Canon XH A1

Pros: Full HDV resolution, reasonable wide angle, Picture adjustments

Cons: No HDMI out, Slightly front heavy, Very front-heavy with wide angle adapter

Summary: The camera is, to say the least, not to be taken lightly from a learning perspective and, I find, from a handheld operator point view either. I've worked off and on in pro video production for many years and this camera offers a learning experience even for me. Wow. Pedestal, color-correction, black-stretch, knee adjustments - stuff I vaguely remember touching once or twice in the studio let alone tweeking in a $3K+ camera. (Although, it has been a while) All settings can be saved to a SD card or on the camera as a profile. If you want to learn how to shoot with a high end camera - this is the one to get.

It is better value compared to the overrated FX7 which for some reason got an 8.0 here. This is an easy upgrade from that but the Sony V1U offers me some pause for thought regarding feature horse-trading. The A1 offers full 1440x1080 resolution CCDs compared to the Sony's 960x1080. More importantly though, this offers 1/3" CCDs compared to 1/4" imagers which helps with low light sensitivity and having a shorter depth of field than the Sony. CMOS or not. The 24F mode softens the image somewhat but in a completely digital production flow I would shoot at 30F because 24P modes are like prime lenses, shots look better because they force good shooting habits as opposed to being intrinsically beneficial. Just my opinion though. The V1U does offer a better progressive mode, weighs less and is laid out a bit better. It also has HDMI out which makes for clean green screens. The V1U is also $1K+ more which made the decision pretty easy, at least for me.

The A1's picture noise caused by gain is actually quite pleasing by being pretty monochromatic. The 20X zoom lens is great but OIS seems to lose it at the end of the zoom. The zoom is laggy via the lens ring but I don't shoot like that anyway and prefer a rocker which is totally adequate. It also has an iris ring on the lens which is quite nice to have and the shutter adjustment offers easy access being on a small wheel just behind the lens. Too bad your free hand is likely commited to holding the front of the camera underneath the XLR inputs. This camera really needs sticks or another support of some sort. In indoor situations this is even more pertinent as you'll want a wide angle adapter and Canon's weighs quite a bit. Way too front heavy. The LCD is a bit small and inadequate to the task of setting focus but what else is new. The viewfinder has a squared off eyecup which is not a plus either. However, these should both be overcome with the software CCU which you can get for $600 and throw on a laptop. I haven't tried it yet though but I'm hoping it will make critical focus easier to maintain. Another feature is to automatically move between 2 focus or zoom points at the push of a button. Unfortunately, you can't specify a duration other than slow, medium or fast but a firmware upgrade could make for an auto focus pull if specific durations could be attached or dare I say, more than two points. That would be a class killer.

For a budding film-maker learning their craft this camera is a great choice. Much cheaper at the end of the day than the HVX200 and most of its deficiencies shouldn't apply to you.