Various GL1 / XM1 questions

[Richard Guaty]

Just got this GL1 a few weeks ago and I'm having trouble with the exposure levels.

Like Final Cut Pro, if the light is overexposed and the zebra lines are on, the lines will appear were there is too much light. Simple right?

No Matter how I adjust the aperature, shutter and/or gain, there will be at least a few lines appearing on something bright. For any projects I do this is unacceptable. Of course I can make it really dark and there will be no zebra lines/overexposed areas but this overlooks the enhancing functions of the GL1's lighting adjustments.

Can anyone offer advice? How can I maintain the good lighting that this camera offers without having overexposure?


Thanks all,

Rich

[Ken Tanaka]

These cameras only have about 5 stops of latitude. So eliminating every bright highlight will be a challenge, even if you light your scenes.

Don't obsess about the GL1's Zebra display. I believe I recall that it has only one tolerance -- 100%-- so it's of somewhat limited value. You'll nearly always get a line or two to flicker. For bright scenes use a neutral density filter to bring you into a more workable exposure range.

[Jeremiah Rickert]

Well, maybe not fun.

With the GL1...you just need to hook your three-way cable up to your VCR, put the GL1 in VCR mode, and THEN hit record (and pause if you want). Once you hit record, it realizes that's supposed to be piping in the signal and you'll be able to see it.

Furthermore, if you have a laserdisc player or a VCR with an S-VHS on it, you can use just the sound cables from the three-way and use the SVIDEO for the video. I've done it many times. Works beautifully.

Hope this helps...

Jeremiah

[Mike Grohowski]

Quick Question.
I have Final Cut Pro 4.5
I have a Canon Gl 1.
When shooting using Movie (frame mode) what capture settings do I use? Should I put 30 frame rate and no fields?
Some have told me I just capture using the regular DV 29.97 settings.

Also - does the audio get put off a bit because I would assume the audio is still recording at 29.97?

One other thing...
Filters - It seems that Polarizing and ND are filters most agree are useful. Do you use these at the same time? How do I put them on? Also - how do I use it with the Canon Wide Angle Adapter?

One more thing while I am thinking about it.
RE: Sound...
I have a Sennheiser ME66 or 64, can't remember- its late. With the module power, Behringer MBX1002 field mixer and the Beachtek Dx6. Does this seem like a proper setup? I have the mic XLR going into the Mixer XLR input and from the mixer I have a 1/4 jack output going to the beachtek XLR input and then the beachteck going into the Gl1 mini jack. I have Mic ATT on.

[Ken Tanaka]

Use the standard NTSC 29.97 fps rate for capture. The GL-1 simulates progressive scan but produces standard frame rates. Nothing special for audio, either.

Filters are specific problem-solving tools. Your need for a polarizer or particular neutral density (ND) filters is determined by what you're shooting.

Unfortunately you won't be able to mount filters onto the WD58 wide angle adapter.

I'll leave the audio question to others.

[Matt Lean]

Hi, I have a quick question. If I recorder footage from my GL1 and used my sony camcorder to import the footage to my computer, will I lose resolution? The reason why I am doing this is because of my gl1 heads.

[Rob Lohman]

As long as both camera's are DV, then no, you will not loose any
resolution or quality. DV is DV. However, one camera may have
problems reading other camera's tapes. Due to small differences
in the tape systems and alignments etc.

[Matt Lean]

Thanks

[Jason Leonard]

hey guys,
i am gearing up to shoot a feature lenght dv flick with my GL1. it is now the point in preproduction where i buy a boom mic.
i've been looking around, particulary at the azden SGM series.
i was wondering if anyone had any sugesstions for me in this arena.
needless to say i want the best for my $$$, which is less than 300$.
do you think i should go XLR style and spend an extra hundred bucks on an adapter, or is there a good mini pin mic out there that i can slap on a boom pole, get great sound and stay within my budget?
any suggestions?

[Jeremiah Rickert]

I use an Azden SGM-2X with my GL1, with a Studio1 XLR adapter. (similar to the Beachtek)

If you want to get any kind of decent sound, you'd probably be better off getting the adapter AND a mic. That will probably be around 400-450 total, but it's worth it.

Jeremiah

[Rick Gann]

I completely agree with Jason,

I am using the studio one xlr box and the SGM-1x with my GL1 setup and it has made a big difference

Rick

[Waldemar Winkler]

I haven't yet made much use of shotgun microphones in my work, but I often connect to feeds from audio mixers. I use a Sign Video XLR adapter/2ch. mixer, and have found it an indispensable item for the GL1. I even use it on my XL1s sometimes.

[Jeff Asmar]

Hi all.

I started experementing with a Canon GL1. I went to a race track the other day as I wanted to try to film some different shots off a pod that my friend had installed on his formula type race car. The footage was great until the cars started picking up speed and that's when I started getting this mosaic like noise on the screen and the footage came out drastically unusable. When the cars stopped again everything was back to normal which also rules out the DV tape being defected as well as a dirty video head issue. I tried messing with the shutter speed and the image stabilizer but this didn't solve the problem. What surprised me is that we installed a normal DV cam and the picture turned out perfect. What could be the problem? Is it a setting thing? Is it a mechanical thing where it was due to the vibration of the car at high speed? I tried to look it up in the canon catalogue but didn't really find a solution. Please could someone possibly help me with this? Thanks!

[Ken Tanaka]

It might help if you were more precise in describing what you were shooting and how you were handling the camera.

[Chris Hurd]

And how close were you to this action?