Ok, on the XL1s, if you shot in widescreen the camera squeezed all the info into all of the pixels on the sensor and then could be stretched back out in a NLE.

What does the XL2 do? Does it take the info from the sensor and squeeze it into the 720x480 pixels available in NTSC so that it will have to be stretched out in an NLE also?

Is that pretty much how it works? And the same thing happens with PAL, but the PAL format has more pixels available so it has higher resolution, right? Also, is the default PAL aspect ratio 4:3 also?

Tony: have a look at this thread (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29087).

The XL2 is 16x9 native. you loose a little bit when you swith o 4:3.

Go here

http://www.dvinfo.net/canonxl2/articles/article06.php

for the info on the XL2 chip block. Good info, plus comparisons to some other 1/3 " chip cameras

Sorry I forget how to make active links.

-M

Tony,

Yes, 16:9 DV is 720x480. The XL2 is native 16:9 meaning it does not cut the top and bottom of and strech the image to fit 720x480, rather it captures a wider field of view and squishes it horizontally to fit 720x480.

thanks, that explains everything... and pretty much what I suspected

Just to make it ultra clear to everyone:

1. the DV spec only allows for two resolutions: 720 x 480 (NTSC) and 720 x 576 (PAL)

2. 16:9 anamorphic is always stored in that format on any camera (pixel aspect ratio differs)

3. PAL 720x576 = 4:3 = 720x480 NTSC (the difference in resolution can be explained by a different pixel aspect ratio)

4. instinct usually says that your horizontal resolution increases (since Field-of-View is also changing), which is true before it is being DV compressed. However, after the DV compression the increase is in VERTICAL resolution, *NOT* horizontal. Ofcourse you might also have a sharper picture horizontally since it samples more pixels originally (you can call that resolution as well), but in the end, the horizontal pixels will always be 720 (the same goes for DVD)