New XH A1 camera at DVinfo.net

Robert Johnston · January 5th, 2007, 11:26 AM

Has anybody tried the new cannon xha1 yet. I was wondering what hd camera to get and this is looking promising. It is on offer at £2330 uk, don't know what it is going in the us but over hear it is looking a good price. It is evan cheaper than the sony pd170 I already own.

Alastair Brown · January 5th, 2007, 01:47 PM

I'm going to be getting one soon although I'm waiting on the price dropping a little hopefully once the initial rush has died down (will it?). There is a full forum on this site and it has loads of sample clips, some of which are real eye candy!

PM me if you want to discuss UK side of things.

Eric Hansen · January 5th, 2007, 03:50 PM

We've been using one since the beggining of November and I got two words for ya, A - mazing!

Eric Hansen

Peter Jefferson · January 5th, 2007, 08:32 PM

for the price and the grunt under the hood, i'll be jumping ship to it quite soon... Pana havent made larger <and cheaper> P2's>

Was gonna go an XLh1 simply coz i have Canon Prime lenses from my 5d and seeing a hdv clip shot with H1, with a mount 24-105L lense would be rather spiffy... and the DoF youd get by mounting an a 50mm 1.2L would pretty much make it look as cinematic as it could considering the budget... but i cant justify a 5k increase in cost for that.. id rather get 2 A1's

Patrick Moreau · January 6th, 2007, 10:58 AM

Hey Peter,

Fromwhat I have heard and read, mounting any Canon lens onto an XL2 or XL-H1 using Canons EF adapter results in 9x the focal length. To get the right depth of field your after and closer to the same focal length, you would need a 35mm adapter, in which case you dont need the interchangeable lenses. A 35mm adapter would work great with the A1 and your lenses though.

Peter Jefferson · January 6th, 2007, 07:03 PM

yeah thats what ive ben thinking Pat... and the resolving image would still be increbible schmick cosnidering the lens' can easily resolve 12mp...
with the H1, looking over this board, turns out that its a 7.2x zoom ratio @ 16x9... so were talking zoom ratios almost hitting the hundreds (as in 100x + optical zoom... were talking panavision range here.. lol )

if u consider mounting a 100-400L IS USM onto the unit.. 400mm x 7.2 = 2880mm = approx 80x optical zoom... (when u consider approx 325mm is approx 10x

the other issue is light and stability i guess.. its somethign to consider either way..

Matt Trubac · January 18th, 2007, 10:43 PM

Does anybody have any experience mixing the Canon XH-A1 with a Sony FX1/Z1U? I need something with a longer focal length than the FX/Z1 (without messing with lens attachments), and have also been planning to purchase a Z1 to go with my 2 FX1's for weddings. If I could just pick up a Canon A1 with its 20x lens and match it with my FX1's as a third camera for weddings (without too much headache) it might save me some money.

For those with personal experience... how does the low-light of the XH-A1 stack up against an FX1?

Thanks!

Peter Jefferson · January 18th, 2007, 11:03 PM

matt, the A1, unlike the FX and Z1, is TOTALLY tweakable.. (this is why i like it.. ) in turn, u can match ANY configuration.. in doing this, i would recomend a colour chart as well as a BW chart.. u might not be perfect, but small tweaks can always be done..
I can consistantly match JVChd1010 footage with DVX100 footage and u cant tell the diff unless you look for the differences, this which clients do not..

Matt Trubac · January 21st, 2007, 02:33 PM

thanks Peter, I value your opinion and I have decided to go with an XH-A1. I think that the features of the camera will be a nice addition to what I am able to offer with my 2 FX1's, and if I can tweak the canon to match the sony's for multicam shoots.. then all the better!

Peter Jefferson · January 21st, 2007, 10:34 PM

without sony bashing here, youll actually need to dumb it down a little with lower saturation and sharpness levels. Also low light performance of the A1 exceeds the FX1 by abotu 1 to 2 stops in real world environments. IMO, id use the A1 as the main cam, and the other 2 as B and C roll
This way, the 20x zoom can be used at its ultiamte as the DoF is much shallower at longer zooms, so dont be afraid to use it.. u also wont get the type of colour gradation on the other 2 as the A1, so be aware of lighting whereever you go, as these will mess with WB settings. A blue/grey card might be your best option with WB

January 5th, 2007, 11:26 AM	#1
Robert Johnston Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: northern ireland Posts: 57	New XH A1 camera Has anybody tried the new cannon xha1 yet. I was wondering what hd camera to get and this is looking promising. It is on offer at £2330 uk, don't know what it is going in the us but over hear it is looking a good price. It is evan cheaper than the sony pd170 I already own.

January 18th, 2007, 10:43 PM	#7
Matt Trubac Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 286	Does anybody have any experience mixing the Canon XH-A1 with a Sony FX1/Z1U? I need something with a longer focal length than the FX/Z1 (without messing with lens attachments), and have also been planning to purchase a Z1 to go with my 2 FX1's for weddings. If I could just pick up a Canon A1 with its 20x lens and match it with my FX1's as a third camera for weddings (without too much headache) it might save me some money. For those with personal experience... how does the low-light of the XH-A1 stack up against an FX1? Thanks! __________________ Matt Trubac

January 21st, 2007, 02:33 PM	#9
Matt Trubac Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 286	thanks Peter, I value your opinion and I have decided to go with an XH-A1. I think that the features of the camera will be a nice addition to what I am able to offer with my 2 FX1's, and if I can tweak the canon to match the sony's for multicam shoots.. then all the better! __________________ Matt Trubac

January 5th, 2007, 01:47 PM	#2
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	I'm going to be getting one soon although I'm waiting on the price dropping a little hopefully once the initial rush has died down (will it?). There is a full forum on this site and it has loads of sample clips, some of which are real eye candy! PM me if you want to discuss UK side of things.

January 5th, 2007, 03:50 PM	#3
Eric Hansen Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Eagle Mountain, Utah Posts: 97	We've been using one since the beggining of November and I got two words for ya, A - mazing! Eric Hansen

January 5th, 2007, 08:32 PM	#4
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	for the price and the grunt under the hood, i'll be jumping ship to it quite soon... Pana havent made larger <and cheaper> P2's> Was gonna go an XLh1 simply coz i have Canon Prime lenses from my 5d and seeing a hdv clip shot with H1, with a mount 24-105L lense would be rather spiffy... and the DoF youd get by mounting an a 50mm 1.2L would pretty much make it look as cinematic as it could considering the budget... but i cant justify a 5k increase in cost for that.. id rather get 2 A1's

January 6th, 2007, 10:58 AM	#5
Patrick Moreau Still Motion Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,186	Hey Peter, Fromwhat I have heard and read, mounting any Canon lens onto an XL2 or XL-H1 using Canons EF adapter results in 9x the focal length. To get the right depth of field your after and closer to the same focal length, you would need a 35mm adapter, in which case you dont need the interchangeable lenses. A 35mm adapter would work great with the A1 and your lenses though.

January 6th, 2007, 07:03 PM	#6
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	yeah thats what ive ben thinking Pat... and the resolving image would still be increbible schmick cosnidering the lens' can easily resolve 12mp... with the H1, looking over this board, turns out that its a 7.2x zoom ratio @ 16x9... so were talking zoom ratios almost hitting the hundreds (as in 100x + optical zoom... were talking panavision range here.. lol ) if u consider mounting a 100-400L IS USM onto the unit.. 400mm x 7.2 = 2880mm = approx 80x optical zoom... (when u consider approx 325mm is approx 10x the other issue is light and stability i guess.. its somethign to consider either way..

January 18th, 2007, 11:03 PM	#8
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	matt, the A1, unlike the FX and Z1, is TOTALLY tweakable.. (this is why i like it.. ) in turn, u can match ANY configuration.. in doing this, i would recomend a colour chart as well as a BW chart.. u might not be perfect, but small tweaks can always be done.. I can consistantly match JVChd1010 footage with DVX100 footage and u cant tell the diff unless you look for the differences, this which clients do not..

January 21st, 2007, 10:34 PM	#10
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	without sony bashing here, youll actually need to dumb it down a little with lower saturation and sharpness levels. Also low light performance of the A1 exceeds the FX1 by abotu 1 to 2 stops in real world environments. IMO, id use the A1 as the main cam, and the other 2 as B and C roll This way, the 20x zoom can be used at its ultiamte as the DoF is much shallower at longer zooms, so dont be afraid to use it.. u also wont get the type of colour gradation on the other 2 as the A1, so be aware of lighting whereever you go, as these will mess with WB settings. A blue/grey card might be your best option with WB