Looking to go HD and Upgrade from the XL1S

[Costas Papaconstadinou]

Hello,

I'm currently working on a few web series projects which will mainly be for youtube. I was a previous owner of the Canon XL2 and I sold it two years ago when I thought I was done with video. Unfortunately I got the urge to start up again and went in the basement to find the XL1S I had forgotten about since circa 2008? I have the 3X for it as well but doing some testing in the house today and editing in premiere pro got me thinking I need better quality.

My budget for a camera would be 600-1000USD

I would like to stick with Canon or Sony

Must have controls like the XL1S/XL2

XLR inputs will be a major plus!

[Noa Put]

You know the xl1s was around 4,5k when it came out and you want the same now for 600-1000dollar? :) I think you have to reset your expectations a bit for such a small budget unless you want to buy second hand?

[Costas Papaconstadinou]

I'm obviously looking for used.

[Nate Haustein]

Sony RX10ii or RX10iii

[Craig W. Scribner]

Maybe a used Canon XH-A1S would meet your needs and budget.

[Costas Papaconstadinou]

Yes, I've been looking at those. I have even found some Canon XL H1 for under 700 on ebay but now they are hovering at 1k. The H1 might be the way I go with the removable glass and I believe it works with the Canon Cinelenses

[Chris Hurd]

Believe it or not, the H1 would indeed work with Canon Cinema EOS lenses, if you have the Canon XL to EF adapter. The only catch is, you're looking at a crop factor of nearly 8x, so even the widest lens will give you a telephoto field of view.

Well, it's an 8x (or 7.8x) crop factor for full-frame lenses such as the cine primes. Now the cine zooms are S35, not full frame, so the crop factor will be somewhat less, but still quite significant. So I don't know how practical that would be, unless you're specifically looking for extreme telephoto.

[Bryan Worsley]

Originally Posted by Craig W. Scribner

Maybe a used Canon XH-A1S would meet your needs and budget.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Canon-XH-A1S...UAAOSw08pavrSS

'Sold Listings' range for 'used' is in the $500-800 bracket depending on included accessories/extras.

[Owen Dawe]

Well I'm still using the xl h1s. I have three of them all recording pro res hq files via sdi to the Blackmagic Video Assist monitor recording to cf cards. They maybe old but still a good camera.

[John Wiley]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Well, it's an 8x (or 7.8x) crop factor for full-frame lenses such as the cine primes. Now the cine zooms are S35, not full frame, so the crop factor will be somewhat less, but still quite significant.

This is incorrect. The crop factor is the same regardless of the lens format. A FF lens and a s35/APS-C lens, both set to 24mm, with have the exact same FOV when used on the same camera.

[John Wiley]

I'd recommend you avoid any tape-based cameras as they are more prone to degradation in older models. But the good news is there's plenty of 2nd hand 1/3" type camcorders around dirt cheap - look for models like the Sony NX5 or AX2000, Canon XF200/100, or Panasonic HMC150.

All of these will be a big step up from the XL2 image quality wise - though you might lose a few familiar features depending on what model you choose. For example, the Canon XF100's don't have user-selectable ND filters.