Blur Control
With the 20x zoom lens, you can shoot from very far away with a tripod. The resulting magnification of the background makes it look blurred, simulating 35mm depth of field. A good tripod is necessary, as any movement in the camera when it is zoomed, will result in a major shift in framing and blur.
I already mentioned that you can use 24f and 30f to alter the appearance of motion blur of faster moving objects.
Adjustable shutter speed allows tradeoffs between depth blur and motion blur. For a shallower depth of field (more blurring of the background), you should open the iris as wide as possible. When you do that, it lets more light in, causing over exposure. To cut the amount of light you could reduce the duration of exposure by increasing the shutter speed. A faster shutter means less time for a moving object to blur in any single frame – so motion blur is reduced. So – more depth blur means less motion blur.
Image Control
The XH-A1 has all the manual controls you would expect in a professional video camera, offering control over color, sharpness, gamma, white balance, iris (exposure), and focus.
The XH-A1 also provides sophisticated in-camera image processing. This image processing operates on the “raw” full-resolution full-color image before it undergoes compression and is recorded to tape. The image processing is programmed using a “custom preset”. And you can store several of these in the camera for easy access to different looks.
The image processing generally controls a) color interpretation, b) gamma (contrast and brightness), c) digital sharpening and blurring of the image.
For this article, I wanted to show you what the XH-A1 can really do with the right custom presets. Filmmaker Steven Dempsey of Pinelake Films is the author of several popular XH-A1 presets, including Panalook and VIVIDRGB. Steven graciously allowed me to share the following pictures with you to illustrate the difference that a custom preset can make.
The following images are the property of Steve Dempsey and may not be used without prior permission.
These were all shot with the VIVDRGB preset using the Canon XH-A1 and the native camera lens.
In this image you can see the nice overall vibrant colors, the magenta haze is gone. It’s a beautiful image with nice handling of the subtleties in the red hat and jersey.
When I saw these images, with the sharp detail and the blurred backgrounds I immediately asked Steven what kind of 35mm adapter he was using. To my surprise – these images were shot with the native Canon XH-A1 20x fluorite lens.
I think you’ll agree after seeing what the camera can do, that the XH-A1 is a great choice for filmmaking.
Ease of Use
Most of the important features can be reached quickly from buttons without having to dive deep into the menus. It takes some reading and practice to learn to use the camera. Some statements in the manual were ambiguous or hard to understand.
Depth of Options
Great options for available filmmaking. A lot of the options on the dial control are more appropriate for wedding or event videography.
Performance
I’m going to give it a 9 out of 10 because the camera should have been pre-loaded with the VIVIDRGB preset before it was shipped.
Value
It’s a great SD or HD tool for the price.
Final Comment
Canon came through with a really solid camera in the XH-A1.
