Im an amature film maker mainly shooting downhill skateboarding videos. Im looking at either getting the Canon XM2 or the Sony VX2100. I've read a heep of posts here saying the Canon is a better camera but everyone i've taked to who does similar filming that i do recomends the Sony.

I like both cameras, at the moment i film with an Canon Mini DV cam and shoot stills with an EOS. We've always had canons in the house as they are great cameras and have espically great lenses. The lense on the XM2/GL2 which is a Fluorite lense is one of the main things that drew me to it.

The Canon also produces what seems to be a higher resolution with 410,000 pixels + Pixel shift which ups it to 680,000, while the Sony only has .... off the top of my head its around 450,000. Does the pixel shift really up the pixels of the canon that much?

Another thing the Canon has over the Sony is the 20x optical zoom with the sony only have 12x (dont care about digital, who uses that anyway?)

The one thing that i do like about the Sony, which i have only been told, haven't read it anywhere is that the Sony has the Frame Movie mode with a rate of 25 frames persecond where the Canon only has Frame movie mode with 30 frames persecond. Like i said, i was only told this by someone who has the Sony, so...probably is correct.

Thanks for reading my boring comparison.

Any suggestions?

Oh i have an old Canon MV530i at the moment, it does make abit of sense me getting another canon as that why i could switch the battery when i get a bigger one.

Joe

Joe,
I think you'd be happy with either camera for your purposes.

You do, however, have one item of misinformation. Both cameras only record at 30 frames per second, being standard NTSC models. Canon's "frame" mode is analogous to 30 frames/sec. progressive recording, meaning that both scan fields of the frame are recorded simultaneously. Frame mode is operable at all basic shutter speeds on the GL2 (ex: 1/30, 1/60, et.al.).

By contrast, I believe that Sony's comparable recording mode is only operable at a shutter speed of 1/30, which makes it much less useful across exposure situations. It also can make for rather jerky footage, hardly appropriate for your application (unless you decide to shoot uphill skateboarding).

Alright, thanks. Will keep looking into it and talking to people about both models.

Jerky footage? never, after filming this stuff for about 2 years we've got our ways of making everything super smooth, and as the canon has the different shutter speeds for Frame mode it should work better.

I have a friend in San Fran who has the Sony, i'll be visiting him in september when im over there so i can have a look at that then.

Thanks again

I've used both cameras. When it came down to purchasing one of the two I chose the GL2 for the lens and moreover, the ergonomics - the GL2 just felt better in my hands. Keep this in mind when you're going to be holding the cam for an extended period of time. The Sony is nicknamed "the brick" for a reason.

I second the ergonomic issue with the Canon's. Like yourself we shoot action sports (surfing, snowboarding, and skating) We use an xl1 and gl2 and love the cameras. I can ride allday with them and not have major issues with the weight or balance. I know a lot in the industry use the Sony, but i've always found when doing colabos with people that my Canon footage is far better.
The only downfall i've had vs the sonys is the late night street sessions. the low light is better on the sony, but if you bring a small light and a Canon you're laughing. Hope that helps a bit. Just weigh all the options you'll find the one that works for you and your shooting style.