Canon XL H1A

Manual Controls Summary
• The level of fine detail color control is overwhelming, but you don't have to use it all at once • Standard controls (shutter, aperture, gain, WB, etc.) are all easily accessible • The rings on the lens can be adjusted for sensitivity
	Compression & Media	(Page 7 of 12)	Still Features

Auto Mode (5.50)

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Sometimes you just need a camcorder to make its own decisions about exposure, focus, and white balance while you're busy with other things. In those, cases, the auto controls are vital. And for pros, it's not simply a question of whether the automatic responses are correct. The look and feel of transitions is important. On the whole, the Canon XL H1A is decent at this task.

The camcorder offers several shooting modes, all of which offer varying degrees of auto or manual control. The simplest is Easy mode, in which nothing can be altered. It's hard to imagine most serious shooters will use it, but it's there if you need it. Then there's Auto Mode, which allows you to turn the manual controls on one-by-one, while auto mode takes care of the rest. The Aperture and Shutter Priority modes work as expected, allowing you to manually adjust one control or the other, while the camcorder compensates for exposure. Then there are two Scene modes, described in a section below.

Unlike consumer camcorders, the XL H1A offers some small control over the transition speed of its auto responses. In the Custom Function menu, there is a set of options called Shockless White Balance/Gain. When activated, the transition time is slowed down so as not to jar your audience. We saw the white balance adjust time move from around 3-5 seconds with the feature off, to around 10 seconds with the feature on.

However, there's not much more that the XL H1A offers in this regard. The Sony HDR-FX1000 offers control over the speed of both the white balance and exposure transitions speeds. Neither offer auto focus speed control, perhaps assuming that you'll do this manually if you really want control. If you decide to use the Focus/Zoom Preset (described at the bottom of this page), you can set those transition times.

Low Light Modes
If you're in a pinch, there are a few low light modes that the Canon XL H1A offers, though it seems unlikely that one would need them with so many other, finer controls. On the mode dial you'll find a Night AE mode, which drops the minimum auto shutter speed down to 1/4 (in 60i and 30F) or 1/3 (in 24F).

Scene Modes
Consumer camcorders are typically loaded with scene modes (frequently known as AE modes) for shooting in tricky environments. The Canon XL H1A includes one, Spotlight mode. The manual indicates that this is meant to keep the auto exposure adjusted for subjects lit by a strong, single light source (like a spotlight). In casual testing, we could not see a difference from normal auto mode.

Zoom (12.8)

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The zoom can be controlled from three places – the lens ring, a large rocker on the right side, and a small rocker on the top handle. The lens ring is definitely the choice method. While not a true mechanical zoom, the servo motor is pretty good. In order to compensate for preferences, the sensitivity of the ring can be set to Normal, Fast, or Slow. And like the other rings, you can change the orientation of dial to spin in the other direction.

This large zoom rocker is on the right side	The middle lens ring (second from the left) controls zoom

 

If you don't trust the speed of your own hand, the large rocker is another excellent method of zooming. Located on the right side, it's well placed on the hand grip for the index and middle finger. The zoom speed can be set to Variable, the default mode that is dependent on your finger pressure, or to a fixed speed. Making the switch is incredibly convenient; there's a toggle on the back of the hand grip, and a god-sized dial to select the zoom speed, ranging from 1 to 16. At speed 1, the crawl is incredibly slow, taking over a minute to traverse the 20x zoom.

The third zoom control is a mini-rocker located on top. If you're gripping the Xl H1A from above, this little rocker can be controlled by the thumb. The zoom speed is controlled by the speed dial on the hand grip. It's a little frustrating that this rocker has no pressure-sensitivity, and that it doesn't matter if the toggle is set to Variable or a fixed speed – the speed will be fixed to your most recent setting.

Zoom Ratio (15.0)

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The Canon XL H1A has a 20x optical zoom on the kit lens. There is no other lens with a larger zoom that is specifically designed for Canon's HD camcorders. However, with the EF Adapter XL you can use the entire EOS series of lenses from Canon's still camera line. Be aware, though, that the magnification factor is a steep 7.2x.

Zoom Comparisons
Wide Angle	10x Zoom	20x Zoom

Focus (11.0)

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The manual focus control on the Canon XL H1A is strong. The primary control is a lens ring, the largest of the three rings on the lens. The double-wide set of rubber bumps makes it easy to feel without looking. To help with the task of focusing, there are a few tools that the camcorder provides to make it easier. There are two peaking settings that create a light or heavy emphasis on sharpening. When the sharpening is boosted, you can see the edges of objects easier. Surprisingly, consumer camcorders have taken a major step forward in this area, much better than XL H1A. Several JVCs, and now the Canon XL HF S10 and HF S100, offer a brightly colored peaking that makes focusing much easier.
The Canon XL H1A also offers an instant 2x digital magnification. Both the magnification and peaking can be activated with buttons. You can also opt for either or both of these functions to trigger a switch on the viewfinder from color to black & white. You'll want to use every tool at your disposal, because the EVF is limited to 215,000 pixels.

Focus data is displayed onscreen in either feet or meters. Like the zoom dial, the sensitivity and rotation orientation of the dial can be adjusted.

Exposure Controls

+2.0, +1.5, +0.75, +0.5, +0.25, 0, -0.25, -0.5, -0.75, -1.0, -1.5, and -2.0

Aperture Controls

f/1.6, f/1.8, f/2.0, f/2.2, f/2.4, f/2.6, f/2.8, f/3.2, f/3.4, f/3.7, f/4.0, f/4.4, f/4.8, f/5.2, f/5.6, f/6.2, f/6.7, f/7.3, f/8.0, f/8.7, f/9.5, f/10, f/11, f/12, f/14, f/15, f/16, f/17, f/19, f/21, f/22, and Close

Shutter Speeds

In Shutter Priority (60i and 30F frame rates): 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000, 1/8000, and 1/15000. In 24F In Shutter Priority Mode (24F frame rate): 1/3, 1/6, 1/12, 1/48, 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000, 1/8000, and 1/15000. In Manual mode (60i and 30F frame rates): 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/75, 1/90, 1/100, 1/120, 1/150, 1/180, 1/210, 1/250, 1/300, 1/360, 1/420, 1/500, 1/600, 1/720, 1/840, 1/1000, 1/1200, 1/1400, 1/1700, 1/2000, 1/2300, 1/2600, 1/3000, 1/4000, 1/8000, and 1/15000. In Manual mode (24F frame rate): 1/12, 1/24, 1/48, 1/60, 1/75, 1/90, 1/100, 1/120, 1/150, 1/180, 1/210, 1/250, 1/300, 1/360, 1/420, 1/500, 1/600, 1/720, 1/840, 1/1000, 1/1200, 1/1400, 1/1700, 1/2000, 1/2300, 1/2600, 1/3000, 1/4000, 1/8000, and 1/15000.

White Balance Controls

Auto White Balance, Outdoor preset (5600 K), Indoor preset (3200 K), and Custom Preset A and Preset B (adjusting between 3200 and 5600 K), and K control (2000 to 15,000 K in 100 K increments)

Gain Controls

-3dB, A (Auto), 0dB, +3dB, +6dB, +12dB, 18dB, and 0-18,+36dB. Last setting is manual from 0-18 in 1dB increments, then a jump to +36dB

Exposure (5.12)

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The exposure on the Canon XL H1A can be by ab AE shift control knob, located under the handle on top. There are 13 settings in total, which should suffice for most quick adjustments. This is a great quick way to shift exposure by small degrees, without the complications of adjusting aperture or shutter speed.

You can also lock the exposure with the Exposure Lock/Push AE button located on the left side. When pushed, a scale appears on the screen with an arrow indicating where the camcorder would like to place the auto exposure. While the lock is enabled, you can adjust aperture and shutter, and the display will tell you how far off the mark you are (measured in 1/2 EV steps).

Aperture (10.2)

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The aperture on the Canon XL H1A can be adjusted in Manual mode or Aperture Priority (Av) mode. In both modes, options include 32 settings. This is a significantly expanded range of settings, especially in the f/9.8 to Closed range. 

Aperture adjustments are made in two places. New this generation is an aperture control ring on the 20x kit lens. It's handy to have close at hand if you find yourself adjusting aperture a lot, but seems less critical than the focus or zoom rings. Most shooters will be happy with the secondary control, the small dial located on the nubbin (for lack of a better word) on the left side.

Shutter Speed (8.65)

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The shutter speed can be adjusted in two modes, Manual mode and Shutter Priority (Tv) mode. In Shutter Priority options are more limited than they are in full Manual mode. Also note that the options differ depending on which frame rate you're shooting in.  

These options are identical to the ones found on the previous generation XL H1. Shutter changes are made by two small buttons on the back of the nubbin on the left side. The buttons are back in a slight recess, which should prevent accidental bumping while handling.

White Balance (10.5)

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The white balance control offers good, fast access, with a lot of finer controls buried in the menu. A pop-up dial is located on the left side for quick switching between Auto White Balance (AWB), Outdoor preset (5600 K), Indoor preset (3200 K), and Custom Preset A and Preset B (adjusting between 3200 and 5600 K). The last setting, indicated by the letter 'K' on the dial, indicates a specific Kelvin temperature that you set in the menu. The range is much larger: 2000 to 15,000 K in 100 K increments). The only thing extra that pros may have wished for is a second dial setting for a specific Kelvin temperature, but all told, the controls are very good. 

Gain (13.25)

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The manual gain control is a pop-up dial located next to the White Balance on the left side. The dial has 8 settings. The last setting, '0-18,+36dB,' is new on this generation camcorder. It allows you to select a specific gain setting rather than falling back on the presets. The manual range extends from 1dB to 18dB, with increments every 0.5dB. From 18dB, it jumps up immediately to +36dB, which is incredibly noisy but presumably useful to someone. 

Color & Image Controls (14.6)

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The level of color and image control onboard the Canon XL H1A is staggering. In fact, there's more here than any one person could use, and a lot of people would choose to do some of the color work in a post-production environment. However, there's certainly some truth in Canon's argument that every generation of correction past the original footage is going to degrade image quality. If you can perfect color at the time of the shoot, why not? Below is a list and brief description of each setting. For more explanation, see the manual (link opens PDF).

Color/Image Control	Description
Skin Detail Set	This series of controls allows you to select the range of colors the camcorder will recognize as 'skin tones.' Hue, Chroma (saturation), Area (color range), and Y-Level (brightness range) are the component settings, each with a range of -6 to +6.
Gamma Curve	Alters the overall depth and range of tones. Settings include Normal, Cine 1, and Cine 2. The latter two more closely match the gamma of film.
Knee Point Adjustments	Adjusts the dynamic range in the highlights. Settings include Low (shrink range), Middle, and High (expand range).
Black Stretch/Press	Opposite Knee Point, this adjusts dynamic range in the shadows. Settings include Stretch (expand range), Middle, and Press (shrink range).
Master Pedestal	Sets the baseline of the luminance signal. Range expands from -9 to +9, with negative values setting the baseline higher and positive values pulling more detail from the shadows.
Setup Level	Raises and lowers the entire gamma curve. Ranges from -9 to +9.
Sharpness	Adjusts sharpness. Ranges from -9 to +9.
Horizontal Detail Frequency	Adjusts the horizontal definition. Ranges between High, Middle, and Low.
Horizontal/Vertical Detail Balance	Sets balance between horizontal and vertical definition. Ranges from -9 to +9.
Coring	Adjusts coring, which helps reduce noise caused by high sharpness. Ranges from -9 to +9.
Noise Reduction	Two modes. Noise Reduction 1 reduces noise caused by gain (Caution: may cause trailing in low light). Noise Reduction 2 reduces noise caused by motion. Both modes have Low, Middle, and High settings.
Color Matrix	Shifts the fundamental color settings. Range includes Normal, Cine 1, and Cine 2.
Color Gain	Affects color saturation. Range has been greatly expanded since first generation XL H1. Now ranges from -50 to +50.
Color Phase	Affects the color balance. Ranges from -9 to +9. Negative values shift towards red/violet, and positive values shift towards green, blue.
R Gain, G Gain, B Gain	Individual saturation control for each channel. Ranges from -50 to +50.
2-Channel Color Matrices	Individual phase control between each two-channel combination. Separate settings for R-G, R-B, G-R, G-B, B-R, and B-G matrices.

Other Manual Controls (8.75)

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Control	Description
Neutral Density Filter	Controlled by a ring on the lens barrel. Three settings: Off, 1/6, and 1/32. Lowers the overall exposure, allowing you to open the aperture more in bright light for depth of field control.
Zebra	Zebra patterns can be set to appear at 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100 IRE.
Flange Back	Allows for correct focusing on lenses without built-in flange back.
Clear Scan	Adjusts to reduce screen flicker and black banding when shooting screens and monitors. The frequency can be adjusted between 60.1 Hz and 203.9 Hz.
Color Bars	Color bars outputted by the Canon XL H1A. Either SMPTE or ARIB.
Audio Reference Signal	1 kHz tone outputted by XL H1A. Strength can be adjusted to -12dB, -18dB, or -20dB.
Faders	Adjusted to either fade black or fade white each time you hit the record button.
Markers/Inensity	Several on-screen markers are available, including Aspect Guide and Safety Zones. The intensity of each line can also be adjusted to either 100% or 40%. More details in the LCD/Viewfinder portion of this review.
Selective Noise Reduction	A series of settings that allow you to control where and how noise reduction function is implemented. Parameters include Hue, Chroma (saturation), Area (color range), and Y-Level (brightness range) are the component settings, each with a range of -6 to +6.
Zoom/Focus Preset	This function allows you to set a point in the focal range or the zoom range and save it. At any point after that, you can hit a switch and lens will revert to the saved point. The transition time can be set to four different speeds. Note that you can choose either focus or zoom, but not both. Also, this is a function of the kit lens, not the camcorder itself.