saving for the GL2
 

Glad to have found this community,

I'm currently planning on getting the canon GL2 by holiday season. I would just like to know if I'm saving towards a good investment as I know that it's an aging cam and also the fact that SD might be yesterday's technology soon. I'd like to use this camera to record skateboard videos, short films, and family events, and of course I'm looking for top notch quality with all of those.

Am I still in time to enter into the world of canon GL2 or should I wait with my investment? Thanks.

The GL2 remains in the $2,000 range. The new canon HD offering has been rumored to be $10,000. It isn't a matter of technology, it's a matter of price.

Also, the skate video aesthetic is somewhat outdated, and so maybe an SD cam would suit it well.

Home videos for family events...the GL2 couldn't be better for the consumer side of prosumer because the cam is easy to operate and small enough (barely) that it doesn't scare the kids.

As for short movies, well, welcome to the hell that is my life. Attempting to turn DV into legit film. You could spend a million or more and it would still look like...well...Dancer in the Dark.

Good Luck,

DJ

not sure what you meant exactly with that statement, but I appreciate the response and currently has me penny pinching towards the cam. Thanks.

I've spend a lot of time recently, and i think the GL2 is perfect for what your doing. Its small, light and gives a great image. I dont know if you have already, but if you can rent or borrow one to see if you like it. If you do, just get a wide angle lens and your set for skate vids. if you want to compare i would check out the vx2100 (a little heavier but a great camera)

Zeno

I bought an XM2, the PAL version of the GL2 a little while ago. The picture quality is fantastic. The manual controls will encourage you to experiment and bring out the Spielberg in you!

However.... 4:3 is just about gone. I bought my widescreen in the UK about 4 years ago. I don't think you can buy 4:3 anymore. It's the same where I live now, just a little behind.

Even though the XM2 has a 16:9 mode, it just squishes 4:3 and adjusts later. I won't bore you with the details (which I'm still trying to understand myself), but getting the video from the camera to a widescreen TV is not as straightforward as most of us beginners thought it would be.

You don't need to spend $10,000 on an HD / widescreen camera. The Sony HC1 (?) is under $2000 over here, probably cheaper in the States. From the comments I've seen so far, it looks great. It will also do true 16:9 SD out of the box. And is future proofed with HD too.

I suggest you visit the forum here for that camera before you make your mind up. I had the option of swapping mine just after I'd bought it, two learned posters here advised me to do so.... but I was struck with Director Disease and thought a semi-pro camera was my next step forward.

I'm starting to wish now that I'd recognised my limits, had been honest about where my films were likely to end up (with the family in front of the telly on a rainy day!!) and let common sense prevail.

But don't just listen to me (on a bit of a downer after failing dismally to get decent widescreen onto the TV!!) Have a good look around the boards here. There is a wealth of knowledge, sincerely offered and free! It's a fantastic site and a credit to its creator and all the "old boots" etc.!!

I like my VX2100 a lot, but I love my GL2. At roughly $1750 US after the rebate, I think the GL2 is easily the best bang for the buck camera out there for the serious amateur. When HD becomes easier to edit, and there are more HD TVs out there, maybe I'll change my mind.

Fred? - You took the ink straight outta my keyboard . . . G

I want to do a tiny backstep on my comment in reference to outdated skate video aesthetic.

What I meant were these things Zeno, and apologies if I sounded rough the first time:

1) Style. The shooting style of the skate video has barely changed in twenty years. You have your musical interludes, kids at parks and at street locales, the EXTREME fisheye on the grind from left (ooop way close) then off to the right or vise-versa, and the ridealong dolly shot side-by-side with the skater.

2) Output. Final destination for these videos is usually the skate shop. I mean, these things aren't going to IMAX. They end up on DVD, and historically on VHS, on SD TVs.

3) Audience. The skaters want to see tricks, and they want to see technique. The don't give a rat's hind end if it looks "filmic" or whatever. In fact, they probably would turn off to it if it looked too clean.

So I'll stand by those comments. It isn't "outdated." What I meant is that it is "entrenched."

Please post again and tell me what you think.

DJ

As others have mentioned the GL2 is still very viable, especially for skate videos. And for what you want to do, it's going to be viable for a long time to come.

Whatever you get, one of your top 5, "must have" skate cam features should be a top handle. Can't stress that little feature enough, unless you really like road rash and bone jar, all while dropping your camcorder.

Just take a normal camcorder without a handle and try to skate down the street with it and you'll see what I mean.

Thanks a lot for the followup. Your first comment wasn't harsh by any means I just had trouble understanding what you meant by the outdated feel to skate vids. Your second post however cleared things up.

I don't want to be mistaken, I'm not looking for production quality material neither will my skate video's involve any professional skaters but rather my younger brother's early stages of skateboarding and his local skate buddies. It's sort of the only connection between me and my calm collect self, and his constant sugar-high adrenaline pumped behaviour. I do perhaps wish to publish my material on dvd's or on the net to be freely distributed among those who are interested in the footage.

I currently record on a sony v3 digital still camera who's quality I'm actually semi-satisfied with. This was taken with it's middle quality setting (640 x 480, 16 fps) capable of 30fps video;
http://65.98.80.141/uploads/zeno/skatedemon.wmv

I'm of course hoping that the GL2 footage will be no competition to that of a still digital cameras.

That's as far as my needs with recording extreme sports with the cam goes.

The other major use for this cam will be for the short films and quality family events, which I'm guessing for the abundance of manual controls will shine.

Bottom line: I'm an amateur "hobbyist" videographer looking for a good platform to refine my video skills on.

Well I've been researching the vx2100 but couldn't find info on if it comes with 30fps progressive mode..

No, it comes with a 15fps progressive mode. It is intended only for producing clean frame grabs, not for delivery as video--too jerkiy.

the GL2 is a great cam for what you want to do. i've shot a bit of skate and bmx video with it. it's very sturdy,too--i have bike-mounted mine, and it is a nice weight for using with mobile mounts, heavy enough to minimize camera judder (though there still is some with the bike mount), light enough so that i don't worry about it taxing the strength of the mount or falling off. gets a nice picture in frame mode. pretty easy to learn to use manually, which you will want to do for sports video. i'd look more closely at the H1, simply because it looks very good for the price--you can still deliver in SD on DVD and you have HDV flexibility for the future. in an SD-only camera, i don't think you can do much better than a GL2 for the price....

i'll agree. i got my gl-2 for automotive lifestyle dvd, and i have shot skate boarding. i hand my camera out windows of cars, get it dirty, a touch wet, and dropped it. it still works like a charm

Yea that's another thing, I'm also an automotive enthusiast. I'd like to use the camera to record runs at the local dragstrip but the track has very limited lighting. Wouldn't the vx2100 better suffice?