Canon XHA1 - High Definition Video Camera
By Dom West
Lens Rings
The camera’s lens has 3 rings: a focus ring, an aperture ring and a zoom ring. Each ring has a different texture, so they are easily recognisable by touch. The furthest ring, which is also the widest, is the focus ring. When first using the camera it can be quite stiff, but after some use it loosens up and works well for quick focusing.
The middle ring is the zoom ring. I personally do not use this as I get a smoother result with the normal zoom; however, I have heard people who swear by it. The nearest ring is used to adjust the aperture. This is far easier to use than on an XM2 for example, where there is only a small scroller on the side of the camera.
Focus
As mentioned previously, the manual focus works very well, however, the auto focus is quite poor. I would not recommend using the AF when zooming as it takes a second or sometimes more to find its focus. There is also an instant focus button that can be useful when changing lenses to get a quick focus.
Aesthetics
The camera itself looks very professional and would fit in well on a professional film set.
Weight wise the camera is quite heavy for its size. I have been filming with a medium sized battery and a Century optics fisheye, and found filming for long periods of time can become tedious due to its weight.
Filming formats
Like most Canon cameras, the XH-A1 gives you the option of filming in interlaced or progressive frame modes. Although it is not true progressive, canon’s 25F still does a very good job, and I challenge anyone to differentiate between canon’s 25F and say Panasonic’s 25P.
If you are working on an SD project there is the option to film in 4:3 SD. However, the quality doesn’t match that of an XM2 for example, and so I would recommend filming in full HD and down sampling the image in post.
Audio
The on-board mic works well when set to auto in most situations, but the manual options allow for fine tuning when high or low levels need to be recorded. The 2 XLR ports on the camera are essential for live PA feeds of audio or run and gun style interviews, with audio controls alongside that are easy to control and monitor.
One thing that must be noted is that the on board microphone is flexible straight out of the box. People often contact Canon thinking that this is a design fault, but in fact it is meant to reduce any audio interference that vibrations might cause.
For Skating
Like most cameras that are used for skating, the XHA1 has a solid handle that is essential for filming fisheye shots and for carrying conveniently. The record button on the handle is in a perfect position for your thumb to switch on and off, as well as a small zoom switch.
The Century Optics 0.3 fisheye, that I use, does have a large amount of vignetting which is frustrating, especially for the price of the lens. To avoid this, I take advantage of a zoom preset on the camera which keeps the zoom locked at my desired distance and reduces the vignette by half. This doesn’t have much of an impact on the fisheye’s angle distortion which is still great. You will find the widescreen HD versions of this lens, have less vignette. It must also be noted that the image stabiliser should be turned off when filming fisheye, otherwise you’ll find the vignetted black edges will shake.
Here are a few shots recently filmed by Dom on his travels around the world.
Canon HXa1 - Raw timeline from Edit Crunch on Vimeo.
