Various GL1 / XM1 questions

Hey Guys!

I just plunked down some money and bought a wireless Sennheiser lavalier mic and receiver to do a wedding. I can put the transmitter on the groom no problem, but I am worried about where the hell to put the receiver box. The GL1 is so compact there's really nowhere to attach the durn receiver box. Have any of you done this before and if you have, do you have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

I want to have good sound on my newly ordered dv camera
the Canon XM1 {in europe} ,so after reading many posts regarding ext mics, which is the best adapter with this camera,
the Beachtek xlr adapter or the Studio 1 xlr pro.mic will be hand held.

[Ken Tanaka]

I have a Beachtek and have had no trouble with it. Some have reported that their Beachtek produces a low-frequency hum. Nobody that I've seen has reported trouble with the Studio One, not to say that it's perfect.

Honestly, I think either will be fine.

[Ken Tanaka]

There's no pretty, or even convenient, way to mount a wireless receiver on the GL1. Azden has one that mounts to the camera's shoe (on the handle). Clever, but irrelevelant for your purposes.

Depending on the length of the receiver's cable you may be able to mount it to your belt or drop it in your pocket. More likely you'll have to Velcro-mount it to either the camera's handle or the lcd door for handheld shooting.

[Ozzie Alfonso]

Likewise, I have used my Beachtek for several years with the XL-1 and the Sony TRV900 with no problems. In fact, I prefer it to the MA-100 since it gives you separate pots for mic and line level inputs plus you can toggle between mono and stereo. I can't speak for the Studio One since I have not used it.

Hum? What hum?

[mdreyes23]

So I see that the GL-1 now has a $250 rebate. What was it before, I forgot?

[Dan C.]

According to this (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1090) thread, $100.

The increase is interesting and would surely add fuel to the argument that they are replacing it with another model.

Hmmm.....

[mdreyes23]

Damn. Wish I could have waited just a bit longer. I bought my GL-1 early March because I needed to shoot some footage around late March. Could have saved some money or waited for a better model.

What's the best way to sell a GL-1? Is there a way to trade that in?

Don't forget, Canon's rebates look like junk mail when you get them. They come in an envelope labeled "Advertising Bureau" or something like that. It's very easy to toss them in the garbage with the rest of the junk mail you tend to get.

I bought my camera in December and just got it last week.

[Don Palomaki]

Many dealers will do trade-ins; e.g., B&H, but you may do better selling it yourself. You effectively split the dealers profit with the new buyer.

With almost all technology products (except Windows - the power of monopoly) prices go down over time. Don't buy until you need it, and be prepared to see a 10% price drop a week or two later.

[Mark Reidy]

Hi,

I'll be near the National Archives soon and I've heard that you can view film footage that has been dubbed to Umatic tape. Has anyone tried to dub this to DV via GL-1? I understand that the Umatic viewers have a BNC video out. I don't need 'broadcast' quality or cost. It would be nice if it is good quality. On another note - I also understand that you can view 16 & 35 mm film, would the quality of taping that right off a screen be OK, better or worse that UMatic?

Thanks in advance
Mark

I've done this with good results. I work a TV station, so I had an engineer make adapter cables for me. I went straight from the deck to the camera without a problem.

I've also recorded 16mm film from the projector with so-so results. It took a lot of tweaking bewteen scenes to get it right. That could've just been from really old, deteriorating film.

Hope this helps.

[Jeff Donald]

Hi,

Go the tape route. Umatic delivers a good picture. The problem may be with how old the tape is and how its been stored. I would think the Archives would store it properly but who knows. Composite video and line level audio should make for a decent dub. If it's old enough there is probably no sound. Trying to shoot movies off a screen or wall is full of problems. The frame rates are all wrong and the video flickers. The camera also sees the texture to the screen or wall and it makes the film look even grainier. good luck

Jeff Donald

[Aaron Koolen]

Hi all. I am almost sold on getting myself an XM1 but I have one more thing someone just brought to light regarding it. Someone told me that the audio on the XM1 has Automatic Gain Control and that I might be in trouble if I used it for anything like filing a short film or movie.

Now, I will be getting a shotgun mic and boom with XLR adapter for it, but from what I hear that will still go through the AGC circuitry so I'll get strange happenings when shooting things like quiet sounds and the like. Is this correct?

Can someone offer some input into this - Whether my concerns are unfounded or a possible solution. I'm thinking that I might have to go to a DAT tape and use a clapper board for syncing or something? Someone even mentioned that I can get a mini-disk recorder and connect a mic to that.

Thanks in advance for the help.
Aaron

[Adrian Douglas]

A good Sony Mini Disk is a great low cost alternative to DAT. You'll have to get an adapter to go from XLR to 1/8" and make sure you use a mike that is self powering(ie does not require phantom power). You'd have to do this with a DAT to unless you plan on spending around $5000+.