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Canon XH A1 is my Mac capable of importing?

NOV

NOV

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Hi,

am looking for a new HDV camera and the Canon XH A1 looks really interesting.
As I work with an older PPC dual 1.8Ghz Mac (4G memory, Iomega Ultramax attached through FW800) I was wondering if my Mac is capable of capturing and importing the ,I assume, high rate data streams from the Canon camera.
 
HDV is the same bitrate (25mbps) as standard def DV. HDV is just compressed more. You're computer will be fine.
 
What software?

FCE and iMovie both transcode HDV to AIC on import, so it might be slow for you.

FCP edits HDV natively so you'd be fine.
 
trudd said:
The XH A1 is a beautiful camera. I upgraded from the GL2 to the A1 in September. I've combined mine with the Letus Extreme 35mm adapter (www.letusdirect.com) and have had some amazing results. You get the resolution of HD, but the shallow depth of field of 35mm.

I have a 720p version here: https://bearspace.baylor.edu/Taylor_Rudd/public/LetusExtremeTRudd2.mov

You will be more than satisfied with the A1.
Click to expand...

Hey trudd, just out of curiosity... how do you lock your focus on the A1 onto the ground glass?
 
pdpfilms said:
Hey trudd, just out of curiosity... how do you lock your focus on the A1 onto the ground glass?
Click to expand...

Zoom A1 into GG until it covers the entire frame. For me, that is about Z72.
Make sure the GG is not vibrating/rotating (depending on your adapter).
Stop the 35mm lens down to F/11 or so (your camera needs to see the GG grain)
The camera will automatically focus to the GG's grain. Switch to MF and you're good.

I shoot at Z72 focused in at 4.9 feet.
 
trudd said:
Zoom A1 into GG until it covers the entire frame. For me, that is about Z72.
Make sure the GG is not vibrating/rotating (depending on your adapter).
Stop the 35mm lens down to F/11 or so (your camera needs to see the GG grain)
The camera will automatically focus to the GG's grain. Switch to MF and you're good.

I shoot at Z72 focused in at 4.9 feet.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but I was actually wondering how you literally lock the focus there so that it can't move by accidentally bumping the ring... any tricks?
 
Oh. Just don't do it 😉 Or gaff tape.

I always have my distance and zoom number displayed on the LCD screen so if anything is wrong I typically see it before rolling tape.
 
zioxide said:
That's awesome.

I wish I could afford an XH-A1.
Click to expand...

HV20 isn't even close, but with well-lit scenes, we get great results from it. Few manual settings though. We splice in (digitally) footage with our A1s and our clients have yet to be able to discern which angles are from which cameras. Again, it's about how well lit your subjects are.
 
As mentioned above, HDV can be pulled in over FW400 quite easily. No problems there.

Editing in HDV is painful on a Mac Pro given the long GOP structure.

IMHO, shoot in SD until you have:
1. a faster processor
2. a method of delivery that allows you to deliver HD

Otherwise, your projects will take about 8x longer to complete than if you shot and edited in SD.

If you do decide to go the A1 route, don't forget to factor in good audio. (personally, I think the audio is more important than the video) Nobody likes to watch a beautiful picture with bad audio. It gets boring quick. It also looks like a high-def Youtube video.

People are accustomed to seeing sub-par video sometimes (for stylistic reasons), but still expect a great score/soundtrack.
 
seany916 said:
HV20 isn't even close, but with well-lit scenes, we get great results from it. Few manual settings though. We splice in (digitally) footage with our A1s and our clients have yet to be able to discern which angles are from which cameras. Again, it's about how well lit your subjects are.
Click to expand...

Yeah the HV20 is good for it's market, but if/when I finally buy a new camera I want something with full manual control. If I was buying something right now I'd probably be looking to buy a used Canon GL or something for around $1000. I'd take that over the HV20.

seany916 said:
If you do decide to go the A1 route, don't forget to factor in good audio. (personally, I think the audio is more important than the video) Nobody likes to watch a beautiful picture with bad audio. It gets boring quick. It also looks like a high-def Youtube video.

People are accustomed to seeing sub-par video sometimes (for stylistic reasons), but still expect a great score/soundtrack.
Click to expand...

Yep, sound is half of the picture. 🙂
 
zioxide said:
Yeah the HV20 is good for it's market, but if/when I finally buy a new camera I want something with full manual control. If I was buying something right now I'd probably be looking to buy a used Canon GL or something for around $1000. I'd take that over the HV20.
Click to expand...

If I had to do SD over again, I'd go with a Panasonic DVX100. I had a GL2 for 2 years before I bought my XH-A1 and, while the GL2 produces a decent image, the DVX100 seems to have better manual control, especially in terms of lens control.

I still prefer the HVX200 lens mechanics over the XH-A1. After shooting on the Sony F900 and F750 for a project, I am in love with mechanical zoom/focus/iris rings. The XH-A1 is still great, though. The reason I didn't go with the HVX200 was the P2 workflow - it isn't so great for low-budget student projects.
 
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