Chris Hurd answered and then closed the "where do I purchase an XL H1" discussion, but the "I can't pay full price 'cause I'm working on a limited budget" comment needs to be addressed. Alex, it takes more than an HD camera to move from SD to HD, and if you barely have the funds for the XL H1, you may want to consider a less-costly HD camera. What ever you decide, make sure you have or budget for a computer that is sufficiently powerful and all the software, codecs, accessories, etc, that you will need. Read this and other forums and you will see there are many tearful camera owners who spent all their money on an HD camera, and now they spend their days crying because they can't afford the tools needed to edit their video. The key to success is to budget everything you will need before making any purchases.

Best,
Christopher

Indeed, and for people on a budget, the upcoming XH A1 and XH G1 will be a great option!
And at least a tripod and extra batteries are needed.

On the other hand, it is possible to gradually work your way into HD by being smart about what equipment to buy and when. Of course you have to have at least one HD camera and some way of capturing and editing the footage from that. But there are lots of ways to tackle the editing challenge including use of intermediate codecs or low-res proxies, which can make HD editing feasible on older computers until more money for a faster system is available. And while it helps to have an HD monitor around to preview your work it's not absolutely necessary (in a technical sense) for HD editing, so there again that's an expense which can be spaced out over time. And unless you have customers with some way to play HD content your final delivery is likely to be widescreen DVDs for now, so there's no urgency to buy an HD disc burner just yet.

Ultimately the HD transition isn't cheap, but there are ways to mitigate the expense so it's not one huge hit all at once. That's a good reason to start investing in HD now before it becomes a requirement of professional video work: buy a little equipment every year instead of replacing all your gear in one year.

One additional thing that wasn't addressed, is the price of the XLH1. Alex mentioned in his original post that he's seen it cheaper than the full price, and last time I checked, that wasn't possible, as Canon was using exclusive dealers and part of that contract to sell the XLH1 states that it must be at the full retail price of $8999. Which, according to Alex he isn't able to do, since he is on a budget.

So, I would suggest he start looking at other less expensive HDV camera's, if in fact his need is to go HD.

Just my $.02, do with it what you will! :)

Generally, if the price is much less than the usual price, then the camera is not usually available as a single purchase.

It will become instantly available once you purchase some very overpriced accessories.

Avoid the scam dealers. With a purchase of this magnitude, it is most advisble to purchase from a reputable dealer.

All of the sponsors of DVinfo.net can be trusted.

Absolutely!!!

My first attempt at getting my H1 involved looking for the "better deal" and ended up with a call on the day of it's delivery telling me that my "package deal" wasn't available - but a "package" with the Firestore Drive was and that was only an additional $1500 - LOL.

So I canceled - went with a distributor - spent a little more - got the Firestore for free and didn't end up with a bunch of SD accessories touted as HD compatable.

When going with those discount internet sellers - it's definitely "let the buyer beware!"

While I agree with most being said here including never risking large purchases on "too good to be true" price peddlers - stick with the reputables...

The idea that Canon has set a fixed price contract that distributors are forced to abide by is something that is doubtful as that is an illegal practice - it is called price fixing and cannot be done.

It appears that the actual list price for the XL H1 is $9,500.00 and the minimum advertised price is $8,999. It is my understanding that this is a legal practice.

The idea that Canon has set a fixed price contract that distributors are forced to abide by is something that is doubtful as that is an illegal practice - it is called price fixing and cannot be done.Sorry, but the policy of Minimum Advertised Price, which is established by all major manufacturers in this business, not just Canon, is most definitely not "price fixing." We've covered this topic several times before.