Hollywood in your hands
By Adrian Weckler
Ever wish you could make a movie? A real, proper high resolution film, as opposed to a shaky, poor-quality home video? If you have seen films such as The Blair Witch Projector Paranormal Activity, you will know that the technology to make studio-quality productions has fallen into a consumer’s budget.
In particular, the video equipment required can now be bought for about €2,500.
Such a camera is Canon’s XHA1, a high-definition, full function film unit with proper high-resolution connections, professional audio inputs and a host of other film industry standard features. That this all comes on a unit that can be controlled as a hand-held camcorder will take many people by surprise.
As would be expected, the XHA1 has three CCDs – at a third of an inch each – with 1080i (1,440×1,080) native resolution.
It records at either 30 frames per second (fps) or 24fps.
Under the hood is Canon’s Digic DV II processor which handles the system smoothly and quickly. It also has very decent optical image stabilisation. For those who want to play with their manual settings, the XHA1 is fully customisable.
The gain settings show how good the quality of the image really is: at its lowest level, footage is remarkable clear and smooth. The layout of the adjustment settings is one of the better design decisions Canon has made here, as they are different shapes and sizes, allowing familiarity to change a setting in a hurry using touch, rather than sight.
In low light, the camera performs well, even in automatic mode.
It has two XL Raudio inputs (which can only be used with XLR mikes that have their own power source) and a third 3.5mm audio microphone jack (which works with phantom power).
The only pause for thought that the XHA1 gave me was its use of Mini-DV tapes. While this doesn’t affect quality one bit, the industry does appear to be moving closer toward a fully digital storage format. As it stands with tape, you need to transfer your video from the camera to your computer in real time, which can take a while.
Overall, though, this is a stunning piece of equipment.
With technology like this available for under €5,000,there will soon be a new wave of indie films surfacing at a cinema near you.
Rating: *****
Price: €4,200 from Conns Cameras
