XH a1

OK, first, what type of film would a hv30 use? I know that you can hook it up to a computer with a firewire thing. Now with a xh a1 would it be the same? Like could you import it to a computer with a firewire cable thing? I have no lcue but plan on buying both, xh a1 for me and hv30 for my cousin for his birthfay you know. if you can answer that would be sweet
You can email me at YOYAGS@AOL.COM or post here, thx

ALso whats the difference between 35mm, 16mm and whatever tape is used by the xh a1 and hv30?
 
HV30 should shoot HDV to miniDV Tape (correct me if I'm wrong Will). Firewire, yes... A1 same, yes... Tape stock the same for both, yes.

35mm and 16mm are specifically film (not video) formats.
 
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That is correct, the HV20 and HV30 (and the HV10 for that matter) shoot HDV (1440x1080) footage, stored digitally on miniDV tape.

They can be connected to computer to transfer footage for editing with either a firewire cable, or HDMI, (if you have the appropriate equipment on the computer side)

The major benefit there is that if you were to get an intensity card ($249, blackmagic design) you could record full 1920x1080 4:2:2 HD from a HV20 or HV30, only if you are recording to the computer as the footage is being shot, however. (otherwise it would be played back from tape which is the compressed & squished image that has half the color information -- the HDMI output while recording gets its signal directly from the sensor, so you get the full size, full color image, and could even write it to disk uncompressed if you wanted to...)


Comparing digital tape and film isn't even like comparing apples and oranges, it's like comparing apples and steak... They're completely different things. Both with benefits and limitations, either will ultimately get the job done, and done well when properly handled. :)
 
So Will your saying its better to get a HDMI cause it comes out better? If Im shooting in the woods how would I connect it to a computer? Would I have to the same with xh a1?



Now, I'm A Junior in high school and plan on getting both the Hv30 and Xh a1 by my senior year. Im writing a movie atm and wanted to know if I could film it on my hv30/ xh a1? Would it come out well our would I have to get a real camera, $6k+? Cant really afford it but could hv30/a1 do the trick?
 
So Will your saying its better to get a HDMI cause it comes out better? If Im shooting in the woods how would I connect it to a computer? Would I have to the same with xh a1?
It's only worth it IF you can have the computer to capture with there, if you can't then no it's not worth it. But if you were going to go that route, you would probably wind up with a rack-mount computer system...

Now, I'm A Junior in high school and plan on getting both the Hv30 and Xh a1 by my senior year. Im writing a movie atm and wanted to know if I could film it on my hv30/ xh a1? Would it come out well our would I have to get a real camera, $6k+? Cant really afford it but could hv30/a1 do the trick?
Yes, you can make a very good movie with an HV20/30 or an XH-A1. So long as it's well lit, well planned, actors are decent, audio is clean, and the story doesn't suck... and then you spend plenty of time in post to make it really shine (audio especially).

But you be the judge... knightly shot this on an A1.. I shot this on an HV20. Minimal post work was done to either.
 
Please consider I used no lighting other than what was built into the locations on any of that shoot... no time. So... don't judge the lighting, just the image quality in natural light. I had to bump up the gain on all the interior shots, so I added grain to the outdoor shots to make them match ;) So sneaky!
 
Also oakstreetphotovideo has a thread with a lot of XHA1 test footage in it, that should give you a good idea of what that camera can do...

EDIT: On second thought... it looks like those are all dead links, but maybe if you asked him nicely he might post some footage for you.. :)
 
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