When the Wife is Impressed... at DVinfo.net

Dean Waterman · February 20th, 2007, 04:46 PM

I have a wife who is very nonchalant about technology, and my passion for video shooting and editing. However, when I took my new XH-A1 out this past weekend and shot some great snow scenes, and brought them back to show her on the plasma, even SHE was impressed.

I have never had my wife comment on video quality, but she kept telling me how much detail it had, and how nice it looked.

And yes, I was impressed also with the camera, and now I am not regretting my decision to forego the Panasonic and save $4,000 to go with the Canon. I say $4,000 because of the P2 CARD you need or actually 3-4 really.

This has been a camera I can live with, and I am already contemplating getting another one or two for multiple camera shoots.

Bogdan Tyburczy · February 20th, 2007, 05:23 PM

Women's minds and hearts are eternal mystery... Sometimes they do get impressed with technology, but they expect it followed by results, while men often praise it just for the idea :)

Interesting study I've heard about recently shows women are more interested in technology as means to gather and archive their family stories.

Dean, does your wife share this philosophy?

Peter Jefferson · February 20th, 2007, 06:30 PM

Dean im in the same boat... lol
my missus is very blase about what i do and how i do it and the only time it affects her opinionion is cost vs quality.. being that she either likes it or not.. based on how much it cost to get there.. lol...She being the financial manager

I too was looking at the HVX, however the P2 flow and archive just doesnt cut it for what i do (multiple longform projects per week)

Dean Waterman · February 20th, 2007, 08:46 PM

I would say my wife likes to archive the family, but it won't happen with this camera... Much to important things for me to do with it. But I suppose I will get overruled at times. I didn't tell her how much it cost though, that might affect her view of the picture quality if I told her.

As for the Panasonic, I really wanted that one. I like Panasonic. But when I calculated the expense that would be in addition to the camera, I realized I was going to be in the $10,000 range with 3 cards, and the reader for my Mac. That is to much. I can buy three XH-A1 cameras for that price.

Sorry Panasonic, I love ya, but not that much. I have become a Canon man, and I never thought that would happen.

Bill Pryor · February 21st, 2007, 09:30 AM

I wanted the Panasonic too and agonized and researched for weeks over how to make the P2 work for me, but it's not possible. Way too much after-the-fact data manipulation and too many places for error. Also, after seeing some footage of both, the Canon's higher resolution makes it look better on the panoramic long shots. The reason I liked the Panasonic was because of the variable frame rate--it would be very nice to be able to so slomo with the camera, but it was too big a tradeoff for me. For what the Panasonic would have cost me to make it functional for my kind of shooting, I could get into the XDCAM HD camera with lens. (In fact, XDCAM is probably the way we'll go at work this or next year. I tried selling the P2 concept here but got shot down really quickly and when I got into it in detail, I had to agree.)

Bogdan Tyburczy · February 21st, 2007, 12:30 PM

Imho, before solid state memory becomes practical media for most of us, it has to challenge tape or HDD for at least one day of average work worth of capacity at much lower price than currently.

Not so long ago, I was seriously thinking about F330 XDCAM HD, but raw size and weight of that cam was the main stopper for me. Using it effectively for indie productions requires much more expensive solutions. We can no longer think about small inexpensive Glidecam in this case, for example.

Small Canon is a blessing for many folks like me and shines when compared to HVX on wide and full shots. Many people claim HVX is the best for close-ups. I think main reason for that is lower resolution which in fact helps in those types of shots, but A1 can be tuned to produce similar results or it can be achieved in post easily.

Small camcorder like A1 can be paired easily with any 35mm adapter while 1/2" class requires soo expensive options. One more reason for me to stick with 1/3", for some time at least.

Thanks to Canon for finally making this decision to release small version of H1. Thanks to all you guys for sharing many good advices.

February 20th, 2007, 04:46 PM	#1
Dean Waterman New Boot Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Posts: 17	When the Wife is Impressed... I have a wife who is very nonchalant about technology, and my passion for video shooting and editing. However, when I took my new XH-A1 out this past weekend and shot some great snow scenes, and brought them back to show her on the plasma, even SHE was impressed. I have never had my wife comment on video quality, but she kept telling me how much detail it had, and how nice it looked. And yes, I was impressed also with the camera, and now I am not regretting my decision to forego the Panasonic and save $4,000 to go with the Canon. I say $4,000 because of the P2 CARD you need or actually 3-4 really. This has been a camera I can live with, and I am already contemplating getting another one or two for multiple camera shoots.

February 20th, 2007, 05:23 PM	#2
Bogdan Tyburczy Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 161	Women's minds and hearts are eternal mystery... Sometimes they do get impressed with technology, but they expect it followed by results, while men often praise it just for the idea :) Interesting study I've heard about recently shows women are more interested in technology as means to gather and archive their family stories. Dean, does your wife share this philosophy?

February 20th, 2007, 06:30 PM	#3
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	Dean im in the same boat... lol my missus is very blase about what i do and how i do it and the only time it affects her opinionion is cost vs quality.. being that she either likes it or not.. based on how much it cost to get there.. lol...She being the financial manager I too was looking at the HVX, however the P2 flow and archive just doesnt cut it for what i do (multiple longform projects per week)

February 20th, 2007, 08:46 PM	#4
Dean Waterman New Boot Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Posts: 17	I would say my wife likes to archive the family, but it won't happen with this camera... Much to important things for me to do with it. But I suppose I will get overruled at times. I didn't tell her how much it cost though, that might affect her view of the picture quality if I told her. As for the Panasonic, I really wanted that one. I like Panasonic. But when I calculated the expense that would be in addition to the camera, I realized I was going to be in the $10,000 range with 3 cards, and the reader for my Mac. That is to much. I can buy three XH-A1 cameras for that price. Sorry Panasonic, I love ya, but not that much. I have become a Canon man, and I never thought that would happen.

February 21st, 2007, 09:30 AM	#5
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	I wanted the Panasonic too and agonized and researched for weeks over how to make the P2 work for me, but it's not possible. Way too much after-the-fact data manipulation and too many places for error. Also, after seeing some footage of both, the Canon's higher resolution makes it look better on the panoramic long shots. The reason I liked the Panasonic was because of the variable frame rate--it would be very nice to be able to so slomo with the camera, but it was too big a tradeoff for me. For what the Panasonic would have cost me to make it functional for my kind of shooting, I could get into the XDCAM HD camera with lens. (In fact, XDCAM is probably the way we'll go at work this or next year. I tried selling the P2 concept here but got shot down really quickly and when I got into it in detail, I had to agree.)

February 21st, 2007, 12:30 PM	#6
Bogdan Tyburczy Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 161	Imho, before solid state memory becomes practical media for most of us, it has to challenge tape or HDD for at least one day of average work worth of capacity at much lower price than currently. Not so long ago, I was seriously thinking about F330 XDCAM HD, but raw size and weight of that cam was the main stopper for me. Using it effectively for indie productions requires much more expensive solutions. We can no longer think about small inexpensive Glidecam in this case, for example. Small Canon is a blessing for many folks like me and shines when compared to HVX on wide and full shots. Many people claim HVX is the best for close-ups. I think main reason for that is lower resolution which in fact helps in those types of shots, but A1 can be tuned to produce similar results or it can be achieved in post easily. Small camcorder like A1 can be paired easily with any 35mm adapter while 1/2" class requires soo expensive options. One more reason for me to stick with 1/3", for some time at least. Thanks to Canon for finally making this decision to release small version of H1. Thanks to all you guys for sharing many good advices.