Where's da work?

[Bruce Meyers]

Where's the work? Any new work? Infomercials, Pornography, and Soap Operas need not apply. Anyone on planet earth shoot a short film or music video of note with this camera? It's april 2006, and we're not getting any younger, please for the love of mercy, share the work! LINKS PLEAZE!

[Chris Hurd]

If you're looking for professional samples of a commercial nature which have been posted online, then your expectations might not be realistic. Seldom is such material ever posted online, primarily for copyright reasons. Besides, it's never a matter of what others have done with a camera, but rather, what *you* can do with it. We have a special showcase forum called "DV For The Masses" specifically for that purpose.

[Jon Bickford]

Chris is right, i don't personally own any of the work i've done on an H1 other than a few good looking tests.

I know it's not what you're looking for but i can at least tell you that having shot several very different projects ranging from feature, doc, cooking show, adult film, concert and ENG type stuff i have been very very pleased with the H1 as far as picture quality is concerned. reliability however is a different matter, i dropped it off at the canon service center in Irvine today for the 2nd time. it's a good thing it's only 40 miles away, i would be very upset if i had to keep shipping it.

-Jon

[Steve Rosen]

Jon: What reliability problems are you experiencing? Curious because I've had a couple too:

The sound recording portion went dead on me during a shoot - when I returned it to Canon they said they had it on the bench for 5 hours and were unable to reproduce the problem - it came back working, but I bought a Tascam HD P2 recorder as a backup, just in case - I do prefer the Tascam's audio, but it means syncing...

Also, currently I'm unable to shoot in the DV mode and play back on any of my decks (DSR40, DSR11 or M10), although it plays back from the camera -Doesn't bother me much since I only use the camera for HDV, but still...

Steve Rosen

[Steve Rosen]

By the way, in answer to the actual question of this thread, I am currently editing a documentary shot with my H1 titled IN A NEW COUNTRY that will eventually end up on PBS.

I do own the rights to the film, but I don't have the time or the site to post clips.. take my word for it, it looks pretty darn good, in fact better than I initially expected when I plopped down the cash for this camera.

Reliability issues aside, it's a very nice piece of equipt. I am considering buying a Sony as a backup camera and for wide-angle shooting, like inside cars (which I seem to do alot) - and I've seem some nice stuff from that camera too. I'm not a Chevy's better than Ford person - if it does the job, that's all I ask... Steve Rosen

[Bruce S. Yarock]

Steve,
Which "sony" are you thinking of getting as a second camera? the Z1?
Bruce Yarock

[Steve Rosen]

Haven't decided yet.. since it will basically be a "glove compartment" camera, I may go cheap - but if I want a true backup, the XLRs and other subtle features would be nice to have - I'm actually waiting till there's word about a wide angle lens for the H1 before I spend the bucks... Or who knows, a GL-HD...

[Jon Bickford]

a couple of reliability issues...

it started out similar to your audio problem, i couldn't get a line level from the XLR inputs at all so i had to do a work around to get the sound recordist to output a mic level signal. later that week the viewfinder flickered a few times then the camera died altogether, nothing, dead as a door nail. i took it in and the next afternoon it was ready, i didn't get to speak with a tech in person but the lady at the front desk explained that a fuse had blown, likely it was from the XLR input, telling me that sometimes something involving phantom power would blow a fuse in the camera, sorry but i could not get a better explanation than that.

so i got the camera home, started it up, didn't bother plugging a mike in and figured everything was fine. my next day's work comes a few days later and i have NO signal at the XLR inputs at all, irregardless of what i did trying the mike both self-powered and phantom, then i found that i could only get channel 1 from the front mic, no channel 2 signal at all... luckily i had an XLR - mini 1/8" adapter that i haven't used in like 4 years and i was able to hook up a self-powered boom mic to the front input and get a single track of audio, not pretty but it kept the shoot going.

so i picked up my camera for the second time this afternoon, all appears well thus far, apparently there was a loose connection somewhere inside, almost certainly the tech that worked on the camera the first time's fault.

i also have a couple of lit pixels in the viewfinder, not at the chip, no big deal but a little lame, they told me that up to 25 lit pixels were allowed in the viewfinder, that seems like a lot to me.

i never had any of these issues in 14 months of HARD work on an xl2 but i thought about it today and i guess i've had 30 paid days of work now on the XL-H1 and for a "Prosumer" camera that's quite a bit, but still...

but before a half dozen HVX fans jump on here saying i gave the camera a bad review, I LOVE MY H1 AND COULD NOT BE HAPPIER WITH THE PICTURE QUALITY

[Steve Rosen]

Jon, yeah, that's pretty much how I feel too... It is always, and I mean ALWAYS a problem to get the first seats on the bandwagon.. The smart thing is to wait until version 2 or 3 of (especially) a prosumer product before buying..

In this case, in order to bloody myself on the cutting edge, I bought Canon version 1.. But, like you, I am extremely impressed with the image, the camera has almost paid for itself already, and I have been able to integrate my former XL2 and my Aaton (super16) accesories into my current shooting (matte boxes, grips, batteries, etc)..

Also, I haven't had any more problems (other than the inability to shoot SD) and have not had a single drop-out in over 40 tapes...

Steve Rosen

[Jon Bickford]

yeah in this case it was worth it for me to bloody myself on the cutting edge as well, it's funny, the majority of my clients have had me shoot SD for their editing systems but just the idea that the camera is CAPABLE of HD gets them much more excited than my xl2, that and it definetely has a nicer SD picture.

you're from Monterey Steve? do you ever shoot at Laguna Seca Raceway? i'm usually there a couple of times a year shooting, beautiful area.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

Thank you for your input on the H1. I'm glad that I've now chosen to stick with the Xl1s & XL2 for a while longer. By the time the two new H1 lenses are released, I reckon Canon may have corrected some of the odd internal electrical problems and also that prices will begin to lower (even a body only kit could be available at the same time that the wide angle is released). I was even considering to go for the JVC HD100 (due to removable lenses), but that cam also has had some teething problems.

I think that waiting in the sidelines for a while longer is the best thing to do, and in the meantime, people like John and Steve can offer us positive & negative feedback on how the H1 manages in a busy working environment.

I agree with John about the older SD XL cameras; in fact my old XL1s hardly missed a beat during months of constant work in USA last year. The only problems I had was the "moisture detected" signal that sometimes stopped me shooting...normally at a time that I very much needed to be shooting. I think that the detection system in those cameras is a little too sensitive, and would rather at least be able to finish the shooting sequence and not for the cam to lock-up. Turning off the camera and then switching it on again normally brought everything back to normal running.
It seems that most people that own the H1 are using it in the studio or on the dry streets. Has anybody had problems using the H1 for long periods outdoors during the early and latter periods of the day (or even night time) when moisture levels in the air can be high, or during rainstorms with a rain cover on the camera?

[Barlow Elton]

I tortured my camera in the freezing cold and snow for many hours each day at Sundance. Never missed a beat.

[Steve Rosen]

Tony: Yeah, it's probably a good idea to wait if you can do that, in my case it was get the Canon or the Sony, which I don't really like -

The Sony picture is fine and Sony's reliability is up there with the best - but who designed the thing? That stupid bulbous overhanging mike and the flip-out screen? The camera should come stripped in a Pro version... And I shoot mostly hand-held - and, with my custom minirod-mounted grips, the Canon handles very well, the Sony doesn't...

Problem is, however, if there isn't an enthusiastic public for the H1 there may not be a new version, so there have to be some courageous trail-blazers (sorry for all the pathetic metaphors). People are actually buying into the Panasonic hype (I owned and shot with a 100A for a year and was underwhelmed)...

The Canon tech problems, while frustrating, have been quickly resolved, usually 2 or 3 days.. I haven't sent it back for the SD fix yet because I'm in the middle of a shoot and will wait..

Jon: No, I never shoot at Laguna Seca - or the Concourse or the Jazz Festival or the AT&T for that matter.. I make "soft" social issue documentaries and the themes haven't carried me to those places (although I did drive a '56 Corvette at Laguna Seca - unsuccessfully - many many years ago)... Steve Rosen

[Jon Bickford]

the only problem i've had with early morning or late night shooting is that for some reason the LCD has a smear to it when it's cold, kinda like noise reduction is on, it's not on the tape, just the viewfinder, between that and the delay in the viewfinder when shooting 24f i think the viewfinder is the weakest part

i still love my camera

-Jon

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

Originally Posted by Steve Rosen

Tony: Yeah, it's probably a good idea to wait if you can do that ...
Problem is, however, if there isn't an enthusiastic public for the H1 there may not be a new version...Steve Rosen

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I haven't seen sales figures yet, but judging by advertisements and retailer's stock levels, it doesn't seem that the H1 is making big sales at the moment. I think if they already had a body-only kit available, a lower price, and a couple of other HD lenses to fit it, then sales would increase dramatically.