Is GL2 still a wise new investment.

[Bill Dooling]

Greetings,

This is my first post on your wonderful board, I have been researching adding Video to our services, I am the dreaded enemy, the wedding "photographer".

BH Photo has the GL2 for 1,900 hundred dollars, which seems like a steal to me, do you feel like the GL2 is still a great option.

The reason I decided to enter the Video market is two fold, to maximize our advertising dollar, since it costs us close to 100.00 for every bride that walks through our door.

Secondly there are so many terrible Videographers out there, I have nothing against the ones who are doing a great professional job, if they were all doing that I would not even consider entering this market. I look on many of their websites and they Video like my aunt Maude and charge like an artist.

Then I look at the work of a Randy Stubbs and I see what Video is capable of and it just blows me away.

For editing I have decided to go with Vegas 6 DVD, after playing with free downloads and taking the VTC course. For all the other accessories I'm still looking, any and all advice would be appreciated, any pitfalls to avoid would be appreciated.

For any Videographers wishing to add Photography to their list of services please email me or call me and we could exchange ideas. I look at these two service as being part of the image business which will be blending in the future.

Bill Dooling

[Chris Hurd]

Welcome to DV Info Net, Bill. The GL2 still is a perfectly capable camcorder and is well suited for weddings. However. The title of your post troubles me a little. No camcorder is an "investment." Any camcorder depreciates the moment you open the box and take it out. Now it is a tool for making money and it will do that just fine. If you're shooting weddings, a GL2 and related gear should pay for itself within sixty days easily. But it certainly is not an investment.

Please direct topics specifically related to wedding videography to the following forum:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?f=72

Hope this helps,

[Bill Dooling]

Chris,

Thanks for the reply, I used the term investment as it is used in the dictionary, "A laying out of money for something that is expected to produce a profit or benefit" in this particular case I am hoping for both.

Bill

[Steve Olds]

$1900.00 after the $250.00 rebate? OR is it $1900.00 and then the rebate. Buy it anyway I did and I'm not sorry.

Steve

[Bill Dooling]

Thanks Steve,

Thank you for the testimonial, I'm not sure if it is before or after either way it seems like a great buy.

Do you use yours for weddings, is it acceptable in low light of a ceremony. I have heard comments from both sides, some tell me it is a great low light camera others tell me no. I know the lux reading but sometimes that is misleading as other factors contribute to the overall look.

For instance in still cameras Canon and Fuji have different ways of handling noise from high ISO low light situations, a different look and feel to the noise. I have both and prefer the Fuji over the Canon in those conditions.

Thanks again Steve

Bill

[Georg Liigand]

It depends what you compare the low light to. For example, compared to Panasonic GS400 the low light is much-much better, but VX/PDs are better than the Canon.

I'm quite sure the GL2 can also handle the wedding low light conditions, because otherwise so many wouldn't have used it for such work.

[Don Palomaki]

The GL2 is a good product and well suited for most wedding work. As noted the PD170/VX2100 can produce a brighter image in poor light, but that may not be an issue for you, especially if you can use a bit of light (say 10-20 watts) on the camcorder in dark venues.

The GL2 may be replaced in the product line within the next year or so, it is about due, but if you need a camcorder to shoot NOW, the GL2 is a good choice.

Keep in mind that individuals have preferences in camcorders just as they do in cars, and what suits one person may not please another. (Same applies to editing software for that matter.)

[Bill Dooling]

Thanks for the replies guys, it is really appreciated. I'll get the GL2 this year and revisit this again next year.

Bill

[David Ennis]

Bill, I have both the GL2 and the Sony VX2100. As has been said over and over, they are both great cams.

Nothing equals the Sony in low light, and in clinical terms I'd have to say it gives slightly crisper video (I hasten to add that crisper is not always better). I know of one wedding videographer who liked his GL2 a lot but sold it in favor of a Sony because he felt that the GL2 couldn't handle dimly lit areas of wedding receptions quite well enough. I gues he wanted to shoot freely without the lights suggested by Don above. The Sony is very impressive-looking, has a high quality feel to it, and isn't getting the volume of mechanical failure complaints that the Canon has been getting in these forums. The extreme low light capablilty and crispness of the Sony would make it my choice for news gathering and other fact/reality focused footage.

But the GL2 is the one I always grab for a single camera shoot of an event that involves drama or emotion. It has that 20x zoom, an optional frame mode together with a slightly pink bias that romanticize the footage in a subtle way, better manual exposure control, and hands-down better audio quality and contol. This is all packaged in a unit that is a bit smaller and a lot lighter than the Sony, but still impressive looking enough to distinguish you from Aunt Maude and her minicam (which is a legitimate consideration for a professional shooter). At $1750 (after the $250 rebate) it certainly is a steal compared to $2400 for the Sony.

Your photography skills and talent are going be great assets to you as a videographer. Clearly, you are going to be one of the good ones you speak of. Two pieces of advice:

1. Carry backups for everything, including the camcorder. A second, even if less expensive cam will give you an invaluable second video track, a backup audio track, and insurance against the nightmare of being "dead in the water" at perhaps the biggest event in your customers' lives.

2. Learn about and invest in audio. "It's 70% of everything you see." As a rule of thumb, plan on having, at minimum, a lavaliere mic (wireless or pocket-recorder type) on the groom and a good directional mic (shotgun or hypercardioid) aimed at the couple. The "Now Hear This" forum is a great place to do searches on and post audio-specific questions. There are lots of authoritative contributers, lead (IMO) by Douglas Spotted Eagle and Jay Massengill. Audio pimers for us amateurs have been written by audio pros Ty Ford (tyford.com) and Jay Rose (dplay.com).

Accessories I'd think about are

• An XLR adaptor ala Beachtek or SignVideo, or the more upscale MixPre by Sound Devices
• A wired remote zoom (and other function) controller that mounts on the tripod handle
• A wireless mic set in the $500 or so range from Sennheiser, Sony or Audio Technica
• Cables and adapters for accessing house sound boards in various venues
• Diffusion filters ala the Tiffen set for Video

[Bill Dooling]

Wow, Fred, thank you so much. I am printing out your reply. When you mentioned romanticized the footage in a subtle way, I realized you understood where I am coming from.

I'll bite the bullet and get two cameras, I was wavering on that issue, thanks for the advice.

I have a couple old VHS Panasonic 420 laying around that I thought I could use as backup in case something horrible happened to the other cameras, is VHS simply dead, is this a viable option for emergencies?

Bill

[David Ennis]

Originally Posted by Bill Dooling

...I am printing out your reply...

Published at last!! 8>]

Re the old VHS units, even an etch-a-sketch is better then no visuals from the ceremony. But VHS is pretty much dead in terms of something to ask money for. It just doesn't stand up to even casual comparison to miniDV. It could be the kind of insurance where you say, "Sorry, my A-level equipment failed. Please accept this VHS recording at no charge."

If you really need to economize, you can get a good used miniDV from eBay for $300 or so. A lot of legitimate sellers are simply upgrading. I've bought four for a high school video club with no problems.

[Len Imbery]

just to reply to the message about putting the lav mic on the groom....I've always been told to put it on the bride as she would be most likely to have the quieter voice (as well as being the most important person of the day) and the mic should pick up hers as well as the groom's voice....
Len

[David Ennis]

He he--think about it. I'll never say "never," but in general I think you've been misinformed. With all the fussing over the Bride's appearance do you think you could safely approach with a lav to pin on her without risking your life at the hands of her attendants? Where would the transmitter be hidden, in her bra?

The groom or officiator is a better choice, with the wire easily concealed and the transmitter in their pocket.

[Earl Thurston]

I don't have the GL2, but the GL1, and I vouch very highly for it. Think of it this way -- I've had it for five years and haven't felt compelled to upgrade until recently (at which point I want to bump up to HD.) But it's a great little SD camera. I'm certain the GL2 is even better.

[Jack Derman]

Just out of curiosity....has canon announced any replacement for the GL2? Are there any rumors of another cam in development? Just wondering becuase I too am intersted in getting a GL2, but would hate for a new version to come out in 6 months or so.