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Please, please help….huge business decision….FX1’s w/beachtek or XHA1? Real info please, not just Canon Homers.
Hey folks,
I am a recovering, disenfranchised DVX user who has resigned myself to the reality of never shooting perfect skin tones again and am now choosing between Sony and Canon. I need to buy 3 cameras and am shooting mostly in the wedding/event arena. This is my business.
I have been reading like crazy and it still looks like FX1 beats XH A1 in both low light, reliability and image clarity.
Canon beats FX1 in versatility and seems to be embraced by student film makers.
Is Canon still using pixel shift?
I am currently comparing C roll cameras that I have purchased …A Canon Vixia V30 and Sony HD1000u. Canon is about 1 lux better in low light but image is quite……green……. camcorderinfo.com swears the vixia just kills the sony competitor …(HC 9 or somthing?), but in my tests they are very close with the Sony giving a much better image at least in brief auto mode tests.
I’m leaning toward the Canon but I have seen tons of posts about issues and I can’t find many with the Sony. FX1 is kind of an older boring camera of course.
Tough stuff.
Any, I would love to hear any thoughts, particularly from people who have used both.
I HAVE NO BRAND LOYALTIES….ONLY IMAGE LOYALTIES! 🙂
Thanks for your help
Todd
Todd Roush
Dreamscape Digital Media
Panny DVX-100’s but changing so Sony or Cannon HDV soon. -
3 Replies
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“I have been reading like crazy and it still looks like FX1 beats XH A1 in both low light, reliability and image clarity.”
I’m not a “Canon Homer”, whatever that is… but I will say that wherever you’re getting this info, it’s mistaken. The A1 is so tweakable I wouldn’t think twice about getting another over a camera like the FX1. It’s a no brainer.
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I guess with the Canon to get good low light performance you have to know what you’re doing a little more than with the FX1?
Strongly leaning toward moving toward the XH A1’s so I’m doing what I always do in these cases, playing devil’s advocate.
Thanks.
I’ll take any input I can get on these comparisons.
How about a good Canon Newbie low light setting since I’m darn near convinced this is the direction I’m headed?
Thanks.
Todd
Todd Roush
Dreamscape Digital Media
Panny DVX-100’s but changing so Sony or Cannon HDV soon. -
Hi,
I have worked with both the FX1 and XHA1. I used the FX1 for about a year before buying the XHA1 which I now use.
I also do weddings and events, but also film surfing, skateboarding and other outdoor stuff.
I think the FX may just outdo theCanon in low-light (in my opinion), but it’s very tight. I found with both that there is just no substitute for light, so I use lighting, and with that it means low-light is no longer a battle. I find the picture quality on the Canon to be great.The lack of XLR inputs on the Sony was a big deal for me, but you mentioned using the beachtek inputs – I haven’t used them, so I can’t comment there, but having the XLR’s is a huge step up. When I bought, the Canon was cheaper than the FX and had the XLR inputs, which was a definite attraction for me.
The Canon also has a 20x optical zoom as apposed to the Sony’s 10x, which for me was also a big deal as I film surfing.
One thing I love about the Canon is the ability to create and use custom presets for colour etc. There are some great ones for download at dvInfo.net. (I have also set up some low-light ones that help a little in low light without having to use much gain.) These mean I can change the colour settings etc for each different situation by just running through the presets using a button on the camera body.
That brings me to the next thing I prefer – there are more controls on the camera body of the Canon so I don’t have to go into the menu all the time.I’d say the XHA1 is the way to go from my experience. I way prefer using it as apposed the the FX I had before.
I know this wasn’t an extremely technical response, so I hope it helps in some way!
Shane
The farsighted see better things!
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