I use a crop in post to do 16:9, 1.85 & 2.35.... The only anamorphic
adapter available for the XL1 is in 16:9 format. See the following
page for more information:

http://www.zgc.com/html/anamorphic_attachment.html

and my past thread was locked why?

Ryan,

I just tried posting to last thread without any problems. So I am not sure if it was locked or there was a transient condition.

Anyone tried the Westone UM1 earbud monitors with an XL1? In a noisy environment? if so, how were they?

The Duracell DR2 will work too.

- don

Hello!

I have come across a 3x VIDEO LENS FOR EX SERIES 5-15mm - can you tell me whether or not this will work with an XL1?

THANK YOU!

Dylan

If I understand it correctly, DV-50 uses 4:2:2 compression and produces an image on par with Digibeta. I know that this is format only and that the rest of the camera has to be able to take advantage of the benefits as well, but I can't help but wonder if Canon's next XL series camera might be DV-50.

To get digibeta quality in a DV stream through a FW port would be amazing. At least to me it would be. Apple's next FCP revision will supposedly support DV50 as will 800Mbps Firewire.

Maybe at NAB 2003?

Greg Matty

We should have a little insight soon. FCP 4 should be released next month. I think we might get an announcement of a new camera as early as PMA. I'm sure Canon has not been sitting on their hands the last 18 months.

Jeff

Audio recorded on my XL-1 plays back fine on the camera, but when used in either a Pansonic 1000 or 2000 deck, play back distorted, dropped out and metallic.

Things recorded on either Panasonic deck play back fine on the XL-1. I recently had the 2000 in for service and alignment and it was fine.

Next step is sending the XL-1 in for a tune-up. I'm wondering if this is a common problem on various decks? My plan was to use the Panasonic decks for editing/capturing and saving the heads on the camera. So far, that's not working if I need on camera sound.

Is the allignment so critical that even a slight amount of "out of wackness" makes it a problems across decks?

Bad audio (mainly dropouts) when playing my XL-1 tapes on the Panasonic 2000 deck was the first sign that the XL-1 heads were going out of alignment. This quickly migrated to bad video when played in the deck. I would try sending the camera in for repair and then the two should talk well together again.

BEFORE YOU SEND IT IN, dub all of your recent tapes from the camera to the deck. Once the camera is returned, it will probably not play the tapes correctly either!

The XL1 uses XL series video lenses. Can you give a pointer/URL for information about the EX series lens.

The 5-15 range is not much wider thatn the 5.5--88 range of the standard lens. It was the wide angle range offered by Canon in VL mount for the L1/L2 camcorders.

I am looking to buy a audio/video transmitter that I can mount on my XL1 to send to a remote receiver to provide live audio & video. I only will need to send the signals up to 300-400 feet. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

You might want to take a look at this thread: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2373. It discusses sources for equipment and more importantly, the legalities of their use.

Does anyone know if the LS-21A hot shoe mounted light stud will fit on the XL-1 hot shoe? I'm looking to fit the standard light stud that fits on ENG cameras onto my XL-1 for a frezzi light. Thanks!!

Josh

anyone know the cheapest i could get an xl-1s body from? oh, and do i really need to buy a view finder, what if i just use a monitor?

Yes, the LS-21A stud will work fine on the XL1 and is included with the MFKIC-XL1 Frezzi kit designed for that camera. See http://www.frezzi.com/newpage6.htm

Thank you so much Ed. Yeah I already have a Frezzi I plan on using. But thanks for the informative link!!

Josh

Greetings

i would suggest Ebay if you know your way around staying away from a grey market purchase. As far as the viewfinder you will need one. Even if you use a monitor there are menu functions not displayed in the monitor to change your settings.

I will repeat watch out for grey market camera searching for a good deal.

Marcus

Personally, and that is my humble opinion, I would not buy such
a pricey item from something like eBay. The risk is just way to high
I think! I prefer to know where I bought it with warranty etc...

See also:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5426

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2954

Does the XL1s have a feature that you can set, so you can shoot a computer monitor?

thanks
Scott

Yes, it's called "ClearScan". It slightly adjusts the shutter speed to avoid flicker. Check your manual (if you have an XL1s), or you can download the manual from www.canondv.com/downloads/manuals.html if you don't.

thanks

Hey Folks,
Has anyone used the NEB50XL, or VariZooms VZ-TFT monitor? I see that there is quite a difference in price. What's important to me is picture quality and WYSIWYG framing. I'm also curious how long VariZooms battery lasts. I did read a post by Charles Newcomb about what seems like a good bang for the buck assembling his own kit. Any one else done that?

Thanks for your help!
- Eric

Hi Eric, in this business you always get what you pay for. The Nebtek monitor is more expensive than the VariZoom and is higher quality. The VariZoom is an excellent monitor for the budget-minded. Its battery lasts about three hours. I've always believed that you should buy the best you can afford. If you can afford the Nebtek, go for it. If you're on a budget, the VariZoom will work just fine for you. Hope this helps,

Chris, I notice that the monitor Varizoom is selling now looks different from the one I purchased about a year ago. Have you evaluated the new one and how would you compare it to the original? Do you know why they changed?

Hi,

Can anyone tell me the quickest and most affordable way to transfer PAL footage to a NTSC compatible tape or dvd? Any advice greatly appreciated.

Melissa Tomjanovich

Melissa,

There are several PAL to NTSC transfer shops in the New York area. If you do a Google search on "PAL to NTSC transfer, New York" you will get a long list of companies who do this type of work. You can also do a Google search on: "Post Production, New York"

Hope this helps.

I've had my XL1s for about 4 months now. I got done with a project about 3 weeks ago, and then, the audio was fine. Today, we started another project, and I got home to capture the video...only to find out that there was no audio attached, so I plug some headphones into my camera to check it. No audio. I record some new stuff and check it. No audio. I put the camera on both manual and automatic mode...no audio. I unplug the thing, check the connections, still, no audio.

What has happened, and how do i fix it?

-Ryoko

In what way is there no audio?

Do you have audio when you play previously recorded tapes known to have audio?

Do you get any indication on the VU meter?

Do you have the correct input selected (Audio 1 or built-in mic)?

Is the input level set correctly (e.g., MIC for a mic level input)?

If in record mode, is the output minitor set to the input?

wow...thanks it's fixed. I had to switch the input from "Audio 1" to "Mic"...which is weird, since I haven't changed that setting since I got the camera. Anyway, after i switched the input I began getting readings on the VU meter. Thanks again, your reply was very appreciated!

hi all,

i'm currently working in florida at a television station on and off. and the guy i'm working for is in charge of lighting, cool guy. the other day he just gave me lights, a 2k and 2 one k's. the other day i noticed that he had a nagra recording deck in his office that someone gave to him a while ago. i'm wondering if i should show interest because he don't use it, it's been lying there on a table for almost a year. is there any money to be made for lending your services with a nagra unit? just wondering if there's a demand for analog recorders.

Hi Keith,

I just stumbled across your message from many moons ago. I am in the orlando area, and I have a GL2. I know the need from your post is long past, but just thought I'd give a hello since I'm in the area and there's always potential for an alliance or two.

Imran.

Hi,
i'm trying to get the Clear Scan, operating, but the i've got the purple band covering it in the menu, i've followed everthing in the instruction book, as far as i can see. I'm doing something wrong, can anyone help, please,?

Run through all the settings again. Make sure you are in TV or Manual. I've found that a lot of people miss that. Then use the shutter up arrow to get to CS. The menue should now be ready to set in the viewfinder.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff,
the mistake i was making was going straight into the menu, before selcting CS by going through the shutter speeds in TV mode. If there's a wrong way to do it, i'll do it! Thanks again.
Mike.

I'm in Orlando. I'm always looking for new people to work with. Feel free to email any time.
Timmyj01@yahoo.com

I have an offer to shoot some local concerts in the Orlando area. The venue size ranges from smaller clubs to the Hard Rock Live. Does anyone have any suggestions on getting good audio recorded into the camera? I don't have the MA-100 or 200 and probably wont be able to borrow one. Do these venues usually have the connectors or would I have to bring my own (don't mind if I do and might bring them just to be safe). Thank you very much!

Hi Tim,

I'm in the Orlando area, and have spent some time lurking around the venues around town as I've got several musician friends. Most smaller local places don't have anything too fancy. If you're lucky, you'll be able to jack in with either XLR cables or RCA connectors into a master mixer. If they have a master mixer!

Places like Hard Rock will be much more pro, however those sort of venues are very greedy about what they let into the door. House of Blues is the same - you have to sleep with someone to be allowed a camera in the premises.

If you tell me what venues you're thinking about shooting in, I can probably tell you what quality of equipment they might have, if I know.

Some thoughts:

0. The subject comes up frequently. So scan past posts.

1. Try get a feed from the house mixer. This often will net the best available sound. You will have to check the venue for what they have available for you.

2. If you have to mic the show, use directional mics and position them between the audience and performers to reduce the audience/background noise.

3. Be sure to select a mic that can take the expected sound pressure levels. Many low and modest cost mics run into distortion at rock band levels.

4. While usually not great quality compared to wired mics, wireless mics can reduce the need to run cables from the mic to your shooting position.

5. Consider using an auxiliary recorder for sound to free your camera from being tethered to a audio pickup sustem. MiniDISC recorders work well for this, DAT is better but more costly.

Hi,

I did a search for AKG and did find some info. But I did not find anything regarding the C3000-B.

Anyone using this mic? Do ya like it? Is there anything special to know about it and the XL-1S?

I plan to purchase one of these mics plus 3 of the C1000-S(s).

Any input about these mics would be of interest.

I plan to use the C1000 mics on booms for interviews. Is this cool or should I just use the Senns Lav mics? I have two of those and could always purchase another.

The C3000-B is just for fun and I hear it is a mic that everyone should own for things....

Thanks

Sure wish there was someone on this site that lived in Tucson!!!

I have an almost one year old xl1s. I have noticed lately that when the temperature is cold (mid 20s Fahrenheit or below) that the image in the finder appears blurry if the lens is zoomed quickly, the camera is panned, or the subject moves. This occurs in either frame or normal mode. While this looks much like one is using a slow shutter speed such as 1/8 or 1/15 sec., I am not. The recorded video shows no problem. I started using this camera last February under much the same conditions and do not remember anything like this. Has anyone else noticed anything like this.

This is normal and to be expected. Remember, the color viewfinder is a liquid crystal display. When it becomes very cold it becomes sluggish to refresh. Use a PortaBrace Polar cover (or something equivalent) to keep the cam warm in very cold shooting.

I got a Canon XL-1S for christmas along with a few accessories, including a Beachtek XLR audio adaptor that fits under my camera. Ive been thinking about a Matte Box with rods that mounts to my tripod. Would my beachtek audio adaptor effect the set up of the rods and matte box? Or am i wrong and can the beachtek be mounted under the Matte Box mount? I need some help on this one as i am young and inexperienced in the world of Digital Video. Thanks in advance for any help.

I'm pretty sure the Beachtek will be mountable under the matte box.

I have a Sennheiser ME66, and I don't understand this phantom power deal. It lets the mic run without a AA battery, right? Well, how? I've had it plugged into my MA100, turned on, with battery, and all I've had happen is that I realize I have no battery. All the modules that come with the mic capsule are phantom power, no?

The MA-100 does not provide phantom power. So with the ME66 you need to use the K6 module with the internal AA battery present. (Sennheiser does offer another power module for the ME66 that does NOT support use of a AA battery and requires phantom power).

The K6 module can also use phantom power if it is available. But if you are using the MA-100 and want to use phantom power, you will have to provide an external phantom power source - probably not worth the effort since AA batteries are low cost, convenient., and work.

Ah. Okay. Thanks for clearing that up.

Hello. I have a Sennhesier ME66 shotgun mic, a Lightwave systems MM-XL1 universal mini mount and an Audio Technica AT8415 shock mount. Is it possible for me to somehow attach the 8415 to my XL1s in any way? Does it attach to the mini mount any way? Anywhere? There has to be a way to rig it up somehow which leads me to my next move.

I would like to attach my shotgun mic through the shock mount and attach my regular Canon stereo mic though the mini mount. I want to do a shoot and capture audio on both mics. How do I go about doing that? Put the camera menu settings on 12 bit 4 channels, and thats it? Thanks for the help guys.

-Ryan

12-bit mode will do what you want. You will probably want to use an XLR adapter, such as the MA-100 to adapt the signal from the ME66 to the Audio 2 input. Some folks have found setting up the 12-bit mode to be almost as difficult as programming their VCRs, so practice it first to get it down pat before a money shoot

Someone else will have to comment on using a 8415 with the mini-mount system. Might look a bit unusual.

Yea I have the MA-100, thanks Don.