XL1 / XL1S various posts

[Chris Hurd]

Hi Ken,

Please use the search feature and enter "glidecam" -- there are at least three other Glidecam threads with about twenty-odd posts which might help you.

[Ken Tanaka]

Thanks very much, Chris. Will do.

[John Klein]

What I see is that alaising is most evident when the picture is moving.

So a higher quality tripod and fluid head are most important. (+/- $350)

IMO I think that normal sharpness presets on the XL1S is going to be cleaner than with the sharpness dialed up. (Maybe midway is the best compromise?)

I find the times when I zoom to be a bit noisy, so I try to limit the zooms and the zoom speed.

BTW I've been trying the Varizoom RC units and do find that isolating my self physically from the camera (ie I'm not pressing the buttons ON the camera) during zooms to help. I'm not sure yet if I prefer the RCs to be on the tripod handle or in my lap "loose (which is really! off the camera)?"

I also see less of it through the crappier composite signal. I bought a nicer TV and now see more flaws than I did when I had my old TV. The new TV picks up on detail better. Esp. through the s-video.

[Ozzie Alfonso]

I recall reading an article, I think in the Watchdog, about adapting the XL1 for heaftier, longer-lasting batteries - I believe the article described Anton Bauer battery packs. I can't find the article but does anyone have any idea what works? I need batteries that last longer than the Canon and can be recharged relatively quickly. I know Anton Bauer has the QR-XL1C Battery Kit especially made for the XL1. Does anyone have any experience with this kit? How does it comapre to Canon's CH910 dual battery adapter?

Thank you in advance for any tips and sugestions.

Hi All,

Im about to make a switch to a XL1s as my main camera to shoot wedding videos.

My main concern is the lack of extended battery life that I have enjoyed with my VX2000e at present.

With the standard BP930 battery, how long does it last continuously in the field? Canon claims 90mins.. is this continuos shooting time or standby time?

How long will the BP945 last?

Are there any alternatives to using the Canon batteries? ie, 3rd party manufacturers?

How do you feel about the XL1s's low light performance on the dance floor, is it anywhere near as good as the Sony's or noisier?

Any comments are welcome :)

Regards,

Yeah, I've been doing a little reading on the net. The general advice seems to be keep the contrast within the 7.5 to 100 IRE range, adjusting when necessary, and and play with the depth of field, focusing on the foreground, blurring the background just a little. Does everybody agree with that?

I've been noticing that the picture out of the XL1s using the composite port has quite a significant amount of noise on it, regardless of the cable's quality or length.

The noise is stationary, like a transparently superimposed image of verticle banding.

Has anyone else noticed this? To get around this problem when copying to VHS tapes, I've been using my little Panasonic DS11 which outputs crystal clear.

Because of the nature of the noise I think it's more likely to be low quality output componants rather than noise induced into the cables... It's not REALLY bad, it's just annoying.

So far I havn't tested the SVHS connector as I don't have anything capable of taking it.

Paul

[Steve Kim]

In my experience,
930 lasted an hour and 945 lasted an hour and half.

VX2000/PD-150's low light performance is better than XL1S'.

How much? I can't say exactly, but I think it is noticeable.
These two areas are the weak points of XL1S comparing to
VX2000/PD150.

Auto focus is not as quick and stable as VX200/PD150 either.

I still prefer the more natural color tone and manual control of XL1S.

Please look under the General Discussion section and look for the heading "Lenmar 6 hour batteries for XL1s for $100 - Any good? "

I received good advice from the people there.

[John Klein]

Just curious,

What kind of TV are you using? My new TV looks very different than my old one. I think there are also certain settings built in to TVs that artificially add to the pic. Usually they work great with helping to view local TV but don't always help watching native sources like our nice cams.

Also, what are your sharpness and other presets at? Over +4 is shows a kind of static IMO. Gain too after +12.

good luck and keep us posted.

Well I'm using the AV input on the TV which should bypass all the RF stages in the TV an not taint the picture too much, but that aside, the Panasonic doesn't display the same artifacts.
It's quite bizzare.

I usually just have the sharpness on the factory default setting, and the gain set at -3dB (Gives the least noise).

The noise doesn't show up on the computer screen when I've firewired the video across.

I'm just glad the rest of the camera seems to work okay :)

my XL1s sounds terrible-

I'm using the MA-100 with two Shure 57's to record audio (these mics sound great with other gear). The mics are on stands several feet away, so I'm certain this is not the well documented motor noise issue.

The audio I'm getting has an unacceptable signal to noise ratio (a rather strong hiss). Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to play with another XL1s for comparison purposes. I have sent the camera back to Canon for an unrelated repair and asked them to look into the audio. They said nothing was wrong with it. I'm curious to know if any of you are in love with the audio you're getting. Or are the Shure 57's innapropriate for the XL1s?

[Don Palomaki]

How is the noise floor with no mic connected?
Try record some footage with no mic connected, capture it and check the noise floor levels. At the MIC asetting it should be on the order of 55-60 dB below max record level.

If the noise is OK with no mic connected, the noise is coming from the mic and/or leads.

[Steve Kim]

I am considering buying a PAL version of XL1S.

I prefer PAL because it has more lines (625) than NTSC (525 lines), better color, better contrast and 25 fps vs. 30 fps.

My problem is I live in USA where NTSC is standard.

Where can I buy it? How does the warrenty work?

Do you think using PAL version in US is too much trouble and is not much noticeable gain in the picture quality?

Or is it worth to have PAL version?

Do I lose a lot in terms of picture quality on the conversion to
NTSC in case I need to convert?

Video is my hobby and I think I mostly view the images at
my PC monitor using Premire6.0, or at PAL monitor.

[Steve Nunez]

Hello everyone,

I've been following just about every thread and website that has current information on the XL1S....I don't own any DV cam at the moment but will likely buy the XL1S in a few days...I'm setup with a Macintosh G4 using Final Cut Pro as well as After Effects 5.0 etc....I've made a few small videos for web use in the past using a Sony Digital 8 and that's been my exposure into the realm of DV editing....i've got to say it's exciting and i'm hooked!

..needless to say i have a few questions i'm hoping someone here with the "S" model can elaborate on...here goes;

1.- I've read that the manual focus is not truly manual in that it's electronically controlled via servo- I've also read that it's inconsistent in speed and focus when using the manual setting- if I use the "auto" mode- how likely would the focusing system be in locking on a moving object assuming you pan along with that moving object- such as a hawk in flight- would the S be able to maintain focus lock on a moving subject of that kind? Will it follow the hawk if it flys away or towards the camera? This is very important to me as I was chosen by the NYC park Dept. to put together a photography show using my still images i've taken with a digital Nikon F5- i want to suppliment the presentation with video footage and am wondering if the S can maintain focus lock on a moving hawk.

2.- If I purchase the EF adapter and purchase an EOS lens will it focus automatically or strictly manually? I'm looking to do some long range videography with a 300 or 400mm lens due to it's 7.1 multiplier and just want to know if all focusing has to be done manually.

3.- Does video quality degrade when reusing the same DV tape- I plan on making a bulk purchase of DV tapes (eBay) but wonder about image degradation when re-using the DV tape- any info?

4. Panasonic DV tapes seem to be much less expensive than Sony or other makers- any reason for this- are the Panasonic's reputed to be inferior?

5. If i record using 4 channels on the audio- will the captured DV footage be larger in file size than that of 2 channel dv footage?

Thanks to the Watchdog and all of you who have submitted content- it's a great thing this "internet age"..

Have fun.