Which one would you buy?

[Jack Jenkins]

As a dedicated GL1 user, I was assuming that if Canon was gonna make a GL3 they would certainly hit us up for the same 5-6k price for this "GL3" that panasonic is asking for the HVX. I assumed this 5-6k "GL3" would have the usual "kid brother" CCD deficiency that has existed thus far between the XL and GL series.

Between the unforgiving "rebate exiration date" watching, and wearing a virtual groove in the canon website, the endless wait for this camera started to wear down my faith that any of us would ever see a GL3. I have to admit, out of desperation, I was kinda starting to fall for the HVX. Especially given the 9k price tag on the HL.

But Canon knew just what to do to erase my naughty HVX desires and win me back, far surpasing my expectations by giving us the same CCD's as the HL within our favorite GL form. The GL series seemingly has grown up.
I always felt like the quality gap between the GL - XL series was odd, so its good to see it maybe has ended.

At a MSRP of $6800, the G1 should end up being around 6k on the street. So for about the same as the HVX I get better resolution, Canon optics, cool manual iris ring on lens, and uncompressed HD. Wow. And the A1 should be a real HVX killer at 4k and no golden P2 cards to buy and better resolution to boot.

So I think I will be getting the G1, since I already had put away that amount for an HVX.

[Chris Hurd]

Jack you should post more often. Totally off-topic by the way, but ain't it a shame that the Back Room is finally closing doors tomorrow. Think I'm going to drop by and drown a Shiner in retrospect. I lost part of my hearing at a Ramones show there back in '89.

[Jack Jenkins]

Hey, well I did gush a bit, but it really was all to build my case and give a little background info as to why I was making my choice to buy the G1.

P.S. I hope your poll doesnt sway Canon to not release the G1! (at least before I get mine)

[David Lach]

I also feel like the G1 looks too much like an in-between solution compared to the A1 and H1. I suspect most folks who are serious enough about wanting Gen-Lock and most importantly SDI out will also want to go all out for the lens interchangeability of the H1 as well considering it's not much more expensive, and most people who don't have a need for those extra connectors like me will look at it simply as 2 A1 for the price of 1 G1. I fail to see where the market is for the G1.

[David Lach]

Originally Posted by Charles Perkins

i would go for the G1. simply because i have and H1 aswell and being able to synch them together with GENLOCK and both outputting HD SDI. it would better suit me.

Then why would you not buy an other H1 instead? Genuine question, I want to know who would buy the G1 and why. It doesn't make sense to me, but maybe does to you.

[Meryem Ersoz]

i'm kinda thinking one of each (which means, chris, that i can't vote your poll in its current structure. surely some third-party genius will eventually solve the uncompressed out for less money than is currently required. in fact, it seems like this camera could be the big motivator, if canon can sell enough of them. possibly another form of future-proofing? that way, me and my biz partner will be shooting the same camera. our assistant, can shoot the FX-1, if we're gathering interlaced footage, and we can be a pure hi-def operation. sweet.

looks as if i've finally found my reason to sell my trusty old GL-2 at last. boo hoo. maybe i will keep it as the underwater camera. yeah, that's it. still hanging onto the XL2 for the interchangeable lens function, unless canon surprises me with a reason to sell....say...BODY ONLY??

man, i find it hard to part with cameras. but then, i own two magic lanterns and a stereopticon, too....

[Pete Bauer]

Originally Posted by Meryem Ersoz

man, i find it hard to part with cameras. but then, i own two magic lanterns and a stereopticon, too....

I feel your pain. I have a GL2 and an XL2 both sitting idle since I went HD. Shame that nice cameras just sit. I guess we really should get busy and post in the classified ads, eh?

[Meryem Ersoz]

you first, pete!

mine aren't idle just yet...we currently shoot, primarily DV, with the XL2, FX-1, GL2 triumvirate...soon it will be the G1-A1-FX1 triumvirate, and when that happy day arrives, then i will have to think about disposing of my chums, the XL2 and the GL2, wah wah.

i don't tend to be an early adopter, though, i will let someone else iron out the bugs...so it may be Christmas before i have to think about letting go of cameras. i think i will be able to sell the GL2 to my assistant, though, so it won't be too far out of my sight, and he can own his own camera for his pet projects....

and a happy Christmas that will be....if i can wait that long. the only downside to DVinfo is that i get jealous witnessing everyone else playing with their cameras! jealousy can be expensive!

another consideration before i get too worked up is, how will the other camera manufacturer's respond? right now, i'm thinking i can maintain my canon loyalty, but let's see if sony or jvc or panny can give me an excuse......that FX-1 slipped in there with good reason, and i would say it is my favorite camera to operate....

[Jay Yellamaty]

The A1 for sure. All the features I want at a price I can afford. But I doubt it can compete with my HD 100 picture quality or feature set. I was never impressed by Canons picture quality or it's design. The A1 has changed my mind about the design but I'll have to wait and see about the picture quality.

[Kholi Hicks]

Canon XH A1.

I haven't purchased a camera since the Panasonic AG-DVC Pro, and I haven't planned on it until this bit of Canon news.

I have already set aside funds to purchase the A1 from the lowest priced retailer when it's released.

I don't have any specific needs for the G1's SDI capabilities, like many have stated.

Can't wait to get my hands on this darned camera.

[Robert Watts]

I have a GL 2 and mostly use it to record soccer games. I have been waiting for the camera to upgrade to HD. I am a little concerned that the A1 lense is not as long as my GL 2.

I might start another thread getting opinions on the better format for soccer video. I have been looking at the JVC HD1US with its 720p format.

[Abdulla Bastaki]

hmm... the cameras look amazing, i drooled for a while.. but i think id rather wait till i could get some footage to look at. ive used both the gl-1&2 and the xl1-&2 and i havent had the chance to anything other than those... canon boy. i just like the colors that the xl1-2 make.. they look closer to what i want.. the gl's were really good but their images somehow feel softer.. and maybe its cuz of their lcd, the gl lcds give this ghosty highly lit feel. but ive noticed that the gl's perform better in low light.

i think these new cams.. esp the A1... i really want it. i think it'll be awesome... but id rather wait till i see what it can do.

[Trond Saetre]

The A1 will be my choice when I finally leave my XM2 and jump into the HDV world.

[R.P. Cuenco]

i haven't seen any footage from the a1/g1...
ive never seen the camera upclose...
...yet i want one, badly.

i've had an hc1 for sometime now and it has suited me well. but after long nights of using nattress filters to get gamma, color, and cadence just right, dealing with unstable shots due to the small size of it, and pretty mediocre manual controls, i feel its time for me to upgrade to something closer to 24p/f.

originally, it was the dvx100. then i acquired the hc1, and from then on, i HAD to have hd. i didnt care if it was super compressed long-gop mumbo jumbo confabulated hunk of junk mpeg-2. as long as it made my friends and clients jaws drop, it was worth it.

where does the a1 fit in? other than basically pwning every camera in the $5000 range (granted it has a fixed lens), its pretty much what the doctor ordered. hd-sdi is for losers with their fancy shmancy raids and dual 23" setups with an outboard client studio montior. viva la hdv editing on consumer computers! and it appears that i can still use my letus35 flip with it!

[Jack Jenkins]

Originally Posted by David Lach

Then why would you not buy an other H1 instead? Genuine question, I want to know who would buy the G1 and why. It doesn't make sense to me, but maybe does to you.

I think the same reasons the G series always has been attractive, namely compact form, high end image quality and a lot less than the XL or HL series. Besides at the time I purchased my GL1 I was comparing it to my friends XL1 and the image quality was virtually indistinguishable. When I looked into lens rental, other than some awesome wide-angle lens, I could'nt really justify the 2-3k price difference for lens interchangeability, lack of XLR's is another story, and I could justify that...almost. I shot my short with the GL1 and never needed any other lenses, and its smaller size made it very convenient.

Anyway we now have a G series camera with the exact CCDs as its big brother, XLRs, 24F and even SDI out. It has all the good stuff, just packed into a smaller package with a fixed lens for 3k less (G1) ... -SDI 5k less! (A1).

Who wouldnt want this cam?