Did Canon come out with any hints of changes or add-ons for the XL1S?

Also, fill us in on anything that other manufacturers came out with that might benefit the XL1S. (I read elsewhere where Sony and others promoted the use of 3.5-inch hard drives that could be used on camera in conjunction with the tape drive.)

Howdy from Texas,

No changes to the XL1S (it's less than a year old, so I didn't expect any), however, there were plenty of third-party XL1 accessories shown.

They pushed the $250 rebate on the GL1 which expires on June 30th. Remember a similar deal last year for the XL1... and then the XL1S was introduced a couple weeks after the rebate offer expired. So keep your ears and eyes open on that one.

Saw the new PDX10 at Sony which replaces the PD100A, but did not have time to explore the whole booth.

More info later in the next coupla days,

Oh man, Chris, you're keeping me on the edge of my seat. I hope you took a lot of pictures.

I'd love to see more of the Cinetech stuff.

I hope there is some good news regarding more accesories from
Canon self. Probably not though. Chris, you get a chance to ask
permission to publish those American Cinematographer articles?

Like Justin, I very much enjoyted the Cinetech pictures from earlier NABs on the Watchdog.

Are there any 2002 pictures in the pipeline?

Perhaps Chris can comment on this....Just received a new XL1s camera "outfit" in original Canon packaging....body , color viewfiner, mike, ac adaptor/charger, 16x lens with hood,soft caseand dust cap,shoulder pad,wireless controllerand batteries,shoulder strap, lens cap,BP930 battery, lithium button battery,s video cable, stero/video cable,body cap.......sounds complete yes? ...So how about canon including a darn tape.....does Canon not make and market DV tapes? I think it quite cheap and cheezy of Canon to not include a tape for a customer shelling out close to $4000....don`t you? It`s a small thing but if Canon is in the tape business, I think they are missing the boat by not including their brand with the camera outfit....if they dont make tapes then maybe they dont wish to take an apparent reccomended position by including a Sony, JVC or Panasonic tape.....Years ago I bought a Sony VX1000, and it came with a sony tape.....the brand I have since used for all my work.......

Howdy from Texas,

For some time now, Canon has ceased including DV cassettes with their camcorders. I think it's a mistake. Canon is *not* in the tape business -- their DV cassettes are simply Panasonic tapes in a Canon wrapper. However, everything *else* you need to shoot, including MMC cards for the ZR and Optura series camcorders, and Compact Flash cards for their PowerShot digital still cameras, are included. Why they chose to discontinue the practice of including a DV cassette escapes me.

<<<-- Originally posted by Chris Hurd : Howdy from Texas,
Why they chose to discontinue the practice of including a DV cassette escapes me. -->>>

Greed? :-)

Chris,

To take it one step further...ZGC sent me a Canon tape, should I therefor stick with Panasonic? Which is the best brand and product #?

Guy, I would choose either Sony or Panasonic and then stick with your choice. Personally I think the best Panasonic tape is the AY-DVM63EB. I'm sure someone else will post their favorite Sony flavor. Hope this helps,

It sure does, thanx Chris. What about cheap places to buy?

Once again, Guy, I have to steer you toward my sponsors... and this one has an office in your big city of H-town. It's Professional Tape and Communication Supply. See www.pro-tape.com for contact info and current pricing and specials. When you buy from Pro-Tape, not only are you getting a good deal but you're supporting these message boards in the process. Hope this helps,

Chris,

Did Canon suggest at NAB that they will be coming out with some competition for the other guys' high definition machines any time soon?

I buy Panasonic AY-DVM63MQ tapes from http://www.taperesources.com for my XL1, and GL1. I highly recommend them.


Also, support the forums by buying from pro-tape as Chris suggested.. hehe

Howdy from Texas,

<< Did Canon suggest at NAB that they will be coming out with some competition for the other guys' high definition machines any time soon? >>

Canon provides High-Definition broadcast video lenses to that market. We'll continue to see consumer and prosumer DV camcorders from Canon, but they're not going to compete with the manufacturers whose cameras they supply lenses to.