XL-H1a LCD ghosting!?

[Goran Conjar]

Yesterday I bought XL-H1a and I am very disappointed with LCD. There is a LOT of ghosting when you move camcorder, when zooming in & out, and also when the camcorder doesnt move but the objects are (even slightly) moving.
Is this normal (which is horrible!) or there is malfunction??

P.S.
I also have Canon Xl1s (2 pcs.), Canon XL2, Canon XH-A1, and with them there was no problem.

[Nick Hiltgen]

it's pretty normal, and yup it sucks.

[Marty Hudzik]

It is 10x worse if it is cold outside. Are you shooting in cold temperatures? I am not talking sub-zero, I simply mean chilly (50s-low 60s Farenheit). Overall the LCD is the weakest link in the XL-H1's armor.

[Goran Conjar]

I am shooting inside at room temperature! The cheapest camcorder has got better lcd. Every digital compact camera has better lcd. Even mobile phones!

If what you (Nick) say is normal for this camcorder, has anyone of the Canon's engeener ever seen LCD of the ordinary mobile phone?

I have been shooting more today. It is impossible to focus (MF) even a slightly moving object. For example, human head when it's moving left-right for 2 inch!

Chris?

[Michael Galvan]

While I agree that the LCD is probably the worst thing I don't like about the XL-H1 (and 'S' and 'A' versions), you can still do manual focus on it, I do it all the time. try using your peaking in combination with instant B&W (this can be configured in your custom functions setting).

I've done rack an follow focusing with the LCD itself. If you are having difficulty with a barely moving human head, then maybe you should get the camera checked out? Maybe you have a bad, malfunctioning LCD ...

[Bill Busby]

Either you have a seriously malfunctioning unit, OR you have NR1 on. If so, turn it off!

*edit* OR... slow shutter speeds? :)

[Goran Conjar]

Originally Posted by Michael Galvan

try using your peaking in combination with instant B&W (this can be configured in your custom functions setting).

When I turn on peaking, white dots which show peaking - disappear when camcorder or object slightly moves! So peaking is not usable like on my XH-A1.
New thing is: When I turn off camcorder, a lots of small thin lines stay on for 2-3 seconds after. But not every time.

Originally Posted by Bill Busby

OR you have NR1 on. If so, turn it off! *edit* OR... slow shutter speeds? :)

Thank you for your help but I have been working with camcorders and studying them for many years and I know all about settings of camcorder menu and camcorder itself. And I shot with all manual settings (focus, iris, shutter, WB, gain) all the time. So advices like shutter speed or NR1/NR2 filter are something that I already know. Some of my videos shooted with XL2 you can see on my web pages under Videography/weddings:
http://www.gamma-video.com

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

If you've just bought it new from a shop/dealer, then I'd take it straight back and replace with another new viewfinder or even camcorder, or at least get it looked at to check for contacts and malfunctions in the eyepiece. Those lines on the LCD display may be an indicator that the screen has been knocked sometime during transit prior to purchase, or loose wires etc.

[Goran Conjar]

There is video clip (recorded with Canon Powershot G7) which shows how LCD displays peaking lines/dots. When you move camcorder they diffuse/disappear:

Xl h1a display?? on Vimeo

[Marty Hudzik]

I think that is moderately normal. Peaking is based on the cameras ability to define edges and when you are panning left and right, the edges become blurred and the camera is not able to lock onto anything sharp so the peaking appears to go away momentarily. I am not sure about the blur as it is just too hard to tell on this particular clip. I will say that is does not appear to be much different that what I see in my viewfinder....if it is different at all it is subtle or I cannot make it out in this video.

As we have all stated...the LCD/Viewfinder is a bit lacking....but with a little work it is usable. I'll take a look at the clip again to see if anything stands out.

[Chris Hurd]

Unfortunately the LCD display on the Canon XL H series is not the best. In my opinion it's a definite weak point of the camera. There are two ways to get around it, both of which involve money. First, you can replace it with Canon's other viewfinder, model #FU1000 (the worst model number ever assigned). This is a monochrome CRT viewfinder which is far superior to the color LCD screen. It's made by Ikegami and sold under the Canon brand.

The other option is to cable out to a better external LCD display, most commonly mounted on top of the camera. We have an entire forum dedicated to this option; see http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sdtv-hdtv-video-monitors/ -- hope this helps,

[Yang Wen]

I rented two XLH1s for a project last year and walked away extremely unimpressed with the camera. The LCD like you said, smears so much that it's almost impossible to decipher focus on a moving subject. How in the heck did Canon put such a weak LCD on their flashship camera?

Shot 24P with 1/48 shutter so it wasn't a slow shutter issue. The vimeo video you posted was exactly what I experienced on the two H1s.. and I was shooting in the cold as well so double whammy I guess..

[Marty Hudzik]

I just re-read on of your previous posts and noticed that you said you didn't have this issue with the Canon XH-A1. In my experience with the H1 and A1 they were about the same. I expected the larger LCD of the A1 to make a difference but it didn;t really help in my opinion. The culprit isn't just the LCD in my opinion, it is the processing going on inside the camera to create the progressive frames. It seriously delays the signal to the LCD causing even more issues. If the H1 is that much worse than the A1 then it sounds as if something is wrong.

However, you do have the newer H1 with more peaking options so that might come into play here.

What does everyone else think about the A1 LCD? I haven't used it in a while but my memory was that it was about the same as the H1 only bigger.

[Per Johan Naesje]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

...First, you can replace it with Canon's other viewfinder, model #FU1000 (the worst model number ever assigned). This is a monochrome CRT viewfinder which is far superior to the color LCD screen. It's made by Ikegami and sold under the Canon brand...

Echo Chris statement here, but note that there is a difference between the PAL and NTSC model!
I assume that you're in PAL-land Goran? In this case you have to get an PAL model and they are a bit difficult to find, AFAIK!

[Goran Conjar]

Originally Posted by Marty Hudzik

I think that is moderately normal. ......
As we have all stated...the LCD/Viewfinder is a bit lacking....but with a little work it is usable.

Marty
... In my opinion, the LCD of XL2 (and XH-A1) is a bit lacking but after a couple of hours is really usable. XL2 has a little blur when moving but not a lot! XLH1a LCD with a lot of ghosting/blurring is usable only if you shooting from the tripod and want to focus the flower that is not growing fast. I wrote: "It is impossible to focus (MF) even a slightly moving object. For example, human head when it's moving left-right for 2 inch!"

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Unfortunately the LCD display on the Canon XL H series is not the best. In my opinion it's a definite weak point of the camera.

I am satisfied with LCD/VF on XL2 and XH-A1 although I know they are not the best. How would you rated XL2 vs. XLH1a? I would like that this is a malfunction and I am afraid it is not! It is really unusable!
However, neither of the ways (solutions) are not suitable for me because I use VL10Li and dual holder on camcorder. After all, I bought the camcorder for cca 6000$ and I cannot focus with it because of poor LCD!!!(???)