Thanks you guys... You are definitely giving me hope... (I plan to try the various blue white balance ideas this weekend).

I'll have to take a closer look, but I'm wondering though, how would I maintain a custom white balance from shoot to shoot (assuming the lighting doesn't change much)?

Once I set the custom white balance, does the camera remember it, even if I turn the camera off?

Would this actually be done in the Custom Preset (I don't recall seeing this) or else where?

Thanks!

-Heidi

Heidi, unfortunately the GL2 does not sport a white balance memory feature. You'd have to step up to the XL1S, which allows a couple of white balance memory settings.

Chris, Ken,

Oh, sorry.

I thought a memory white balance was what you were referring to in earlier posts.

-Heidi

Hi, Heidi.

Now that I've used my GL2 for a couple weeks, I suspect two possibilities: 1) your GL2 is broken. Because my colors are accurate, not blue-biased. You know there IS a lot of blue in nature, like anywhere you have any kind of shadow or "darkness." Things that look "gray" are actually full of blue and violet. My Gl2 is not making things blue where they aren't already. It could be that you WANT red/yellow that isn't there? or, 2) you're viewing your footage on something which is biasing the image blue. Better check it on an accurate monitor.

I'm very pleased to have a camera that gets the colors right.

I use Auto mode with a CP of +1 on the color saturation and -1 on the level. I use auto white balance or I set it if I want a certain color slant. Point it at something white and press the wb key.

You might ask to try another one to see if yours is out of jigger.

Best,

b

Hey, thanks Jeff. The Ikkup (geez, sounds more like a spasm of the diaphram) might be worth a try.

Just been comparing the specs of the XM2 against the GL2, the GL2 says it has a min lux of 6 Lux where as the XM2 has 3 lux, why is this? I know the XM2 has more pixels because it's PAL but how does that explain the lower lux? Not that I'm complaining of course.


Peter

Heidi,

In our earlier posts, we were referring to the Custom Preset menu... where you can change the overall look of the video through four parameters: Color Gain (how much color), Color Phase (toward red or toward green), Sharpness and Setup Level (how much black). You can tailor the video how you like, and save this custom configuration and recall it at any time with the push of a button.

That's a separate deal from white balance. Unfortunately, there are no white balance memory settings in the GL2. There's a white balance setting for daylight and indoors, and a way to set manually. However, no ability to save a custom white balance to memory (there is the feature on the XL1S, however). Hope this helps,

Heidi,

The one way to hold a custom white balance is to turn the standby switch to "lock" rather than turn off the camera when you finish shooting...this will hold all your camera settings...I do this all the time, and I do not believe the camera uses any power in this mode, so you shouldn't have any battery drain by doing this (Chris may know more about this.)

One other option...use the standard Daylight white balance setting (or tungsten if indoors) and instead of a skylight filter to protect your lens, use a haze 2 filter, or 81a or b...these will add various amounts of warming, without a telltale "orange shift".

Still, the best situation would be the custom white balance to the blue cards to get the most accurate and consistent color.

Have you tried my (and others) suggestion from last week of doing a custom color preset?...this seems to be what you are looking for, as it would apply to any lighting situation, including using auto white balance.... I don't remember you mentioning whether you tried it or not.

Barry

The ongoing debate about color needs to have this added: Everyone has different color perception, due to the eyes or processing in the brain. Some people see a different shade of color and also brightness between their own two eyes. If two or more people have such varying perceptions and watch the same TV, there will be constant bickering about how it's adjusted. Until all people are cloned from the same genetic code, this will continue.
I've never had a videocamera that didn't produce too much red and that wasn't a bit weak in the green area to my eyes, but others may see something else in my footage.

Men who have a sex-linked, partial color blindness, tend to see little or no red, which is in the lower frequencies of the visible range. Many of them don't realize they have this (or won't admit it). I believe that these men are the ones they hire at the factories to set the colors on the cameras.

Steve McDonald

Barry,

So I'm currently in the process of trying the 5 and 10% blue manual white balance you suggested (my hubby printed them out on his computer), and I'm running in to a little problem.

When I go to "set" the white balance (after I've zoomed in on the blue, etc.) the little white balance icon won't stop flashing. It defintely stops flashing when I manually white balance white, but with the blues it won't stop flashing.

The manual says this may happen (and that the icon may just flash slowe instead of stopping), but I'm wondering if you know what's up. And I doing something wrong? Have you (or anyone else) ever experienced this?

Thanks,
Heidi

Where are you doing the manual white balance? The flashing may indicate that the color temperature of the light is outside the range of the cameras ability to fully correct it. This would be true of the auto white balance also. Generally speaking most cameras have a greater range of white balance adjustment in manual than in auto.

Jeff

Hi Barry,

Ooops, one more thing...

So now I am trying your suggested adjustments (-1 sharpness, +1 color gain, +1 setup) and I can't seem to get the "CP" to show up in my viewfinder.

Here's what I'm doing:

1. I go into the Menu.
2. I select Custom Presets
3. I set the Custom Preset levels
4. I scroll down to"return"
4. The entire menu appears in my viewfinder 9includng the Custom Pressets option)
5. I hit the Menu button to get out.
6. Now, there is now mwnu in my viewfinder but neither is there a "CP"

I can't think of another way to do this, yet I don't see the "CP" (although the Presets are held)

Any tips?

Also, incidentally, when you say "+1" do you mean: scroll once (until the little box-shaped icon on the horizonal line changes to a smaller/skinnier box) or, do I need to scroll twice (since the first time the icon changes from a big box to a little box, I'm not sure it has actually avanced one time).

Thank you again!

-Heidi










\

Jeff,

I'm doing the white balance in the same room (an indirect sun-ny room) where I am also shooting.

But why would blue not work, but white (a lighter color) work?

Also, how would I KNOW whether the white blanace on the blue isn't working or the light is just flashing slower (whatever that means) but it IS working!?

Hm, interesting about the Manual vs. Auto. That kinds sucks as I may actually want to shoot in Auto sometimes (I have to admit...)

Thanks,
H

Heidi,

I don't have the specs on the GL2, I said generally speaking. Canon, and most mfgs. don't release complete specs, like color temperature range, on their prosumer cameras. Is the warm card you made blue or cyan? There is a big difference. Have you read the Warmcards pages? http://www.warmcards.com/wb101.html

This is a guess, but I'm suggesting that the flashing symbol indicates the WB is only partially corrected. This was the way my broadcast betacam cameras worked. I'm guessing the Canons may work in a similar maner. Anyone know for sure?

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Yeah, I order some warmcards, but they haven't arrived yet.

Also, yes to Cyan (no to blue).

Finally, as for the flashing light... when this happened to you, did the white balance actually change (even if not exactly correctly)?

-H

Good to the cyan, it will add red which I think is where you want to be. This is a guess, but based on how the XL1 seems to work ( I fired it up, to try some of this out) if the symbol is flashing the WB is adjusted, but perhaps not fully corrected. The necessary correction excedes the range of the manual WB. For example the color temp is 2000¼ K (beyond the range of most cameras to correct). You manually WB and the color temp. is corrected to 5500¼K. The correct WB should be 6500¼ K so manual WB got you close. The camera just can't correct 4500¼, it's outside the range of the camera. This is just an example.

Have you tried WB the camera in different lighting situations? Outside in shade, daylight etc to see if the blinking quits?

Jeff

Heidi

I hadn't tried this with the gl-2 yet, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I printed 5% and 10% fills of cyan only and 5 and 10% fills of blue (cyan and magenta blend). I was able to white balance correctly on all 4 patches, with the expected results of a slight red shift on the cyan patches and a slight yellow shift on the blue patches. Worked like a charm...I think this is an excellent way to tune the camera's color to your liking...I'll be mounting these up for my location kit, and making up some other colors for my preferred "cool" look (Spielberg 1999-02).

I pointed my camera at some more heavily colored fills and saw the same problem you reported, so my guess is that your printer is printing the colors too dark. You could try printing a lighter percentage, or see if your printer allows you to lighten the ink setting (epson's do). The colors should look like a VERY light pastel blue.

I spoke with a friend who just purchased the WarmCards, and he felt that they were too strongly tuned...giving very strong color shifts, that were like looking through a tobacco filter. He said the lightest one gave decent results. It might be worth experimenting with a few colors until you get the look you want.

Good luck

Barry

Heidi,

If you look at the Warmcard site again you'll see how light the colors Barry is talking about.

Jeff

Heidi,

Just saw your second post..Once you set your custom preset info and close the menu, you need to press the custom preset button on the left side of the camera (by the white balance selector )...

Also, The custom preset you quoted will maintain a neutral balance...you may also want to bump the color phase button several points to the red...as Julia Childs would say...."to taste"

As for the adjustment levels, +1 = one bump.

Barry

Heidi,

I looked again, and actually the "custom preset" button is next to the "custom key"(which is next to the white balance buttons, and is a totally different thing)

Barry

Heidi

One more thing..I did a few more printouts, and was able to white balance against a 20% cyan and blue with no trouble..and I got excellently warm results (best from the cyan), I think you'll like it. I tried, an orange and pink patch and got more modest results at cooling things down...

Barry

Heidi

In my endless quest for knowledge...(I really wanted to max things out...and see if I could duplicate your experience) I printed another set of color patches at 25 to 40 percent...and finally got the slow blinking white balance on most colors in the 30-40 percent range. As I think jeff noted, essentially the camera is telling you "that's all there is". I don't think you would want to go that far anyway, as the color starts getting pretty weird (especially skin tones), with some pretty bleedy reds.

I was able to get a nice "flourescent lighting" green using a 30% magenta patch, and a coolish dusk-like blue with a mixture of 25 magenta and 20 yellow...

Hope this is of some help.

Barry

Jeff, Barry,

Thanks for all the posts (help)!

I'll try to make a few more print outs this evening and try again tomorrow am/early afternoon.

If either of you is around, and have nothing better to do then check this site
(only kidding), I'd love your input if I run into another problem... You've been extrmely helpful!

One question, Barry, you mentioned that 20% looked good. But if I'm running into the flashing icon problem at 5 or 10% (assuming our printer is working OK) I imagine 20% would be worse. Right? Or, am I misunderstanding you?

I'll try lighter (as you suggest) and see what happens.

Oh and by the way, sorry for asking such a dumb question about the Custom Preset button -- I forgot it was there!

-Heidi

Barry,

Sorry I missed your last reply...

So, two things:

1. I just tried the white balance on blue again (same colors -- which, by the way, are a light-colored pastel, same location of cards, different lighting -- it's now 7 pm here vs. late am when I first tried).

And, I could successfully get the icon to "set."

Now I'm in a real quandry.

It seems as if you found that the darker (more blue/cyan) the white card is, at some point, the more difficult it is to white balance on. (Do I have this correct?)

Here's the rub. When I first tried this earlier today, I had the cards in one of the sunnier areas of a relatively (mosty indirect) sunny room. The icon kept flashing.

Just a few minutes ago, I put the same cards in the same spot but now, although the room is light, since it's 7 pm here there is no sun at all. (Sunset is around 8:15 pm) And, the icon "set."

So, my question -- what did I do wrong? I'm assuming I did something wrong. Otherwise, I'd have to assume that there are some locations I just won't be able to successfully manually white balance in, and I just can't believe that.

It seems as if the white balance worked when the light was darker (and therefore, the color of the cards also appreared darker) and similar to your 25-40% darker, flashing icon cards), rather then with more light in the room, making the cards appear even lighter pastel colors.

Did I just make myself clear???

Any ideas?


2. You just said

"As I think jeff noted, essentially the camera is telling you "that's all there is". I don't think you would want to go that far anyway, as the color starts getting pretty weird (especially skin tones), with some pretty bleedy reds."

What do you mean, "that's all there is"?


Again, your help is 1000 times appreciated.

-Heidi

Most camcorders take their samples for white-balance settings through the lens. But, a couple of years ago, I was given a new Canon A-1 Digital Hi-8 camcorder, that has a separate, white plastic window to the right of the lens for this. the camera was always showing too much red, either in auto WB or if I set it manually. So, I took a red, wide-tipped marking pen and made a 1/4" square in the middle of the window and put it on auto WB. Just like the printed sheets with the opposite color flavor you want in the image, this shifted the WB away from red into a cooler image that pleased me. You do understand that the WB sensor will shift the color balance away from what it sees, that varies from white, rather than towards it.

You don't need to print color sheets to trick the WB into shifting the opposite way. A collection of colored pens can be used to shade small sectors of the sheet in different colors and sizes, in a way that is more versatile and controlable than a printer can produce. Perhaps small portions of the sampled sheet with solid patches of blue, could work better than to print the whole area with a light shade of blue. You might also try some green, which is in the middle of the visible color spectrum, to shift the WB away from a cooler setting, towards one that is warmer.

Steve McDonald

Thanks, Steve. I had a Canon A-1, too and really liked it. Until it broke...
As for the green white balance, why green over blue?

Barry, did you do equal amounts of cyan and magenta to get blue?

-Heidi

Experimentation can yield many different and sometimes unexpected results. This can be fine when you're just playing and trying to better understand the camera. However, I would caution against your method of random pattern WB. When you're shooting on the job, the goal is to have each shot look just like the next. This will require that you white balance the camera the same way each time the lighting changes. This will produce the most consistent results in my experience. The random pattern of colored portions could produce varying WB and require color correcting in post.

I also feel that a printer will produce a more even and consistent color then a marking pen. While everyone will get different results, my printer is extremely accurate and I use it for color proofing.

Jeff

I wasn't suggesting random pattern color in a white-balance sheet. I would mark out very even and repeatable sectors with colored ink. The sheet could be re-used if light values changed or reproduced, if you kept a record of its color sectors. This seems to be a discussion of experimentation and a lot of different variations in color
might lead to a desired result. Not everyone has the printer setup to produce such exact WB color sheets.

Heidi, I suggested trying some green sectors, because it's warmer than blue, but cooler than red. Using it might warm up the picture just a little. Or, it might mess it up?? It's just one more thing to try, since you're having little luck so far in pleasing yourself. As I was implying before, show your recorded footage to a number of other people (smart, sensitive ones) and get their takes on how warm or cool your GL2 picture appears. By the way, how did your Canon A-1 picture look to you in white-balance? My original A-1 and A-1 Digital, as well as my L-1, always seem too red, unless I take special efforts to trick the WB, as I described.

Steve McDonald

Hi Steve,

Experimentation is great and I am suggesting that Heidi experiment to obtain the desired warmth in her images. However, once the desired effect is obtained it must be repeatable, in order to consistently achieve the same result. The use of a pattern (random or ordered) makes consistent WB more difficult to obtain. If the exact pattern doesn't fill the viewfinder in the exact same way, each WB will be slightly different. If your zoomed differently or framed differently more of one color can predominate. Sometimes the difference will be very slight, others more noticeable. But the results can and will be inconsistent.

Heidi is also looking for a method to very quickly WB her camera to the desired warmth. The use of a patterned WB card will be slower because of the more precise method needed to insure exact placement of the card in the viewfinder. A solid color WB card allows for much quicker placement and checking in the viewfinder.

WB to green will add Magenta, WB to Cyan will add Red and WB to Blue will add Yellow.

Jeff

So here is the latest, as I test these blue and cyan white balances.

Much to my dismay, I still can not set the cyan (and/or blue) white balances. I keep trying but the icon won't stick, it keeps flashing!

The ONLY way I can get it to stick is to place the card in the very darkest area of the room. Granted, the room is well-lite but it's only indirect light. Has anyone had this problem?

I tried it in a darker room and it worked fine.

Why would a white blance OK in a bright room, but not a 3% blue (or cyan)?

-H

Can you give me some more details on the mode your in (aperature preferred, manual etc.) are you using the ND Filter, what is the gain set to? That may help me give you a better answer.

Jeff

Sure...

I'm in Auto, no ND filter (didn't ask for one), and no gain (according to Canon, you can only access gain in maual).

Does this help?

Thanks,
H

Heidi, look at the bottom of Page 80 in your manual. It refers to the flashing icon. It seems to indicate that there is not a problem and that even with the icon flashing it is better than the auto WB mode. For those of you without a manual follow this link http://www.canondv.com/downloads/manuals.html and view the GL-2 language manual of your choice. You can also just go to the Canon.com web site and go to products/downloads etc to find the manual.

I think the the idea posted a few replys back was a great one, have some other eyes review your settings.

I have a friend who thinks that every food is better with some cilantro in it----- no one goes to her house much for dinner anymore :-).

I feel for you because I've finally ground thru my entire GL-2 manual after a week of reading and experimenting. Now that I've stopped obsessing on the controls I've started having a great time shooting, the GL-2 really is a joy to use.

Regards, John V

John,

Thanks -- I did see page 80.

The thing is, I'm wondering why the icon is flashing when I WB to blue/cyan when, IF in that same location of the room I can successfully "set" the wb on a white card.

Oh yes, I definately am having other eyes look at it. My best friend is a TV editor and my hubby, a former graphic designer, look at all these tests. They are excellant judges because they can see the "real" color of the things I shoot, and they both have an excellant eye for color...

(My editor friend owns a VX2000)

-H

Heidi

Sorry, I was gone for a few hours...there's been a lot of posting overnite!

I think the light room/Dark room issue is probably more of an issue with the color of the light in each of those rooms, versus a comparison of a light levels...photographing a color patch under different light levels is a completely different thing than shooting different percentages of blue, cyan etc..as it is the saturation and hue of the color that is critical in adjusting white balance. You've described your room as bright, but with indirect lighting...without seeing it, that sounds a lot like a very blue light source...(which may be the source of your color problem altogether). My readings were done under diffused sunlight, which has proved to be very close to calibrated daylight. Also my color patches are printed out on a very accurate postscript printer, so it still could be your printer causing the problem...are you printing on plain paper, or a photo paper..a plain paper can cause significant color gain. And while I agree with jeff about the reproduce-ability of the using an incomplete color field, it maybe worth a try to print a pattern of squares in 3% cyan and white to see if you can get it in range of the camera.

Regardless, you need to do your white balancing in the lighting where you are shooting...If this technique doesn't work...It maybe because the camera is borderline out-of-spec, or it could be that your lighting situation is beyond the reach of your camera...typically video cameras have more range to move in the opposite direction of where you are trying to go...ie. for correction of incandescant and flourescent sources.

When I suggest "that's all there is", I mean that you've reached the end of the correction range of the camera...and as the previous poster mentioned the flashing icon just means it was not able to fully correct the light...it has, however probably warmed the light considerably...You should shoot some stuff with the flashing icon on, and see how you like it. Also try doing the blue card white balance in direct or diffused sunlight to see if it's your camera thats causing the problem, or if it's the color balance in your room.

If none of this works.. I think the next avenue is to try the custom preset adjustments, and then a warming filter like an 81a, b or c as per my earlier post. Or it maybe that you camera is just out of spec, and it needs to be returned to Canon for service.

good luck

Barry

Thanks, Barry.

Especially after an all-nighter...

So I've been playing with this (and still am) and I've found that

1. The custom presets still look a little blue-ish, not-warm, too neutral (not sure how to describe it) to me

2. The blue (100% of cyan and 50% of magenta) looks pretty good.

The fact that I can't get the wb to "set" notwithstanding...

I'm really bummed though because I'd way rather use a custom preset then white balance each and everytime I shoot in sunlight.

Hm.

-Heidi

Heidi

a couple of questions...

When using the custom preset, Did you adjust the color PHASE to the red, as far as it would go, and it's still looking blue?

What are you viewing the image on?

You see a difference when white balancing on 5 or 10% blue, versus 100% blue (100c 59m) even though both are giving you the blinking box?

Barry

Hi Barry (et al.!)

"When using the custom preset, Did you adjust the color PHASE to the red, as far as it would go, and it's still looking blue?"

Nope, I didn't try it all the way... I went 3 bumps up...


"What are you viewing the image on?"

A TV monitor with lots of color, etc. controls... The same one I watch lots of video footage (for work) on...So I'm kinda familiar with it's "look."

Any thoughts???


"You see a difference when white balancing on 5 or 10% blue, versus 100% blue (100c 59m) even though both are giving you the blinking box?"

Hm, I haven't tried 100% blue, wouldn't that be too much blue?

Incidentally, along these lines, I did try balancing at the sky, but the same thing happened -- the icon kept blinking.

I also tried 5% and 10% blue outside (in all areas of our yard -- ranging from sunlit to sort-of shadow) but to no avail. I only got blinking.


So, after my tests today, I've discovered a few things:

1. My taste preference is approx. 10% blue (100% of cyan and 50% of magenta) but I can't get it to work (can get the icon to stop blinking) much of the time...

Oh, and by the way everyone, it appears to me that if the icon is blinking slowly, a new white balance has NOT BEEN set. Not even sort-of, as the manual suggests.


2. My second taste preference is white balancing to white.

3. I can't get the custom presets to look good (so far).

Oh, here's a question, do/can the custom presets work at the same time as adding a manual white balance?


4. And, in general, the GL2 really tends to have much less saturation then the VX2000, and in general, runs cooler -- IN NATURAL LIGHT.

Now, having said this, I think the auto white balance on the GL2 (out of the box, so to speak) works great in indoor, incandescent light.

I guess the GL2 was made with this, rather then natural light, in mind.

Now, just to add a little credibility here, my hubby, who prefers a cooler look and knows his colors..., also thinks the Canon runs cool.

Also, let me say at this point, lest you think I have no taste... I really don't care for over-the-top warm footage. And, am really not trying to emulate (in anyway) Speilberg. I just like to err on the warm side and the GL2 seems to like to err on the coolr side...

For whatever it's worth -- at this point, I'm feeling really bummed that I may buy this camera and never be able to get it to really look the way I like. And, to get as close as possible to my preferred look, I'll need to white balance to blue, but am not be able to (so I'll have to white balance to white, by default).

I have been testing the VX2000 -- and while I kinda prefer the color and picture quality over the GL2, there are other reasons why I may default to the GL2 (i.e., my husband wants me to buy a smaller, lighter camera, the white balance on the VX2000 is really poor -- everything looks overly yellow/pink).

Two other questions on the GL2 though, if I may:

1. Is there a way to get a running timecode to appear on the outside of the camera? In the viewfinder?

2. When in TV or AV mode, is there a way to see what the dafualt setting is? For example, if you are in TV and adjust the shutter spped, can you read, somewhere, what the f. stop is that has been set?

I'm pooped...

Thank you again, everyone for your help.

I"ll keep reading!

-H

Dear Heidi,

As I mentioned before, I suggested your cam was busted. Now I know it for a fact.

Proof: You say that when you press the WB button and it goes to continuous flashing, you get NO adjustment. This is wrong. You will get immediate and even dramatic adjustment (depending on what you're aiming at) when you press that button and it continues flashing slowly thereafter, just as the manual implies.

Your unit is defective. It is a lemmon. These things happen. Take it back.

Best,

Blake

Ok, so when I wrote that last post, I was half asleep...

First, as for the TV monitor, I didn't mean to imply I use it for work, just when I bring things home to screen...

Next, I'm really wondering about my trouble wb'ing on blue. I'm not sure why I can "set" the wb on white (which I think of as lighter/brighter then blue) but not on blue.

Any thoughts?

Over the nxt few days I'm going to try wb'ing on white and blue for every shot and see if I'm relatively happy.

-H

Heidi,

Based on your replies, I believe your camcorder has a mfg. defect also. The camera should still be adjusting the color (WB) very noticeably even if the icon is blinking slowly. Contact the dealer or make arrangements with Canon to return the unit for repair. I went into a dealer yesterday and played with a GL2 for 30 minutes and tried some of the things you have been trying. The display unit worked much differently than how you've described your camera. I was able to get large color adjustments with 10% and 20% Cyan. Barry's experiences seem to support the same conclusion. I would not continue to attempt to adjust your camera because the information you learn will not be valid for a properly working model. It's going to lead to a lot of frustration later on. Sorry for the bad news.

Jeff

Heidi, I think your experiences and the attempts to solve the problem have helped make us more aware of the things of which we all have to be concerned when taking a new and complex camera out of the box.

It would appear that there is an internal fault in your GL2. I would not consider sending it in for repairs, but would return it to the dealer for an exchange or refund. I believe you said you had until Thursday to return it, anyway. If you get another GL2, it would be very informative to see if it behaves just the same or has a better WB function. You might compare the serial numbers of the two units, to see how close they are to each other. If they came from the same batch, made and adjusted by the same people, who knows what you might find in another one's performance? I hope you don't get soured on the GL2, because of one that didn't have itself in good form
for its first workout with you.

As a side note, I got a price quote on the GL2 from Zotz Digital a few days ago, for $2,300. B&H wants $2,500. for it, OneCall, $2,460. and Camera World, $2,800.

Steve McDonald

Heidi

I think I'm in agreement with jeff and steve here. The only other test would be to shoot a neutral test chart, and pull a still that could be evaluted in photoshop to be certain it isn't your monitor (but it sounds like you've ruled that out).

I've spent much of the weekend out testing a new microphone, and I shot several hours under a big variety of lighting situations, and the gl2 consistently produced images that were extremely neutral and accurate. The only time I saw anything significantly cool was when I did a custom white balance under some dimmed incandescants (actually I was amazed at how it cleaned up the usually impossible-to-correct reds in this situation). Additionally, I white balanced off a blue card and shot some footage around town, and the results came out significantly warm.

Take it back to the dealer, and let them know your problem. Most likely they will exchange it for you.

Barry

Folks, at this point our thread here has reached the status of being one of the longest, and certainly one of the most interesting on the board. Let's try to keep our responses from here on focussed on the matter at hand and not allow such a lengthy discussion to stray off topic. Please limit any more additions to a strictly technical nature.

From jdcameraworks... this sums it up nicely:

"The only way real professionals find what they want is to ask alot of questions concerning the equipment they will be using on an average day. If we didn't, manufacurers would just sell garbage. Video, and for that matter film and how we percieve a "look" is all in the operators, directors, D.O.P's and eventually the viewers eyes. By all means ask questions but don't be unwilling to go back to the dealer to see if other units exhibit the same traits as your camera. It really does sound like you have a malfunctioning camera. Good luck!"

Appropriate responses will concentrate primarily in a helpful and substantially contributive manner. Many thanks,

Chris,

I assume you are referring to my posts. Frankly, I believe my posts are technical and "helpful and substantially contributive." Athough I'm not really sure what you mean by this. Those who have responded to my questions have been infinately helpful!

Without first having asked the questions I did, I wouldn't have known how to use the camera properly, going back to the store only came about from these questions... Furthermore, as I teacher, I can tell you, there is real learning value in listening to another person's questions/problems AND the solutions!

Lastly, for what it's worth, for years I was a moderator for an early and well-known online discussion group, and I truly have no idea what your problem with this one, is.

Please explain yourself further. At this point I will have to think twice about revisiting this site, about recommending this site to anyone else, and purchasing equipment from any of the recommeneded sponsors.

Anyone who wants to contact me directly can reach me at heidi@media.mit.edu

-Heidi

Heidi

I don't think Chris is referring to you (and the nature of the discussion that we've all been having for the past few days). I think he's referring to one post, which was followed by your defense, and then someone coming to your support...etc. etc. You are new to this board, and you'll note that we stay away from these types of conversations, as they have a curious way of shutting down the REAL discussion. As you can see this one already has.

Posts of this nature--including this one of mine...are a waste of everyone's time.

Barry

How's the camera situation?

Heidi

I was referring to the meta-discussion banter that evolved around someone's "humorous" post. The jokes, etc. have been removed because they contribute nothing of value to the technical conversation. I would prefer that we all concentrate instead on providing straightforward answers to the questions you've raised about the cameras.

I hope that's clear enough, except now there are two more posts, mine and Barry's, that are still off-topic. I'll probably remove both of these later, so for now, please, let's get back to discussing the technical questions that you and others have raised. Hope this helps,

To All:

Yesterday I started a new thread with Heidi's new questions at:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3260

I encourage the party to move to the new bar. First round of beverages is on me!

Thanks for the info. I have been seeking the answer to this question for some time (xl1 vs. gl2) since I can get a used xl1 for the price of a new gl2. Based on your site, I have the answer. However, I cannot download the clips on your site. I can only view them in a browser in Quicktime. Is there a way to post the files so I can see them at full rez.

Thanks,

Tom

Tom

Unfortunately, due to the constraints of the .mac site, the movies are resized to fit the .mac templates. You'll need to invest in QT pro ($30) to download them...or you can take a look at the stills on the "New gl2, xl1s..." page, which are from the clip.

Barry