GL / XM assorted posts, 2003

Joe Sacher · May 21st, 2003, 10:24 AM

I'm going to be ordering a GL2 from Zotz this weekend. I am planning on trying to shoot an hour long shot of a sunset or sunrise. I would then speed this up to a fast timelapse in post. My concern is how this is possible without damaging the CCD on the camera. The only totally safe option I have come up with is the physically extensive method of doing frame captures every 30-60 seconds and using cardboard or something to cover the lense in between.

Can this be safely done with UV and ND filters? Seems like it have been done before with some type of camera in even more light that near dust or dawn, when you see time lapse of the sun crossing the frame with clouds moving by.

Tony Marino · May 21st, 2003, 10:31 AM

I shot with the Gl2 for a few days while my Gl1 was getting repaired. It looks like I'll have to get the Gl2 since they are going to swap them since the Gl1 is under the lemon clause and it is the only three chip cam they have to replace it. The problem is from the few days that I used the Gl2 it seems like a downgrade.

When shooting in subjects without the sun behind me it was very difficult to get the lighting correct. The subjects always were too bright or too dark using the auto exposure shift and the exposure button. With the Gl1 I usually was able to get the proper lighting by keeping the ae on +.5 and putting the exposure on about +1 to +5 depending on where the sun was. Is there a way to stay in auto focus and have good lighting with the Gl2? Some of the problem may be with the skin tones as discussed before but since I'm a little color blind it's hard for me to know.

The viewfinder is bad. The field of vision is even less than the Gl1. Putting the bigger one on helped some but it is still smaller vertically.

On the positive it is a little lighter and the picture quality would be a little better if I can get the lighting fixed.

Will Canon put out a Gl3 this year or wait another year or so?

Thanks,
Tony

Rob Lohman · May 21st, 2003, 10:47 AM

There is already a thread on this.

I'm closing this one. Please continue the discussion there.
Thanks.

Ken Tanaka · May 21st, 2003, 04:45 PM

Tony,
I shot with a GL1 for quite some time until getting a GL2 last year. I can say that the GL2 is certainly no downgrade; quite the contrary. But I will also say that it's also not the same camera as the GL1. Like any new camera it just takes some dedicated practice to learn its nuances and its best uses. Start with the factory-default settings and work your way through all of the new tweaks available. I would leave the ae setting at neutral for now, and most of the time.

I have not heard of any plans for a successor to the GL2 in the immediate future.

Bob Harotunian · May 22nd, 2003, 07:09 AM

The GL2 is an upgrade from the GL1. There are more exposure options, the focus ring is more sensitive and there are audio meters and level controls for both channels. Unless you were wearing headphones all the time, there was no way of knowing if you were recording audio with the GL1.
Bob

Bill Briare · May 26th, 2003, 12:47 AM

Anyone know if the 540EZ flash will work on the GL2?

Jeff Donald · May 26th, 2003, 05:03 AM

I think the camera requires the EX series. The EZ series is for older EOS cameras. It will not work, to the best of my knowledge.

Max Chau · May 26th, 2003, 05:40 PM

I bought GL-2 partially for the Character Recording capability on this camera. But so far I have not able to record "only" the date/time onto it. Actually I could record other information (useless to me) but date/time. Will anyone shed some light on me. What am I missing here?
Thanks in advance.

Ken Tanaka · May 26th, 2003, 10:30 PM

Max,
See this thread. I think you'll find it helpful.

Alex Dunn · May 27th, 2003, 12:25 PM

I am using an external mic without Canon's adapter (plugged right in to the port on the side). The manual does not address this (I guess to sell more adapters) and I can't get the on board mic to shut off when I'm using my shot gun.

Can anyone tell me how to shut off the onboard mic?

Rob Wilson · May 27th, 2003, 01:56 PM

Alex,

As soon as you plug a mic in the jack, it should disconnect (physically I beleive) the built in mic. If that is not happening, service is indicated! Anything that you do using menus would affect both mics equally so there would be no way to isolate the on camera mic.

When you use an external mic (usually mono) you would expect to only see one channel of audio on the VU meters. Thats a pretty good indication that the external plug is connected correctly. If you still have both channels indicating (unless your mono mic is wired to both left and right) then I suspect your external mic may not even be providing an input to the camera.

Joseph Henry · May 27th, 2003, 03:58 PM

This may have been covered before, but does anyone have a good recommendation for a wireless handheld mic for my GL2? Since the GL2 is "stereo" can the camera receive 2 wireless signals? Also, nobody seems to know which type of headphones works best with the GL2 - impedence etc?

Ken Tanaka · May 27th, 2003, 05:00 PM

Hello Joseph,
You'll often see members remarking that they have had good experiences with Sennheiser's Evolution systems. Audio-Technica also has an excellent system, their U100 series, that also features a handheld mic plug-on modulre. (I have the system but not the module for the handheld mic.)

Regarding headphones, I've been a big fan of the Sony MDR-7506's and their slightly more compact MDR-7505's.

Miles Blow · May 27th, 2003, 06:10 PM

Hi Guy's great forum!
Me and my partner have been creating some stopmotion animation for a short film we are making using the xm2. So far the cameras performance rocks. We only had a one chip mini dv camera before( no comparison at all) We have been shooting directly into premiere via fire wire and also previewing to another computer via svideo for our low res animation loop.

Everything was going great until I stepped on the firewire cable and crunch!......The camera was fixed strongly on the tripod and the computer was siting on the table directly behind it. I bent the firewire socket on the back of our xm2 aswell as the fire wire cable aswell as the firewire card in the computer! I can tell you I was not a happy camper and neither was my parner when she returned back.

(We have only had the camera for two weeks and we both love it .........so it took us a while to come to grips with our first xm2 nightmare)

So......anyway luckily it still holds in and it still works by it's self but it is very very loose.

Our solution to anyone out there doing any filming with cables running off your xm2 or any camera for that matter...... is to gaffa tape everything to the tripod arm and don't risk any cables being ripped out of their sockets. This is what we will do for evey shot from now on.

Writing this down has given me a head ache!

Anyone else had similar or worse experiances.....might make me feel better.

Miles

Miles Blow · May 27th, 2003, 06:59 PM

hi guy's
Just wondering if anyone can tell me if my mic sony(ecm-ms957) will fit in the ma-300 adaptor? In the manual it says that the ma-300 can take a 25mm wide mic.......the sony is 32mm wide....but I was hopeing that I could maybe replace the screw with a longer one so it could take any extra thickness? Would thuis be possible?

Any answers would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Miles

May 21st, 2003, 10:24 AM	#331
Joe Sacher Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 177	Long Shots at the Sun I'm going to be ordering a GL2 from Zotz this weekend. I am planning on trying to shoot an hour long shot of a sunset or sunrise. I would then speed this up to a fast timelapse in post. My concern is how this is possible without damaging the CCD on the camera. The only totally safe option I have come up with is the physically extensive method of doing frame captures every 30-60 seconds and using cardboard or something to cover the lense in between. Can this be safely done with UV and ND filters? Seems like it have been done before with some type of camera in even more light that near dust or dawn, when you see time lapse of the sun crossing the frame with clouds moving by.

May 21st, 2003, 10:31 AM	#332
Tony Marino Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 55	Gl2 Lighting and other problems I shot with the Gl2 for a few days while my Gl1 was getting repaired. It looks like I'll have to get the Gl2 since they are going to swap them since the Gl1 is under the lemon clause and it is the only three chip cam they have to replace it. The problem is from the few days that I used the Gl2 it seems like a downgrade. When shooting in subjects without the sun behind me it was very difficult to get the lighting correct. The subjects always were too bright or too dark using the auto exposure shift and the exposure button. With the Gl1 I usually was able to get the proper lighting by keeping the ae on +.5 and putting the exposure on about +1 to +5 depending on where the sun was. Is there a way to stay in auto focus and have good lighting with the Gl2? Some of the problem may be with the skin tones as discussed before but since I'm a little color blind it's hard for me to know. The viewfinder is bad. The field of vision is even less than the Gl1. Putting the bigger one on helped some but it is still smaller vertically. On the positive it is a little lighter and the picture quality would be a little better if I can get the lighting fixed. Will Canon put out a Gl3 this year or wait another year or so? Thanks, Tony

May 21st, 2003, 10:47 AM	#333
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	There is already a thread on this. I'm closing this one. Please continue the discussion there. Thanks. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

May 21st, 2003, 04:45 PM	#334
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Tony, I shot with a GL1 for quite some time until getting a GL2 last year. I can say that the GL2 is certainly no downgrade; quite the contrary. But I will also say that it's also not the same camera as the GL1. Like any new camera it just takes some dedicated practice to learn its nuances and its best uses. Start with the factory-default settings and work your way through all of the new tweaks available. I would leave the ae setting at neutral for now, and most of the time. I have not heard of any plans for a successor to the GL2 in the immediate future. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

May 26th, 2003, 12:47 AM	#336
Bill Briare Tourist Join Date: May 2003 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 1	Canon Speedlight 540ez & GL2 Anyone know if the 540EZ flash will work on the GL2?

May 22nd, 2003, 07:09 AM	#335
Bob Harotunian Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Somerville, MA Posts: 360	The GL2 is an upgrade from the GL1. There are more exposure options, the focus ring is more sensitive and there are audio meters and level controls for both channels. Unless you were wearing headphones all the time, there was no way of knowing if you were recording audio with the GL1. Bob

May 26th, 2003, 05:03 AM	#337
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I think the camera requires the EX series. The EZ series is for older EOS cameras. It will not work, to the best of my knowledge. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

May 26th, 2003, 05:40 PM	#338
Max Chau New Boot Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 6	Recording date and time onto tape I bought GL-2 partially for the Character Recording capability on this camera. But so far I have not able to record "only" the date/time onto it. Actually I could record other information (useless to me) but date/time. Will anyone shed some light on me. What am I missing here? Thanks in advance.

May 26th, 2003, 10:30 PM	#339
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Max, See this thread. I think you'll find it helpful. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

May 27th, 2003, 12:25 PM	#340
Alex Dunn Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 202	GL2 menu settings for external mics I am using an external mic without Canon's adapter (plugged right in to the port on the side). The manual does not address this (I guess to sell more adapters) and I can't get the on board mic to shut off when I'm using my shot gun. Can anyone tell me how to shut off the onboard mic?

May 27th, 2003, 01:56 PM	#341
Rob Wilson Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Posts: 473	Alex, As soon as you plug a mic in the jack, it should disconnect (physically I beleive) the built in mic. If that is not happening, service is indicated! Anything that you do using menus would affect both mics equally so there would be no way to isolate the on camera mic. When you use an external mic (usually mono) you would expect to only see one channel of audio on the VU meters. Thats a pretty good indication that the external plug is connected correctly. If you still have both channels indicating (unless your mono mic is wired to both left and right) then I suspect your external mic may not even be providing an input to the camera.

May 27th, 2003, 03:58 PM	#342
Joseph Henry Tourist Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada Posts: 4	GL2 Wireless Mics This may have been covered before, but does anyone have a good recommendation for a wireless handheld mic for my GL2? Since the GL2 is "stereo" can the camera receive 2 wireless signals? Also, nobody seems to know which type of headphones works best with the GL2 - impedence etc?

May 27th, 2003, 05:00 PM	#343
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Hello Joseph, You'll often see members remarking that they have had good experiences with Sennheiser's Evolution systems. Audio-Technica also has an excellent system, their U100 series, that also features a handheld mic plug-on modulre. (I have the system but not the module for the handheld mic.) Regarding headphones, I've been a big fan of the Sony MDR-7506's and their slightly more compact MDR-7505's. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

May 27th, 2003, 06:10 PM	#344
Miles Blow New Boot Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Queensland Australia Posts: 7	ouch!..I almost killed my xm2's firewire port! Hi Guy's great forum! Me and my partner have been creating some stopmotion animation for a short film we are making using the xm2. So far the cameras performance rocks. We only had a one chip mini dv camera before( no comparison at all) We have been shooting directly into premiere via fire wire and also previewing to another computer via svideo for our low res animation loop. Everything was going great until I stepped on the firewire cable and crunch!......The camera was fixed strongly on the tripod and the computer was siting on the table directly behind it. I bent the firewire socket on the back of our xm2 aswell as the fire wire cable aswell as the firewire card in the computer! I can tell you I was not a happy camper and neither was my parner when she returned back. (We have only had the camera for two weeks and we both love it .........so it took us a while to come to grips with our first xm2 nightmare) So......anyway luckily it still holds in and it still works by it's self but it is very very loose. Our solution to anyone out there doing any filming with cables running off your xm2 or any camera for that matter...... is to gaffa tape everything to the tripod arm and don't risk any cables being ripped out of their sockets. This is what we will do for evey shot from now on. Writing this down has given me a head ache! Anyone else had similar or worse experiances.....might make me feel better. Miles

May 27th, 2003, 06:59 PM	#345
Miles Blow New Boot Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Queensland Australia Posts: 7	Will my mic fit in ma-300 adptor? hi guy's Just wondering if anyone can tell me if my mic sony(ecm-ms957) will fit in the ma-300 adaptor? In the manual it says that the ma-300 can take a 25mm wide mic.......the sony is 32mm wide....but I was hopeing that I could maybe replace the screw with a longer one so it could take any extra thickness? Would thuis be possible? Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Miles