New Owner's First Impressions: William Capolongo
posted on DV-L 1/9/98 -- reprinted with permission

I've had my XL1 for a week now. What a great camera! I am still getting a pack together for it, so I haven't shot a lot of video yet, but I can give some feedback. Let me preface my remarks by saying my background is in software and computer engineering, and still photography, not video.

The picture quality is really fine. It shoots well in all kinds of lighting conditions, including low light.

The audio quality is also excellent. I've run it throught my high end stereo and through headphones, and the sound is really nice. Stereo separation is good. Frequency range is good -- I shot an orchestra for a bit. Perhaps a little light on the low range frequencies, but then again, maybe not. I need to do more testing and tweaking.

I mentioned previously that I was going to post information on how it does in cold temperatures. I've only shot an hour so far at about 20 degrees F - so far so good. I need to get that pack together so I can bring it in the snow. The shape is somewhat awkward to plan a pack around, although from an ergonomic point of view, right on.

Frame mode does have a different look, and I think I like it. I haven't decided if and how I am going to use it yet. One observation of this mode is that fine detail is not rendered quite as well (as seen on my 32" Proscan monitor) -- except in pause mode, where there is better detail and less aliasing due to full frames.

I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't get the shutter speed info in aperature priority mode and aperature in shutter priority mode, until I found that I could push the AE lock button and this info would be displayed.

The AE shift feature is nice - I am used to it from my Canon still camera, but unlike the EOS camera, it doesn't show up in the viewfinder that the exposure is being shifted down or up. This has bitten me already as I forgot for a while that the exposure was shifted slightly.

At very low sound levels some hum is being transferred through the camera body from the motor mechanism to the OB mike. I can hear this with headphones or sometimes through speakers. I don't think the mike is picking up the motor directly (like the Sony VX1000) because if I detach the mike from the camera and just hold it, the noise goes away. Also, screwing down the clamp harder minimizes the hum, although not completely. I am going to be looking into how to isolate the mike better from the camera... it might not be that hard.

I like the ergonomics. I can find and operate most buttons already by touch.

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Written by William Capolongo
Thrown together by Chris Hurd