Cannon XL1

[Oakmozart]

The XL-1 and its later revision, the XL-1s is out of production. The XL-2 or XL-H1 are the 2 “XL-series” cameras on the market now. The GL-2 is a decent camera, but lacks any serious controls to tweak your image.

I love the XL-2. It’s a superb camera. You can’t go wrong with it. The XL-H1 looks AWESOME, but the 24F-mode thingy that Canon came out with (instead of a true 24p shooting mode) looks to be REALLY half-a$$ed. It’s also a bit on the high side, price-wise, in my opinion.

Take care.

[Set Apart]

Wow dude,
I sympathize with your situation. I too run a small production company, so I understand your pain with the new hire. But use your skills to bring this guy to another level. It will show your professionalism and integrity.

As far as the camera goes, the XL-2 is newer and better than the XL-1. I’d go with the XL-2!!!

But it all depends on what you are shooting. There are so many new cameras out there. But the bottom line is, if the operator knows what he/she is doing then you have a good chance of success. If the guy is clueless, then it doesn’t matter what camera he shoots with.

DV is a lower format than beta. It’s less expensive though. And if you are not doing broadcast stuff. You can get away with the canon XL-2 or the panasonic DVX-100A.

You can determine that you need beta for the high-quality, high-priority clients. That will allow you to skip the son-in-law’s skill level, without offending anyone. And the boss will probably want you to hire someone out for an important high budget client.

hope this helps you!

p.s. – you in L.A?

[Sean Mcculley]

Thanks!

I’m hoping we can talk the boss into buying a used beta SP camera. That way if the son-in-law decides that shooting is not for him we can still use it with our normal cameraman.

In the past I’ve seen problems with tapes shot with an XL-1 playing in Sony decks. Any problems with the newer XL-H1s or XL-2s. I’ll need to purcahse a good DV deck if this goes through. Any advice on decks would be great.

No, I’m not in LA. We are in Birmingham, AL. We do mostly commercials / broadcast stuff.

Thanks again for all the input.

Sean

[Erik Pontius]

I own a XL1s for my personal use…the quality is good but still not up to broadcast standards. The DVX100a looks better IMHO.
I work in the communications department for a major corporation. We deal with the broadcast media all the time and beta is still a pretty standard format for delivery…kind of a lowest common denominator with broadcast folks. A used betacam is probably a better bet for serious work…and used they are still upwards of $10k. You’ll need a betacam deck as well if you don’t already have one, since at least the Sony betacam cameras will not playback tape through video outs (only the viewfinder).

ENG DVcam is becoming popular too and broadcast folks are more likely to accept DVcam over DV tapes.
HD is something to think about, though not too many folks are equipped to accept it and you’ll end up bumping it down to beta, digi, etc…

erik