There seems to be a lot of anti-XL1s sentiment. It pisses me off; I love this camera. I have all these people telling me all this crap about how they don't like the camera, how the picture's too yellow, how the AGDVX100 is a higher end camera. I'm going to start sniping from a belltower pretty soon! What's with all the hate? We all know that 3 chip miniDV cameras in the 3-5 thousand dollar price range are all about the same, with a pro here and a con there. Do these people not understand that when you insult my baby, you insult me?

Has anyone else experienced the hate? I don't run around telling people their PD150 sucks, or whatever. Anyway. Respond at will.

Josh, who cares what other people say. They've probably never seen XL1 footage, nor footage from other 3 chip cams. You know the XL1 is good, and so do many others.

No, not the belltower! Please set down the rifle and come down, Josh! We can work this out calmly!

Josh, you've been shooting long enough, and reading posts here long enough, to recognize that enthusiasm for the new often disparages the predecessor. It's not hatred you're seeing, just enthusiasm for new products with an occasional touch of insecurity. Some of the new cameras do, in fact, have notable ground-breaking features. That's the nature of the electronics business. But the choices available within a certain price bracket all represent compromises of one form or another.

You've no reason to feel like you're the little weenie. Quite the contrary. There are many who would gladly mug you for that XL1s in a dark alley...and they'd take that bag, too, thank you very much. That XL1s is a very powerful and potent tool in the hands of a skilled craftsman. By all means, keep pace with others' comments and experiences with the new cameras. But there's no reason to become defensive or depressed when someone expresses negativity toward your camera. Read, smile, nod, note and move on.

In the end, the quality of your work rests on (a) your total mastery of your tools, (b) your ability to stitch a good visual story together, (c) your imagination, and (d) your ability to project your vision in light and sound.

Go forth undaunted by the naysayers, young man! Rolling....ACTION!

Amen to all Ken says... and smile when you hear 'em dissin' your cam, because you know better. Let them believe whatever they want; ultimately you have the advantage.

The only shooting you need to do is with your camera,

I feel I need more though. I need the naysayers to bow before me and cry and beg as I unleash allmighty 3 CCD hellfire upon them, and take back their untruthful and foul comments. It's very annoying is all I'm saying. Nodding and smiling doesn't feel like enough when I have these two hands that were perfectly crafted for the act of strangling.

You will face many more irritating situations in life, sometimes with true consequences. You will serve your long-term physical and mental health well to develop the emotional discipline to channel such frustrations in productive directions. If you develop a dependency on approval and appreciation as a young man (which I assume you are) you will be a very troubled, cranky old man.

Don't sweat the small stuff...which is squarely where all of these gadgets land.

I'm already a cranky young man. I hate everything---from American Idol to the Matrix 2 to Houston traffic to sports and back again. Am I lost? Is there no hope?

Love thyself, and everything else will fall into place. :)

Turn off the TV, make your own movie, ride a bike, ride a bike some more. You'll become a changed man to whom nothing is bothersome.

Josh, at the end of the day you just have to ignore them.

Turn the other cheek.

Leave the gauntlet on the ground.

And smile inwardly to yourself, in the knowledge that their camcorders all look the same...a shoebox with a lens...whereas your's looks sexy. Like a proper camera. Yours is the Marilyn Monroe of the camcorder world, whereas they're all lugging around the Ethel Mermans.

I rest my case.

That's what I figure. If I ever work in film or real video, the cameras are heavy bastards, so at least I'm getting used to it now. And when that XL2 comes out. . .whoa baby! There won't be a dry pair of pants in my house.

XL2...hubba hubba

MX600 - huba huba. :)

Turn the other cheek.

Or, turn around and show 'em both cheeks---the big ones. :)

You've got a fine camera. Shoot with it. The real magic is who is behind the camera, not the hardware.

You may be just getting some backlash. For so long the XL1 was the "cool" camera. Some (and it never takes many) XL1 users copped an attitude about their camera that pissed folks off. Silly but no different from the Mac/PC discussions where cooler-than-thou Mac owners sneer at PC users and PC users sneer back. Now folks with 24p obsession are getting a little weird but that too will pass. And in another year or two, it will be something else all together.

Make great video and prove 'em all wrong.

Anyway us little camera people should stick together. All the big camera folks or even those weird folks shooting with crystals on acetate (what's up with that?) look down on us already.

I think we need a new thread.

"Zen and the art of digital video..."

Josh,

I would go for 7.62 mm and the 5.56 round can be diverted from it's trajectory by a blade of grass and as the people dissin the XL obviously have extremely narrow minds and probably don't know DV from VD you are going to need the extra stopping power.

The solution is to shoot something great and compare the work, not the cameras. The proof is in the product, not the tools.

It's annoying when people seem to think that if they have some new camera they'll be able to do all this great stuff that they couldn't do in 30p, simply because the camera has 24p.

Shooting in PAL, I'm not so sure that 24fps is really that different. I could stand to be corrected.

Ah, yes my friend, but I'm using NTSC.

I figured that. But I'm shooting in PAL.

And my dad's bigger than your dad.

(That last bit's probably a lie, since my dad's shrunk a lot since I was a nipper)

Possible responses to people dissing your camera:

"Oh, this thing (holding up XL1)? I dunno, my woman got it for me for my birthday so I could video tape family meetings and stuff, but I always end up with footage of my feet." (star laughing and walk away).

"Yeah, it's basically just an add on to my mini35 system. You have one of those too right? (look of shock) What, you mean you actually use the lens that CAME with your camera?" (start laughing and walk away).

Get the EOS adapter and a nice big Canon 400mm lens. Say "mine's bigger than your's is".

(next comment not directed at or in defense of any camera group in particular, since the XL1 could be just as guilty)...
If all else fails say "Only poseurs and amateurs think that buying the latest gadget laden camera will make their productions better."

And finally, grab their camera and smash it on the floor. Say "ITS NOT SO GOOD NOW, BI-ACH!"

All good ideas. I wish I had the mini35. I mean, I wouldn't, you know, pay money for it, or anything, but if someone left it and a Zeiss prime lens outside my house, I wouldn't hold it against 'em.

And of course when buying the cam, I didn't compare it to anything else. I read a lot about it, but no comparison to a PD150 or anything.

Definitely the Houston traffic. Stick with the Bell Tower, just avoid the Transco (or whatever it's called now), I work too close to that one!

Michael

Are you here in H-Town (as the kids say)? Wanna throw any work my way?

You know you can always incorporate some of this anger in one
of your movies. How else do you think all these action/thriller/
horror and other "destroy" movies get made?

Yep, I'm in H-Town, but unless you're a network integrator I can't throw any work your way. I'm a hobbiest, at best, in the video world! ;-)

Michael

Damn, thanks anyway Michael.

Yes, I thought of some movie where people go to war over their XL1ses and PD150s, but then I thought, "wait there's only 12 people in the entire world who would find this even remotely funny or even know what the hell I'm talking about." So, one more idea for the toilet.

'Tis a shame. It had promise. I particularly liked the idea of the unleashing allmighty 3 CCD hellfire scene.

Ah well....

That was a funny "scene" indeed

<<<-- Originally posted by Josh Bass : I'm already a cranky young man. I hate everything---from American Idol to the Matrix 2 to Houston traffic to sports and back again. Am I lost? Is there no hope? -->>>

Good grief Josh - Houston traffic is wonderful!

Regarding Matrix 2 - I agree.

<<<-- Originally posted by Michael Middleton : Yep, I'm in H-Town, but unless you're a network integrator I can't throw any work your way. I'm a hobbiest, at best, in the video world! ;-)

Michael -->>>

Hey Michael,

If you are in the networking world, I would be interested in talking with you. Shoot me an email. <denote email buttons below>

FYI - I live in Houston.

Oh sure, just cause I don't know anything about networks, Paul won't help me. Isn't that one of those jobs where you can just learn as you go? :-)

<<<-- Originally posted by Josh Bass : Oh sure, just cause I don't know anything about networks, Paul won't help me. Isn't that one of those jobs where you can just learn as you go? :-) -->>>

Now Josh - have I ever refused to help you in the past. :) And for a sharp cat like you, I am sure it would be a "learn as you go" sort of thing.

I was kiddin' Paul. I was implying that because I have no idea what a network administrator is or does, you couldn't hook me up.

Paul, email sent.

Any interest from you Houston guys in getting together for lunch sometime? I promise not to dis your XL1s!

Michael

You're buyin', right?

<<<-- Originally posted by Michael Middleton : Paul, email sent.

Any interest from you Houston guys in getting together for lunch sometime? I promise not to dis your XL1s!

Michael -->>>

Of course! There are quite a few of us who have already done this. Be great to do it again. I'll be in touch.

I'm looking forward to it, Paul. And I suppose if Josh spent all his savings on that overpriced XL1s, then I'll buy his lunch. Ooops, I promised I wouldn't do that! LOL! j/k Josh.

Michael

Alright sucker, outside NOW!