First footage from new A1 at DVinfo.net

Jeff Nelson · February 2nd, 2007, 10:55 AM

UPS showed up around 7:20 last night, with the box of goodies from B&H. Figured I'd read the manual today to start learning the cam, but last night I just slid in the battery, put it on AUTO EVERYTHING (translation: gain city) and shot the kids doing homework and the cats doing their thing.

This doesn't qualify as beauty footage or anything highlighting the A1 strengths we've read about, but shows how you can slap it in AUTO and shoot in your backyard in the dead of night, capture all the grainy gain in FCP, make a few easy cuts, compress the heck out of it, and here's what you get:

http://www.mostlymagic.tv/demo/fooling_around.mov

John Inman · February 2nd, 2007, 11:15 AM

What a great looking family! Looks like you guys have a lot of fun!

Excellent piece, especially with the A1 just coming out of the box.

Jim Miller · February 2nd, 2007, 12:50 PM

Its great to see what the A1 can do right out of the box especially in low light.

I've bee debating the merits of A1 vs V1. This helps

nice family too.

Ryan Kingston (Guest) · February 2nd, 2007, 01:41 PM

Low light footage is AMAZING! Moving my timetable up on getting one of these. Have 2 Hv-10s now. Xh A1 as main camera will do me very well I think.

Mark Leonard · February 2nd, 2007, 03:09 PM

is that 24f or 60i?

Jeff Nelson · February 2nd, 2007, 04:01 PM

Thanks for the nice comments. This owner's manual is DENSE in terms of things you can do. I'm compiling my list of questions as I go, but suffice it to say there are a lot of things you can do to enhance the image in many situations. The hard part will be remembering it all when you're in the field!

This was shot in 24f. Shot some 60i last night, very clean footage, brighter, better exposure, auto-focus seems to be better than in 24 (but let's face it, NO af system does that well in very low light...).

Going to shoot some exterior stuff this weekend, hopefully will have something nicer to post soon. Next assignment: I have to figure out how to download and install the presets here!

Mark Leonard · February 3rd, 2007, 01:17 PM

Jeff looks like we on the same A1 learning curve. Just got mine in a few days ago and first shots yesterday and some today. been reading through the book all morning and yeah wow, lots to learn!!!

Kajito Nagib · February 4th, 2007, 02:57 AM

Nice Bossa music in the backround. Beautiful family!
Enjoy your A1 can't wait to get mine.:-)

Jeff Kellam · February 5th, 2007, 06:24 PM

Very nice quickie!

Do you view it uncompressed on a HDTV?

How did it look? Hard to tell so compressed.

Im just curious how a fast full auto shoot looks.

Glenn Thomas · February 9th, 2007, 02:02 AM

That's great! Really enjoyed watching this. Seems like there's always a lot happening in your household Jeff.

I'm amazed at how well lit everything looks. Like you have proper studio lighting all through the house. How powerful are all your light bulbs? Even the light in the backyard appears quite strong. I couldn't notice any noise, just the usual compression artifacts, which don't look too bad either considering the size of the file.

Jeff Nelson · February 10th, 2007, 09:26 PM

Hi guys, thanks. Re: viewing it in uncompressed HDTV -- no, didn't do that, just fullscreen on a 30" computer monitor, and it looks pretty nice. Most lights in the house are on dimmers, and it could have looked better if I'd dimmed some lights and balanced it a bit, but I was just playing around with it. Have been experimenting some, and there's a lot to learn with experiments, for sure. Will post another couple clips...

February 2nd, 2007, 10:55 AM	#1
Jeff Nelson Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 194	First footage from new A1 UPS showed up around 7:20 last night, with the box of goodies from B&H. Figured I'd read the manual today to start learning the cam, but last night I just slid in the battery, put it on AUTO EVERYTHING (translation: gain city) and shot the kids doing homework and the cats doing their thing. This doesn't qualify as beauty footage or anything highlighting the A1 strengths we've read about, but shows how you can slap it in AUTO and shoot in your backyard in the dead of night, capture all the grainy gain in FCP, make a few easy cuts, compress the heck out of it, and here's what you get: http://www.mostlymagic.tv/demo/fooling_around.mov

February 2nd, 2007, 11:15 AM	#2
John Inman Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boones Mill, Virginia Posts: 267	Great! What a great looking family! Looks like you guys have a lot of fun! Excellent piece, especially with the A1 just coming out of the box.

February 5th, 2007, 06:24 PM	#9
Jeff Kellam Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 656	Very nice quickie! Do you view it uncompressed on a HDTV? How did it look? Hard to tell so compressed. Im just curious how a fast full auto shoot looks. __________________ Panasonic HMC150/Canon A1/JVC HD1/Sony Vegas 8.0c

February 2nd, 2007, 12:50 PM	#3
Jim Miller Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa,Florida Posts: 236	Its great to see what the A1 can do right out of the box especially in low light. I've bee debating the merits of A1 vs V1. This helps nice family too.

February 2nd, 2007, 01:41 PM	#4
Ryan Kingston (Guest) Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Nashville TN Posts: 40	Low light footage is AMAZING! Moving my timetable up on getting one of these. Have 2 Hv-10s now. Xh A1 as main camera will do me very well I think.

February 2nd, 2007, 03:09 PM	#5
Mark Leonard Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mobile, Alabama Posts: 166	is that 24f or 60i?

February 2nd, 2007, 04:01 PM	#6
Jeff Nelson Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 194	Thanks for the nice comments. This owner's manual is DENSE in terms of things you can do. I'm compiling my list of questions as I go, but suffice it to say there are a lot of things you can do to enhance the image in many situations. The hard part will be remembering it all when you're in the field! This was shot in 24f. Shot some 60i last night, very clean footage, brighter, better exposure, auto-focus seems to be better than in 24 (but let's face it, NO af system does that well in very low light...). Going to shoot some exterior stuff this weekend, hopefully will have something nicer to post soon. Next assignment: I have to figure out how to download and install the presets here!

February 3rd, 2007, 01:17 PM	#7
Mark Leonard Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mobile, Alabama Posts: 166	Jeff looks like we on the same A1 learning curve. Just got mine in a few days ago and first shots yesterday and some today. been reading through the book all morning and yeah wow, lots to learn!!!

February 4th, 2007, 02:57 AM	#8
Kajito Nagib Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 432	Nice Bossa music in the backround. Beautiful family! Enjoy your A1 can't wait to get mine.:-)

February 9th, 2007, 02:02 AM	#10
Glenn Thomas Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 320	That's great! Really enjoyed watching this. Seems like there's always a lot happening in your household Jeff. I'm amazed at how well lit everything looks. Like you have proper studio lighting all through the house. How powerful are all your light bulbs? Even the light in the backyard appears quite strong. I couldn't notice any noise, just the usual compression artifacts, which don't look too bad either considering the size of the file.

February 10th, 2007, 09:26 PM	#11
Jeff Nelson Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 194	Hi guys, thanks. Re: viewing it in uncompressed HDTV -- no, didn't do that, just fullscreen on a 30" computer monitor, and it looks pretty nice. Most lights in the house are on dimmers, and it could have looked better if I'd dimmed some lights and balanced it a bit, but I was just playing around with it. Have been experimenting some, and there's a lot to learn with experiments, for sure. Will post another couple clips...