I am deciding between an HC7, HC1, A1U or FX1 « Videomaker Community Forums

uyiabraham
Member

I am a beginning videographer and film maker. I am deciding between an HC7, HC1, A1U or FX1.
I am likely to be doing a lot of my shooting in a church low light setting. Great audio sound and the finest image quality are important to me. My budget is a maximum $2500.

Please advise me on which of the camera above i should get and WHY. I will appreciate if you can give me the pros and cons also. HELP!

Posted 4 years ago #
Kevin Shaw
Member

The FX1 produces better images than the others in poor lighting, but the A1U has better audio inputs and controls. You can't get everything you want for $2500, so you'll have to decide whether image or sound is more important. I'd say get the FX1 and supplement it with separate audio sources if necessary.

Forget the HC1 and HC7: those are primarily consumer cameras with limited controls.

Posted 4 years ago #
lou bruno
Member

The Canon XH A-1 will produce better picture quality due to the lens and numerous menu settings.. It is also slightly better in low light than the fx-1/Z-1 if the user does not use the auto settings. There are 20 custom presets for the Canon. One is a low-light setting.

Posted 4 years ago #
kokleunam
Member

There are 20 custom presets for the Canon. One is a low-light setting.

How to set to the low light setting? Thanks
I use XH A1 but found it very very grainy and noisy in producing image, I use 12db gain/ 1.6f / 1/25 shuttle and 576i frame in a low light circumstances.
Kokleunam

Posted 4 years ago #
lou bruno
Member

PRESET01.CPF "FACTORY" is simply the Canon factory default settings.
PRESET02.CPF "AC PREF1" is Alister Chapman's prefered general setup.
PRESET03.CPF "AVG FILM" is designed to emulate an average film stock, best used with 24F / 25F.
PRESET04.CPF "5248FILM" is supposed to emulate Kodak 5248 film stock, best used with 24F / 25F.
PRESET05.CPF "LOWLT12" is for shooting in low light with 12db gain.
PRESET06.CPF "OPTICONT" is for optimum latitude, similar to AC PREF1.
PRESET07.CPF "5296FILM" should be like Kodak 5296 film stock, best used with 24F / 25F.
PRESET08.CPF "TERRA1" is a soft unsharpened image, shadows retain detail without looking washed out.
PRESET09.CPF "TERRA2" is like TERRA1 but sharper, with coring turned down to keep noise levels at bay.
PRESET10.CPF "DISJECTA" most resembles the colors Steven Dempsey used with his Panasonic DVX100.
PRESET11.CPF "B&WJECTA" is B&W with detail in darks without blowing out lights, no diagonal stair-stepping.
PRESET12.CPF "NOMAGENT" negates the Magenta bias that some Canon owners detect in factory settings.
PRESET13.CPF "OUTSIDEN" gives the Canon a neutral image outdoors while managing bright whites.
PRESET14.CPF "OLEGWARM" is warm and saturated and film-like when combined with Skin Detail: Middle.
PRESET15.CPF "DVXMATCH" closely matches the Panasonic DVX100 at WB of 3200K; also try Knee: Auto.
PRESET16.CPF "EOSPHOTO" is optimized for Canon EOS photo lenses; much brighter with more contrast.
PRESET17.CPF "NATURALO" closely resembles natural outdoor colors, requiring minimum correction.
PRESET18.CPF "PANALOOK" is Steven Dempsey's preffered setting which accurately emulates the DVX100.

Code:
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET01.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET02.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET03.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET04.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET05.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET06.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET07.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET08.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET09.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET10.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET11.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET12.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET13.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET14.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET15.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET16.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET17.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/PRESET18.CPF
http://dcrin3.com/a1/presets/XH-CPF-20061204.xls

You may have to download EXCEL reader on the Microsoft site.

kokleunam Wrote:
There are 20 custom presets for the Canon. One is a low-light setting.

How to set to the low light setting? Thanks
I use XH A1 but found it very very grainy and noisy in producing image, I use 12db gain/ 1.6f / 1/25 shuttle and 576i frame in a low light circumstances.
Kokleunam

Posted 4 years ago #
kokleunam
Member

Thanks for sharing, I'll try all these settings.
As mentioned in my previous post, I put too much attention in gain setting alone, I found that the more I pumped up the gain, the image will appear obvious noise esp in the dark areas. Now I am trying to maintain the gain to 6db or below.

Posted 4 years ago #
Jockey
Member

Kevin Shaw Wrote:
The FX1 produces better images than the others in poor lighting, but the A1U has better audio inputs and controls. You can't get everything you want for $2500, so you'll have to decide whether image or sound is more important. I'd say get the FX1 and supplement it with separate audio sources if necessary.

Forget the HC1 and HC7: those are primarily consumer cameras with limited controls.

In what regards A1U gives more manual control than HC1? I thought that these two are basically the same, only A1U has XLR/mic module and better hood and some more options in the menu, including unusable 24-frame mode. HC1 allows adjusting shutter speed just like A1U. A1U does not allow selecting aperture in f-stops, just like HC1. What are the serious differences between professional A1U and consumer HC1?

Posted 4 years ago #