Canon XH A1
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The Canon XH A1 is THE camera if you’re a true professional willing to invest in expensive but guaranteed quality. Still, this camera is not technically a professional model. It is definitely made for the ‘prosumer’, meaning a consumer with professional needs, be it an amateur learning the art of filming or someone extremely picky about the recording quality of the most important events of his/her life.
Canon XH A1 features
It has the best resolution possible for a high-definition commercial camera, with 1440×1080. The lens can zoom up to 20X and has an optical image stabilization at long distances. But the 3 CCD’s are the ones that work the magic, measuring 1/3 inch each one and capturing the frames in a 16:9 proportion. You have a total resolution of 1.67 megapixels per CCD.
You can store the videos in 32GB flashcards and transfer them to the computer for immediate editing. You don’t have to go through a menu, but you still have to learn well what each button is for.
Canon XH-A1 issues
One of the downsides is that the manual is not consumer oriented, so you will need to find someone in-the-know to explain some features and how to use them for you. You can find also alternate manuals on the web, or gather with forum groups that have this same model.
Other important issue is that it surprisingly doesn’t come with an HDMI adapter, but rather a similar looking one. So if you happen to lose it, you will have to bother in researching your nearest specialized store to get a new one.
There have also been reports of a fabric malfunction in the SD filming mode. When you shoot the video and you display it in the LCD screen, it looks okay. But when you transfer it to the computer, the image looks distorted and out of focus. In that case, you should contact Canon right away and they will fix it for you at no cost.
I would suggest getting another microphone. The wireless one it comes with is spectacular but there are far better ones for more professional results. At around $4,999, you won’t get any better product, although some could argue that the Panasonic models have some advantages too. But overall I think it’s worth it.
