I have always wanted a Canon XL1... one problem

[Chris Davis]

Does the MacBook have an ExpressCard slot? If so you can get a cheap ExpressCard with firewire ports.

I'd rather have an XL2 than an XL1 (I used to have one a few years ago.) Nowadays they're available for about the same price. At least the XL2 can do widescreen.

[Cole McDonald]

You could get a cheap USB based MiniDV camera to use as a deck :)

[Don Palomaki]

Just to chime in a bit. Some form of HD is the "today" shooting format, even if converted to SD 4x3 or SD 16x9 for distribution on a DVD. HD is the right solution for many if not most folks.

That said, you have to run your business case and decide which makes more sense for your video work from both an artistic and a business (cost/revenue) sense considerig both today, and the future to bthe best you can project it.

Keep in mind that the XL1, while perhaps low cost on the used market, is out of factory service, and thus there is risk with respect to future maintenance/repair. That said, it still looks impressive to folks who are not into camcorders.

[Mestizo Devon]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

I would like to urge you strongly to forget about the XL1. Sure, it had its glory days and all, but let's face it, that was twelve years ago now and it's a dinosaur by today's standards. An antique. Do yourself a favor, spend your money on an HD camcorder such as the Canon VIXIA HF S series. The picture from that little thing absolutely blows away the XL1, it has plenty of pro features, and best of all for you and your Mac, it connects via USB2.

Commit the XL1 to memory, be fond of it, but most importantly please realize that it is thoroughly obsolete and you'll get a much better looking image out of a newer consumer HD camcorder such as the VIXIA HS S series. Hope this helps,

With All due respect, I say Nah chris, if a guy wants to shoot with an old camera, do so! I've seen guys shooting with the XL1 and producing good content, better in my opinion than the average joe with, say a 7d, or XHA1s to stay canon specific. He may have problems working it into his current setup, but don't knock the old camera.

[Cole Seidl]

Originally Posted by Vito DeFilippo

I just gotta disagree. I loved using the PD150, for example, which was a great SD camera. But try and display it's image full screen on a modern 16:9 television and it looks like crap.

If you are mostly delivering for the internet, sure, get an SD cam. But other then that, I would avoid it.

I'm sure this probably true for the most part, but David Lynch shot Inland Empire on the Sony PD150, and I think it looks beautiful on my modern television.

[Vito DeFilippo]

Could be, but I bed David Lynch might have spent a couple more bucks uprezzing the footage than we would...

[Cole Seidl]

Haha... I'm sure he probably did.