Canon GL2 versus XH-A1 picture quality

[Joe Cinquina]

I have not done a formal comparison, but I have concerns. I have both a GL2 and a XH-A1. I love my GL2 and it has ben a great perfomer, but I am moving in to the HDV world. The XH-A1 is awesom at HDV, but I shot some 4×3 SD footage for the first time yesterday and it didn’t not look as sharp as the GL2. It might be me, but it looked pretty soft and the color was a lot different then what I was seeing in the viewfinder. This is after I whitebalanced.

Any other input would be great.

Best Regards,

Joe

[O0matt0o]

I just posted asking almost the same question. In my experience of shooting with my A1 indoors and out, SD 16:9 footage looks much better than 4:3, but not quite as sharp as my XM2.

[Joel Nisson]

Interesting. Can you comment on comparative color rendition between the two cameras?

[O0matt0o]

I would say the only noticeable aspect would be the sharpness, it’s just a little softer. I’m not sure if it is a setting that I haven’t got right but personally I’ve been a little under whelmed by it’s SD performance. 16:9 is definitely the way to go though, it’s much better.

[Michael Stanley]

Is there a big drop-off in quality when using the 16:9 mode with the gl2?