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3. Canon XH-A1 vs. Canon HV30 side by side
2 years ago
This is a side by side comparison of the two cameras outdoors in overcast lighting. I tried to match the cameras as best as possible. Both were set to daylight balance. The HV30 (being the less tweakable) was set to 'spotlight' scene mode, which allows for 0dB gain. The exposure was manually set for each scene.
Out of the box, the XH-A1 exhibits much lower contrast and saturation. So I had to use a custom preset which boosted both (CP2).
Both cameras were mounted on a customized bracket that allowed for side-by-side shooting with the lenses adjusted for parallax (as much as possible).
No post production filters/enhancements have been added (just a split screen and some background music). Audio was from the XH-A1 shotgun mic (with mic muff).
Out of the box, the XH-A1 exhibits much lower contrast and saturation. So I had to use a custom preset which boosted both (CP2).
Both cameras were mounted on a customized bracket that allowed for side-by-side shooting with the lenses adjusted for parallax (as much as possible).
No post production filters/enhancements have been added (just a split screen and some background music). Audio was from the XH-A1 shotgun mic (with mic muff).
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Im still trying to decode weather to buy it because of that.
Yeah, I agree with Stephern Lewis, there is quite a lot of compression, it would be great to see this from a much bigger file.
This can be offset by shooting in the cinema mode. The advantage of a flatter image is that it gives you a wider dynamic range for color grading in post. Most consumers/prosumers with the HV20/HV30 would not go through this extra step, and they prefer a 'punchier' image. You face the same problems when shopping for a TV, which are often factory 'overcranked' to make the colors pop in the retail store.
There's little doubt that the the lens on A1 is far superior. Its just that the A1 seems to introduce softening into the picture whereas the HV clearly uses some in camera sharpening. As these adjustments are carried out before compression, its going to be very difficult to compensate in post without introducing jaggies / artefacts.
Of the semi pros I know using the Hv30, most have started off with cinemode but reverted to TV mode simply becasue of the detail issue. One way around the contrast if you don't want such punchyness or the risk of blown highlights, is simly to shoot in TV mode but with the contrast settings turned down.
To me the HV30 blows the AH-1 away.
The sharpness on the Hv30 gives a true high definition look akin to the high definition videos on the Windows Media Showcase, whereas the A1 seems balanced to give a more traditional SD look.
As HD is ultimately about detail retrieval and sharpness, I have to find the Hv30 quite literally a clear winner. That said, there are 1 or 2 places where the colour rendering is slightly better on the A1 although overall I prefer the punchyness of the HV.
This for me is the killer frame:
img219.imageshack.us/img219/6730/a1vshv30ey3.jpg
They are very different tools that will both do well in the proper hands. The HV30 is a bit easier to get right into, but lacks the easy access to manual overrides that a pro/prosumer would demand. I'll take the HV30 on vacation, but I won't replace the XH-A1 for my corporate and event work.
EDIT: I've just downloaded the Quicktime file, Definately much closer in that - the A1 comes out much better. I still favour the sharpness of the HV though although its more apparent from the Quicktime version that it could probably be matched in the A1 by sharpening incam also.
In some shots there's almost no difference between the two cameras. But in other shots the HV20 seems to be over-exposed compared to the A1.
Overall though it looks like they'd make a great pair.
The question is...................is it 3 times the camera? I think not.
vimeo.com/1359475
looks like the HV30 is sharper and brighter in most of those shots
of course for 3,000 its better... but if metaphorically speaking put 3.5 HV30's into one, its blows the XHAI away!
no contest.. just pick your poison
and what's up with the shot at 2:16? the hv30 focusses on the guy while the xh a1 focusses on the background, it's not comparable.
same for 1:29, the focus of the xh a1 is waay off, i've worked with the xh a1 too and it can do a better job in focus than that
and ALL!!! of the shots with the HV30 look better..
exported in the AE and with someone that can do good COLOR CORRECTION i doubt you'd be able to see the difference in the 2 shots.
In the end Id say that it's impressive that a 800 dollar camera (hv30) could could have comparable quality to a camera that can be 3 times the price.
P.S. Louis Parishh is a sock puppet
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sock_puppet
Very helpful.
I wish you had more scenes like this one, or even more cameras VS. HV30.
There isn't many night scenes shots arround, more daylight.
Plug HV-20/HV-30 via HDMI direct raw recording, add Brevis35/Letus/Jag35 and A1 would have hard time following.
I have both and I'm working to make them match for interviews,documentaries,Music videos.
The HX has a more romantic look to it. Colors seem softer and warmer.
BTW, can you rack focus or achieve decent DOF without zooming in too much?