http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ Videomaker Community Forums » Tag: xh-a1 - Recent Posts en Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:05:57 +0000 http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/help-decide-pro-used-xh-a1-v-xa-10vixia-hf-g10#post-74362 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:22:13 +0000 Chuck Roberson 74362@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> Another consideration - XA10 is limited to a 24Mbps maximum bitrate and 4:2:0 color sampling instead of the 50Mbps and 4:2:2 sampling... I believe the XH-A1 has the 4:2:2 color sampling.</p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/help-decide-pro-used-xh-a1-v-xa-10vixia-hf-g10#post-74355 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:29:34 +0000 mrkinyo7 74355@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I know that my post may be late but based on your budget, and what you are shooting, I'd say it's between the XHA1s and the XA-10.  The HF-G10 is totally out of the equation.  This doesn't mean that it's a bad camera.  In fact it's an awesome camera but, for what you get with the XA-10, it doesn't make sense to pass on all of the upgrades.  If you're close up, the XHA1s can't even compare to the quality that you'll get from either the HF-G10 or the XA-10.  I would imagine that you'll find this to be the same when further back despite the larger sensor in the XHA1s.  It's old technology.  I have one and I love it but, I can't discard the superiority of the HF-G10 and the XA-10.  If you're just starting out and want a more professional looking set up, go with the XHA1s and you should be able to get a manfrotto tripod with a fluid head, a mic and well you'll have to pass on the lights for now.  If you're in the recording industry as statedm you can't go wrong with either of the two that I suggested.  If you can get both, I might actually consider it as an option.  It's just tough to pass on all of the manual features on the XHA1s.  If shot properly, you'll get some really good footage.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/help-decide-pro-used-xh-a1-v-xa-10vixia-hf-g10#post-74022 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:23:55 +0000 Bill Bruner 74022@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Pablo - I recommend the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HW7DZM?tag=battleforthew-20">$1229 HF G10</a> and a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tascam-DR100-Portable-Digital-Recorder/dp/B001R65MFO?tag=battleforthew-20">$284 Tascam</a>. Right now, the G10 is <strong>$971</strong> less than the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HW7DY8?tag=battleforthew-20">$2199 XA10</a> at Amazon. Syncing audio in the edit is worth the money you'll save.</p> <p>If you need to wow your clients, get a fancy shoulder rig/matte box/follow focus like this one for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Customizable-Folding-Shoulder-Stabilizer-Cinema/dp/B005WSEH5E?tag=battleforthew-20">$289 from Amazon</a> and you'll still be almost $400 ahead :-)</p> <p>Cheers,</p> <p>Bill</p> <p><a href="http://hybridcamerarevolution.blogspot.com">Hybrid Camera Revolution</a></p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/help-decide-pro-used-xh-a1-v-xa-10vixia-hf-g10#post-73969 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:52:40 +0000 Joseph Dellwo 73969@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Picking a camera is never easy.  Everyone has their own special needs and considerations, and everyone has their own opinions.</p> <p>So... this is just my opinion, for better or worse.</p> <p>First, the manual controls on the XH-A1 are nice and you may find the menu controls on the other two cameras frustrating at times.</p> <p>However, if a client is demanding the highest resolution possible, HDV isn't going to cut it.</p> <p>On a similar note, the lack of audio input on the HF-G10 could be a frustration - especially in the edit.  True - external audio recorders can get great audio, but for event and industrial purposes I suspect the audio on the XA-10 will be sufficient.</p> <p>Personally, the XA-10 is at the top of my list for my next camera.</p> <p>But that's just my opinion.  :-)</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/help-decide-pro-used-xh-a1-v-xa-10vixia-hf-g10#post-73966 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:30:15 +0000 Pablo 73966@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hi. I am having a hard time deciding! </p> <p>I do live event recording and industrial video, and I am on a limited budget (max $2,000). Now I have a Sony HVR-A1 (the little "pro" HDV camera from SONY) which does a nice job for my purposes.</p> <p>I want to upgrade and don't know if better to buy a used XH-A1 (HDV, of course) or a new XA-10/Vixia HF-G10.</p> <p>The XA-10/Vixia HF-G10 clearly is the future, problably is a much better long term investment, but for pro work I find it quite small (event smaller than my current HVR-A1). For personal use seems great but from the customer point of view they lack that "oh what a camera" selling factor.</p> <p>The XH-A1 is great in handling, manual controls, etc. but HDV is clearly fading away. I don't know if the better lens (and probably electonics) of the A1 compesate the full HD quality of the XA-10/HF-G10.</p> <p>To make things more difficult, the price of the HF-G10 is very competitive v. the XA-10, almost $500 less in Amazon. Really don't know if it worth the handle/XLRs. For that money I can get a Roland/Tascam audio recorder, that has much more recording quality and versality.</p> <p>Please help me!</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/help-tape-wont-load-xh-a1#post-66425 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 03:45:26 +0000 southernhunter 66425@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> thanks guys</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/help-tape-wont-load-xh-a1#post-66396 Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:18:35 +0000 vid-e-o-man 66396@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hunter, it sounds like WSANFORD has a good solution. If others don't chime in with similar experiences with this model, you might try searching on the internet for this problem wtih the XH-A1. Years ago I had similar problems with a digital 8 Sony and I searched and found that a lot of people had the same issue with the same model and there were scores of solutions that all revolved around smacking the side of the camcorder. I am not suggesting that you smack your Canon but only suggesting that you search first before shipping it off to get repaired. Good Luck.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/help-tape-wont-load-xh-a1#post-66381 Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:53:34 +0000 WSanford 66381@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> There is a lot of moving parts in a tape drive system. That was a problem widely known for the GL2 but I never had it. From rewinding a lot you can bend pins and you can mess up the carriage from a bad tape or loading improperly. Sucks to have a camera go down in the middle of the season but I would suggest sending it in. Last I heard on the "Remove Cassette" error it was about two weeks to get a camera back.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/help-tape-wont-load-xh-a1#post-66380 Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:42:18 +0000 southernhunter 66380@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> I have a Canon XH-A1.  I filmed an Osceola hunt with it yesterday.  After the hunt, I ejected the tape and record-protected it and then put it back in the camera until we got back to the room.  I tried to playback the video so we could watch it once and when I turned my camera to vcr/play, a red X started flashing on the screen with a message saying "remove cassette".  The tape symbol in the top right corner of the display was also flashing red.  I tried to eject the tape.  The outer cover came open, I could hear the motor run, but the tape would not pop up.  I closed the cover and tried it again for another time or two.  Not knowing what to do next.  I turned the camera off and on.  Finally I took the battery out and put it back in.  Now it ejected, but when I pulled the tape out, there was a little bit of tape outside the cassette.  I wound it back up thinking this was the problem.  I tried to put the tape back in.  I could close the metal compartment and hear the motor, but the tape would not go down and then would spring back open.  I tried another time or two with the same results.  I tried a new tape as well as another older tape in case it was a problem with that tape.  Still the same.  I checked the footage I had just recorded on another camera and it was great with no issues from start to finish that I could tell.  Can anyone help me or tell me what is wrong?</p> <p>Sorry for the long post, but I figured all the details I could provide would possibly help someone to diagnose my problem.   It's a bummer for sure, but it's even worse now that it's turkey season.</p> <p>Thanks in advance for the help.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55613 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:48:55 +0000 composite1 55613@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Kenzo,</p> <p>The good things about wearing many hats on a project are:</p> <ol> <li>You get good experience learning how other positions must function in a timely manner</li> <li>You hopefully gain sympathy for those working in other positions</li> <li>You gain a fine 'BS Detector' for when people in other positions are slacking</li> <li>Most important particularly when you function primarily as Producer or Director, a perspective on how 'the machine' is supposed to function. I hate working with P's or D's that haven't worked on the production or post side of things in a 'hands on' position. They are almost always a pain.</li> </ol> <p>The bad thing about it is the tendency for becoming a 'micro-manager' or my favorite, "A Tin-Plated Dictator." It's good you're "forcing yourself to work in other positions." Even now that I've worked from Executive Producer to Audio Grip, if someone hires me for a gig as Field Audio Tech I don't mind slappin' on the headphones and doing the job. I do have to admit, when I see P's and D's doing questionable stuff it's hard not to say anything, but long as they aren't preventing me from doing my job properly I just let it ride.</p> <p>The toughest thing I've found about this work is not getting an inflated ego. This business is based primarily on your reel and rep. The saying 'you're only good as your last job' has a lot of meaning is this biz. If you're having success be it moderate or huge, it's not hard to wake up one morning with a swelled head you can't even lift! What keeps my perspective is this isn't Brain Surgery, we for the most part are not saving lives and humanity would continue on quite well without our work (though life would be a lot more boring!)</p> <p>I'm mostly like you as I wasn't so fond of working for others. You have to adopt a sort of 'Mercenary Mindset' in that long as they pay you for your work in full and in a timely manner, it doesn't make sense to 'sweat' set politics. Before you know it, you'll be done and onto the next job. One benefit that will come from that, is people will spread the word that you can be worked with. So when your P or D is trippin' (because you know they will), just stay calm. More often than not, they don't know what the hell they want. Your job is to help them figure it out and make them think they thought of it. </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55611 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:01:59 +0000 KenzoFKC 55611@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Yes, I wore many hats on "The Van Job." Sometimes it felt like a bit too many. DP, director, editor, sound, etcetera.  I know how you feel about directing and DPing.  I don't feel right if I'm not holding a camera, and I have trust issues when it comes to other people running them. I'm forcing myself to work on a couple of upcoming projects where I'm DP only, and NOT director - so that I can learn how to work under someone. It's something I'm not very good at, so it might be a bit of a challenge for me, but it is something I need to learn.  </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55534 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:00:43 +0000 composite1 55534@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Kenzo,</p> <p>Though I wore a number of hats on "HOST", I wasn't the primary editor. I did do the 'finishing' stuff for it and found I like doing that more than I like editing. I did co-write, produced, and directed. Since I'm from a DP background I find it much easier to Direct and shoot. I've done a few projects where I just sat back like a traditional director and hated it. Not that I can't work with other DP's, but if I'm not behind the camera I don't feel like I'm really working.</p> <p>HOST got made in 2007. I was at NAB that year and shot my mouth off in one of the major gear manufacturer's booths (you know, 'hey you ought to lend me this for my next movie!) Well, they called me out on it and said okay. I called my writing partner 5 minutes later and said, "We're shooting a movie this summer! So don't be surprised when I get back!" At the time I was working strictly on corporate stuff and slowly branching off into narrative projects. I didn't have anything ready to produce on such short notice so I told my writer to "drag out the darkest stuff he could think of and we'll make a horror flick." I had been wanting to make one (though I'm not fond of them) and we combined the two genres I hate the most 'torture porn' and 'reality tv' and made our twisted little game show.</p> <p>You're right though, once your project's done let it go. It's still nice to watch audiences watch HOST, but I'm so far off into other stuff I can't look at it without cringing a little. What about you? How many hats did you wear making your film?</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55527 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:51:14 +0000 KenzoFKC 55527@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Composite, I completely understand what you mean about being sick of it.  I still love the movie, and consider it one big learning experiment.  By the time I was wrapping up the editing, I thought that I could go on forever, nitpicking the hell out of it. Truth is it won't ever be perfect. Never. No matter how many more hours I devote to it, and I just didn't want to edit it anymore.  I'm done with it. Let it stand, as is, and move on to the next project.  "Host" was certainly interesting. When did you shoot that?  Were you the director, dp, and editor?  </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55513 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:34:46 +0000 composite1 55513@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Kenzo,</p> <p>Ah continuity errors, a director/editor's close companion. Yeah, sometimes you just have to 'cut your way out' of those things and try to make them as inconspicuous as possible. The best way around CE's is coverage. You can still keep a low shooting ratio on a 1-2 camera shoot by just taking a couple of extra takes to get different angles. Those extra takes come in real handy when it comes to correcting CE's.</p> <p>I wasn't too concerned with the 'wooden acting'. It was obvious you weren't using pro actors. Your shooting and production values were good enough to allow me to 'watch the story' without worrying about being too critical about their acting. With more time and shoots you'll all get better. </p> <p>As turnabout is fair play, you can see my first horror short. Like you, I pulled together a tiny crew in a really short amount of time and got it out on the festival circuit. I purposely used 'ammy' actors (we did have one pro) and we had a mix of pro and ammy crew. Go to:</p> <p><a href="http://www.spike.com/video/host/3240002">http://www.spike.com/video/host/3240002</a></p> <p>There are some little 'easter eggs' if you really look for them, but we really went through the edit with a fine toothed comb to get rid of any CE's. Right now as a Director, you're proud of your baby as it is now out the door. Pretty soon, you'll be sick of it and because you've gained experience since then, you'll cringe at the very sight of it! </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55499 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:31:50 +0000 KenzoFKC 55499@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Thanks for the feedback everyone!</p> <p>@SargeHero - The surprise ending was part of our goal, a sudden shift of gears and the it becomes an action movie instead of suspense.</p> <p>@Composite1 - aha! Good eyes you have!  I fought long and hard with the decision on that continuity error.  I decided to keep it because I really like the way the jump cut flows, even though it's a blatant error. My logic was that most people wouldn't even notice it.  However, being as that we shoot and edit video for a living, we tend to notice things like that.  The more you watch it, the more you see - In the back of the van in the very beginning you can see the shadow of a baseball capped head holding an HMC-150 D'OH!!!</p> <p>@pseudosafari - The acting was a little bit wooden eh?  I'm glad you dig the music. I'm pretty darn proud of the whole thing, mistakes and all.  It was a learning experience, and a great one at that.  For the youtube situation, you need a "Director's" account at youtube to upload files longer than 10 minutes or larger than 10 gigs.  It isn't hard to get approved for it, so if you're interested you should definitely look into it.</p> <p>thanks again!</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55490 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:13:18 +0000 pseudosafari 55490@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Spoiler alert--don't read my comments if you haven't seen the film yet.</p> <p>Mutually Assured Productions.  That's a good name.</p> <p>The car scene was dark but the lighting was still really good, if that makes any sense.  I could see it fine but it maintained its realism.  The use of the lights in the parking garage were good, too.</p> <p>I"m no acting critic but I thought the acting in the interrogation scene was a little unbelievable (the cops anyway0. The cops sounded like they were giving speeches, not acting.  Again, I'm no pro--but that's my two cents.  The acting picked up greatly by the time they turned the woman over to her new captors.  Seems like the can act on their feet, so to speak.</p> <p>Cool soundtrack; kinda has a contemporary but 70's cop show feel at the same time.</p> <p>Cool ending, too!  Glad to see ol' Sanchez still around.  The cigarette ending was a nice touch.</p> <p>Having the end credits double as a booking scene was a nice idea, too.</p> <p>Man, overall, it was great.</p> <p>How'd you get something 18 minutes long on Youtube? I thought they limited at 10 mins.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55478 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:39:32 +0000 composite1 55478@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Kenzo,</p> <p>Not bad at all. You did have a slight continuity error in the latter part of the fight scene when the dirty cop had the girl in a headlock. At the start, he had her in a 'sleeper hold' the next cut it was just a straight rear chokehold. Then in the next cut back to the sleeper. It was really quick but I caught it right off. Other than some minor timing for cuts and a few shots that could have been cut to keep the pace you setup, it wasn't bad. Oh, and when you showed 'Sanchez' alive at the end with his BPV showing, a burn mark or something where the 'bullet' had hit would have been a nice touch.</p> <p>Shooting wise, I thought you did a good job. The goal is to shoot, record sound and edit in such a fashion that doesn't interfere with your audience's suspension of belief. When they're watching your film all they should be focused on is your story and not see anything that makes them realize 'this is a movie' like booms, camera gear or gross continuity errors.</p> <p>Good job.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55477 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:25:47 +0000 SargeHero 55477@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I enjoy watching your short. Never expected the ending, that the way I like movies. Excellent job. </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55473 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:30:02 +0000 KenzoFKC 55473@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Thanks anindya49!  I've never seen Dollhouse, but was a big fan of Whedon's "Firefly," so I take it as a compliment.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55463 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:40:59 +0000 anindya49 55463@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Nice short! I liked the opening sequence. I have been watching "Dollhouse" recently. It reminded me a little bit of that series, although the story is different here.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/my-short-finally-done#post-55460 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:17:07 +0000 KenzoFKC 55460@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hello!  I've been working on this short for several months now.  We debuted the short at the Capitol Theater in Olympia WA yesterday to a crowd of about 150 and rave reviews.  We sold all the DVD's we brought, and everyone had a great time.  </p> <p>The short has strong language - please be aware.  I'd love for anyone to watch it and give any feedback you like. The good and the bad are just as crucial to help me grow as a filmmaker.  </p> <p>The Van Job was shot with a Panasonic HMC-150 and a Canon XH-A1.  Mostly the Panasonic though...  </p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ATOnpH22J8" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ATOnpH22J8</a></p> <p> </p> <p>Let me know what you think!!!</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/can-i-record-to-hard-drive-from-canon-xl-h1-hdv-or-xh-a1-hdv#post-53834 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:31:48 +0000 composite1 53834@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Your 'tapeless' options with the Canon pro cams are; record direct to laptop via firewire with Adobe On-Location or an old copy of Serious Magic's DV Rack (HD version) which is the same product. On-Location comes with the Premiere Bundle, but there is a Mac based program that does the same thing yet at the moment the name eludes me.</p> <p>Outside of software, portable harddrive and direct to flash media recorders are your best bet. Focus Enhancements make some good options for both types of recorders. They connect to your camera's firewire port and you can record to both tape (for archiving) and to CF cards or Harddrive at the same time. They generally use quicktime .mov files in addition to other media files so the clips will go straight into your NLE with just an offload session. The main thing is to check and make sure they or any other brand you choose is compatible with both your camera and your NLE software.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/can-i-record-to-hard-drive-from-canon-xl-h1-hdv-or-xh-a1-hdv#post-53829 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:33:45 +0000 Utopia 53829@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I am looking to upgrade from a sony pro-sumer mini dv to a professional model Canon BUT as technology seems to be moving away from tape, I was hoping to find a model that would record to hard drive.  Canon does not seem to offer the pro models with a hard drive, only mini hd tape.  What would be the best route for me to go to get high quality images with ease of inputting for editing?  </p> <p>Also, I often get requests to videotape events.  As these situations do not call for editing, simply putting the recording on a format that the consumer can view at home (dvd), I want to minimize my post production time.  With the mini dv I currently use, I have to import all of the footage into the computer, put it together in final cut, and export to dvd.  All time consuming.  Can anyone recommend a way around this while still getting good quality?  I have even considered the cameras that record straight to dvd, but they all seem to be low end consumer models and I was not sure how good a quality the end product would be.  Suggestions?  &lt;span style="white-space: pre;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;</p> <p>&lt;span style="white-space: pre;"&gt;A&lt;/span&gt;s the rest of my work is specialty pieces that require considerable editing, I was hoping to find a camera that would allow me to do both.  It is cost prohibitive to have to buy a separate camera for each application, not to mention a lot of gear to haul around.  </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/canon-xh-a1-or-canon-xh-a1s#post-48294 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:05:46 +0000 Gocycle 48294@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> The camera is only front heavy when using the Canon Wide Angle lens.  The "S" model is very much improved over the original model.  The GAIN is now in decimal increments which allows the user to address GRAIN issues.  The audio is now outstanding and the improvements allow LINE FUNCTION and mixing of both INTERNAL ann EXTERNAL microphones.  There are many other improvements.  </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/tyro-filmaker-sony-pd170-or-canon-xh-a1#post-46423 Mon, 04 May 2009 08:15:49 +0000 robGRAUERT 46423@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>haha...i just saw this on CreativeCow.</p> <p>Anyway...what is your end product going to be? If you know your end product will be an SD DVD or the web, I'd go with the PD170. If you're going to try to transfer to film in the end, then I'd shoot HDV (even though I don't like HDV) because it has a higher resolution. </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/tyro-filmaker-sony-pd170-or-canon-xh-a1#post-46414 Sun, 03 May 2009 23:11:41 +0000 duckyduck 46414@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I made a few independent movies over the years, mostly with friends camera and stuff, not too experienced with camera. I am more director than a cameraman. </p> <p> </p> <p>Anyway, 99% of my use of the camera will be for <strong>film</strong>: cinema, tv...</p> <p> </p> <p>I went to stores in my area, and I can't get the PD170 or the XH-A1 <strong>for the same price</strong> (brand new).</p> <p> </p> <p>I know about the light issues, but I looked in some videos online, and from that short movies it seems to me like the XH A1 makes a better view after all.</p> <p> </p> <p>What you think will be the <strong>best choice for me for FILM making</strong>?</p> <p> </p> <p>P.S, <br />It will be PAL.</p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/canon-xh-a1-or-canon-xh-a1s#post-43836 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:06:29 +0000 ProducerLinda 43836@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> Hello all.Should I pay the extra money for a Canon XH-A1S?Is it better than the XH-A1?I have read that the XH-A1 is front heavy?Has anyone experienced the front heavy?And if so,how do you work around it?Is the XH-A1S front heavy also?Thank you.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/hd-camera-shooting-sd-or-down-convert-during-import#post-40353 Fri, 26 Sep 2008 06:18:35 +0000 robinvid 40353@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hi other Robs, </p> <p> Although it is on the expensive side, geared towards the professional market, Edirol has just come out with the F-1 Video hard drive recorder.  I am going to try one out, hopefully with a Sony EX1 and a couple of older DVCAMS that we have.  It takes firewire in and records directly to a hard drive and gives two additional XLR inputs for recording two channels of uncompressed audio that are synced to your video.  These audio channels are in addition to whatever audio gets recorded through the firewire (which is compressed audio).  It records in HDV or SD.  Don't know much more than that about it at this point, but it is just under 3 grand. It certainly eliminates tape capture and gives a better quality audio recording.  By the way;  Robs Rule</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/canon-xh-a1-or-sony-pd170#post-40218 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:37:45 +0000 JoeLouw 40218@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>HiI'm also fairly new to this industry but I did an intensive research before I bought my camera over 4 months of research.<br /> I feel my 2cents worth would be: go for the Canon, if you think about it technology is not going backwards in time. I think if you buy a DV-only camera you will not be moving forward in time, the whole world is turning to HD. Although HDV is not FULL HD you have your foot in the door already.<br /> Also if that is not enough for you yet, the Canon XH A1 has the most manual controls of them all.<br /> <a href="http://www.videomaker.com/article/13174/">http://www.videomaker.com/article/13174/</a><br /> I can also supply you with colour presets for the canon that will blow you away, Sony’s or Panasonic’s in that price range can’t do the presets for you. One more thing being in photography for over 10 years now, you can’t go wrong with Canon lens quality and technology.<br /> Editing will be no problem, I don’t know much about Vegas, but I’m pretty sure you can play your DV or HDV (down convert) into any editing software and edit it with now problem. </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/canon-xh-a1-or-sony-pd170#post-40208 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:20:59 +0000 Kraemer 40208@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I'm looking to buy a semi-pro video camera and think I'm going to go with the XH-A1. </p> <p>I am fairly new to video, but learn quickly and have been messing with some borrowed hand SD cameras and the Canon HDV20. </p> <p> I'm leaning toward the Canon because of the HD capability, but am a little concerned it's going to be harder to edit and manage.  I have Sony Vegas Pro Audio 8.   I hear the the PD170 is a reliable workhorse, and pretty easy to handle.  I will be using mostly SD mode because I'll be filming educational videos to uplad to the internet, but I'd like the capability to use HD down the line. </p> <p>I will be doing some band video taping, so like the low light capabilities of these camera's, and also the XLR inputs for sound.  The Canon is a little higher priced on Ebay right now (for new opened box and slightly used), but the PD170 isn't really that much cheaper. </p> <p>My question is if anyone finds the editing and handling of the Canon footage in Sony Vegas Pro 8 more of a challenge than with a Sony camera or SD camera,  such as the PD170. (Also, is it easier in SD mode or transfering from HD to SD mode before editing?).</p> <p> Thanks,</p> <p>  </p>