Actually there is no other consumer camcorder in the market today that can be configured in so many ways like the Canon XH A1 / XH G1. But it can be very annoying to set the parameters in the menu.
There is a great optional software-tool from Canon ("console") that lets the user set every parameter on a PC in a very intuitive way. But if you only rented the cam for a few days, you probably won´t afford the 430 Euros for the console-program (that is useless without the cam). The free demo version is very limited and will not let you load or save any preset-files from your camcorder...
XH-Tuner is a freeware-application, that lets you set up your Canon XH-A1 / XH-G1 from your computer. You can modify every parameter that can be saved in a CFG-File on a common Windows PC.
System Requirements
You need a simple Windows PC with any SD-card reader/writer. You also need the Microsoft .NET-Framework 2.0 installed on your system, that is likely already there. If not, you can download it here. We only tested our software with Windows XP SP2, but it should run on other .NET-platforms also (even with Win98/ME).
XH Tuner will probably only work with the XH A1 and the XH G1 Models from Canon. We tested it only with the A1.
Installation
If .NET-Framework 2.0 is installed on your system, simply download our software and run the .exe
Licence
XH-Tuner is freeware and is provided “as is” without any guarantees. Use it at your own risk. You may not redistribute the program without our written permission. The only distribution channel (at the moment) is slashCAM, where you will always find the newest Version. If you want to have an own distribution deal, write to rudi- nosp@m- slashcam.de .
Instructions
The camera can use (up to 20) configuration-files on a SD-card. They are saved in the folder “PRESET”. It may be a good idea, to save one preset-file from the camera to the SD-card once, so the file structure is written for you by the cam.
After that using XPTuner is quite self explaining:
With the button „Load Config File“ (1) you can read every configuration file from the SD-card. When the file-dialog opens, search for the “PRESET”-folder on your SD-card.
Every preset has an internal name, that is shown in the camera-menu. You can change or set this name (only up to 8 characters!) in the preset name text-field (2).
Afterwards you can change every cam-parameter over the sliders and radio-buttons. Hint: If you miss an exact value, just click on an slider and use the arrow buttons on your keyboard to hit the exact parameter value. BTW: Bold words show the default values of the Camcorder.
The button „Write Config File“ (3) writes the parameters to a configuration file of your choice. This should be saved in the PRESET-Folder of your SD-card. Take care of the wording! The filename must be “PRESETxx.CPF“, while xx is a double-digit number between 01 an 20. The program always recommends "PRESET01.CPF“, so you have to change the number in the filename (will be made foolproof in a future Version). Take care not to overwrite files you still want to use!
So, we hope you´ll find this piece of software useful. If you found a bug or have suggestions for future versions, please drop a line to: rudi -nosp@m- slashcam.de
Have fun,
Rudi and the slashCAM-Team
comparison of the technical data of the Canon XH A1 und XH G1
