Hello list:

S.O.S.
I just got my GL-2. Checking the manual... but I need to get some scenes NOW!!!

I need to find out how/where is located the buttom to change the recording to "indoors"and /o artificial light?

Also how the ND filter works...

Thank you in advance:

O. Ferrer

Look up the subject white balance in the manual and take a white piece of something around with you. You can also toggle between the pre-programed modes, which will be covered in the same section in the manual.

The ND filter works by reducing the amount of light hitting the CCD. This is needed for bright outdoor scenes.

Does the GL2 have built-in Automatic Gain Control?
I filmed a completely silent scene last evening and once I had exported the footage to a wmv file you could quite clearly hear the camcorder motor.

However, the other day I filmed some countryside/wildlife scenes which, although very quiet, were not absolutely silent (very slight rustling of leaves, lapping water, etc). In that film I couldn't hear the motor at all. So this has left me with the question as to whether the GL2 has AGC and whether or not it can be disabled in anyway.

I know I should fork out for a mic, and will do so ultimately, but just wanted a quick fix for now.

Thanks

Hi,

What has AGC to do with motor sounds?

Cheers,
Dirk

Well, my theory is that if you are recording in a completely silent location and the camera has AGC then it would increase the level of gain (sensitivity) automatically to try and capture sound. Is it therefore possible that it increases the gain to such a level that it starts to "hear" the motor sound and records it accordingly?

Lloyd,

AGC in the GL2 (XM2) world relates to video not audio. If you are asking about the audio in automatic mode (slide switch just to the right of the LCD recess) - yes, ambient noise levels can affect the amount of camera noise present in your footage.

Brad

I have the GL2 and im looking for a small hard case thats strong enough to take a fall and thats big enough for the camera but not too big to fit in a backpack. It needs to fit in a back pack because im going to be bringing it up on the mountain snowboarding and was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on that, or filming while snowboarding in winter conditions. condensation/ lighting/ coldness and how much wear and tare it can take. thanks.

Inquiring minds would like to know.

The big thing Rob is DON'T FALL!!! Unfortunately, putting your camera in a housing is basically going to double its size. Ikelite (http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/vcanongl2.html) has a housing that is probably the best value and smallest size you will find. However, I really don't think you need a housing, I've shot a lot of snowboarding with my XL and never had a problem. If you want some protection then an EWA VXM 2 (http://www.ewa-marine.de/English/e-start-video.htm) might be what you are looking for.

I have not use my new Canon XM2 so much yet, so perhaps I will know soon, but....

....what's the real difference between using "Exposure adjustment" (page 76 in manual) and "Using AE Shift (page 80)?

Which one do you more often use, "Exposure adjustment" or "Using AE shift"?

The exposure adjustment essentially locks your exposure at a certain place, temporarily turning off any automatic adjustment of the camera...it can be usefull when you've got a lot of camera or subject movement in which you don't want the auto exposure to cause variations in brightness.

The AE shift applies an exposure adjustment but leaves the AE feature active. This is useful when you have a light or dark subject, or if your camera is consistently producing results that appear too light or dark, yet you have variations in lighting that require automatic exposure adjustment.

Barry

Keep an eye on the dvinfo.net main site -- there could be some Xi developments there soon.

Hi All -

Quick question: I just got new GL2..after brief inspection I see a 'bad' pixel in a viewfinder....is this a common occurance? Should exchange it or forget about it..

Paul

if its new...exchange it

Paul,
Before returning the camera, do me a favor and go to the GL2 Defects thread in this forum and try the viewfinder test. I am very curious to see if the problem may have been a production run issue.

Canon guarantees the LCD panels in the viewfinder and flip-out display to a degree of 99.97% -- if there are a couple of hot pixels, it's not considered a quality control problem. Hope this helps,

I snagged this info from dv.com

http://www.canondv.com/promotions/index.html

The rebate goes from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31

In that case, here is where I just got mine, only $1788 after rebate
http://www.willoughbys.com/shop/Product.asp?sku=30501799

Just don't get the overnight shipping, it cost me $180 to have it shipped overnight from New York to Wisconsin. I currently have a claim in with the Better Buisness Bureau becasue according to FedEx it only cost them about $50 to ship it.

$180 US for FEDEX shipping? I got one MX300 shipped via FEDEX from Australia to Vancouver Canada. That cost a bundle! About $120 US Dollars!

I think this might be a servicing issue, but I wanted to double check with the GL-2 vetrans just to make sure. Since I bought my GL-2 three months ago, I have been using my old Sony ECM-MS908C stereo microphone without a flaw until a few days ago when I noticed the audio was no longer in stereo. Now I can only record audio on the left channel. The mic is ok because I tried it out on another camera and I don't use any other cables other than the one built into the mic. The GL-2's onboard mic records in stereo but as soon as I plug in the Sony mic, the recording is left channel only.
Is there something I missed in the GL-2's menu system or is there a button I need to press on the camera's body?
Thanks in advance,
Aldo.

Off-hand I'd make sure that the Sony's plug is firmly inserted and/or that the plug is still in good order.

If that checks ok, then go back through the various audio setting changes you've made in the past few days, if any. As you know, the GL2 should automatically use a mic plugged into the "Mic" port as long as you've not set the audio for a different source.

Well, I found out why the big GL2 price drop in Canada. It's an old story actually. For the last 8 months, Canadian dealers have been pressuring Canon Canada to lower their ridiculous high (dealer's) cost when compared with USA's dealer's cost. So Canon finally bowed to the pressure.

However, with Canon USA's extended rebate, the GL2 is still a better deal in the USA.

Pana and JVC also rip off the Canadian consumer, in my opinion, but unlike Canon, who actually listen to their dealers and consumers, Pana continues ripping Canadians off (in my opinion). Take for example the Pana PV-DV953. In Canada, the average price is $2450 (Canadian); in the USA this cam lists at $1499, with dealers selling it for even cheaper. So if I wanted to buy a PV-DV953, I could save about $600 Canadian by buying US Dollars and sending my money order south of the border. If you are a Canadian, and whether you buy from Canada or from the USA, all you get dinged is taxes (PST and GST---unless you live in Alberta, or have it sent there---no PST in Alberta.

PS: the Canadian Dollar is about .74 something to a US Dollar.

<< the Canadian Dollar is about .74 something to a US Dollar. >>

Forgive me, Frank -- but isn't that better than usual? Or no.

I scanned the manual but could not find anything regarding this,
so my guess would be: no.

Did you perhaps setup the camera wrong? Ie you used the
incorrect settings for the microphone? Or turned up the input
way too high?

That will definitely work, Don. Just as long as you indeed don't
move the camera or else you will need to track. And also don't
have anything pass in fron't of the window or you'll need to
rotoscope as well.

I am trying to focus purely on a subject and have the background blurry, i.e. reduce the depth of field. Now, I know I can do this if I zoom in on the subject, but I want the same effect in wide-angle. I have tried increasing the shutter-speed (reduce the amount of light through the lens) along with the f-stop setting (to compensate and therefore reduce the depth of field) but just don't seem to be able to lose the focus of the background. Btw, it's a typical daylight scene.

Have I understood the technique correctly (theory anyway)? What am I doing wrong?

Any help, as always, most appreciated.

Well, this technique is very hard to pull of in DV. You need to have
an f-stop as low as possible, like f1.8. It works best if you zoom
in, but it might work a bit zoomed out. Just make sure your f-stop
is as low as possible. Change anything else to achieve that and
then play around with zooming in and out.

There just isn't another way to do it. If you have access to a
blue or green screen you might shoot your background plate
seperate from your actor and then blur the background before
putting your actor over it. You might also do this through
roto-scoping but that is a very demanding and difficult thing
to do (good).

Lloyd,
We have a staggering amount of dept of field topics and posts. We've had months-long discussions on this topic. We have literally exhausted every conceivable aspect of DOF with these cameras. So please do a Search to learn more.

Jeff Donald has also authored a technical article (http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/index.php) on this subject here.

Bottom line: short of zoom and/or open iris combinations, or silking the background, you're very limited with a 1/4" camera like the GL2. It's probably better to rethink the scene within the limitations of the camera.

Rob,
Thanks for the info. I didn't realise that the size of the CCD would affect this kind of thing but when you think about it I guess it does kinda make sense.

Ken,
Fair comment. Actually I had done a search but must confess that I didn't read every thread the search returned. Most of the threads I read were related to general DoF and didn't cover the selective focusing I am interested in, or discussed comparison with the PD150, or were where people were being asked to conduct a search ;)

However, I just conducted another search and admit that I did actually manage to locate this same info in another thread. So my apologies.

Funny you should mention that article. It was that article (returned by a search with Google) which got me to DVinfo.net in the first place. In fact I think I make reference to it in my post in the introductions forum. Great article indeed :)

Thanks both for your responses.

I notice on my GL2 that there is a piece of glass on the front that does not appear to be part of the actual lens itself. Is this a built in protective piece of glass? If it gets damaged is it expensive to replace?

I currently have a B&H UV filter on my GL2, but wonder about a couple of issues:

1. Because of the extreme depth of field, anything on the filter shows up in my video. This includes even microscopic pieces of dust if I am shooting toward the sun. I had to put a second filter ring with no glass in it on top of my UV filter to set the lens cap further away from the filter because the Canon lens cap is deep enough that it touches the filter and leaves smudges that show up.

2. Even though the B&W filter is a good quality filter, it is still another piece of glass that may degrade my picture quality.

The glass that comes on the camera is set back far enough that it avoids the lens cap smudge problem and a lot of the dust flair problem. If it is a protective piece that can reasonably be replaced I will probably take my filter off for much of my shooting.

Does anyone have info about this?

Thank you.

Hmm.. I never really noticed that peice of glass you are talking about. However, i do have the same UV filter you do and I tend to keep it on most of the time. But of course, all I am currently filming for right now is just my new skate video and I don't see much of a difference when the filter is on.

Thanks from a brand new member ! I just got my Gl2 a few days ago and am still trying to figure everything out. I've searched this board for everything I can find about Zebra Stripe settings and experimented on my own a bit; at what point should I begin resetting my exposure to eliminate the stripe pattern because as soon as I get rid of it , my image looks really underexposed. I know from a long experience with using photoshop for my still work , that I can always tweak my image up a bit but it takes forever in rendering time in video work. How much striping is too much and when do you step in to decrease your exposure?

There is no pat answer to your question. The answer really depends on your subject and at what point you have your zebra's sensitivity set to (ex: 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 100%). Remember that the display is telling you which areas of your image have reached or exceeded the set percentage of overexposure. It's just another tool. Experiment at various settings with the type of shooting you do. Zebra usage for, say, action sports shooting will be different from dramatic shooting. Take notes while you are experimenting so that you can see what works for you. Just remember that 100% bars indicate a complete blow-out.

Also be sure to keep your eye on the general exposure indicator bar at the top of the display. It's telling you the overall level of your exposure.

See these thread for more information:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13523
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11017

When I export from FCP to make 2 hour VHS tape, I also grab the first hour back-up onto mini dv on my GL-2. I then go back and dub off the second hour on another tape later.

Problem is: when the GL-2 tape ends, it flashes "TAPE END" and this goes onto my VHS finished tape, right in the middle of the two hours. How can I stop this from happening.

IS THERE ANY GOOD VIDEO'S OR BOOKS OUT THERE THAT A PERSON COULD PICK UP THAT SHOW A NEWBIE HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF HIS CAMERA.
THANKS IN ADVANCE

You are not going to like this but you need to do it with the tape out of the camera at first. If the camera has no tape in it it will run as an A to D converter till you stop it. Then you can make your DV backup.

Over the last few weeks I've been putting a heck of a lot of time into finding the "perfect" fisheye lens for my GL2. I wouldn't settle for anything less than 0.3x- which left me with two options. Settle for a... "less than perfect" quality Raynox MX3000/XM3000, or spend $700 on a Century Optics.
I was leaning towards the Raynox, just because I needed that fisheye effect I've missed ever so much (I sold my old camera and 37mm 0.42x fisheye to get some extra GL2 money) when I stumbled upon....

http://www.congiano.com/Photography/PoenixFisheye.htm

The $70 Phoenix 58mm 0.24x full fisheye lens. I thought that for $70, the quality of the lens was going to be complete crap, but much to my suprise, this thing packs a punch! The thing I was most suprised by was the fact that you could zoom in so there was no vignette, without any loss in quality! It almost seems too good to be true...

So I guess I'm asking you all- is there something I'm missing? Is there some sort of catch that little Jeremy is too thickheaded to see? Your comments are very much appreciated...

I'm using XL1 and XM2(GL2) together.
I always find that XL1 color is more warmer than XM2.
I know there is a custom key to adjust the color in XM2.
Can anyone tell me the custom key setting in XM2 to match the color with XL1?

Thanks.

So did you buy this and try it out?

3 Tapes? ;-)

Grazie

Hi,

Just got my XM2, decided to purchase after reading a lot of the previous threads on this forum. Thanks for all the feedback to the questions regarding live gigs etc.

Looks a great Cam and I look forward to finding out all the features in time, you may see a lot more as I delve into the nitty gritty.

Welcome aboard Alan. I hope you enjoy your new camera and feel free to ask all the questions you want, thats what we're here for.

Thanks Adrian,

I am off out tonight to a pre-wedding meeting so will use the XM2 and accessories to record. Will then review/edit in Edition5.5 tomorrow, stand by for the questions.

if i stop the first tape before it gets to the end, and can fit on two tapes, that is what i will do, or just hook up to my xl1s, that one doesn't do it

thanx all

I will be shooting from a small boat and it will be easy for me and the camera (GL1) to get wet. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to keep the camera from getting wet. I was looking at the camera rain covers but was not sure if that would protect the camera if it were hit with alot of water at once. Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks in advance

Dive shops usually have all kinds camera protection. The best protection from water is to shoot in the desert.

A Lowepro Dryzone 200 is an excellent bag for keeping the GL2 dry when not in use. However, if you are more concerned about the camera when you are shooting, I would get insurance! I was raised on a sailboat, and water can come from just about anywhere.

Nathan, problem there is that you got sand and wind! - Can't win eh? ;-)

Grazie