A1 vs G1 at DVinfo.net

Stuart Brontman · May 5th, 2007, 08:52 PM

Before I take the plunge Monday and buy either the A1 or G1, I wanted to ask for opinions about the relative merits of the "upgrade" to the G1. I'm buying this camera for my first HD production for one of my clients. I'm expecting more HD jobs to follow by late 2007. This is all corporate/industrial stuff, so 24p etc... is not a concern for me. Final output will likely be to Blu-Ray disc for my client to display at trade shows.

Here's the big question - is the HD-SDI really worth the extra $2700 over the A1? I will NOT be using the camera in a studio setting very often and do not shoot in environments where a "portable" work station is easily setup. On the other hand, I do a considerable amount of After Effects work on my footage and worry that HDV will not handle the added editing - hence the interest in uncompressed or at least HD-SDI output to Cineform files. This might be accomplished in a few months with some of the "affordable" field capture devices (ie. Colorspaces' unit).

For those of you in similar situations, does the HDV-compressed footage, when converted to Cineform files, hold up to fairly intensive editing/effects work? If the A1 is enough, I'll gladly save the money and use it for other equipment. If HD-SDI is a must for what I do, I guess I'll find a way to budget for it. If this isn't enough to consider, I'm drooling over the XDCAM EX coming out later this year. Me and about 10,000 others - LOL!

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Stuart

P.S. I'm getting an HV 20 for the deck and a nice little B camera.

Eric Weiss · May 6th, 2007, 07:44 AM

go for the a1. editing with hdv was much easier than i had expected.
the cineform files take effects and layers very well. however, that's all going to come down to the specs of your system. so use the g1 money and put it into your hardware if you need it.

i just bought the hv20 too. i was going to use it as a deck, b-cam, and underwater cam. the unit is a bit of a joke. it feels very cheap and is horrible in low light. i will try it out a bit more, but it is not very useful for pro situations.

the a1 is amazing.

Harlow Cuadra · May 9th, 2007, 05:21 AM

thinking of getting the A1 too.

soory to high jack the thread but does the A1 support the use of shot gun mikes and wireless mike hook ups(interview type purposes)?

Chien Huey · May 9th, 2007, 06:12 AM

The A1 has 2 XLR inputs so any shotgun or wireless lav systems that use those outputs will be compatible with the A1.

Stuart, I am in the middle of the same purchase decision except I don't do any AE for my work. My instinct is that for corporate/industrial/event work a smaller form factor is more important. I've rented an HVX for a couple of jobs that needed over/undercranked. One time the client provided a Firestore for recording. As small and light as the Firestore was, it was enough to change the handling characteristics so that it felt somewhat unyieldy. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I would probably shy away from tethering the camera 95% of the time, so the A1 is the way to go.

May 5th, 2007, 08:52 PM	#1
Stuart Brontman Contributor Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 228	A1 vs G1 Before I take the plunge Monday and buy either the A1 or G1, I wanted to ask for opinions about the relative merits of the "upgrade" to the G1. I'm buying this camera for my first HD production for one of my clients. I'm expecting more HD jobs to follow by late 2007. This is all corporate/industrial stuff, so 24p etc... is not a concern for me. Final output will likely be to Blu-Ray disc for my client to display at trade shows. Here's the big question - is the HD-SDI really worth the extra $2700 over the A1? I will NOT be using the camera in a studio setting very often and do not shoot in environments where a "portable" work station is easily setup. On the other hand, I do a considerable amount of After Effects work on my footage and worry that HDV will not handle the added editing - hence the interest in uncompressed or at least HD-SDI output to Cineform files. This might be accomplished in a few months with some of the "affordable" field capture devices (ie. Colorspaces' unit). For those of you in similar situations, does the HDV-compressed footage, when converted to Cineform files, hold up to fairly intensive editing/effects work? If the A1 is enough, I'll gladly save the money and use it for other equipment. If HD-SDI is a must for what I do, I guess I'll find a way to budget for it. If this isn't enough to consider, I'm drooling over the XDCAM EX coming out later this year. Me and about 10,000 others - LOL! Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Stuart P.S. I'm getting an HV 20 for the deck and a nice little B camera.

May 6th, 2007, 07:44 AM	#2
Eric Weiss Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Philly,PA Posts: 360	go for the a1. editing with hdv was much easier than i had expected. the cineform files take effects and layers very well. however, that's all going to come down to the specs of your system. so use the g1 money and put it into your hardware if you need it. i just bought the hv20 too. i was going to use it as a deck, b-cam, and underwater cam. the unit is a bit of a joke. it feels very cheap and is horrible in low light. i will try it out a bit more, but it is not very useful for pro situations. the a1 is amazing.

May 9th, 2007, 05:21 AM	#3
Harlow Cuadra Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Norfolk, Virginia Posts: 38	thinking of getting the A1 too. soory to high jack the thread but does the A1 support the use of shot gun mikes and wireless mike hook ups(interview type purposes)?

May 9th, 2007, 06:12 AM	#4
Chien Huey Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 59	The A1 has 2 XLR inputs so any shotgun or wireless lav systems that use those outputs will be compatible with the A1. Stuart, I am in the middle of the same purchase decision except I don't do any AE for my work. My instinct is that for corporate/industrial/event work a smaller form factor is more important. I've rented an HVX for a couple of jobs that needed over/undercranked. One time the client provided a Firestore for recording. As small and light as the Firestore was, it was enough to change the handling characteristics so that it felt somewhat unyieldy. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I would probably shy away from tethering the camera 95% of the time, so the A1 is the way to go.