Just curious as to people's opinions on how the XH A1 would perform in SD mode versus an XL2.
I will be buying one of these two cameras. I will be shooting mostly SD, but would like the option of HDV.

Cheers,
Me.

Honestly the SD on the A1 is spot on to the XL2. I owned the Xl2, sold it for the A1 and couldn't tell the difference in the video when it came to SD. I say get the A1, especially since the prices are so close and you can have that option of HD if you want it later.

- Kyle

I shot a lot of interviews for a friend with his XL2, then after I got my XH A1 he wanted me to shoot with it. I haven't done a side by side comparison, but he says the XH A1 stuff looked better. Probably because of the higher resolution chips and the tweaks you can do. He's retired his XL2 and bought an XH A1 for himself. I'd say the best advantage of the XH A1 over the XL2 is the lens. The XL2 pretty much requires a wide angle adapter if you do a lot of interior shooting. The XH A1's lens is significantly wider.

Thanks for the feedback.
The price diff is so minimal, I'll go for the A1.

Cheers,
Dennis.

We switched two XL2s for two A1s ... The A1s produce a better image when recorded in HDV and rendered to SD DVD. Not tried recording in SD in camera directly. It's easier to shoot 'steady' with the xl2 shoulder mount, but that's the only thing I can think of... (you can build/buy shoulder supports). Any other comparison would either be a draw, or in favour of the A1. Nearly all in favour of the A1, in fact.

Absolutely, the wider lens of the A1 is a godsend .. particularly with the WD-H72 wide-angle adapter, takes it to ~26mm equiv (compared to the stock XL2's ~42mm equiv, huge difference).