GL / XM assorted posts, 2003

[Phillip Coolman]

I mailed mine in at the end of August. I checked my e-mail from Canon and it indicates the check was mailed on Oct 29th. Haven't received the check yet (Nov 3rd). However, it looks like it is taking slightly more than 8 weeks.

Phil

i just got my camera back from canon to have it serviced for the blank white screen that would show up on my lcd and in the service details it says they replaced camera PCB ASSY along w/ some other adjustments.
its more out of curiosity as to what was done to my cam but does anyone know what PCB means?

[Chris Fangio]

PCB = Printed circuit board

Chris F.

would they have had to remove the glass on my lens to get to this?
because it came back with a nice little white speck of something underneath the glass that i now have to send BACK to canon to get fixed...putting all my projects off again for another 2 weeks.

[Matt McDermitt]

Hi, I recently sold my GL2 in the hopes of purchasing the dvx100. Unfortunately I can't seem to get the money together! :)

My question is this: Would it be a good idea to purchase the XM2 (pal version,) even though I live in the US? I am REALLY after the film look and if the XM2 can give me 25P thats damn close enough!!

JUST AS IMPORTANT: Is it easy to convert PAL to NTSC in either After Effects or Vegas 4, once you have exported your final project (in pal)?

PLEASE! ANY HELP YOU CAN PROVIDE ME WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

Thanks!!!

Matt

[Ryan Krga]

I heard this once, I don't remember where, but I never had the question answered.

Does having image stablization on make the field of view less wide compared to having the image stablization off?

Ryan Krga

[Ken Tanaka]

Hello Ryan.
You might be referring to versions of electronic image stabilization in which the image is oversampled on the CCD. A subset of those "gross" pixels are then recorded after the camera dynamically nudges them in the x/y plane to attempt stabilization.

I don't think that this presents any narrower field of view, since the "gross" area of the picture is not really part of the main frame anyway.

[Ken Tanaka]

Matt,
At first glance it would seem to be a close match, eh? 25fps in Frame mode -vs- 24fps progressive? There have been many discussions on the topic of using PAL in NTSC-land and no definitive answer.

Here are two big factors to consider.

1. Dealing with PAL outside of your computer will be a bit of a hassle, and could become a much more expensive undertaking than just saving-up for the DVX100. For starters, you'll need a PAL-capable production monitor unless you plan to completely stay within the computer realm. There are many dual PAL/NTSC production monitors available but they're not cheap.

2. Buying a PAL camera in the U.S. will probably mean that any repairs will have to be made overseas. Canon's U.S. service facilities are not set up to deal with PAL equipment.

In the end, of course, you will still not have a true 24p camera. If that's what you really want, my advice would be to wait and continue saving for it.

[Frank Granovski]

Someone posted this on dv.com's cam forum.

I'm in Hong Kong. Today I went to a shop to order a Canon XM2 (since no shops stock them, it's all by special order). The salesman phoned Canon and was told the model is discontinued, and that they (Canon HK) had not been informed whether a new model will replace the XM2...In any case, it is no longer available. Add this to all the rebates in the USA for the GL2 and XL1s, and it does seem that Canon is on the verge of something. Since I was convinced of getting the XL2, I'm now frustrated. Though if a new and improved model is really coming, it might be worth a little wait. No news on Canon's web sites either in the USA or Asia, though.

[Matt McDermitt]

Your probably right. I think im just going to keep saving for another month or two unless someone gives me a reason to do otherwise! :)

[Ken Tanaka]

It would sure make for a short product life for the GL2...just over a year.

[Peter Moore]

You know what rebates mean: new cameras are on their way!

[Mike Altruda]

sounds like you turned off the "demo" mode sometime.

[Trond Saetre]

The Canon XM2 is still available in Norway.
A local Canon dealer in Bergen, Norway told me today that the XM2 is not discontinued.

[Jeff Price]

Not 10 minutes ago an adult Bald Eagle was circling over my house. Since the GL2 had a tape in it and the battery on (me bad) I went outside and started shooting.

I've always had trouble with focus under these conditions. The auto-focus will work some times, totally blow the focus and other times hunt. The probelm is that the bird in question may not show up large enough in the viewfinder to manual focus on. I feel like I'm close but the viewfinder is not sharp enough to tell for sure. All the while I'm trying to get good focus while holding the camera pointing straight up. If the image is large enough the focus is no problem.

Any tips? My wife's old Sony had a focus setting for infinity that worked well for situations like this. Focus zebras would sure be nice...