I'm looking into selling my GL-2 (4 years old) and buying a brand new one. I have not seen a camcorder that I like as much and don't want to be stuck if my current GL-2 dies in the next couple of years. I'm trying to find out how long the GL-2 lasts and if all the parts can be replaced. I talked to a tech at Canon and he did not seem to know that much. Are all the parts on the camcorder replaceable or fixable? Do the parts go out with age or use? I use it about 25-30 hours a year. Is there a way to find out what all the parts are? I do know it's very expensive to get fixed. I just sent it in for a cleaning and it's $268. They clean it and restore it to factory settings. It's over $400 if you want a complete check done and it's over $500 if a circuit board goes.

Thanks,
Tony

In general a camcorder will have repair/parts support from the manufacturer for about 7 years after it is discontinued. This has been Canon's practice. My XL1 is about 10 years old, and is doing fine, my GL1 is perhaps 8 years old and doing OK as well.

At 25-30 hours of use a year it should last for a long time. At 4 years that is only 120 hours, and tht is a small perceentage of the nominal useful life.

Some parts wear out from use, mainly moving parts, and some are subject to age deterioration (e.g. rubber parts) whether or not they are used. Also note that some electronic parts are subject to aging, and only time will tell which ones, if any, are problematic in a given design. In some past machines,, dating to the later 1980/early 1990, capacitors (a board level component) would tend to fail after 10 or so years, especially if the unit sat for long periods without use.

Personally, I would not buy another GL2 now but wait until you need a replacement, and then upgrade to the current technology. An observation, if you like the GL2 you would probably love the XH-A1, and it might be updated in a year or so given that the XL-H1 update has already been announced.

Why don't you buy an XH A1? It's a much better decision then buying another GL2 unless you want to match them together or have a very limited budget.
Canon XH A1

- very decent price.
- not the same, but pretty much the same 'strategy' of ergonomics.
- you can capture HDV AND SD, so much more future proof.
- acces to 24p, 30p, 60i.
- newer camera, more support.
- more image controls.
- XLR
- ...

I think one could go on and on.