Canon XHA1/G1 Official Thread

Now that I have confirmation that Gates will be building a housing for the Canon XH series, I thought it would be a good time to bring out an alternative to the Sony HDV cameras.

Canon is the market leader in DSLR but their video division has always trailed market leaders Sony and Panasonic, despite having some of the best broadcast lenses.

In the filmmaker world, the XL series has been the choice for DV filmmakers, even in feature films like 28 Days Later and Full Frontal, because of its interchangeable lens system. Unfortunately, the lens system isn't of much use to the u/w shooters once it's housed and underwater. Still, I've seen Subal and Gates housings with the XL1 and it was a brilliant DV camera.

The GL series didn't fare as well underwater, as the low light ability (a Sony strong point) was not as good as the VX2000/2100/PD150/170 series of Sony. And underwater, lowlight capability matters quite a bit, especially with light robbing red filters being used.

With the introduction of the XH series, Canon may yet reverse this trend. Boasting 3 full HDV resolution (1440x1080) 1/3" sensors, the XH series is as sharp and detailed as the XLH1 camera, which is has the highest resolution image for HDV yet. The optical (non-digital) 20x fixed lens is a first (but obviously Sony's own FX7/V1 is also comparable) for 3 sensor HDV cameras.

I had the chance to play with the XH series at DVExpo West last Nov and also a friend's who has the camera also loaned it to me for an hour. My test tape showed wonderfully crisp images, which had great detail and sharpness. But what separates this camera from others in the class is the image control settings, which are very powerful but also quite complicated. I had to read the manual for 1.5 hrs and just managed to scratch the surface of the image control settings. For a production that wants the ultimate in image control and not wanting everything to be done in post, this is a great camera.

It comes in 2 models, the XHA1 and the XHG1 (which adds HD SDI Out, Genlock and SMTPE Timecode In/out, known as the Canon Professional Jack Pack). Both are able to be upgraded to shoot 50/60i (PAL/NTSC) like the Sony Z1.

With such a feature packed camera that is now being aggressively priced between Sony's own FX and Z/V series, it offers great value for the shooter at large.

Hopefully, housing manufacturers will evaluate this camera and make housings for it. It also has lanc and should work well with the Sony lanc protocols.

I was looking at the XLH1 for topside use when i first considered HDV..The interchangable lenses that it offered was the strongest pulling point to wildlife shooters like myself.. The only draw back to me was the cost..But I suppose you get what you pay for.

I hoped sony would come up with a desent cam that had a better zoom option and the prospect of lens optons and I think with the new stills camera they've bought out which is bayonet fitting their heading that way. Is the FX7/V1 bayonet.???

For 'pro's' the XLH1 is a vgood option but for people like me it will come down to baggage costs (you will have to hire out a private jet to get that cam and housing around) So the G1 is maybe a better option..

Another wait and see..Lets get some field results.

Dive safe

DeanB

On a recent shipboard trip through the Seychelles I shared a cabin with a guy who was using an XL H1 to shoot hd footage of rare birds. It was my first exposure to HD and I was amazed; seeing the rebound droplet from where a raindrop hit the surface of the water, seeiing tiny gnats buzzing around a heron's bill, I couldn't believe the detail. I want to shoot wildlife and have been looking at the XH A1, but am concerned about the size. It makes me wonder, particularly for underwater, if it makes sense to have two setups, one compact with a compact housing and then the XH A1. My guess is that for the cost of the housing for the XH A1 you may well be able to buy a smaller HD camera plus the housing for the same or less money. And the 20x zoom that I'd like for wildlife out of the water would not be needed in the water. BTW the extra baggage charge on flights from London to the Seychelles was $14/pound- ouch!

Hawkfish

Are you so sure the 20X isn't needed? Think about the macro ability of the camera, with a good diopter, will bring that pygmy seahorse right up to full frame.

What you are paying for is flexibility. The XHA1 has focus peaking... where you can judge which part of the subject is in focus from the vf. Many of these features are obviously more useful topside. However, especially for specific capture, the XHA1 is a better packaged camera.

5 months into the launch and already Canon is offering cashback rebates.

Rebates are:

XHA1: $250

XHG1: $500

XL2: $300

GL2: $250

Check with authorized Canon Dealers for details.

Do you guys believe that the price difference between the G1 and the A1 is worth it for underwater work?

Jonny

The G1 has HD SDI, Genlock and SMPTE time code. The HD SDI is useful if you direct capture from the camera to a harddrive for 4:2:2 uncompressed HD. I don't know of any underwater RAID array so for all practical purposes, no the G1 will be of no better value than the A1.

Also not having a complete understanding of the different HD frame rates etc a couple of questions.

Sony V1 says it shoots in 25 p but it doesn't really it just splits the 25 p shot to make 50i as I understand it that isn't actually making it progressive scan.

Now the Canon can shoot in 50i but also 24F, what the hell is 'f' is it a bit like progressive scan mode?

And the bottom line seams that progressive is great to try and get that 'film' look but in underwater work sharpness and clarity tp me seams the goal.

I have also heard Wags discussing converting a 50i into 24p post via Canopus, can this be done in Final Cut.

Has my brain been fried with too many facts and really this isn't that important....

Sony and Canon approach progressive differently.

The Sony V1 CMOS sensors are progressive but the EIP splits the image into 2 halves, fitting it into the interlaced 50/60i image. There are 2 modes in the V1, 24pa and 24p, once allows straight 24P capture and the other requires a pulldown. This allows the picture to be backward compatible with older HDV camcorders and players.

The Canon does it with interlaced CCD sensors, converting the image into 24progressive frames via incamera interpolation. The result is vertical resolution loss of about 10%. Being how it is one of the highest resolution HDV camera, that loss of vertical resolution is minimal and the picture in my eyes looks great FOR hdv.

You really shouldn't worry about stuff you haven't seen. Just go down to the store and test it yourself. Bring a tape and record some stuff (that's IF you have a HDV camera already. Otherwise check it out on a big screen at the store.

I nearly took the decision to go for the A1 and leave behind my sony A1. Gates housing should be on sale by August, they say, but I still have two big doubts in my mind.

1) I am not clear about low lux performance of canon A1, how does it compares to the 3 lux z1 ? Tech spec on user manual or camcorder info test are not comparable.

2) I have read a lot of comments on hdvinfo which say that you need to fully master manual settings to get nice pictures; sony works much better in auto mode than canon, which makes me think that canon is not so good for underwater video, I cannot see how you can effectively play with manual settings underwater.

What do you think ?

What is your suggestion ?

Alberto

Ciao Alberto

The XHA1 has been tested to be about the same sensitivity wise to the Z1. Of course this is based on subjective noise in the picture. There are other factors like resolution loss etc.

I cannot say with certainty since I'd rather test the camera underwater first with the housing and lens before making such an assumption. But in general, it's very near the Z1, better or worse.

As for auto vs manual, I disagree with that assessment. Shooting underwater requires you shoot with as low a shutter speed as you can to maximize light. Having more controls over the picture, you can set many different parameters in the profiles and switch on the dot. Say you are shooting in 15m water with sun behind your back. You can set a profile to maximize knee, and blacks as well as control color/noise etc. You can also customize a setup for your light setup. And if you are shooting silhouette or high backlight shots, you can then set it the knee to compensate etc.

There are a few issues which you will have to check out because I didn't do this when I had the canon. Does Peaking and Zebra show up on the external monitor? For exposure and macro, it is really a good idea to have those.

Hopefully I'll have a XH with the Gates to test sometime in Sept.

Hopefully Gates will give acces to preset buttons...

What I meant is that I can't see an easy way to select between 20 different presets underwater; this lovely camcorder gives acces to anything form chroma / luminance to selective colors enhancement which is wonderfu if you have time (and access to controls) to play with the finetuning which is not underwater.

Effectively using manual control with a camera like that takes a lot of practice and lots of experience of the particular camera. It all depends how much time you're planning to spend with the camera in the water. In full manual mode it's quite easy to get the exposure etc. wrong or to simply miss shots because you're fiddling with the controls (and those Gates controls can be fiddly, especially if you're in a hurry). But if you get it right then the result can be better than in full auto. You could start pretty much fully auto and then go manual step by step.

Well the point is to have all your finetuning setup before hand. There are pros and cons to every camera and housing setup. Hopefully seeing the sales of the XH series, more housing manufacturers will make a housing for this camera.

Auto mode is not great on any of the cams. It all depends on what the conditions are.

Hopefully Gates will give acces to preset buttons...

What I meant is that I can't see an easy way to select between 20 different presets underwater; this lovely camcorder gives acces to anything form chroma / luminance to selective colors enhancement which is wonderfu if you have time (and access to controls) to play with the finetuning which is not underwater.

Heard that Gates definatley making housing for the A1, looks like it could be similar in size etc as v1. May even use the same body. Hopefully the cost will be similar to the V1 housing too.

Bad news GATES don't reckon it will be ready till late Aug / Sept...

All their focus is getting the V1 out