Quality of the XLH1

Steve Rosen · March 2nd, 2007, 11:57 AM

I've had my H1 since Dec '05 and have shot well over 150 tapes now.. I sent it to Canon for a problem with the audio portion shortly after purchase and for a routine service in Dec '06 - both times the camera head was returned within 3-4 days...

I shoot documentaries for a living, and am not always in the cleanest of environments - but I do take normal precautions - I use canned air (Dust Off) on exterior surfaces, but never have in the tape compartment - although I would if I needed to (if I was shooting in a very dusty environment) - but I would do it in a clean place where I wasn't introducing more problems than I was fixing - and I would be careful to not blow dust deeper into the camera..

If you use a relatively full can, and DO NOT shake it, there should never be a problem with accelerant with Dust Off, it's a very good product - I have had problems with other brands however... If the camera got really dirty, I would send it to Canon.. but I would send any camera, film or video, to a qualified technician in those circumstances.

I don't know how many hours I have on my camera, but it's alot - I have not had a single problem (other than the audio glitch mentioned above) and have had only a single drop-out, and that was caused by a bad tape provided by a client (I always use Sony Digital Masters, although there are many opinions on tape)...

Two months ago I bought an A1 as a backup camera and have already shot over 25 tapes with that one too - no problems...

A. J. deLange · March 2nd, 2007, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Keaton

I would use regular compressed air, not canned air.

You can purchase a small tank at an auto supply place and fill it up anywhere you can get your tires inflated.

When using this approach, I would be concerned about the moisture in the tank and thus in the air stream. However, I do not think this will be a problem.

The big problem with a regular compressor is not so much moisture as the oil mist which gets thrown into the air stream by the compresor's pistons. I would want at least 1 and probably two oil separation filters in the line before I would use air from a garage style air compressor on my cameras.

Oliver Michaels · March 2nd, 2007, 09:08 PM

Two months ago I bought an A1 as a backup camera and have already shot over 25 tapes with that one too - no problems...[/QUOTE]

Steve
As someone who owns both the a1 and the h1 i was wondering if you could clear something up for me. when i was originally looking to buy a camera i compared the h1 and a1 at b&h, the h1 had a much punchier brighter image and all the presets were the same. i had put it down to the monitor difference at the time and brought the a1 expecting i would be able to get the punchy image i'd witnessed on the h1. everyone seems to be saying they are basically the same image but i am finding that they are not. i am finding that the a1 footage is often flat with no punch. do you find there is a big difference between the two?

Vincent Rozenberg · March 3rd, 2007, 03:13 AM

XL H1 Here, since January 06. Shot about 200 tapes with it, most of it in DV. Have a lot of drop outs with the cam from the beginning. Send it back to the dealer, worked for a while, but since late 06 the drop outs are back again. There not on the tape but if you put the tape in a Sony deck there coming at you.. It's workable now for me, since there is a spare XM1 at the edit set to capture the DV footage, which works fine. I had the same dropout problems with my XL1 and XM1 by the way, the XL H goes back to the dealer in a couple of weeks for maintenance.

Beside this, I think the body of the XL H1 pretty solid. My cam is out for rental as well, and they are not that gentle with it as I am. I was shooting an item for a TV Show, couple of weeks ago, on a "underground" electro party. A guy how was pretty drunk didn't like my appearance and emptied his glass of beer on my camera.... Beside the stickiness which took me a while to get of, no harm to the cam... O yeah, I kicked the guy....

Steve Rosen · March 3rd, 2007, 09:41 AM

Oliver: I've been intercutting between the H1 and A1 for the last 2 weeks and haven't noticed a difference.. That said, you do need to adjust the presets differently on the two cameras.. where the H1 may have a range of 7 in some catagories, the A1 has a range of (I think) 100... I set my cameras up using a monitor (actually just a Panasonic HDTV) until they got close, switching back and forth between the two component inputs on the TV (the reason I used the Panasonic)... I never even tested the A1 out-of-the-box though.

By the way, there are many little added improvements on the A1 that I really appreciate.. little things like being able to totally customize the second display setting, the iris ring, the above mentioned range in the presets (and the fact that you get nine of them), the placement of some of the controls, and a bunch of others I can't think of right now..

I don't like the WB preset switch being under the LCD, but that's really a subject for another forum...

March 2nd, 2007, 11:57 AM	#16
Steve Rosen Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Monterey, California Posts: 895	I've had my H1 since Dec '05 and have shot well over 150 tapes now.. I sent it to Canon for a problem with the audio portion shortly after purchase and for a routine service in Dec '06 - both times the camera head was returned within 3-4 days... I shoot documentaries for a living, and am not always in the cleanest of environments - but I do take normal precautions - I use canned air (Dust Off) on exterior surfaces, but never have in the tape compartment - although I would if I needed to (if I was shooting in a very dusty environment) - but I would do it in a clean place where I wasn't introducing more problems than I was fixing - and I would be careful to not blow dust deeper into the camera.. If you use a relatively full can, and DO NOT shake it, there should never be a problem with accelerant with Dust Off, it's a very good product - I have had problems with other brands however... If the camera got really dirty, I would send it to Canon.. but I would send any camera, film or video, to a qualified technician in those circumstances. I don't know how many hours I have on my camera, but it's alot - I have not had a single problem (other than the audio glitch mentioned above) and have had only a single drop-out, and that was caused by a bad tape provided by a client (I always use Sony Digital Masters, although there are many opinions on tape)... Two months ago I bought an A1 as a backup camera and have already shot over 25 tapes with that one too - no problems...

March 2nd, 2007, 09:08 PM	#18
Oliver Michaels New Boot Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: nyc ny Posts: 8	Two months ago I bought an A1 as a backup camera and have already shot over 25 tapes with that one too - no problems...[/QUOTE] Steve As someone who owns both the a1 and the h1 i was wondering if you could clear something up for me. when i was originally looking to buy a camera i compared the h1 and a1 at b&h, the h1 had a much punchier brighter image and all the presets were the same. i had put it down to the monitor difference at the time and brought the a1 expecting i would be able to get the punchy image i'd witnessed on the h1. everyone seems to be saying they are basically the same image but i am finding that they are not. i am finding that the a1 footage is often flat with no punch. do you find there is a big difference between the two?

March 3rd, 2007, 03:13 AM	#19
Vincent Rozenberg Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands Posts: 475	XL H1 Here, since January 06. Shot about 200 tapes with it, most of it in DV. Have a lot of drop outs with the cam from the beginning. Send it back to the dealer, worked for a while, but since late 06 the drop outs are back again. There not on the tape but if you put the tape in a Sony deck there coming at you.. It's workable now for me, since there is a spare XM1 at the edit set to capture the DV footage, which works fine. I had the same dropout problems with my XL1 and XM1 by the way, the XL H goes back to the dealer in a couple of weeks for maintenance. Beside this, I think the body of the XL H1 pretty solid. My cam is out for rental as well, and they are not that gentle with it as I am. I was shooting an item for a TV Show, couple of weeks ago, on a "underground" electro party. A guy how was pretty drunk didn't like my appearance and emptied his glass of beer on my camera.... Beside the stickiness which took me a while to get of, no harm to the cam... O yeah, I kicked the guy....

March 3rd, 2007, 09:41 AM	#20
Steve Rosen Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Monterey, California Posts: 895	Oliver: I've been intercutting between the H1 and A1 for the last 2 weeks and haven't noticed a difference.. That said, you do need to adjust the presets differently on the two cameras.. where the H1 may have a range of 7 in some catagories, the A1 has a range of (I think) 100... I set my cameras up using a monitor (actually just a Panasonic HDTV) until they got close, switching back and forth between the two component inputs on the TV (the reason I used the Panasonic)... I never even tested the A1 out-of-the-box though. By the way, there are many little added improvements on the A1 that I really appreciate.. little things like being able to totally customize the second display setting, the iris ring, the above mentioned range in the presets (and the fact that you get nine of them), the placement of some of the controls, and a bunch of others I can't think of right now.. I don't like the WB preset switch being under the LCD, but that's really a subject for another forum...