I've noticed that when I shoot in a place with lots of red light, my footage somehow becomes 'blocky', like it's losing resolution. Is the red light interfering with the CCD in some way? Is this a general problem? What causes this?

Hello Scott,

When I was new to my XM2 I also had problems with shooting red. I filmned my daughters toys, and they looked awful on the computer screen!

Then I borrowed some cameras from my friends and found out that they even couldn't focus on the objects where the XM2 had troubles!

When I checked the recorded material on a standard TV, it looked good ( very good ;-) - but on the computer you can see heavy blockiness in the reds. As far as I can tell, this is a problem that almost all miniDV cameras have(more or less).

I have solved it like this:

When shooting for the web/computer: Use Frame mode, notch UP sharpening 2-3 steps, shift the color slider towards green. Then in post, do color correction and blur/median

When shooting for DVD/TV: Do nothing ;-) It looks awful while you edit, but once viewed on the TV screen it will be great looking! ( if you like, notch the sharpening DOWN 1-2 steps )

Good luck with your filming!

// Lazze

ps. Next time you watch telly, watch closely on the hot red spots on the screen, then you'll notice that even their expensive pro cameras generates noise in the reds. ds.

I have the same "problem" with my XL1S, and see this indeed
only on my computer and not the TV. Weird. I just try to avoid red.

Thanks for you reply Lars! I usually do check my footage on TV first, but I couldn't find the cable anymore :(

Now I know what to do!