XL1 / XL1S various posts

Edwin Quan · June 2nd, 2003, 10:21 PM

i filmed an entire tape this sunday, outdoors. after reviewing the footage, there appears to be this fuzzy blue line going across the entire bottom edge of the entire tape. is this a known problem? i was using an xl1s with the stock lens and a tiffen uv haze-1 filter. thanks.

Thomas Berg Petersen · June 3rd, 2003, 07:17 AM

Hi Forum,
I asked Cavision the following question:

Hi Cavision,

I bought a Cavision bellows Matte box a while ago, and now I am interested if it will work together with an anamorphic adapter either from Optex or Century?

I have a Canon XL1S PAL camera. Thanks!!!

Here is what Cavision answered:

Dear Thomas,

An anamorphic adapter lens can be used with our matte box.

Regards,

Cavision Enterprises Ltd.

Steve Siegel · June 3rd, 2003, 07:45 PM

Recently a few people have recommended cleaning video heads between changing tape brands, or if the heads are dirty.
It appears that the preferred materials (better than abrasive cleaning tapes) are a chamois swab and a fluorinated hydrocarbon solvent. That's all fine, but can someone explain how to do it. As I look into my XL1-s, I think I can see a (one) video head, but surely couldn't reach it safely with a swab, and even if I could only about 25% of the head surface is exposed. You can't get it to turn with the chamber open. Is this really something ordinary people can do?

Steve Siegel,
Miami

Ken Tanaka · June 3rd, 2003, 08:24 PM

Steve,
I'd really recommend sticking with a cleaning tape. (No pun intended.) As long as you don't overuse them (ex: daily, weekly) they'll pose no trouble at all. They're not quite the sandpaper that you may have been led to believe. Leave the swabs work to Canon technicians who have the tools and skills to perform such cleaning properly, generally with the transport subsystem removed from the chassis.

Rob Lohman · June 4th, 2003, 01:28 PM

One of the longest threads on this board is about this "problem".
Yes, it is a known problem. Most people don't have much problems
with it...

The thread can be found here

Why isn't this usually a problem:

1) output for TV: the line is outside the TV safe area and will not display on a TV

2) most people letterbox their movies to make them more cinema like. This will overwrite the line with a black bar

3) for web output you need to lower the resolution. Crop the last couple of lines before resizing and the problem is gone

4) if you are going to view the full resolution video on a computer in DV/DiVX/QuickTime/MPEG etc. you will see it. Depending on the situation it might not be such a bad thing to either overwrite that couple of lines with a little black bar (just a couple of pixels high) on top and bottom of the picture or crop it out.

Christopher Hughes · June 5th, 2003, 03:44 PM

Has anyone tried or used the wide angle converter made by OPTEX, one with full zoom through??

How does this perform in relation to the similar or equivalent one by CENTURY OPTICS???

Or is the difference only really noticeable with expert equipment or under very tight tests????

Hugh DiMauro · June 6th, 2003, 10:38 AM

Does anybody have any tried and true techniques to shoot in regular movie mode with cinema-like results? It seems that the partial loss of resolution/picture quality in frame mode irks me. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Chris Hurd · June 6th, 2003, 10:57 PM

The how-to-get-a-film-look question is so prevalent that we've dedicated an entire forum to it (see Towards a Film Look Using DV). Although all points are arguable, my own feeling is that the quality of content and production values far outweigh a "film look" anyday. That said, put your money into filters, a matte boxs and careful lighting. I'm sure others will have additional advice,

Lorinda Norton · June 7th, 2003, 10:59 AM

We shot a graduation ceremony in a large pavilion that uses fluorescent lights. One of our XL1s' was, I'm guessing, 40-50 feet from the stage doing medium shots, plus some zoomed close-ups. Our other XL1s was off to one side shooting close-ups, while another company's GL2 was front and off-center doing medium shots.

Everything looks good except for the medium shots from the far away XL1s and the GL2. There seems to be what looks kind of like color desaturation that goes in and out intermittently. Can't speak for the GL2, but our cameras were set on Av, with the gain at +6.

What happened?

Don Palomaki · June 7th, 2003, 03:10 PM

Using aperture priority exposure mode. Check the shutter speed on the recording from the data code. You may find that the shutter speed has changed from 1/60 or 1/20 during the time of shifting color.

This might be cause by a beat between the pulsed light output of the flourescents (120 Hz arc) and the camcorder field rate (59.94) If this is the case, using shutter priority at 1/60 or perhaps 1/120 would probably avoid the problem.

Dick Steele · June 9th, 2003, 06:59 PM

New user here just thought I would ask a few questions.

I am currently weighing the purchase of an audio set-up for my film work. I do not wish to have audio locked in cam, prefer to have audio and video separated until post. Looking at something like this:

-HHB portadisc or Tascam DA-P1
-Sennheiser me66/k6 or MKH-416/418 (stereo)
-sennheiser, Lectrosonic, or Azden Wireless system (x2)
-Shure FP-33 field mixer

Now, the goal here is to create a complete audio system that will endure camera change and time, so that I do not need to purchase extra widgets and doohickeys in the future.

Question time: For those of you on this board, am I missing anything? Are there better set-ups? Personal Set-up recommendations, etc. I am open for suggestion; it has been my experience that buying high quality equipment saves a lot of headache, in the long run. Also, has anyone used the beachtek DXA-6?

Cheers,

Dick Steele
3rd Coast Cinematics

K. Forman · June 9th, 2003, 08:21 PM

I used the Korg D12, and it was great- 12 channels, 4.5 gig HD that would record like 18 hours of cd audio on one channel, digital in/out, 1/4 / xlr in and out... it was perfect. Except for the fact that it needed to be plugged in. If the power was interrupted, you lost everything that wasn't saved. If you will have reliable power, I'd say this was the way to go.

Charles Papert · June 9th, 2003, 11:32 PM

I use a Sennheiser 416 for my own stuff, it's a lovely sounding mike and solid as a rock. Most of the recordists I work with on a pro level use Shoeps or newer mikes I've never heard off, but naturally they are much more expensive. The 416 is sort of "old school", but works just fine for me.

Edwin Quan · June 11th, 2003, 09:23 AM

anyone use this bag for their xl1s? i'm really considering this bag because of its size. does the viewfinder and mic have to be removed in order for the xl1s to fit in there? thanks.

Dick Steele · June 11th, 2003, 10:28 AM

Does anyone know about this stereo shotgun mic, the MKH-418 M-S Stereo Mic?

Sennheiser uses a 5-pin XLR connector to carry a stereo signal, instead of a 3-pin and states that it is designed for film and broadcast use. What would be the effect on sound when using a stereo shotgun for a boom mic or camera mic. How does it work? Is there anything on the market at current to facilitate the use of 5-pin XLR? Would it be necessary to step it down to 3-pin?

Lot of questions, little info on the net.

Cheers,

Dick Steele
3rd Coast Cinematics

June 2nd, 2003, 10:21 PM	#826
Edwin Quan Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: United States Posts: 38	xl1s / blue line on bottom border of video? i filmed an entire tape this sunday, outdoors. after reviewing the footage, there appears to be this fuzzy blue line going across the entire bottom edge of the entire tape. is this a known problem? i was using an xl1s with the stock lens and a tiffen uv haze-1 filter. thanks.

June 3rd, 2003, 07:17 AM	#827
Thomas Berg Petersen Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: NYC, NY Posts: 111	Does Cavision's Mattebox go with an anamorphic adapter match - yes Hi Forum, I asked Cavision the following question: Hi Cavision, I bought a Cavision bellows Matte box a while ago, and now I am interested if it will work together with an anamorphic adapter either from Optex or Century? I have a Canon XL1S PAL camera. Thanks!!! Here is what Cavision answered: Dear Thomas, An anamorphic adapter lens can be used with our matte box. Regards, Cavision Enterprises Ltd. __________________ Thomas

June 3rd, 2003, 07:45 PM	#828
Steve Siegel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Posts: 840	video head cleaning Recently a few people have recommended cleaning video heads between changing tape brands, or if the heads are dirty. It appears that the preferred materials (better than abrasive cleaning tapes) are a chamois swab and a fluorinated hydrocarbon solvent. That's all fine, but can someone explain how to do it. As I look into my XL1-s, I think I can see a (one) video head, but surely couldn't reach it safely with a swab, and even if I could only about 25% of the head surface is exposed. You can't get it to turn with the chamber open. Is this really something ordinary people can do? Steve Siegel, Miami

June 3rd, 2003, 08:24 PM	#829
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Steve, I'd really recommend sticking with a cleaning tape. (No pun intended.) As long as you don't overuse them (ex: daily, weekly) they'll pose no trouble at all. They're not quite the sandpaper that you may have been led to believe. Leave the swabs work to Canon technicians who have the tools and skills to perform such cleaning properly, generally with the transport subsystem removed from the chassis. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

June 4th, 2003, 01:28 PM	#830
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	One of the longest threads on this board is about this "problem". Yes, it is a known problem. Most people don't have much problems with it... The thread can be found here Why isn't this usually a problem: 1) output for TV: the line is outside the TV safe area and will not display on a TV 2) most people letterbox their movies to make them more cinema like. This will overwrite the line with a black bar 3) for web output you need to lower the resolution. Crop the last couple of lines before resizing and the problem is gone 4) if you are going to view the full resolution video on a computer in DV/DiVX/QuickTime/MPEG etc. you will see it. Depending on the situation it might not be such a bad thing to either overwrite that couple of lines with a little black bar (just a couple of pixels high) on top and bottom of the picture or crop it out. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

June 5th, 2003, 03:44 PM	#831
Christopher Hughes Major Player Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Sunderland, England (y Merida, Mexico) Posts: 269	wide angle adapters/converters Has anyone tried or used the wide angle converter made by OPTEX, one with full zoom through?? How does this perform in relation to the similar or equivalent one by CENTURY OPTICS??? Or is the difference only really noticeable with expert equipment or under very tight tests????

June 6th, 2003, 10:38 AM	#832
Hugh DiMauro Trustee Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Central Florida Posts: 1,207	Can the XL1S still give "cinema-like" characteristics when NOT in frame mode? Does anybody have any tried and true techniques to shoot in regular movie mode with cinema-like results? It seems that the partial loss of resolution/picture quality in frame mode irks me. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

June 6th, 2003, 10:57 PM	#833
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	The how-to-get-a-film-look question is so prevalent that we've dedicated an entire forum to it (see Towards a Film Look Using DV). Although all points are arguable, my own feeling is that the quality of content and production values far outweigh a "film look" anyday. That said, put your money into filters, a matte boxs and careful lighting. I'm sure others will have additional advice, __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

June 7th, 2003, 10:59 AM	#834
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	intermittent color changes on medium shots We shot a graduation ceremony in a large pavilion that uses fluorescent lights. One of our XL1s' was, I'm guessing, 40-50 feet from the stage doing medium shots, plus some zoomed close-ups. Our other XL1s was off to one side shooting close-ups, while another company's GL2 was front and off-center doing medium shots. Everything looks good except for the medium shots from the far away XL1s and the GL2. There seems to be what looks kind of like color desaturation that goes in and out intermittently. Can't speak for the GL2, but our cameras were set on Av, with the gain at +6. What happened? __________________ Lorinda

June 7th, 2003, 03:10 PM	#835
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,488	Using aperture priority exposure mode. Check the shutter speed on the recording from the data code. You may find that the shutter speed has changed from 1/60 or 1/20 during the time of shifting color. This might be cause by a beat between the pulsed light output of the flourescents (120 Hz arc) and the camcorder field rate (59.94) If this is the case, using shutter priority at 1/60 or perhaps 1/120 would probably avoid the problem. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

June 9th, 2003, 06:59 PM	#836
Dick Steele Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: TEXAS Posts: 62	Film Production Audio Questions New user here just thought I would ask a few questions. I am currently weighing the purchase of an audio set-up for my film work. I do not wish to have audio locked in cam, prefer to have audio and video separated until post. Looking at something like this: -HHB portadisc or Tascam DA-P1 -Sennheiser me66/k6 or MKH-416/418 (stereo) -sennheiser, Lectrosonic, or Azden Wireless system (x2) -Shure FP-33 field mixer Now, the goal here is to create a complete audio system that will endure camera change and time, so that I do not need to purchase extra widgets and doohickeys in the future. Question time: For those of you on this board, am I missing anything? Are there better set-ups? Personal Set-up recommendations, etc. I am open for suggestion; it has been my experience that buying high quality equipment saves a lot of headache, in the long run. Also, has anyone used the beachtek DXA-6? Cheers, Dick Steele 3rd Coast Cinematics

June 9th, 2003, 08:21 PM	#837
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	I used the Korg D12, and it was great- 12 channels, 4.5 gig HD that would record like 18 hours of cd audio on one channel, digital in/out, 1/4 / xlr in and out... it was perfect. Except for the fact that it needed to be plugged in. If the power was interrupted, you lost everything that wasn't saved. If you will have reliable power, I'd say this was the way to go.

June 9th, 2003, 11:32 PM	#838
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	I use a Sennheiser 416 for my own stuff, it's a lovely sounding mike and solid as a rock. Most of the recordists I work with on a pro level use Shoeps or newer mikes I've never heard off, but naturally they are much more expensive. The 416 is sort of "old school", but works just fine for me. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

June 11th, 2003, 09:23 AM	#839
Edwin Quan Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: United States Posts: 38	anyone use the portabrace rb-1 bag? anyone use this bag for their xl1s? i'm really considering this bag because of its size. does the viewfinder and mic have to be removed in order for the xl1s to fit in there? thanks.

June 11th, 2003, 10:28 AM	#840
Dick Steele Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: TEXAS Posts: 62	Sennheiser MKH-418 Does anyone know about this stereo shotgun mic, the MKH-418 M-S Stereo Mic? Sennheiser uses a 5-pin XLR connector to carry a stereo signal, instead of a 3-pin and states that it is designed for film and broadcast use. What would be the effect on sound when using a stereo shotgun for a boom mic or camera mic. How does it work? Is there anything on the market at current to facilitate the use of 5-pin XLR? Would it be necessary to step it down to 3-pin? Lot of questions, little info on the net. Cheers, Dick Steele 3rd Coast Cinematics