A backlight on her will help separate her from the background.. If you could add a party gel on the light lighting the background it would probably suit this venue much better...

I can't tell if you white balance is off too or if that was a look you were going for...

Also, I think your audio levels might be clipping...

Greg Joyce · March 7th, 2008, 07:40 AM

Thanks for the input, Doug. I agree with your lighting comments. Problem is, the room is about 12 feet wide so there's no room to pull her away from the wall and no room for a backlight.

And I used a warm card so it's not true white balanced. Didn't notice any audio clipping--will have to check it again.

Ira Ostrowski · March 7th, 2008, 11:27 AM

Hello All,

This is my first try at shooting some footage and editing into a finished and short clip. I used auto focus for all of it because I need a LOT more time with manual focus. I captured with Cineform HD and into Vegas 8 and then rendered to mpeg4 640x480. Cineform to folder and then open each file into Vegas....is that the correct way to get the files into Vegas? Any feedback and suggestions are appreciated!

http://www.dropshots.com/erinheere#d...03-05/22:54:58

Ira Ostrowski · March 7th, 2008, 02:54 PM

Ok as a result of endless searching here, I think I found how to do Vimeo which is very cool....as soon as I render I'll post the link to the same video only it will be in high def....thanks

Ira Ostrowski · March 8th, 2008, 02:49 AM

here's the clip on vimeo

http://www.vimeo.com/763167

based on settings recommended for the site...peace

Bill Busby · March 8th, 2008, 03:15 AM

protected :-\

Ira Ostrowski · March 8th, 2008, 10:45 AM

Hey Bill,

The clip is public now so anyone can view it...sorry about that. I rendered to MainConcept Mpeg4 with all the settings that Eugenia Loli recommended. I noticed some weird blurring that occurs in the very beginning that is not on the original footage. I tried a bunch of different settings but it still ends up with the same results. Frustrating! I shot in 24F so maybe there is some setting I need to change. peace

Dmitry Futoryan · March 9th, 2008, 09:13 PM

Hi everyone!

This is my first post, but I've been visiting for a few months.

I did this piece with the indislider 36" and XH A1. My Letus35 Extreme is on it's way (ordered Feb 20th), and I just can't wait.

Let me know what you think, and what I could have done differently.

http://www.vimeo.com/769216

-Dmitry

Loren Simons · March 10th, 2008, 08:13 PM

very nice footage, i really want and indiSlider now=o which macro u use? A cinivate or redrock or something else?

Dmitry Futoryan · March 10th, 2008, 10:31 PM

Thank you Loren!

I suppose I mislabeled the post, it's not actually a macro lens...

The footage was shot with the stock Canon XH-A1 lens, which is a 4.5-90mm 20x zoom. It works out to be a 32.5mm-650mm in the 35mm world. I searched the forum and the genius minds here have already figured out the 35mm focal lengths for each zoom number (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...light=a1+lens).

I've ordered a Letus35 Extreme about 2 weeks ago (Feb20), and it should be in the mail any day now..they usually ship 2-3 weeks after you place your order.

I've followed Steven Dempsey's example and got an indiSLIDERpro 36" after seeing his original "Snow Motion" footage (http://www.vimeo.com/709560).

Tim at http://www.indifocus.com is the gentleman to talk to about the slider, and he's incredibly nice, and will go to any length to answer any questions you might have. Since placing my original order for the slider, I've also picked up a set of 18" support rails, and a follow-focus.

So far I've been buying used Nikon SLR lenses and have come up with:

24mm f/2.8
50mm f/1.8
60mm f/2.8 Macro
135mm f/2.8

I'm still looking around for an 85mm and possibly a 105mm.

Sorry for the long post, I didn't have time to write a short one.

-Dmitry

Loren Simons · March 10th, 2008, 10:37 PM

hahaha alright thanks! thats good to hear as I'm thinking about buying indifocus gear, and also my dad at his work is thinking about it too! Thanks for your input!

Brendan Anderson · March 13th, 2008, 02:57 PM

I had a great opportunity to get my A1 outdoors for the first time this last weekend for a music festival put on by our local Symphony and other musical groups. It was my first time using the VIVIDRGB preset too. Target was a sponsor so you'll see lots of red shirts which vividrgb saturates quite a bit. Also, I had to down-convert to SD so it's a little soft on focus - my new PC for HD editing arrives Saturday. (drool...) Other than that, I'm really pleased with the look of the color.

http://www.vimeo.com/782029

-Brendan

March 6th, 2008, 12:40 PM	#331
Steve Kachocki Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 49	Underwater? Do you have a housing for the U/W stuff? Should be on National Geographic Channel. Except maybe the 4-way with the girl and three guys! LOL.

March 6th, 2008, 01:00 PM	#332
Richard Gooderick Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: London, UK Posts: 795	Thanks for the comments. If anyone has suggestions about how it could be improved I'd be pleased to have them. I left out the more pornographic shots and tried to make it family viewing! The sound is a live recording. So it's in real time but I did cheat a bit by adding snippets here and there for the shots that weren't miked. The sound was recorded simultaneously with the water level shots. I used two miniature mics taped to a coathanger to record the stereo sound. Recording onto a Fostex FR2 LE sound recorder. There's a bit of my hand splashing around in the bath in the shot of the crowd of frogs hopping around as it seemed too quiet. All the other splashes are real time recordings. The film was actually shot with two cameras, an XH A1 and my older camera, a Sony A1E. I bought a secondhand 'sport housing' which isn't made for the A1E but works with a minor modification. Last edited by Richard Gooderick; March 6th, 2008 at 04:35 PM.

March 6th, 2008, 01:33 PM	#333
Greg Joyce Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 106	V-Amp TV first episode Shot some video segments for my brother's online music magazine, Amplifier Magazine. http://www.vimeo.com/757267 It's the XH-A1, but standard def, unfortunately. I'm doing other stuff in HDV as I continue to learn about the camera, lighting, sound, editing, etc. Any recommendations for where to host full-size HDV clips? Dreamhost maybe? Anyway, if you like this clip or are a fan of indie pop music, you'll probably enjoy his mag: www.amplifiermagazine.com. --Greg

March 7th, 2008, 12:27 AM	#334
Doug Davis Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Birmingham Alabama Posts: 259	Lighting lighting lighting.... Might try adding some 'creative lighting' to the interview shot... You can also create some depth if you can get her off that wall a little bit and move the camera way back and zoom in so that she is framed on one your thirds... A backlight on her will help separate her from the background.. If you could add a party gel on the light lighting the background it would probably suit this venue much better... I can't tell if you white balance is off too or if that was a look you were going for... Also, I think your audio levels might be clipping... __________________ "The only thing the camera sees is light..." http://www.GoWildOlive.com

March 7th, 2008, 11:27 AM	#336
Ira Ostrowski New Boot Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Edgewater MD USA Posts: 17	My First Try Short Clip Hello All, This is my first try at shooting some footage and editing into a finished and short clip. I used auto focus for all of it because I need a LOT more time with manual focus. I captured with Cineform HD and into Vegas 8 and then rendered to mpeg4 640x480. Cineform to folder and then open each file into Vegas....is that the correct way to get the files into Vegas? Any feedback and suggestions are appreciated! http://www.dropshots.com/erinheere#d...03-05/22:54:58

March 7th, 2008, 07:40 AM	#335
Greg Joyce Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 106	Thanks for the input, Doug. I agree with your lighting comments. Problem is, the room is about 12 feet wide so there's no room to pull her away from the wall and no room for a backlight. And I used a warm card so it's not true white balanced. Didn't notice any audio clipping--will have to check it again.

March 7th, 2008, 02:54 PM	#337
Ira Ostrowski New Boot Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Edgewater MD USA Posts: 17	Answered my own question Ok as a result of endless searching here, I think I found how to do Vimeo which is very cool....as soon as I render I'll post the link to the same video only it will be in high def....thanks

March 8th, 2008, 02:49 AM	#338
Ira Ostrowski New Boot Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Edgewater MD USA Posts: 17	vimeo here's the clip on vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/763167 based on settings recommended for the site...peace

March 8th, 2008, 03:15 AM	#339
Bill Busby Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 959	protected :-\

March 8th, 2008, 10:45 AM	#340
Ira Ostrowski New Boot Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Edgewater MD USA Posts: 17	Clip is public now sorry Hey Bill, The clip is public now so anyone can view it...sorry about that. I rendered to MainConcept Mpeg4 with all the settings that Eugenia Loli recommended. I noticed some weird blurring that occurs in the very beginning that is not on the original footage. I tried a bunch of different settings but it still ends up with the same results. Frustrating! I shot in 24F so maybe there is some setting I need to change. peace

March 9th, 2008, 09:13 PM	#341
Dmitry Futoryan Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 37	Macro Footage with XH A1 & indiSLIDER Hi everyone! This is my first post, but I've been visiting for a few months. I did this piece with the indislider 36" and XH A1. My Letus35 Extreme is on it's way (ordered Feb 20th), and I just can't wait. Let me know what you think, and what I could have done differently. http://www.vimeo.com/769216 -Dmitry Last edited by Dmitry Futoryan; March 10th, 2008 at 01:23 PM. Reason: Rewording, less is more.

March 10th, 2008, 08:13 PM	#342
Loren Simons Major Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 288	very nice footage, i really want and indiSlider now=o which macro u use? A cinivate or redrock or something else? __________________ Loren Simons

March 10th, 2008, 10:31 PM	#343
Dmitry Futoryan Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 37	Thank you Loren! I suppose I mislabeled the post, it's not actually a macro lens... The footage was shot with the stock Canon XH-A1 lens, which is a 4.5-90mm 20x zoom. It works out to be a 32.5mm-650mm in the 35mm world. I searched the forum and the genius minds here have already figured out the 35mm focal lengths for each zoom number (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...light=a1+lens). I've ordered a Letus35 Extreme about 2 weeks ago (Feb20), and it should be in the mail any day now..they usually ship 2-3 weeks after you place your order. I've followed Steven Dempsey's example and got an indiSLIDERpro 36" after seeing his original "Snow Motion" footage (http://www.vimeo.com/709560). Tim at http://www.indifocus.com is the gentleman to talk to about the slider, and he's incredibly nice, and will go to any length to answer any questions you might have. Since placing my original order for the slider, I've also picked up a set of 18" support rails, and a follow-focus. So far I've been buying used Nikon SLR lenses and have come up with: 24mm f/2.8 50mm f/1.8 60mm f/2.8 Macro 135mm f/2.8 I'm still looking around for an 85mm and possibly a 105mm. Sorry for the long post, I didn't have time to write a short one. -Dmitry

March 10th, 2008, 10:37 PM	#344
Loren Simons Major Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 288	hahaha alright thanks! thats good to hear as I'm thinking about buying indifocus gear, and also my dad at his work is thinking about it too! Thanks for your input! __________________ Loren Simons

March 13th, 2008, 02:57 PM	#345
Brendan Anderson New Boot Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 10	Outdoor Music Festival I had a great opportunity to get my A1 outdoors for the first time this last weekend for a music festival put on by our local Symphony and other musical groups. It was my first time using the VIVIDRGB preset too. Target was a sponsor so you'll see lots of red shirts which vividrgb saturates quite a bit. Also, I had to down-convert to SD so it's a little soft on focus - my new PC for HD editing arrives Saturday. (drool...) Other than that, I'm really pleased with the look of the color. http://www.vimeo.com/782029 -Brendan