Howdy from Las Vegas,

I have a sudden opportunity here at the PMA show to speak at length to Canon USA's Video Division V.P. about product development. It will be a chance to provide feedback like yours about what you would like to see on a possible next-generation successor to the current XL1S.

My intention is to walk in with a hard-copy print of this complete thread. If you have any other thoughts on this particular topic, to either re-emphasize any previous suggestions already made, or new ideas that haven't been presented here yet, this is your chance!

My appointment is scheduled for Monday evening, 7pm PST. You guys have until then to get your wish-list requests in to this thread before I print it out in entirety and hand it over to the top management of Canon Video. They are interested in what you have to say here. We're already at 50 posts to this thread, let's make it more than a few more and put in your final summaries for what you would seriously like to see in an XL1S successor... feature sets, form factor, backward compatibility, new technologies, whatever... just keep in mind that such a potential camcorder *must* come in at a price point not much higher (preferably same or lower) than what it is now, less than $5000 USD.

Again: here's your chance -- make the most of it in this extremely limited time frame -- and I look forward to putting your ideas directly into the hands of the important people at Canon who can make a difference. This is a very rare opportunity for me to get face-time with a high-level executive who is genuinely interested in this very topic. I want to make it count for you guys. Please take advantage of this and let's sum up the key points we've made and bring up whatever we've forgotten. Your words matter. The time is now -- make it count! Much respect,

As I see it, Canon should make their priority keeping the XL line the top dog in prosumer-level digital cinema production. An XL2 should give better resolution (HD if possible) and more progressive-scan frame rate options (15P, 24P, 30P, 60P if possible).

I would prefer the CCD block's image to fill the frame. I would prefer the standard EVF to show the entire scan area.

On the cosmetic side, the things the XL series most has going for it are the glass and the body. Interchangable lenses are a must and the standard lens should be as bug-free as engineering trade-offs allow (back-focus issues reduced as much as possible). The standard mic the XL1s currently carries is just fine for being an on-camera mic.

MiniDV will remain an adequate standard for the next 2-3 years, but if the XL2 is to be a revolution in prosumer-level video gear, it will need an upgraded capture medium. If any camera could introduce a new tape format and make it successful, it would be the successor to the XL1. Replacing the tape transport with a hard disk solution may also be an avenue to consider. (The XL2 could even borrow an idea from the DEVA digital sound recorder and write video data to DVD-ROM during idle periods.) In any case, standard definition prosumer cameras are on their way out, and the XL2 will need to be able to write more data, faster, and with less compression. Along these same lines, support for newer data transfer standards, such as IEEE 1394b, would be most welcome.

The camera should be capable of producing convincing greenscreen mattes, so embracing MPEG compression schemes as the new JVC prosumer HD camcorders do is to be avoided. I wouldn't mind a 4:2:2 chrominance sampling ratio, but I understand if this is beyond the realm of prosumer gear.

I wouldn't mind if the camera's internal image DSP was kept to a bare-bones minimum. The less the camera futzes with the image, the happier I am. I have no use for built-in titling, built-in cheesy film dust/hair/grain.

I would like the options to throw all camera information up on the EVF and video out during shooting, for example, the VU meter, the aperture/shutter specs, etc.

The XL1 series have always been leaders in low-light performance, but I wouldn't mind sacrificing low-light shooting capability for larger, higher-res chips. I really don't care about XL2 footage matching XL1s footage. The XL2's image should be new and wonderful.

On the audio side, I wouldn't mind XLR jacks right on the camera, or at least a good accessory permitting XLR audio input. (Frankly, the MA-100 and MA-200 accessories are a good trade-off. They keep the base price of the camera low but permit an option for those of us requiring good external audio.) I'm content with 2 channels/48 kHz/16 bit audio, but would certainly welcome more channels/faster sampling/bigger dyanmic range and the option to trade off between these during shooting (just as the current XL1 allows for additional channels at the cost of sampling rate).

An XL2's weight should not exceed the weight of the XL1. Better balance on the camera should not come at the expense of a better lens.

With the XL2, Canon has the opportunity to continue the success of the XL1 line and meet the challenges posed by recent offerings from JVC and Panasonic; or, it has the opportunity to make the follow-up to the brave, bold, revolutionary XL1 a mundane consumer camcorder. I fully expect Canon will be looking to the future, not to the present, when considering their design trade-offs.

Change the Audio 1 level controls from the ganged level/balance to two level contols to better support two differnt mics (or make it a use choice - which could be done in this digital age).

And enjoy your visit to Lost Wages.

Chris,

Having just received my Warm Cards, I wondered why these settings can't be offered in-camera. A "Warm Setting"...or perhaps a couple of degrees of warm settings (adding a touch of blue to whatever you're white balancing off of) or dial in, and a "fluorescent" setting (adding some green to what you're white balancing off of).

Since they're just now collecting a wish list, they must be a good two years away from releasing an XL2. Dang. My number one on the wish list will be to release it by next year.

I'd like to put my name along with Robert's recent post. :)

I'd really like a larger viewfinder LCD, and snap focus on a stock lense. those are my two hands-on peeves with my stock XL1s.

I also feel the zoom noise signal is much too loud, I always hear zoom noise on playback. I should not have to invest in extra audio gear (XLR adapters, etc) to ensure clean zoom noise.

Simple for me.
1/2" CCDs. If JVC can make the DV500 in the same price range as the XL1s, with 1/2" CCDs, Canon should be able to put bigger chips in the next incarnation of the XL1 without too much fuss.

Lens: Drop the servo assist on the new lens. If you have to change the lens mounts, that's fine, but I'd like to see a standard industry mount rather than a proprietary one.

Viewfinder: Please, please, give us a crisper viewfinder with better resolution. It doesn't have to be the $1500 B&W one, just better than the current one.

XLR inputs. Everyone else has them.

A "Film Look" mode, where, frame, colour and sharpness settings are pre-tweaked to give a more film-like look. This would be a big hit I think.

My bottom line is, I want a camera that is more PRO and less 'SUMER.
I for one would be happy to see the camera go to more of a shoulder mount design, rather than the hand held. Canon already has the GL2 which can compete in the handheld market. A camera that sits more on your shoulder would be welcomed by many, including me.

<<<-- Originally posted by Dan O'Bannon : an inside camera focus wheel for my bad eyes.

Dan O'Bannon -->>>

In Scott Billups book, Digital Movie Making, page199 there is a focus wheel that works well to focus on but my problem is focusing the view finder to my eye. With this wheel on a menu inside the camera I could focus my eye to the view finder then I would know my subject is "really' in focus.

Thanks, Dan O'Bannon

I didn't read all posts so I appologize if someone already posted this request.

I put on my new B&W view finder and was trying to use my remote control and realized it had no sensor eye on it. It would be nice to use the remote in situations when you're interviewing and don't have an extra cameraman.

Thanks, Dan O'Bannon

First of all, Robert has some very good thoughts (DSP etc.).

I ran this through my head a couple of times and this is what I
personally think is important (in order of preference):

allow upgradeable firmware so that problems with lenses
and the device itself can be fixed. Perhaps even new features
can be added over time.
keep the same lens mount so that investments in things
like the wide angle lens, manual lens and mini35 adapter etc.
has not been for nothing.
harddisk based storage instead of tape.
variable FPS (perhaps some presets are good enough, but
it would be great if you could shoot some crisp slow-motion
especially! Besides that, 24 fps would be interesting for us
indepedent movie makers. This will be impossible with the current
DV standard though. Perhaps with a harddisk based medium
Canon can go with an alternate file format. MPEG2 is probably not
a good choice, unless it is only full frames @ high bitrate).
a flip-out LCD. Very handy for shots where you are unable to
look through the viewfinder!
true progressive scan CCD blocks
direct analog-to-firewire (this allows you to directly capturing
an analog signal over firewire instead of taping it first. If there is
a harddisk medium this can be dropped since we do not get more
tape ware in that case.)
flash (like) card that allows you to store and load settings.
Also please with software to read them in (back them up) and
change settings on the card (like gamma curves and whatnot).
This would be a killer feature!!
[/list=1]
After this we really get into wishful thinking which will probably
not happen in the current price range, the following add-ons
would be really great:
[list]
larger CCD's with higher resolutions (HDTV)
even better low-light performance
built-in XLR inputs
built-in shoulder mount?
different levels of ND built into the standard lens

I think it will be almost impossible to stick to the DV format if
Canon wants to be revolutionary and future minded. The format
is to inflexible (from what I understand) to take care of things
like:

higher/different resolutions
higher/different framerates

I think this is enough and I'm sure other people will give their
thoughts on the subject.

I want to thank Canon for taking the time to read through our
thoughts on this subject matter and take this matter into
consideration. I'm anxious to see/hear what they have chosen
for a new design.

Thank you!

p.s. Dan, there is still a remote sensor on the back of the camera.
Perhaps you can reach it through a mirror (not a nice solution,
but it should be workable!)?

<<<-- Originally posted by Dylan Couper :

A "Film Look" mode, where, frame, colour and sharpness settings are pre-tweaked to give a more film-like look. This would be a big hit I think. -->>>

I think Canon would be selling themselves short if they added just one film look setting. I've already suggested a "Virtual Stock" ability which I think would be nicer since it would allow US to tweak the settings.

3. Virtual stock: the ability to use a computer software program to create presets for gamma, color curves, contrast, brightness and several other filters. Then saved as a certain file type to be stored on a removable media card (CF card?) and then put in the camera and dialed in. This would be nifty since we could all trade virtual film stocks over the internet to uptain certain "looks".

Can I also suggest perhaps firewire 800 with the ability to record to external hard drive perhaps in 4:2:2 at 24p.

Maybe Canon could make sopme type of accessory mount which would allow us to mount it to the back of the camera

John,

Since they're just now collecting a wish list, they must be a good two years away from releasing an XL2. Dang. My number one on the wish list will be to release it by next year.

Perhaps they are already quite underway with it but just want
to check on their progress (who knows). Or perhaps they've
built a strong enough DSP that can still incorporate your suggested
features.

We'll keep guessing until they announce the "beast"!

Cheers,

It would be nice to look through the view finder, when in 16x9 mode and see what the image will actually look like instead of the distorted look we get now.

Dan O'Bannon

I concur with most of the thoughtful suggestions already offered. I'll throw in the following few items, some of which have already been noted.

1. Maintain backwards compatibility with the XL lenses. Some of us have invested in all of the XL lenses and would not want to see Canon abandon the line.

2. Improve the industrial design of the camera's body. Although the XL1s features a visually distinctive body design it's a very awkward, front-heavy ergonomic design. The camera's assembled center of gravity needs to somehow be shifted back from the elbow and closer to the shoulder. Perhaps this means straightening the body, moving the battery mount to the rear of the camera and extending the hand-hold an inch?

3. If the FU-1000 is to remain the professional b&w viewfinder option for the camera it would be nice to find a way to restore the battery level indicator's functionality while it's in use. This is a very nasty side-effect of the FU-1000's voltage converter.

4. Eliminate that nasty little "black line" frame border problem, as you did with the GL2.

5. If you plan to offer some type of Flash card facility on the XL2 why not make it more useful for semi/professional shooters? For example, it would be very nice to use it as a scene continuity check facility. The user could take a snapshot at the end of a scene and then "onion-skin" that photo (fron the card) onto the live scene when setting-up for the next shot. (This is similar to what Sony offers on its DSR500/570 cameras via their Memory Stick.) Another useful feature would be the ability to store a full range of camera presets onto the card and then restore them.

Thanks very much for considering our suggestions!

HD all the way.

What about two different bodies.
If there are people out there that still want SD then one for HD.
Or make a univeral deck.

Flash cards for settings....great idea.

What about LEP (Light Emiting Polymer) for a screen. I dont know where I read about it but its smaller and more compact than any other type of monitor.

Im sure they at canon can figure out a way to keep the same size tapes and retain higher quality. Sony did it with the Mini disc.

What about creating way to mount any lens. maybe its a recessed adaptor that can be changed out but will allow every type of lens work with just the right adaptor.

Anyways Im not sure about what I would like to see with the new ones. I still really enjoy mine. As long as they push the envelope and set a standard. I wouldnt expext anything less.


Rob:D

PS maybe also Bluetooth enabled, so no need for tape all you need is laptop and a small program that will save the incoming transmition real-time.

Most things have already been mentioned and I guess the main thing Canon need to do, if they want a decent share of the market is to produce something that's revolutionary and not evolutionary. I'm not sure how the new Panny is doing, but now is a prime time to break the mold yet again with the new Canon. They don't alway want to be playing catchup do they?

If there was one thing for Canon to do to revolutionize all DV cameras and come out ahead, I would say it would be to use hard disk based storage instead of the traditional tape. Then there is no rewinding or fast forwarding and you could play any clip or shot in a second’s notice. This would also allow for the "onion skin" mentioned in Ken's post and transfers to your NLE would be much faster and easier. The possibilities would be endless. It would need to be very well designed and thought out for everything to work smoothly.

Has anyone mentioned a time-lapse feature? I glanced quickly through all four pages...so if it's already mentioned, my apologies.

Scott, yeah that would be amazing. I've often wondered why companies haven't released a dv sized HD that acts like a tape. Pop it into normal dv cameras but you get all that space, and speed. Remove it and plug your firewire cable into it and voila. Obviously there is more to it than I think but it would be awesome to have something like that. I guess all the usual things like bit depth, ccd size, 16:9 etc will be hard to fit into a sub $5k camera.

I wonder what Canon's profit margins are for the XL1s? Could the make it narrower to achieve acceptance?

<<<-- Originally posted by Mike Tesh : <<<-- Originally posted by Dylan Couper :

A "Film Look" mode, where, frame, colour and sharpness settings are pre-tweaked to give a more film-like look. This would be a big hit I think. -->>>

I think Canon would be selling themselves short if they added just one film look setting. I've already suggested a "Virtual Stock" ability which I think would be nicer since it would allow US to tweak the settings.
-->>>

I must have skimmed over your post. Yes, the "Virtual Stock" thing is what it needs.

What about if this new camera used the new Four Thirds system (4/3) so that you could use lenses made by anyone on it?

Just a thought. I don't know whether or not Canon will embrace this new system.

I'd like to see some of digital still camera features incorporated into the XL series. More white balance presets, flouro, warm, or even just temp settings: 2800k, 3200k, 5600k, user selectable in steps of 50k, etc. This would make balancing with commercially available lights much easier.

Selectable format would be nice, PAL/NTSC, as well as selectable languages. This would make it much easier for people like myself who travel between PAL and NTSC countries to work. As my camera is PAL it makes it difficult for me to do much more than just web work here in Japan.

Bigger chips would be nice but as that would mean new lenses then I can live with 1/3". True 16:9 that masks to 4:3 would go a long way as would some way of taking a feed straight off the chips. Sony has an acc. that does this for the PD-10 (it think that was the camera) and it wouldn't be difficult to incorporate a simple plug to accomodate this kind of adapter.

The stock mic is ok but maybe something a little more directional would be nice.

The final thing would be to sell the camera just like an SLR system. That way customers could choose the configuration that best suits their needs.

Just as Rob did, I'd like to thanks Canon for taking the time to talk to Chris and listen to what the users want. I've been using Canon cameras for a long time and it's things like this that keep me continuing to use the EOS/XL range.

Support for native 16:9.

Continuing with the current lens family. Like Dylan I would like to see a standard lens mount, but I would still rather continued support for current lens system.

A better more usable EVF. The EVF should show more of the entire frame.

No resolution loss in frame or progressive scan.

Drop digital still capabilities. By gosh, this is a camcorder, not a still cam!

4-track audio at 16 bit resolution. Hey we can ask can't we?

HD. If we wanna think big, think big.

Hi gang and Canon engineers,

IMO, we can ask for the world, but there are certain aspects that will
eliminate features simply because of cost and physics. Therefore,
I think there are two paths for Canon to pursue.

***PATH #1: Update existing XL1 (Evolution)***

Having experienced the Panasonic Varicam HD camcorder in person and seen
the Panasonic DVX100's output, I think Panasonic is on the right path.
Okay, so the question is; how do you make a better (than Panasonic) NTSC/PAL mouse trap?

The DVX100 has 1/3rd inch CCDS and it's image is pretty nice.
I don't know what else is available for Canon
to license/use, but I would love MUCH MORE resolution than is provided by the XL1s,
so at the _very least_, I would go with the progressive scan 1/3" Panasonic CCDs.

A better viewfinder is key. Pack as many pixels into it as possible, at least double
what is there now. What you see is the _whole_ image, with the choice for adding
4x3 TV (underscan) and 4x3 title safe boxes (different colors), 16x9 whole and 16X9
underscan. All of these boxes at the same time if you want.

You can output zebra to composite or s-video jack.

Better low light handling. The XL1 should be able to go head to head with a VX2000 and have a signal just as clean or cleaner.

Better handling of contrast ala JVCs 12 bit processing, maybe with the ability to hard limit the whites so you don't have to crush the blacks in direct sunlight.

Memory stick for:
-Multiple (10-100) individual/situational camera settings (& quick call back)
-"Bug" insert(s)
-Scene (matching/onionskin) overlay
-Still image capture. (Still capture should be much higher than NTSC resolution if possible.)

Smooth iris dial at thumb, NOT stepped.

True time lapse: 1 frame capture (not a second(s) or more) at
intervals from .5 second to an hour (or more).

Color gamma choices like the DVX100.

Real SMPTE bars and 1K test tone output/record to tape.

Recording flavors (like DVX100)
-24 & 25 fps straight, 24 & 25 fps with pulldown,
-30 FPS
-NTSC 60i and PAL 50i. (Swiss army knife recording)
-60 FPS would be nice for real slo mo.

SDI uncompressed ITR-601 NTSC or PAL output during acquisition.

Timecode in and out of various recording flavors and/or time code
record track.

Scene/shot recall. Takes you back to the beginning of last shot.
Also numbers shots/trigger presses. Mark shot good, bad and questionable.

External analog video/audio input to output via firewire (instant transcode).

Motion sensor (variable trigger level) to toggle camera into record (wildlife baiting).

Better audio filtering. Get analog to digital filters that compare with a high end DAT machine.
Built in audio digital processing compressor/super hard limiter (Manual adjustment)L.
Ability to take mic level, -10dbv and +4dbv inputs without distortion
(No need for external pads).
Maybe 24bit 96K sampling as an option.
XLR inputs with Phantom power option.

More powerful headphone amp.

Ability to lock on record (cannot accidentally be turned off).

Ability to set two focus lengths and the time it takes to rack between
those two focus set points.

Two firewire 6 pin sockets for daisy chaining.


***PATH #2: XL1HD (Revolution and this is a REAL PIPE DREAM)****

Steal the guts out of the Panasonic Varicam
and put it into a a small camera body,
except use a single (or 3) super high res. CCD(s) that work
with 35mm Canon EOS glass without "issue."
This would include auto focus, etc.

Choices of camera _Record and Output_ flavors:
-Variable frame rate 720P HD @ 8bit recording just like the
Varicam w/ 4-60 FPS choice.
-24fps NTSC with pulldown (DVX100 style)
-Regular NTSC and PAL SD.
-SDI uncompressed 10bit SMPTE 292M (720P) HD _output_ during acquisition.

Audio Record Choices :
-8 tracks 16 bit 48 KHZ delivered via TDIF or ADAT optical input/output.
-4 tracks at 20 bit 48KHZ,
-2 tracks at 24bit 96 KHZ via 2 really nice mic preamps
-2 tracks at 1.25MHZ.

Viewfinder: Super dense and bright OLED (switch between B&W or color).

Wireless video transmitter built in for outboard monitor or for use with optional OLED helmet/glasses viewfinder.
(To be used in outdoor applications without the problems caused by ambient light corruption.)
User can choose to output zebra to this feed at 80, 90, 100% levels.

Wireless remote ability (Bluetooth?): Can control all camera settings
and functions including and zoom and focus for EOS lens.
(yes, hardware accessory required for zoom and focus okay with me Canon).

Motion sensor (adjustable) to trigger record, and then to stop recording after user preset time.

Scene/shot recall. Takes you back to the beginning of last shot.
It also numbers shots/trigger presses. Can also mark shots good, bad and
questionable.

Memory stick for:
-multiple (10-100) individual/situational camera settings (w/ quick call back).
-"Bug" insert(s)
- Scene (matching/onionskin) overlay.
-Still image capture. (Still capture should be higher than HD resolution if possible.)
-Overscan, underscan, title & action safe, and film aspect ratios colored boxes.

Smooth iris dial at thumb, NOT stepped.

Time lapse: 1 frame capture (NOT a second or more) at intervals from .5 second
to an hour (or more).

Timecode in and out with all the TC record choices (see video flavors)

Magic wand to hold all shots perfectly still or move with
steadicam fluidity and correct camera framing following the
shot the director/cameraman sees in his/her head ;)

Wow -- some excellent responses! This thread remains open (always will be), so keep it coming. There's a little more time as I'm giving a hard copy to CUSA at 4:00pm PST Tues. March 4th.

This one is too late... but I just thought of REAL timecode in/out..
Don't know if anyone else mentioned that....

Okay folks, here's what has happened. I got my face-time with Canon Video management and the wish list was very well received with keen interest. Thanks to all you guys for contributing all of these wonderful ideas.

I have no new product info for you at this time and even if I did, I'm legally bound by NDA not to divulge it. But it's safe to say that all of your input is very valuable to them and they are reading and listening. Hard copies of this list went into their hands and they greatly appreciate all the feedback you continue to provide.

The meeting was long and formal, lots of people involved and I briefly had the floor only one time. I used that opportunity to voice two primary issues that have always been of high importance to me personally, and I hope they're important to you too.

First, I asked CUSA for an enhanced and much more pro-active involvment in their XL owner's club. In my opinion it is a superb concept that has not yet been utilized to its fullest potential. With a simple re-allocation of existing human resources, that program could go much farther than it already has in solidifying a mutually beneficial relationship between Canon and its end-user customers. Although this is currently a U.S. program only, it should be a global implementation among the major video markets around the world. No other camcorder manufacturer has such a program that I'm aware of; CUSA already has the structure in place and should leverage it ten times beyond what it is now.

The second thing I asked for is to establish an online presence by CUSA technical representatives to interact with the user base (all of you wonderful people) in a safe-haven flame-free environment (this one, specifically). JVC has Ken Freed and Panasonic has Jan Crittenden who post at least semi-regularly on the internet to answer pre-sales and post-sales questions with the clout and credibility of their brands backing them up. Canon should do the same, but to a greater degree. CUSA management and their technical staff already have a solid reputation of instant accessibility at all the major trade shows; and they are to be applauded for that. However for every potential customer going to a trade show to research a camera purchase decision, there are at least twenty more who can't go. Canon already monitors this board; if they turned their presence here into an active one by engaging in our informative technical discussions, their regular participation would be helping their own marketing strategy to an even greater degree than it would help us end-users who are asking questions of them in the first place. Case in point: Canopus Corporation, who have secured an outstanding market position almost solely by virtue of the readily available online accessibility of their product managers. Canon needs to aggressively pursue this model in a way that would hopefully shame JVC and Panasonic into doing the same thing. Let's just say I believe in that kind of customer-to-manufacturer dialog. Not by email, but by archived message board, right here for everyone to review.

Whew! I feel like I made the same plea all over again. At any rate, this wish-list thread is still relevant, so by all means keep it flowing. Much respect,

Yup, timecode in/out PLUS different flavors depending on record format AND a
timecode record track so that you could have internal and also record external timecode (like house sync or master TC).

I wish...

That the XL2 will keep its open architecture i.e. able to bolt on so many 3rd party and 1st party accessories to it. I have not come across a camera in this price range which has so many options and was one of the main reasons for purchasing the camera.

A better shoulder support than the one which already comes with it.

Thanks,

Ed Smith

For all those who wish for better shoulder support in the next generation XL1,
check out the MARzPAK handheld camera support system that is available today.
Far better than any shoulder brace IMO.

http://www.marztech.com

Disclaimer: I am the co inventor.

Great, but...

Does it come free with the XL1/s or 2? I don't think so. Surely Canon can create a better shoulder brace for the XL2!!!

Cheers,

Ed Smith

Keep up the good work Chris, your efforts are greatly appreciated!

Dan O'Bannon

I dont really know if this wish list work or not, but as far as I know I just one the new XL? to talk to me, when i do a bad shoot and Im depress it should blame itself "Im sorry _____ I should have known that..."

LOL....And then.

Turning it on:

"Good Morning."

Turning it off:

"My mind is going."

While it is recording it whispers:

"I can read lips."

Anyways. good one....LOL.


Rob:D

"The tape door is ajar... the tape door is ajar..."

When is a tape door not a tape door? When it is a jar.

Didn't Chrysler do the talking car in the '80's (and let's not forget the Minolta Talker) and give up after a few years?

What I really would like to see on the XL2 is a softer underbelly on the hand grip. I'm developing carpal-tunnel syndrome from the rock hard surface of the grip on my XL1. After 10 minutes it really hurts.
Michael

Let's not for get us who aready have Carpel-Tunnel and wrist problems. I would like to see the handgrip just a little smaller for us that don't have large hands, plus it would help have a more natural position to grip it. Even if your hands are on the large side, even a smaller handgrip would mean you could have an even greater and tighter grip. I normally have the strap pulled really tight, so the hand barely gets in, then it gives better support physically holding your hand in place, but still would like it a little smaller grip.

I also would like an updated MA-200 adapter, one with a great or deeper arch that way it would sit on the shoulder a whole lot better than it does now. I still think even with the shoulder mount the XL1s is a tripod camera. Once you have external gear on and the weight goes up it doesnt sit comfortable on your shoulder.

And a better Viewfinder - the one at the moment is pretty bad, even my cheapo Sonys I have used have had clear and sharper EVF. It just seems to 'bleed' a little too much to focus real tight, so all I can do at the moment is turn the colour right down which seems to help, but far from what you would expect from a Lens producing company like Canon.

And more more thing I can think of and doesnt seem to be mentioned is for the Canon Owners Club to be extended to Europe!!! We difinatly have Canons here - just look at my fellow countrymen in 28 Days Later, if thats not a good advert for Canon capabilities I do not know what is. So come on Canon give something to us Euro PALs of yours!!!

Since the lenses are servo controlled, I wouldn't think it would take much to put in an electronic focus system (i believe it's called rack) that a person could focus on 2 different points and at the press of a button the camera would focus (and zoom) from the first to the second preset focus. I wouldn't think this is far fetched considering almost everything is already in the camera. I don't know if the IS II lens has a synchro in it or not. Does this seem far fetched? Why not take advantage of a servo controlled lens?

That sounds like a great idea. If you could set zoom points and focus points independantly it would be great. So you could have some great focus pulls and/or zooms when you wanted. I dont think its too far feched from reality. Maybe if you focused on a point - pressed and hold button until its memorised (like WBalance button) and then focused on second point and then pressed a button. Then the camera could just remember the points and switch between the two. Just like WhiteBalance remembers set points. You could just have two buttons like F1 and F2, Z1 and Z2 so select the points for either focus points or zoom points.

I really love your idea now Don!

I don't mean to blow my own horn, but
about 3 years ago I posted that exact
suggestion of being able to set and rack between two focal points
on the DV-L list serve. A year after that
Canon came out with that feature . . . on their "professional"
video lens.

Hey, at least they listened ;)

get a 3D lens for this thing, like the prototype developed for the XL1s, but this time base the shutters on technology that will not disintegrate itself in couple of years, use high quality MPEG2 processors, not like the ones on the JVC, add wireless diversity 2-channel receiver to the body, have full 1280x720 pixel resolution, with 60p and downconverter to 24p, like the Varicam, and straight 24p recording that would have a lot less compression than the 60p footage.

Wow, good luck getting all that! :-)

sounds like a very expensive XL1x
takeshi

OH what the heck, I miss this catagory anyhow.

Here's my NAB 2004 XL-(X) wishlist.

WHile I think that HDV would be fun if you're going to be shooting and down converting to mpeg-2 why not just have a 40gb built in hard drive, heck the ipod has that and it doesn't seem much larger then the tapedrive mechanism.

I would love 1/2" or 2/3" chips and I think it would be silly to not offer progressive scan and 16x9.

I believe they should offer the ground glass alternative to a P+S That they could use with their new 16x9 capable lenses.

I think it would be great to have timecode input/ output along with a couple of xlr inputs.

An Sd slot for storing pictures and scene files would be sweet.

IF they want to ad a LCD monitor I think it should be an optional accessory.

I think that it should offer at least 24p recording and hopefully some other options. I think variable framerate like the varicam would be ideal but It's a cost that might not have to be incurred. It should have at least a firewire 400 and I would prefer a firewire 800 port for exporting your already digitized footage.

I wwould love a standard B+W viewfinder or a HR color VF (but would prefer the former)

I try to do little ENG so I don't care about the straps or shoulder mount but if they want to have a seperate configured one that would be great to.

Must retain interchangable lenses. I think it would be great to have a program for adjusting the look that the CCD's (or CMOS? LMOS? LMAO's) have in camera give it a painting option like the f900. But that might be a little much. I don't know.

But I'd relaly just like to see something with at least half of those options from canon in a month.

For some reason. Nick hit it on the head. Ipod and its hard drive. I don't think the ipod's HD is fast enough to encode real-time DV footage, but if so then all they at apple need next is a device controler for the Ipod to plug into. Then from that you just stick it to the back of your camera with a short 6 to 4 pin firewire cable and press record on the controler. just an interesting thought.


Rob

"Must retain interchangable lenses...."

true, but I question some of the comments made that it should be backward compatible with existing XL1 lenses. In my opinion all this does is LIMIT the potential XL2....I would rather have an XL2 that takes REAL lenses or better improved XL2 lenses than being limited to only using average XL1 type lenses.... I would rather have the XL2 be more "revolutionary" than just "evolutionary"...

Why should it get an firewire 800 port? It is not even fully using
the 400 port. It is only doing around 40 mbps instead of the 400
firewire supports. True, if you would get a harddisk in there it
could be used for faster transport of the footage, but I'd be okay
with a 400 interface then as well. If it is going to be compatible
with DV (why wouldn't it be?) then I don't think they can do
variable framerate since the DV specs don't allow for it.

Harddisk recording is first on my list. But it should still support
tape I think (record to both) for storage and support of reading
tapes. 16x9 and true progressive would be very neat to have
as well, indeed.

Touch screen focus.

24p and HD and I'll be sound as a pound, baby, yeah.

I agree that new lenses would need to be made, especially if one were to take advantage of the HD recording capability but I also believe that in order for the next XL model to stay revolutionary it will have to have lenses that are interchangable (on a prosumer camcorder). I also agree that it would probably be backwards compatable (not neccisarily SHOULD be) I mena you can through an SD lens on an f900 but I don't think it would be the smartest thing to do. I think that they'll probably retain the mount that they have but it would be super cool if they switched over to a pro (bayonet) style mount, so we could go out and rent some digiprimes to see what real HD lenses are capable of!

The only reason i'd like to see firewire 800 is if there were a 30 or 40 gig diskdrive or two 20 gigs raided so that you could use the small ipod like disk drives, I would like to not sit there for 40 minutes transfering over my already rendered footage. (hmm I guess I just want to sit there for 20 minutes...) oh well.