Alan Roberts Reviews the A1 at DVinfo.net

Frank Howard · April 26th, 2006, 11:38 AM

There's a pretty in depth review of the A1 done by Alan Roberts who was involved with R & D at BBC.
Interesting...

http://img.hexus.net/v2/lifestyle/al...n_res_sets.pdf

Marvin Emms · April 26th, 2006, 03:01 PM

I am in awe of the testing method. I wonder what software was used and if its specific to those zone plates.

I wonder what the same system would make of the HC3.

Alexander Karol · April 27th, 2006, 12:15 AM

Thanks for the post!

This is by far the most detailed review of any camcorder I have seen. Really cool to own the camcorder he reviewed. :)

Thanks again!

Frank Howard · April 27th, 2006, 09:38 AM

Glad you found it useful!

What I thought was an interesting departure was how he recommended using CineTone 1 for getting a better gamma curve.

Dave Halliday · April 27th, 2006, 09:41 AM

looks good. summarizing what I learned from the article:

1. always shoot in HDV.
2. Set your sharpness to level 7.
3. Use Black Stretch for normal video production
4. Use Film Look 1 for film look

Am I missing anything here?

Frank Howard · April 27th, 2006, 09:51 AM

Well, according to the article, the sharpness wants to be between 4 for SD and 7 for HD. For instance, I have a feeling I'm going to end up keeping my sharpness a little lower to avoid that harsh 'video look' that always looks a little odd to me.

Roberts also recommends setting the shutter speed to 50 fps (PAL) which would translate to 60 fps on this side of the pond. This will avoid some of the weirdness that the auto setting can cause when bright. Keep the Zebra on though so you don't clip. Digital doesn't distort 'nice' like film.

But he does give a great simple starting point, lopping off a good number of the settings, bells and whistles that don't do that much good. Which is great for people like me who like simplicity.

Dave F. Nelson · April 27th, 2006, 11:42 AM

I noticed, in his article, that his tests revealed a problem with red (magenta). He mentioned it rather matter-of-factly, I might add.

--Dave.

Frank Howard · April 27th, 2006, 12:11 PM

Yep. I noticed that in his article too. Of course, with such an in depth study of the A1 it would have been surprising if he hadn't seen the red oversaturation issue. Of course, the only workaround he suggested was to drop the Camera Color setting one or two steps...

But I must admit I *was* surprised to see the problem occur on a movie shot on *film* (Storytellering).

But, for a camera that comes in under the 2K mark and is so small, the A1 is still very, very impressive.

April 26th, 2006, 11:38 AM	#1
Frank Howard Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 157	Alan Roberts Reviews the A1 There's a pretty in depth review of the A1 done by Alan Roberts who was involved with R & D at BBC. Interesting... http://img.hexus.net/v2/lifestyle/al...n_res_sets.pdf

April 27th, 2006, 09:51 AM	#6
Frank Howard Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 157	Well, according to the article, the sharpness wants to be between 4 for SD and 7 for HD. For instance, I have a feeling I'm going to end up keeping my sharpness a little lower to avoid that harsh 'video look' that always looks a little odd to me. Roberts also recommends setting the shutter speed to 50 fps (PAL) which would translate to 60 fps on this side of the pond. This will avoid some of the weirdness that the auto setting can cause when bright. Keep the Zebra on though so you don't clip. Digital doesn't distort 'nice' like film. But he does give a great simple starting point, lopping off a good number of the settings, bells and whistles that don't do that much good. Which is great for people like me who like simplicity. Last edited by Frank Howard; April 27th, 2006 at 01:45 PM.

April 27th, 2006, 12:11 PM	#8
Frank Howard Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 157	Yep. I noticed that in his article too. Of course, with such an in depth study of the A1 it would have been surprising if he hadn't seen the red oversaturation issue. Of course, the only workaround he suggested was to drop the Camera Color setting one or two steps... But I must admit I was surprised to see the problem occur on a movie shot on film (Storytellering). But, for a camera that comes in under the 2K mark and is so small, the A1 is still very, very impressive. Last edited by Frank Howard; April 27th, 2006 at 01:48 PM.

April 26th, 2006, 03:01 PM	#2
Marvin Emms Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: UK Posts: 204	I am in awe of the testing method. I wonder what software was used and if its specific to those zone plates. I wonder what the same system would make of the HC3.

April 27th, 2006, 12:15 AM	#3
Alexander Karol Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 198	Thanks for the post! This is by far the most detailed review of any camcorder I have seen. Really cool to own the camcorder he reviewed. :) Thanks again!

April 27th, 2006, 09:38 AM	#4
Frank Howard Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 157	Glad you found it useful! What I thought was an interesting departure was how he recommended using CineTone 1 for getting a better gamma curve.

April 27th, 2006, 09:41 AM	#5
Dave Halliday Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Washington DC Posts: 116	looks good. summarizing what I learned from the article: 1. always shoot in HDV. 2. Set your sharpness to level 7. 3. Use Black Stretch for normal video production 4. Use Film Look 1 for film look Am I missing anything here?

April 27th, 2006, 11:42 AM	#7
Dave F. Nelson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 129	I noticed, in his article, that his tests revealed a problem with red (magenta). He mentioned it rather matter-of-factly, I might add. --Dave.