An Open Letter to Canon: Suggested Fixes for the XL H1
 

We just finished shooting a feature film with the XL H1, and though we love the camera, forty days of shooting have revealed many little annoyances that should be addressed.
Doubtless many others have suggestions as well. This seems as good a place as any for public constructive criticism. Hopefully someone at Canon is listening.

Our suggestions and frustrations:


The Big Ones That Are Hard to Fix:

-The viewfinder is horrendous. It crops too much off the edges of the frame. A little is to be expected in a prosumer camera, but this is ridiculous. Also, the picture quality is horrible: too contrasty, too low resolution. And it's really hard to tell focus, even with magnifying. For me the viewfinder is the bottleneck of this camera. If you are shooting in the field without an external monitor, the viewfinder reduces the amazing imaging potential of this camera to guesswork.

-The autofocus doesn't really work. It should focus on foreground subjects, instead of the background. It shouldn't take so long to find focus, and then bounce back and forth once it's found. Good autofocus is critical when you can't see focus in the viewfinder.


Little Issues:
Many of these can be fixed with a software update?

-The stabilizer should have a viewfinder indicator when it's off.

-Viewfinder info: there should be a setting where the only data you see in the viewfinder is the audio meters.

-The focus position preset feature is great, but its default speed settings are way too fast. Even the slow setting is super quick, maybe half a second. I would recommend the fast setting to be a quarter second, medium to be one second, and long to be three seconds. (Remember that we're trying to simulate a manual focus pull here, and anything too fast seems mechanical. Ideally, the operator would be able to set the focus-pull time, like on Sony cameras.)

-There should be a shutter speed lock: too often those buttons get pushed accidentally.

-The default shutter speed for 30F should be 1/60th, no?

-The viewfinder's LED gain light should not be lit when the gain is set to –3dB. Since that is the preferred setting, one tends to ignore the light, and thus not notice when the gain is unintentionally set higher, nullifying the purpose of the light.

-It shouldn't be so easy to accidentally change custom presets by hitting one of those buttons.

-The top "start/stop" button on the handle is too sensitive; very easy to unintentionally turn the camera on or off.

-The Telephoto/Wide buttons on the remote should cause the camera to zoom at the user-set "constant" speed, just like the zoom toggle on the handle. That way you can zoom at a chosen speed without touching (and shaking) the camera.

-The slowest zoom speed should be slower.

-Would be nice if the "audio monitor" button would also effect which audio is being output through the firewire. That way one could digitize audio 3&4.

-Would be nice to be able to monitor audios 1, 2, 3, and 4 separately out of the four RCA audio jacks while recording. That way all inputs could be properly monitored by two people. Otherwise 4-channel recording is difficult.

-The "magnifying" button should work while the camera is recording, if only for a moment, to check focus.

I too recently finished shooting a feature on the XLH1 and wholeheartedly agree with your posting.

In addition, although I know that we could have used another lens, wouldn't it be nice if you could zoom and pull focus at the same time?

Harry.

I very much agree with all that was said by the previous posters. From my own perspective, I'd like to add that maintaining untethered time code sync through power downs of the camera (or at least while in standby mode) would be very welcome. As it is implemented today, the time code sync feature is pretty much limited to studio environments.

I pretty much agree with everything, especially the auto focus (which I hate), the viewfinder (which I'm getting used to) and the viewfinder displays... it always seems that there is way more info in the finder than I need, and yet something always seems to be missing. I would like to be able to custom set only the data I chose (ie, audio levels and TC).. That would be a simple thing, it seems..

The biggest issues - again and again and AGAIN - are the 20X lens and the finder.. I am SO sorry that I sold my 16X - Please, Canon, make a nice manual lens and a high rez finder for this camera.. as it is, it's like driving a Ferrari with a sock in the injectors while peering through a tiny slit in the windshield...

100% agree re the viewfinder - it is rubbish.

The only other point I would add is that for the viewfinder info there should be a setting where the only info you see is either the timecode or a symbol to confirm that you are indeed recording.

The sad thing is most of these items became apparent to me after only a few days with the camera and none of them have been addressed since the camera was released 6 months ago. I sent to Canon an email with a very similar list to this letter in January 2006 after I got my camera (except for the lens focus zoom issue since I hadn't figured that one out yet.) IMHO Canon should have really beta tested these cameras with more professionals before they released them. From what I understand the cameras are designed by the Japan arm and the US arm just sells them. It seems to be very hard to get requests back to Japan treated with much urgency. Once the feature set is in production it is very hard to get any manufacturer to change them unless they are software only.

I understand that the lens focus vs zoom issue is due to sharing a single motor for both functions so I expect the only solution for that is a different lens so I don't expect any HD solution from Canon until they deliver a manual lens.

The viewfinder display issue should be possible to update electronically but who knows.

I also would love a momentary Auto Iris button in Manual Mode which seem to be the only way I shoot with the camera.

Maybe we will learn more when Canon has its annual Canon show. Since they have announced a 6x Wide Angle Lens maybe they will also deliver the Manual Standard HD lens many of us desire as a surprise.

Actually you sort of have that already. Set the H1 to the Tv shutter priority program mode. Press the Exposure Lock button. Now you have full manual control of shutter speed and exposure, just as if you were shooting in Manual mode. Press the Exposure Lock button again, and you have auto iris. This method pretty much gives you a momentary auto iris function at the push of a button.

Daniel if you mean the Canon Global Expo that was held in New York last September when the XL H1 was announced, unfortunately that is not an annual show. It only happens once every five years (but I wish it was an annual thing)!

Nice Tip Chris, Thanks,
J

(Glad you like it John!) For Gabriel -- an excellent topic, in fact it's tempting to make this thread a "sticky."

Agreed, the color EVF is the weak point of the XL H1, no doubt about it. However, allow me to briefly play devil's advocate here and tell you how Canon will respond to this, because I've seen them do it in the past regarding the exact same issue on the XL2 and XL1 / XL1S. What Canon will say, is that the XL H1 is a modular camera... not just interchangeable lenses but other interchangeable components as well, including viewfinders. If you don't like the color LCD viewfinder included with the camera, then change it. Buy the optionally available monochrome CRT viewfinder and use it instead. The XL H1 already has an amazing feature set for its price... you just have to consider the color LCD viewfinder as an "included freebie." The monochrome CRT viewfinder is a Canon-branded Ikegami EVF that is priced about the same as any other pro B&W viewfinder (more info about it in our XL1 / XL1S Watchdog article here: www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles/article83.php).

So if you approach Canon and tell them you don't like the included color LCD viewfinder, they'll probably suggest that you consider upgrading to the readily available monochrome CRT viewfinder instead. After all, that's what they've always told folks who complain about the color LCD viewfinders on the XL2 and XL1 / XL1S.

As for myself, what I'm looking for is some company like TransVideo or Nebtek to offer a replacement HD color LCD viewfinder for the XL H1. I envision it as something like a 16:9 panel in a 3" or 3.5" size, mounting on the existing EVF rail on the H1 body, and including a mic clamp. True HD resolution, full external controls, full image area, and a sun shade. What would that be worth? Put a price on that.

Well, I think this should be considered in relative terms... compared to the way autofocus used to work on the older Canon XL lenses, autofocus on the stock 20x HD lens for the XL H1 is actually quite an improvement over the previous lenses. Just remember that the AF response is tied directly to the frame rate, so therefore at slower frame rates such as 30F and especially 24F, the autofocus is forced to work slower than when shooting in 60i. Most shooters I know suggest using manual focus whenever practical.

With other Canon camcorders such as the GL2, there's a viewfinder indicator when it's *on,* so I would agree with you to the extent that there should be an OIS on/off indicator, but the standard practice is to show an EVF display icon when stabilization is on, not off.

That's absolutely true. The "slow, medium, fast" settings for the focus change speed are in reality "fast, faster, fastest." Seems to me that a firmware update could greatly improve this issue (that is, slow down the focus change speed considerably).

There's a button on the H1 body that is superfluous in my opinion. Right now there are two buttons controlling the color bars. Only one is really needed. Map the other one to function as an overall button lock on the camera, disabling everything but the record trigger. This would fix the problem of buttons which are too easily activated accidentally.

I can see why *you* would want 1/60th as default for 30F, but not everyone does. So here's my proposal to Canon. Provide an option in the camera's System menu which lets the user decide what those default settings should be for the EVF warning indicators. You want to default to 1/60th at 30F? Then you set that yourself in the System menu and lock it in. Those folks who had the old Canon XL1 will remember how the zebra indicator was locked to 95 IRE, no way to change it. Later on Canon offered a way to set your own preferred IRE value for the zebra indicator by simply accessing the camera menu. Same thing here... those three EVF warning lights wouldn't bug me so much if I could define for myself how and why they're lighting up, instead of what the manufacturer thinks is right for me.

See above -- exact same solution. Should be a user-defined preference.

See my "all buttons lock" idea above.

You're aware of the slide switch adjacent to that button which locks it out of use, right?

I'm not a big fan of using wireless remotes for this purposes... isn't a cabled remote lens controller a better solution for most applications?

It's already pretty slow! But not quite to that "Sixty Minutes" style dead-slow crawl. It would be very nice to have that.

Perhaps this capability could be offered in the camera's VCR menu.

I'm a little lost on this one. There's an audio monitor button already on the camera which allows separate channel monitoring for the headphone jack.

After all, the zebra pattern isn't recorded, and can be activated on and off in the viewfinder at will with a Custom Key assignment while recording... so why not allow the focus assist features while recording as well? Good question!

As long as we are asking for fixes, here is mine.

Allow for the zebra patterns to be displayed even when using the peaking circuit. I find it hard to believe this can't be achieved. With as crappy as the LCD is, it is basically a requirement to have peaking turned on all the time and therefore defeating the zebra patterns all the time. Unless you switch off and on all the time....which is a workaround.....but still way less than ideal to me personally.

This is my chief complaint other than the obvious other drawbacks to the LCD.

Peace!

nice thread!

if you are using the fs-100 or similar, you'll need the option of a viewfinder display that includes firewire "rec" control feedback.

the canon lcd viewfinders have never been able to fully display all the lines of resolution that the lense is capable of, so there is nothing new there... i anticipate shooting in full manual mode, then zooming in to hit the momentary focus button, just like i always do with their dv cameras... if that's possible :/

I asked this a while back.is anyone using the monochrome viewfinder (fu-10000 on the H1? I have one on my XL2,and am thinking about upgrading to the H1,but would like some real world feed back on this issue.
Bruce yarock

BRuce I'm using the fu-1000 with the xl-h1, It's great and there's a noticible difference in sharpness between the two VF's. I'm not sure if the underscan issue is still there I'll have to check for it. But I will say that there is a definite improvement in using the FU-1000.

According to Ken Tanaka, the FU-1000 (the world's worst choice for model nomenclature by the way) does in fact display the entire image including the underscan area: http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles...php#comparison

Chris,
Thanks for the tip. The only quibble I have with it is the TV Mode on my XLH1 doesn't seem to always remember what shutter speed I was shooting in when I go into standby or off so I have to keep an eye on it. The default shutter speed for 24F seems to be 1/24 instead of the 1/48 I prefer. Also the button is farther away from the Iris wheel. I had suggested to them the set button should do this function since it is right next to the wheel. Canon did not tell me to use the TV Mode



Yes that was the show but I thought they must have annual show albeit smaller than Last years. If they don't have an annual show then they should get used to using NAB like everyone else in the industry.

Thanks to Marty for another good observation.
I kept wondering why my zebras were not working on Saturday and it was because I was using the Peaking. I was shooting in Rain with a rain cover so I couldn't access the top buttons on the camera easily so I figured I had left them off.

I have wanted an XL-H1 ever since it was announced. But these issues are holding me back.

Just yesterday I learned, from this site, that there is only one motor in the lens. So, I assume that we can either focus or zoom, but not both.

Does this mean, that if I am zooming with one of the zoom controls, I can not manually focus using the focus ring on the camera? I assume so.

Yesterday, I was ready to place the order for this camera, however, this is a serious issue for me. With the Xl1s, the only way I could achieve a reasonable focus and zoom at the same time was to zoom very slowly.

My other main issue is the viewfinder. With focus being so critical, we need a good viewfinder. The reason for the underscan is a mystery to me. I want to be certain the boom mic is not in the picture. It is good to hear that the FU-1000 does not have the underscan issue.

Of course there are other issues as discussed in this thread.

I would also like to know how well the HDV recording holds up. For example, in normal shooting is it rarely a problem, or does the picture break up due to the compression frequently?

I would love to see a low to moderate cost solution for recording HD-SDI. The Wafian solution is out of my budget and not very portable.

Overall, I think this is a wonderful camera, and it produces outstanding video. I assume that these issues will not be corrected by firmware. If we had assurances from Canon that these issues were going to be resolved via a firmware update, then I (and possibly others) would be more inclinded to purchase the XL-H1.

I'm in the same boat as Dan. I was also disappointed to find out that peaking and zebras can't be on at the same time.

I also have a question:

If I zoom-in to focus and then pull back to wide, does the 20x lens hold focus througout the range? I know that some lenses that have servo-driven focus don't.

Yes Paul, it holds the focus, at least if the backfocus is properly adjusted which is easily done on this camera (please see another thread for this feature).
I was also disappointed when I discovered the camera couldn't focus and zoom at the same time. Must have been a woman designing it! (Sorry all girls, it was a Swedish joke.)
You cannot have it all. But sometimes it is time to decide for the investment and for me the time was right now when the picture quality was good enough. Good luck whatever you do.

Another one on the wishlist is a better "gear" software for the focus servo. Now it is too sensitive at the far end. When you turn the focus it will easily go past infinity even if you don't intend it. The gear ratio changes depending on the focal length but I would say it is often too sensitive, especially if you try to adjust according to the distance readout (great feature, thanks Canon) in the viewfinder.

Peaking AND zebra at the same time? Dear lord. The image would be a complete mess and unviewable.

As far as the stock 20x lens is concerned...don't like it...get a different lens. Rent or buy a 16x manual. Problem solved.

That's why the camera's modular. You're never "stuck" with a particular component like other cameras.

Nick,
Thanks. Btw, which battery do you use? It seems like the fu 1000 burns up batterys real fast. I've been doing some weddings, and need my Frezzi(occasionally),and my Fs4 hard drive. I tried powering everything(xl2 included) off of my AB Dionic 90, and the AB ran out befor the end of the evening. So now I use the biggest Canon battery(BP 945) for the xl2 only, and the AB for the rest.
Are you using the new H1 battery? If so, what kind of run time do you get with it?
Bruce Yarock

I have had no problem with peaking and zebra on any of the panansonic cameras.....DVX100a, B and HVX200. In all fairness the peaking on the Canon is like the peaking on steroids...it's almost like a photoshop filter....it makes the image look totally like and 80's video. But at lease you can see the edges.

It's just the LCD is so completely soft as to render it almost useless without peaking. So if you want a chance to really nail your focus you have to have it on. Then you can't see the zebra patterns. Maybe not an issue on a controlled shoot but for run and gun.......

I agree with Marty that Peaking and Zebras should be able to coexist. The Canon implementation is the issue. Same philosophy which only lets you zoom or focus with the 20X Lens. On the SD B+W viewfinder there is an adjustment as to how much peaking you have. On the Color LCD there is not so when you turn on the Peaking it is full on. They should have at least given us a menu adjustment for the Peaking Level if not a control knob on the Color viewfinder. There is a reason they put one on the B+W VF and it is just as valid today as it was then.
As for the Devils Advocate argument that the camera is modular and we should buy the other accessories to use the camera the way we want. I would if they where high enough quality for the rest of the system. Ie the 16x Manual lens being the solution to the 20x problems I look at it as the short term solution since it does have HD issues. In NY I often shoot in dark environments where I need the camera to be able to look in focus with the lens wide open. The 16X doesn't look good at that F Stop. I just don't understand Canon's approach here. Did they think the old accessories or lens solutions worked well with the new camera? Did they think we want to wait patiently for the new camera to have the same capabilities as the old one? One of the reasons the JVC is still generating buzz is you can get decent glass for it if you have to. Even Canon has announced they are going to make a lens for the JVC camera. They haven't announced much for the XLH1 except the 6X Wide Angle.
Another area I would like upgraded is the way the camera does timecode. Beside not being able to do Free Run timecode in DV 24F ! I find the lack of Regen and the loss of TC when you eject a tape to be an inconvenience. Also and end of tape search function ie my DVX-100A. If you have to check tape for something other than the last few seconds you have to be overly careful as to what happens to the timecode. If you have to eject a tape and then put it back in you can't just have the tape cued up to end of tape and start recording. You have to reset the TC. This is not the way professional cameras work and shows the origins of this camera as a consumer unit.

How about access to even limited service menus...

I've had two units that have displayed pixels out/lit, and had to exchange them (which is a heck of a thing to place on everybody - me, the dealer, etc). It's irritating, guessing that there's probably a pixel-masking feature in there somewhere. If there isn't, there should be, and we should have access to it.

Either I (or others I've seen) are unlucky, and/or we're all at some point eventually going to get pixels to knock out on this thing.

Nothing worse than a little white blotch sitting there on the screen... Let us fix it in 30seconds ourselves - ask JVC - ask somebody/anybody...
I won't shoot with or rent any unit that has problems.

Dear Shawn,

Are the bad pixels in the viewfinder or in the camera itself?

Chris: You are right the fu-1000 is easily the greatest model number ever put into circulation (rivals the nova in the spanish market)

Bruce: I'm using a plethora of batteries which include the new BP-950G the old BP-927 and the old larger BP-941. I'm seriously considering a transition to anton batteries if I purchase a mini 35 but that's still up in the air and well, honestly I'm trying not to purchase anything without have a client or something first (just moved back to GA)

Daniel: you can use the zebra's with the peaking turned up on the fu-1000 I think that basically the fu-1000 is a nessecity for all but the most basic users of the camera.

Nick,
thanks for the tip on the FU-1000. I have avoided buying SD accessories for this camera because it is in the HD realm that many of these issues are more important to me. I may have to make an exception for the FU-1000 if there is no HD option relatively soon. Nor is it a suggested fix request for the current XLH1 as sold. I can live without Zebras with Peaking in most situations but it is an indication that Canon isn't thinking straight. When you are in the fourth generation of making cameras(XL1,XL1S,XL2 and XLH1) and you haven't solved basic user issues like focusing while zooming and Zebras with Peaking on the basic model then maybe you really don't know what those things are for in the first place. Isn't it logical that if you have a peaking adjustment on the B+W viewfinder that you need one on the next generation color one as well. If you are looking at the implementation of zebras does any other camera have them go away when you have peaking on? Are they a successful camera manufacturer? Do they think this is some marketing scheme to sell more accesories? Since Canon doesn't sell the camera a la carte where I could choose my lens and viewfinder then I think they are hurting sales with these strange feature issues. It certainly stopped me from buying a second one until I have clearer picture of what I actually need to use the camera the way I want.

Hi Chris,
Sorry about the delay in keeping you updated. I have finally have an assistant to help me around the office and am able to provide some type of presence on the user boards again.

Check this out...
http://www.nebtek.com./proddetail.ph...lVR-70P-HDA-LI

It's not up to the specs of the Panasonic 8.4" but I'm using the hell out of it with my Sony Z1U. As far as rails go... I'm loving the new gear the Zacuto designed.

Glad to be back!
-Rob

NEBTEK

"Ask me about my new daughter."

Another suggestion to Canon:

It would be nice if the flip-up part of the viewfinder were detachable. When flipped up, this piece:
-Is the tallest part of the camera, and is restrictive if you are shooting against a ceiling.
-Has a large shadow profile. This is a problem when shooting on city streets at night with many light sources.
-Is the first thing to show up in a mirror and reveal the camera in your shot.

And wouldn't it just be nice to remove this bulky thing for those of us who rarely use it?

More Viewfider ideas
 

How about an extension cable for the FU-1000? Then it could be used on the mount for the Mini-35.

It would be nice if it were possible to use an adapter cable to pick off the video, record, and other tallies for use on with a monitor and add LEDs for the tallies.

Gabriel. You're absolutely right, I have this feeling there will be a color High res viewfinder coming out in the next year or so and will have all of the features we want only it'll cost somewhere around 3 grand and we'll all complain about the cost...

Grayson, I'm not sure I follow you, it could have been the mini35 I was using (the 400 series) but I didn't have any trouble mounting the fu-1000 to the rig. The cable isn't any shorter then the stock cable and I know we had that mounted to the 35 with no issues. Which version are you using?

I'll add the thing we know will be included and that's embedded timecode and audio to the hd-sdi port. I would LOVE if they would throw in a native image flip (not jsut viewfinder) so that all of the fun adapters could be used with no issues, doesn't seem like it would be a big deal but then again I have no clue how that would be done. All of my sound guys have been complainging about the pickups for the xlr inputs, I'm not sure exactly what the issue is but whatever it is if they'd fix it that would be swell to.

What I'd like ot see them introduce is a new 35mm ef adapter that uses some sort of ground glass or something so that when you hook up the ef lenses you have control of your iris and lens but you don't have the 7.2x magnification. I know i'd buy one of those (and a whole set of L-series primes) in a second.