New Owner's First Impressions: Stuart Brontman
posted on rec.video.production 1/2/98
reprinted with permission

"Canon XL1 vs. Sony VX-1000... the results are in for me! I did a side by side comparison today with the VX-1000 and the XL1. I think you'll all like what I have to say. First of all, I am still impressed by the picture quality of the VX-1000. It's nothing to complain about. BUT, when compared to the XL1, the differences become quite evident. Here are the conditions used...

1. Indoor, ambient lighting at the equipment dealer.
2. Closely duplicated shots taken with each camera, using Sony Premium tape, 60 minute length.

"I shot with the Sony first, then took shots with my XL1. I did playback through a large screen (projection), 700+ line television - one that gives gorgeous results with DVD movies. The audience was made up of 2 video/camera "novices" as well as 2 people with significant experience in video and camera equipment. I did not tell them which camera shot which footage. Why bias them before they reach their conclusions? WITHOUT FAIL, everyone picked the results shot with the CANON as the clear cut winner. Here's why all of us came to the same conclusion.

"The Canon's picture is much more clear and defined. They really did pull it off with the pixel shifting! There is little, if any artifacting on the Canon picture, while the VX-1000 shows slight pixelization and artifacting. The Sony's picture also seems muddier and less vibrant than the Canon. On one shot, I did a close-up of a small video printer. The Sony shot had much less contrast and detail than the Canon. The Canon shot was gorgeous! Great detail and contrast.

"Color wise, the Canon picture wins hands down. Beautiful, vibrant colors are everywhere vs. the Sony which tends to get a little washed out at times.

"Exposure was much better in the Canon. Both cameras were used in standard "automatic" modes with no further tweaking of controls. On one shot in particular, a lit marquee that advertised upcoming video titles (and had flashing colored lights on it along with text) was next to a display of picture frames. On the Canon, you could clearly see the titles on the marquee AND the detail of the picture frames next to it. On the Sony, the titles were hard to see and the nearby picture frames were all washed out with little detail.

"Close-ups of people and objects were also clearly better looking on the Canon. Facial details were better, colors were truer, and print on boxes of merchandise were sharper. The bottom line, the Sony is a good camera. The Canon is a GREAT camera. For all of you VX-1000 users out there, I am NOT attacking you. At the time, the VX-1000 was the best thing available. It's still a great camera. The Canon is newer and represents technological advances. Let's embrace the improvements and be glad Canon spent the time to make this great camera.

"How's that for a report? This camera is a winner! My last concerns about it were clearly laid to rest after the side-by-side test with the VX-1000. One last thing; I don't work for Canon and did not get paid to report this. I've laid out alot of cash for this camera and needed to verify how it would stack up against the existing DV cameras out there. If anyone of you is debating whether or not to buy the Canon, my advice is go for it! Just bite the bullet and say you'll charge a little extra for your next few projects to recoup the cost.

"I hope this helps to clarify that nagging question... how does the picture compare to other cameras? It compares and blows away what's out there now. But alas, I'm sure within a year there will be something better. Gotta win that lotto!"

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Written by Stuart Brontman
Thrown together by Chris Hurd