Hi, I have onlly had my XM2 a short time, but I am trying my best to use it in manual! My first question is about shutter speed, I have read that it is best to use it set at 50, but I plan on taking action shots at the beach shooting water sports, I guess I will want to up the speed, what should I set it at? I might want to slow mo it down a bit in post editing as well.
Also the first time I took the camera to the beach I managed to get sand inside the focus ring! so when I used manual focus after that, every time I turned the ring I could hear the sand particle gritting and grinding inside! it is better now after a bit of use, I guess it must be wearing the particle down! I tried blowing it out but are there any recommendations? apart from sending it to canon.

Faster shutter will mean less motion blur of moving objects in the individual frames, and will give a somewhat different look to the video when played back. Best to try various shutter speeds for various scenes/settings and see which effect you prefer.

Sand in the machine is not good. Probably take a trip to Canon to clean out the lens. Also, sand is not good in the tape transport compatment. Some folks insert the MiniDV tape at home away from the beach, put gaffers or masking tape around the door to give it a better seal, and remove the tape/and MiniDV tape back in a clean environment.