XL1 / XL1S various posts

[Nemed Phoenix]

Hi all,
This is my first post on what looks like a potentially very useful board.

I hope i havent missed a more obvious place to put it but i did search:).
I have placed this post on the pd150 board also.

I will soon be in London learning filmmaking, while there i intend to buy a good quality dvcam for experimentation, and short film making while i train.

I HAD saved towards a XL1s, based on the knowledge of its use in 28 Days Later but a friend of mine then reccomended i go with the PD150, utterly complicating a perfectly simple plan:)

Now without starting a war :), i ask for arguments from both camps so i can make a decision.

Thanks in advance for any answers.

Nemed Phoenix
Lateral Filming.

[Dylan Couper]

The big plus of an XL1 over the PD150 is its interchangable lenses. However, the PD150 has a built in LCD and XLR connections, things you must pay more for on an XL1. Picture on both of them is great. The PD150 is about 1/2 the weight of the XL1, something else to consider. If you are doing run 'n gun/guerilla film making, the PD150 is easier to carry and conceal.

Also consider the Panasonic DVX100. It may be better suited to the indie film maker, since it has more of a film look than the other cameras.

[Don Palomaki]

The MA-100/200 provide a balanced input that can result in cancellation of common mode noise. They also provide about 6 dB of gain relative to a simple unbalanced input.

Are you using the MIC setting? If so, you may have more gain then you need. The ME-66/K6 combination has a high output level, around -35 dBV give or take., an d may be happier at MIC ATT setting.

[Nathan Gifford]

The interchangable lens system on the XL series is certainly becoming more important. There are a number of other lens options available for the XL series that no other camera can meet in its price range.

However, if you do think you will never purchase another lens for the system, then maybe you might want to look at the PD-150 or DVX100. These cameras are both lighter and attract much less attention as an XL-1.

The great news is that all these 3-chippers are excellent and will produce both excellent video, as well as, audio.

[Don Palomaki]

Maybe the guy running the sound gear had some flange effect added to the mix.

[Mark A. Foley]

Don,
Actually there was a slow flange effect being added to the mix...however the goof was on my part (new item to add to my checklist). It turns out the channel I was getting inputting the feed to had the FX send cranked a bit and the FX was set to one of the flanger effects (pretty lousy sounding one...LOL). When I frist discovered the problem, I tried replicated everything (to isolate the problem) the best I could...except I fed my mixer from a different channel (with no FX send)...and I therefore assumed it the problem originated from the church's sound mixer....
Thanks for the response....
Mark

[Mark A. Foley]

After using the DXA-4 for a few gigs now (with my Behringer mixer), I have had the best luck with setting the -4 for mic input and setting the XL1s for the mic w/att setting. This seems to allow more flexibility with -50 pads....
Mark

[Don Palomaki]

Means that the body does not fully sense the presence of the lens. May be caused by poor electrical contract in the lens mount, or the mount not being fully rotated and the lock engaging fully.

[Annie Cheatham]

Tonight I was playing back some footage on my XL1. I rewound the tape and started playing it, but nothing came up - no time code, no picture, just the blue screen. I put the tape in another XL1 and it worked fine. Then I tried another tape. The time code showed up, but the screen was still blue. Everything worked on record mode, just not playback mode. So i put in a tape cleaner. This seemed to fix the problem, but I have a shoot this weekend and am wondering if this camera is going to be reliable. Has anyone ever had this problem before or know what happened - is it just a dirty head? Do you think the tape cleaner fixed it? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Annie Cheatham

[Frank Granovski]

If it's working now, the problem was dirty heads.

http://www.dvfreak.com/tape.htm

[Mark Siddall]

Hi, I am a fairly new user who likes to shoot in frame mode instead of interlacing.

Am I right in thinking that easy recording mode will only allow you to record as the interlaced version?

If so, once the footage is imported into premiere, I cant get ti to de-interlace!! The footage looks really bad with fuzzy lines etc.

Can someone kindly point me into the right direction? Thanks!

[Brandt Ryan]

Can anyone tell me what the pixel aspect ratio is, when shooting electronic anamorphic on the Xl1s? 1.2?

[David L. Fisher]

Hello all and please pardon me if I am hashing over old territory here.

As the XL1 has an electronic viewfinder, then you are certainly susceptible to other than WYSIWYG, correct?

I am shooting a project in anamorphic 16x9, PAL, over here in Thailand. I have never used this function on an XL1 before, and I am seeing a few things in post that perhaps somebody can easily clarify.

On my computer screen and television monitor, I am seeing the edge of the boom. On my Sony MiniDV player, I am not seeing anything. Is the 16x9 still somewhat cropped, or are you displaying everything it captured?

Its not a huge issue as its such a small piece of boom, I can crop it out and do a minor stretch, but if I don't neeed to, then why bother and take chances with the image.

Any information, answers or suggestions would be appreciated.

Regards,
David Fisher
A~T~8 Productions
Bangkok, Thailand

[Nathan Gifford]

The EVF is not not a production monitor by any stretch of the imagination. It does not show everything the camera is seeing as you have just discovered.

[Rob Lohman]

According to Vegas:

1,2121 NTSC
1,4568 PAL