Canon XH A1S Product Specs
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.
| Canon XH A1S- Specs | |
|---|---|
| Original Price | 3,999.00 |
| Year | 2009 |
| Format | Tape |
| Class | Pro |
| High Definition | Yes |
| Lens Mount | No |
| Filter Diameter (mm) | 72.00 |
| Focal Distance Minimum (mm) | 4.50 |
| Focal Distance Maximum (mm) | 90.00 |
| 35mm Focal Distance Minimum (mm) | 0.00 |
| 35mm Focal Distance Maximum (mm) | 0.00 |
| F-stop Minimum | 22.00 |
| F-stop Maximum | 1.60 |
| Wide Angle (degrees) | 61 |
| Image Stabilization | Optical |
| Sensor Type | CCD |
| Sensor Count | 3 |
| Sensor Size (inches) | 1.00 |
| Video Pixel Count (gross) | 1.67 |
| Video Pixel Count (effective) | 1.56 |
| HD Video Format | HDV |
| SD Video Format | DV |
| Frame Rate(s) | 60i, 30p, 24p |
| Primary Audio Format | MPEG1 Audio Layer II |
| Secondary Audio Format | PCM |
| Primary Media | MiniDV |
| Secondary Media | None |
| Tertiary Media | None |
| Memory Card Type | SD/SDHC |
| Included Media Capacity | None |
| Maximum Recording Time (highest quality in minutes) | 60 |
| Recording Quality Option(s) | SP, LP |
| Uncompressed Video Output | No |
| Zoom Control Type(s) | Ring, Large Rocker, Small Rocker |
| Optical Zoom | 20 |
| Advanced Zoom | 0 |
| Digital Zoom | 0 |
| Zoom Speed Settings | 16 |
| Manual Focus | Yes |
| Manual Focus Control Type(s) | Ring |
| Focus Assist / Peaking | Yes |
| Manual Exposure | Yes |
| Manual Exposure Steps | 14 |
| Manual Aperture | Yes |
| Manual Aperture Steps | 31 |
| Minimum Aperture (f/) | 22.00 |
| Maximum Aperture (f/) | 1.60 |
| Manual Shutter Speed | Yes |
| Manual Shutter Speed Steps | 31 |
| Minimum Shutter Speed | 1/4 |
| Maximum Shutter Speed | 1/15000 |
| Manual White Balance | Yes |
| White Balance Presets | Auto, Outdoor, Indoor |
| Kelvin Control Steps | 130 |
| Manual Gain | Yes |
| Manual Gain Steps | 38 |
| Manual Noise Reduction | Yes |
| Manual Noise Reduction Options | NR1, NR2, Selective Noise Reduction |
| Audio Dubbing | No |
| Auto / Easy Mode | Yes |
| Face Detection | No |
| Gamma Control(s) | 0 |
| Image Detail Control(s) | 0 |
| Color Control(s) | 0 |
| Skin Tone Control | Yes |
| Color Correction | Yes |
| Low Light Mode(s) | Night |
| Scene Mode(s) | Spotlight |
| ND Filter | Yes |
| Customizable Buttons | Yes |
| Other Manual Control(s) | Zebra, Clear Scan, Color Bars, Markers, Zoom/Focus Preset |
| Still Image Resolution(s) | 1920 x 1080, 1440 x 1080, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 |
| Still Image Quality Option(s) | Super Fine, Fine, Normal |
| Flash | No |
| Simultaneous Video / Still Recording | Yes |
| Self Timer | No |
| Manual ISO | No |
| Manual ISO Steps | 0 |
| ISO Minimum | 0 |
| ISO Maximum | 0 |
| Continuous Shot | Yes |
| Bracketing | Yes |
| Still Media | SD/SDHC Card |
| Still Media Included | None |
| Body Type | Horizontal |
| Shoulder Mount | No |
| Weight - Fully Loaded (grams) | 2,400.00 |
| Weight - Body Only (grams) | 2,400.00 |
| Width (mm) | 163.00 |
| Height (mm) | 192.00 |
| Length (mm) | 394.00 |
| Body Color(s) | Black |
| LCD Size (inches) | 2.80 |
| LCD Resolution (pixels) | 207000 |
| Touch Screen | No |
| Viewfinder | Yes |
| Viewfinder Resolution (pixels) | 269000 |
| Viewfinder Diopter Adjuster | Yes |
| Video Light | No |
| Composite (RCA) output | Yes |
| Composite (RCA) input | Yes |
| FireWire | Yes |
| Audio-only AV input | No |
| S-Video | No |
| USB | No |
| Component output | Yes |
| Component input | No |
| HDMI | No |
| Headphone output | Yes |
| Mini Microphone input | Yes |
| XLR inputs (quantity) | 2 |
| LANC / Control L | Yes |
| Accessory Shoe | Yes |
| Accessory Shoe (Hot) | Yes |
| EVF output | Yes |
| Gen-Lock | No |
| HD-SDI | No |
| BNC output | Yes |
| Time Code in/out | No |
| Included Wireless Remote | Yes |
| WiFi | No |
| GPS | No |
| Sister Model Up | XH G1S |
| Included Battery | BP-950G |
| Battery Life - w/ LCD (minutes) | 322 |
| Battery Life - w/ viewfinder (minutes) | 320 |
| Other Accessories | Lens Hood, Lens Cap |
| Canon XH A1S Scores | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | Score | Weighting | |
| Color Score | 9.85 | 1.0 | |
| Noise Score | 8.06 | 2.0 | |
| Motion Score | 9.30 | 1.0 | |
| Video Sharpness Score | 8.62 | 4.0 | |
| Wide Angle Score | 12.20 | 0.8 | |
| Low Light Color Score | 7.19 | 1.25 | |
| Low Light Sensitivity Score | 4.13 | 1.5 | |
| Low Light Noise Score | 3.57 | 1.25 | |
| Audio Features Score | 8.00 | 2.0 | |
| Compression Score | 8.30 | 1.5 | |
| Media Score | 6.00 | 1.0 | |
| Editing Score | 8.00 | 0.5 | |
| Auto Mode Score | 6.50 | 0.5 | |
| Zoom Score | 12.80 | 0.75 | |
| Zoom Ratio Score | 15.00 | 0.5 | |
| Focus Score | 10.50 | 0.7 | |
| Exposure Score | 5.15 | 0.65 | |
| Aperture Score | 10.20 | 0.65 | |
| Shutter Speed Score | 5.65 | 0.6 | |
| White Balance Score | 9.50 | 0.55 | |
| Gain Score | 12.25 | 0.5 | |
| Color & Image Controls Score | 14.60 | 0.5 | |
| Other Manual Controls Score | 7.75 | 0.5 | |
| Still Features Score | 9.15 | 0.5 | |
| Still Color Score | 9.80 | 0.6 | |
| Still Noise Score | 9.05 | 0.6 | |
| Still Sharpness Score | 2.98 | 0.75 | |
| Ease of Use Score | 7.25 | 1.0 | |
| Handling Score | 7.00 | 1.25 | |
| Stabilization Score | 4.94 | 1.0 | |
| Portability Score | 7.25 | 0.5 | |
| Battery Life (w/ LCD) Score | 16.00 | 0.75 | |
| Battery Life (w/ Viewfinder) Score | 16.10 | 0.75 | |
| LCD & Viewfinder Score | 4.60 | 0.6 | |
| Menus Score | 7.50 | 0.75 | |
| Playback Score | 6.50 | 0.3 | |
| Connectivity Score | 9.00 | 1.0 | |
| Other Features Score | 1.00 | 0.25 | |
| Total: | 288 | ||
Advertisement
Shop for the Canon XH A1S
Advertisement
Latest News & Reviews
-
29-Apr-2011
Panasonic HDC-SDT750 3D Camcorder Review
With the HDC-SDT750, Panasonic is bringing 3D videography to the masses. It is definetly not cheap, but it is still comparable in cost to other flagship models. Read More...
-
10-Mar-2011
Kodak Playsport Zx3 Camcorder Review
The Playsport Zx3 is an exciting ultracompact camcorder from Kodak that combines a Full HD recording capability with a body that is waterproof up to 3 meters. The camcorder’s durable construction, and did surprisingly well in our video testing. Read More...
Top Rated
Advertisement
