I have a set of NP1 batteries and charger (all IDX) and wondered if anyone here knows of any various ways to use these batteries with the XL1.

Currently, I like using these batteries because I can power my Sony field monitor with them. I would like to buy more and perhaps extend their use to the XL1.

Thanks

Saw this at NAB, Justin... looks like it's exactly what you need.

http://www.aspenelectronics.com/aspen_products/specialized/xl7a.htm

http://www.aspenelectronics.com/aspen_products/specialized/xl7b.htm

Dear Dvinfo,
I am sorry to bother everyone again. But spending a small fortune on a DV camera as well as everything that comes with it, makes the choice of what to buy a big decision.

I just wanted to ask XL1S PAL users if they could post their experiences with regards to:

1. What kind of projects do you use the XL1S PAL for?

2. What is your set up e.g. Mac/PC, NLE system/brand, monitors, capturecard, DV deck, lights, mics etc.

3. Does anyone use a Mac to convert PAL to NTSC for VHS video copies? What kind of software or solution can you recommend?

I am looking forward to contributing to this forum later once I buy and have my own experiences using the XL1S myself.

Best regards,
Thomas

Thomas,

I covered this topic in your other post. But I'll amswer your other questions here.

I use my PAL XL1 for everything from shooting extreme sports(surfing, snowboarding, motocross etc) to weddings(only if I really have to). I've output to tape, MPEG2(DVD) and web formats(Quicktime, Windows Media, Real Player, DivX and Flash6) all with good results.

I edit it all on a PC running a Pinnacle DV500 out to a JVC S-VHS deck. Back in Australia I just used a 21" JVC TV to monitor the output. Lighting wise I've used everything from Portafloods to Lowells. For audio I've just been using the onboard mic and a Sony Mini Disk Recorder/mic which I sync in post.

You can use your NLE software to convert from PAL to NTSC for playback but it isn't the best quality and some form of 3rd party software like motion perfect is required to clean up the jerkyness. Even though it helps it still isn't anywhere near broadcast quality.

I am currently living in Japan(NTSC) and my XL1 was purchased in Australia(PAL). Using the PAL camera here has proved to be a pain in the butt as a PAL monitor is required, and everything has to be converted just for people to see what's been shot. I've seen side by side footage NTSC XL1's and you can't tell the difference visually unless you are using Pro gear and scopes.

The short of it all is as you are living in NY, I'd suggest you go with NTSC and save yourself time and trouble. It's really not worth the time, money and effort for a lousy 100 lines when it all gets compressed and viewed on a computer screen or a consumer TV which only has a res of about 240 anyway.

Hope this helps you in some way

I was thinking of shooting a couple night scenes of my film during the day that way I could have more control of the lighting. Such a shot out in the woods, seeing that I can't afford any 20ks and such I thought shooting day for night would provide me more control of the lighting without having the grain issues of raising the db. One thing I'll be doing is whitebalancing on a very light pastel yellow to give me the blue moon cast and of course really shutting down the exposure. i'll be doing some tests next week. Any suggestions? i've never done this before so any help would really be great. thanks.

Hi,

Try using the ND Filter with the 16x lens, plus try using a number of ND filters (x2, x4, x8), Your best bet is to probably try Cokin filters since you can slip 3 filters in front of one another, therefore creating numerous effects.

This is an aged old trick which you are trying, and was first fully utilised during the makings of Film Noir productions (Pre war) and is sometimes used to some extend in TV and Films now.

Hope this helps,

Ed Smith

Tiffen also makes some day for night filters. I don't have any experience with them. If someone here has used them please speak up, I'd like to know how they work.

Hi all,

"To avoid damage to the XL-1's colour viewfinder, OpTex has developed a Concertina Shuttered Eyepiece. The OTXLEYE replaces the XL-1's standard rubber eyecup and opens as you apply pressure to the viewfinder. As soon as you take your eye away from the finder, the eyepiece closes up again, providing total protection for the viewfinder's LCD screen."

This sounds like a neat solution to a problem. Have a look....

http://www.optexint.com/digivid/xleye.htm

Cheers
Andrew

PS: If I convert GBP to SAR to USD it should cost in the order of US$45.

FWIW: Canon did a patch to the XL1 EVF about 6 months after the XL1 was released. Have not read reports of any problem with EVF sunburn since the fix was implemented. The Optex fix may be appropriate if an XL1 is planned to be used under unusually severe sun-in-the-EVF conditions; however, for average users is is probably not necessary.

Hi. I'm saving up for a wide angle lens for my XL1s,and saw an article about one made by Optex, for 1000 dollars, which is 200 lower than the lowest price I could find on Canon's wide angle. I was wondering if anyone has used this and knows whether it's a good deal, or what. I like the idea of the back focus-- does Canon's offer this?

My new XL1s has a rewind function problem that causes it to eat tapes. Has anyone else experienced this? I also notice breaks in the timecode counter as it rewinds. I'm open to any suggestions. I have a production this weekend and I'll be forced to rent a small Dv camera for rewinding. Annoying!

There have been many reports of the first XL-1s cameras eating tapes during rewind because of a faulty braking mechinism. Send it to Canon for a free repair.

I figured as much. Glad to hear it's not just me. Thanks.

Use manual gain. Auto gain will influence an otherwise full manual shot.

Zebras are my best friends. I set at 90 and have figured out the quantity of zebra stripes that will produce the image I like. It's great as long as your subject is wearing a white shirt, or the like. I generally use a large white light reflector to set my color balance to. Once done, I crank the exposure to where I see my familiar zebra friends and I'm nearly dead-on.

Testing and finding your own look is what it's all about. Good Luck.

Hi all,

I've found these pages, along with the Watchdog, incredibly helpful for orientating myself with my XL1s (thanks Mr. Hurd and crew).

I'm shooting my first short film - with the XL1s - over the next few weekends, pretty much just to put it (and myself) to the test, before I use it for a larger project.

I have the MA-100 on backorder, but I doubt it will be delivered by the weekend - so this leaves me with the stock, onboard mic.

Although this is a pretty broad, and perhaps naive, question: I'd appreciate any suggestions on how to get the most out of the onboard mic. The short I'll be filming is a mockumentary, so there is plenty of (staged) run-and-gunning, but also a couple of interviews, dramatic re-enactments etc.

Cheers,

Dean

Dean,

Good to see more Australian crew hooking up to the board.

The main thing to avoid with the onboard mic is excessive zooming during quiet shots. When all is quiet sometimes zoom servo noise is picked up by the mic.

One other thing to remember is that the mic is stereo so make sure it is correctly aligned in the clamp(cable pointing up) otherwise your stereo image will be all screwed up.

For a standard mic it does an OK job. If care is taken there is no reason why you can't get some great audio.

Thanks Adrian,

(Great to get such a quick reply!)

I'll certainly heed your advice,

Cheers,

Dean

I picked up a Light Wave Systems mini-mount and system isolator. After I installed the isolator and mount I found that the on-board mic connecting cable is apt to pull out of the jack. The isolator forces the connector to stretch and sometimes pop out. I called Light Wave about this and they indicated that is just how it is. I had to abandon using the isolator finally after it kept popping out.
Hope this is not a stupid question as I am new to all of this, but does anyone know of a way to extend the cable somehow either with an aftermarket item or some kind of upgrade from Canon? Also, did Canon make the mic connecting cable longer on the XL-1S? I don't want to start modifying the isolator to address this if there is already some fix available out there.

thx much-

Maybe call rental house and ask if they have had any problems with the 66 and the Sony.

Howdy from Texas,

This has been discussed before... do a search on Lightwave, limit the search to this forum and go through those responses. The cable is indeed longer on the XL1S.

I think you'll have a hard time modifying the Isolator without ruining it. A better solution would be to send the camera back to Canon, explain the problem and ask for the longer EVF cable from the XL1S.

For what it's worth, I use the Isolator with an old XL1. It is stretched a bit but it doesn't pop out. Hope this helps,

Hello all!

I have been kicking around the idea of purchasing a new lens for my xl-1. I like the idea of getting a 3x wide angle lens or an adapter with the manual 16x.

But the idea of not being able to use filters with the 16x/wide angle adapter worries me. Is this true? Is there anyway around this?

I like the idea of the manual 16x with an adapter otherwise. It seems like more for your buck.

thank you for info, will contact Canon and see what they can do.

Cheers-

The 3x wide angle lens is a very handy tool which CAN accept filters. In fact, it has a 72mm thread which is the same diameter as that of the standard 16x auto lens. So you can interchange filters between the lenses.

All other factors being equal, given the choice between the 3x and the 16x manual lenses (assuming you already have a 16x auto lens) I would definitely choose the 3x lens first.

I can't speak for the wa adapter for the 16x lens. I can say that the Canon wa adapter for the GL1's lens does not accept a filter.

If you can swing it, I would highly recommend getting the 3x lens rather than a wa adapter.

I`m quite happy with a new XL1s except when I crank up the dbs to 18....there is a lot of noise that looks like a very fine rain shower, making such footage useless for most commercial purposes...has anyone else found the same? No camera presets are being used(sharpness etc). I find that only up to db 6 can I rely one a clean image....so what is the use of the higher dbs feature on this unit versus the original XL1?

has anyone else in here ever experienced this:

(and i guess this might not exactly be an xl-1 issue but since i shoot with the xl-1 with the standard 16x lens)

but when i first got the camera i got a few filters to go with it... uv and warming. while i was playing around with footage i had shot i noticed something dark in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, what i thought looked like a hair. it drove me bonkers for a couple of hours cause as far as i could tell every part of the lens and camera were clean, until i realized i had put the warming filter on top of the uv filter. so i took both off and the dark "hair" was gone. so i was satisfied that i had just extended the rim of the filter into the cameras view...

but now while editing a short i shot with only one filter attached i think i am noticing the same thing. not near as pronounced as before but still on certain shots, ones with light, muted tones filling in the bottom of the screen i seem to be noticing what looks like shadows.

what could be causing this? is something inside my camera causing this or how the lens attaches or, in the lens?

Ofcourse this will happen. What you are doing is electronically
enhancing the signal. What you should be doing instead is to
give the chips a signal that does not need enhancing (open up
the lens, remove ND filter, lower the shutter or add more light).
A camera can not "magically" enhance the input it receives
without some down side. I always (at least try) to shoot at
preferably -3db and otherwise 0 db. The option exists for you
to rescue the shot if you truly have no other option. It is possible
to remove some noice in the post-process step but you'll never
get rid of them all without reducing quality.

This is quite normal for 18db gain, but what you must understand is that there are times when getting a noisy image is much, much better than getting no image at all. Look at all the reality shows on TV... Cops, etc. where there are grainy shots of the pursuit or whatever. Content is king. Content matters over all. And noisy, grainy content shot at 18db or higher will make money for you where no content at all doesn't mean a thing. Hope this helps,

Looking for a good wireless video tap for use on my XL1. Any suggestions?
BTW- have looked at Super Circuits gear, but most of their units require you to have license to use it (legally that is).
Thx for any replies in advance.

Hi all,

what is more advantageous when recording a soundtrack?

To record on a standalone DAT / other machine (other that is to the primary camcorder).

To use a Radio mic into camcorder and have the audio with the video.


Regards
Andrew

Andrew,

Both methods have pro's and con's. In my opinion it depends entirely on the location/situation you are shooting and also your budget.

A cheap radio mic(VHF) can be affected by interference from lights, etc, but a good one(UHF) can cost $1000's. You can use a cheap recordable MD and get great audio but you've got more work in post syncing. Ideally I'd have both setups available. I've ben looking at DAT's lately. Here in Japan you can get some good Sony ones for <$500.

the subject says it all...

are there wide angle adapters for the manual 16 that can be filtered? or, if i want to filter wide angle shots, do i have to go with the 3x?

thanks

Check out: www.centuryoptics.com

cool martin m, thanks!

Hi,

have just been rummaging through my old band gear and discovered my old EV PL80 mic. It is in pristine condition as I only used it for about 6 months. Nice surprise!!!

At the time it was a mid priced mic that was widely used here. Does anyone have experience of this on an XL-1 through the MA-100.

Regards
Andrew

I just have a quick question on anyone's experiences on getting rid of hum caused by connecting the XL1s to power through the AC adapter. I'm also tied into the house PA and somewhere in between I'm getting a pretty serious ground loop that gives me a ton of grief and noise!! If I run from batteries all is well but I have a couple of days worth of recording to do and this may pose itself to be a bit unpractical. I'm also using the high impedence input since that may make a difference.

I appreciate any help you all can provide.

Thanks!

I know there are signal cleaners available. These go between
the power adapter and the power grid. These things clear out
any noise and make sure the signal is withing allowed limits.

Other than that I suggest getting a large battery, this is usually
better anyway since you can move the camera anywhere anytime
without worrying about cables (for power at least) and such....

Is something wrong - or is it just me ?

Every body is talking about the great image quality of the XL1. Well I just don’t know. When filming in a massive light set up indoor studio I will agree the overall picture quality looks stunning, but when it comes to outdoor shooting in great sunlight, I find it almost impossible to get an acceptable picture quality, and am not going to mention focusing difficulties as that seems to be an acceptable problem with the XL1, not s.

Could it be the camera?

When shooting outdoor early in the morning or late evening things seems to produce an acceptable result. As long I stay away from the build in ND filter on the lens. When filming in mid day, problems don’t seems to stop. First of all; pictures seems to be washed out with absolutely no picture contrast, and turning on the ND filter (or a POL filter) to reduce light slightly (zebra strips is still visible in the EVF in some light area, as the sky and my white car), noise will appear as if I where night shooting with absolutely no key light.

Should I manage to set the camera controls just right for the picture quality that I would like to receive; lets say its a sunny day and my camera settings would be: ND filter ON, -3db (or AUTO), F5.2/50, Wide angle shoot and every thing looks just fine and then, a lonely cloud moves in front of the sun reducing the overall light and what happens: the picture will look grainy and noisy again. You don’t se this in the EVF, so you think every thing is just ok, maybe a little darker, but that’s just natural because of the cloud, until you watch it on a monitor, and you have to go out there to re-shoot the footage because of picture noise. Pretty annoying I should say.

Is this normal ?, How should I operate the camera whiteout carrying around a monitor for every shoot I take. Please give me some advice so I can start not to worry every time I get paid for a critical one-time-shoot.

I have been using the XL1 professionally for 2 years now, and I like it, but it have got me in to trouble too many times now - one time with a burned out pixel on the CCD chip in the middle of a concert - so the camera have just been checked . Therefore I have to wonder if my camera skills lack knowledge when it comes to operating it. Please help me out here!

Are you using unbalanced high impdance connection? That is the worst possible configuration for noise pickup. It may be coupling into the audio leads from the A/C supply leads. For running any audio in a studio or other location with lots of wiring, best to use balanced audio as much as possible, and go with low impedance if you can. You may also need a ground lifter on the balanced audio.

Battery power is generally lower noise. Have several batteries and chargers going to keep fresh batteries available.

You can always extend it (raise it), or mount it on your tripod or pole.

Hi there profs,

I placed an order for the following:

1 SEEW101PC

EW101P(C) Camera Mountable UHF Plug-On Wireless System with EK100
Receiver and SKP100 Plug-On Transmitter

2 ELND767A
N/D767A Super-Cardioid Handheld Dynamic N/DYM Vocal Microphone


well every piece is worth to me.

I've decided to go with this setup as I won't need lavalier mics in my shootings yet. But this hanheld from Electro voice can be used as wireless with plug-on transmitter.

After reading so much on this board I think I made a right decision on the setup.

Tell me your impressions, err what's your take?

Kairat Salikhov

Hi,

just got my Frezzi Mini Dimmer Fill. Any secrets on WB when using on cam lights?


Cheers
Andrew

Im planning on shooting a short using the XL1 with a Fujinon Lens. I plan to transfer my footage to film at Swiss Effects. What do i have to keep in mind when capturing my original image? Will the NTSC be as good as the PAL? Can I play with the Shutter Speed? What happens if i play with the gain? Is the laser or the analog transfer better for this format? If anybody has gone film from XL1 DV let me know what your results were.

Eduardo, you need to read the four-part DV to 35mm Guide on the Watchdog. Go to www.dvinfo.net/xl1.htm and click "Articles Menu" then "Post Production." The link to the Guide may be found there.

Hello XL1 fans,

A while ago I heard rumors (on this message board, I think) about a newer version of the XL series of Canon DV cams coming out sometime soon.

Is there any late breaking news on this front?

I just looked at Panasonic's description of their AG-DVX100 scheduled to be released this September (only 4 months away!) for a manufacturers list price of $3,495! 24p DV, no less! I'm hoping Canon responds to this with a killer XL upgrade.

Tim

Hello Tim,

You'll find a huge thread about the new Panasonic 24P camcorder in the General DV forum... just do a search for it. Since the XL1S came out only last July, I doubt there will be any replacement for it soon. However, I have a *feeling* that the GL1 is about to be replaced shortly, and that's what a lot of us are waiting to see. Hope this helps,

Wonder if anyone can give me advice on buying this tripod for in the field use for My XL1s...
Is the trigger grip effective, and as versatile as they claim...
I will need to move the camera around alot on the tripod to follow action, but still want to be able to pan. Any views from you guys in the know? I can buy the tripod New for the equivalent of $200 in South Africa.

Thanks once again
Brin

I need suggestions on how to record a live band, I've gotten the optics down, and the gl1's onboard mic is horribly overdriven with bass and overall sounds terrible in smaller venues. How should I go about getting quality live audio? Thanks in advance, Max

Howdy from Texas,

That 3265 head is *not* going to work well with your XL1S at all. A friend of mine who is a pro photographer has one and it is great for still photography but lousy for video. You will not be able to smoothly pan with it. It is intended only for still photography and will give poor results for video cameras because it cannot pan or tilt smoothly like a true video head will.

Consider the Bogen Manfrotto 503 head, it's perfect for the XL1S.

In my opinion the 3205 sticks are not enough of a tripod for the XL1S. They're fine for still photo cameras but you should consider a larger tripod for video cameras and get one with a mid-level spreader. Bogen makes a number of affordable video tripods. We've discussed tripods here before; do a search on tripods to turn up all the various threads on this board. Hope this helps,

Please see reply in the "Son of Watchdog GL1 Pages."

Hola ¿alguien habla español?

Necesito saber donde puedo comprar un funda para la lluvia para la CANON XL1 en España no la encuentro.


gracias ;)