Canon XH A1S Camcorder Review

by Jeremy Stamas
Published on Sep 10, 2009 1:00 PM

Intro
 Product Tour
Color & Noise Performance Motion & Sharpness Performance
Low Light Performance Audio
Compression & Media Manual Controls
Still Features Handling & Use
Playback & Connectivity Other Features
Sony HDR-FX1000 Comparison Canon XL H1A Comparison
JVC GY-HM100 Comparison Conclusion
Photo Gallery Specs and Ratings


Introduction
In the burgeoning market of hand-held pro camcorders, the tape-based Canon XH A1S isn't anything close to ground-breaking. Still, with a $4000 price tag, it is a reasonably-priced model that's loaded with features and did quite well in our performance testing.

Under the hood, the XH A1S is very similar to the Canon XL H1A, its larger sister model. They both have three 1/3-inch CCD sensors and they both record HD video to tape using the HDV codec. The big difference between the two is size and design—the XH A1S is a hand-held model that doesn't have a removable lens system, while the XL H1A is shoulder-mounted and can use any XL series of lens.
    (Page 1 of 18) Product Tour

 

Section The Good The Bad
Product Tour Comes with large, detachable lens hood and comfortable hand strap. Lens is not removable; left side of camcorder is cluttered
Color & Noise Performance Low noise levels when using noise reduction; tons of color controls available Color accuracy in auto mode wasn't any better than average.
Motion & Sharpness Performance 24p and 30p mode record natively to tape at 24 and 30 frames per second. Video wasn't as sharp as the competition
Low Light Performance Good color accuracy and sensitivity, particularly when using 24p and 30p mode. Noise levels were higher than expected
Audio Two XLR inputs, lots of controls Onboard mic isn't very good and picks up noise from zoom motor.
Compression & Media HDV compression is simple and familiar. No option for recording video to memory card.
Manual Controls Endless amounts of controls; the three lens rings work wonderfully. Too many buttons located on the left side of the camcorder
Still Features Good color accuracy and low noise levels in still photos. Maximum still image size is 1920 x 1080.
Handling & Use The camcorder is very customizable to fit your needs. LCD and viewfinder have limited resolutions; some buttons are hard to reach or find.
Playback & Connectivity Playback is simple—just like using a VCR. Port covers are terrible and fall off easily.
Other Features AV to DV conversion is helpful if you have analog equipment. None




Product Tour >>