Alright I have seen the camera and it is in immaculate condition. The body and lens have no scratches at all.

What I am getting all together for $1200:

Canon XL1
1 large battery
3 smaller batteries
Varizoom VZPro
XL1 specifc soft case
Mono-pod
Remote
XLR input add on

The owner said he used the camera for 10 weddings and owned it for 4 years. He originally bought it from somebody but didn't know how long he owned it for.

What do you think? I am a film student trying to get a decent 3ccd camera and honestly only have around $1,200 to spend.

Check prices on E-bay for a benchmark. (IMHO, E-bay prices are often a bit on the high side.) Then run some tape thorugh it putting it though all the paces to see if all things work. Also try play some tape from a known good machine (a simple quick check on head alignment) If all the above feels right after you are done, you should be OK, but as a contingency be prepared to face at least one trip to the factory.

Well I talked the man selling it down to $1100 and I pick it up tomorrow morning! I am pretty excited as it is my birthday present. I checked it out today and ran a tape through it and recorded with it, worked perfectly.

Well I talked the man selling it down to $1100 and I pick it up tomorrow morning! I am pretty excited as it is my birthday present. I checked it out today and ran a tape through it and recorded with it, worked perfectly.


I'm in the exact same boat as you. I had originally looked for an XL1 used but they either weren't around or were very expensive. I ended up buying a VX1000 with a lot of extra gear in the bag including tripods, filters etc. About a week ago I see an XL1 for sale. We worked out a price and I'm picking it up for around the same price as yours. I went and looked at it last night. Very nice camera and I don't even know anything about cameras yet. I'm just starting to learn. Anyway, it'll be interesting and exciting to start using this camera as well as the VX1000 and see what will work better for certain situations and lighting.

A nice added bonus is the guy is throwing in a soft sided carry bag which seems standard but also a huge hard sided case. As I'm going to be shooting in Latin America and living in a 73 VW bus I thought the extra case would be great to mount to the actual frame of the bus under the back seat. Throw a lock on the case and another on the fold up seat seat and all is secure. The case is big enough for both cameras and all the extras that came with them as well as a laptop and other important accessories. Unless someone takes the whole bus...then I'm pooched. :)