Actually I have seen a couple used GL2s pop up on eBay and they go for a lot. Most are close to $1800. GL1s go for about $1300 so GL2s will still be up there for a little while longer. But it is a wonderful camera and well worth the money. I love mine!

Faulty Canon XM2
 

I got an XM2 only for a 3 days, on the 2nd day i use firewire to download the files to my PC, worked on and it and send it back to my DV tapes just for testing purposes.

On the third try when i do a play back on the XM2, mosaic tiles and terrible pixelization occurs. At first I thought it was the recording head that is dirty, I send it to Canon customer service, they clean it and return to me and show it to me on the spot the recording is fine.(He place the camera on the table and record a chair..it seems fine during playback)

When I brought home i tested it again and to my horror the same problem occurs, this time ithappens to only moving images and when i move my camera during recording.. I sent it back, two days later a technician called and told me they arenot sure what's happening and they change the recording unit for me and..

I brought it, i play the same tape with the mosaic pixels in the images... and i found there the mosaic tiles and pixelization is no longer there....!!! and the conclusion is the problem occurs during playback and not recording.. but WHY?

Can someone enlighten me?

Using a firewire drive
 

Has anyone recorded directly to a firewire drive? If so, how do you go about doing it? Is it as easy as connecting the firewire cable to the drive when recording?
Thinking that this may be a cheap alternative to using my GL2 all the time to copy the information to a computer and avoiding the extra wear and tear on the heads.

Re: Good choice!
 

<<<-- Originally posted by Ed Anders : Congrats, I got mine 2 weeks ago and I love it. I picked up a lunch-box type bag from Home Depot for $19.95 (Canadian) and it works great! It is thermally insulated (for keeping food hot or cold) and has two padded compartments, one for my GL-2 and the other for all my assecories and lenses. Comes with a short handle and a clip on shoulder strap. If you were to find this design in the camera accessory section of any store it would probably go for $100 -$200, but since it's only a lunchbox for construction workers it's $19.95!
Enjoy your purchase,
Ed -->>>

I wish they would sell these things in Germany, too!

Rich: The DM-50 is pretty good!

I've noticed that the used models don't drop terribly in price on Ebay. If you do resell it, as with any electronics, make sure that it has absolutely no blemishes, you keep all the original packaging ( even the little baggies and zip ties ). Good luck. Hell, I may be interested in a good used gl2.

Patrick Mollins

Anyone know a place in Chicago to rent a GL2?

Gorgeous Stills
 

Someone asked why would I want to use a GL2 to take stills? I have a good answer finally.

The stills are just beautiful. First of all they look even better than frame captures, which themselves look pretty good. Second, I can control exposure, frame rate, and gain in a way that I can't on lower end digital stills, attach any 58 mm filter or lens I want, and finally I get to use the wonderful 3 CCD camera which captures colors just beautifully.

If I were to try to get such features in a still camera I'd have to spend a lot more money, at least a couple of thousand.

So again, I ask, why cripple the still feature by limiting the exposure and frame rate settings like they do? Is it so that the Gl2 won't compete with their high end Power Shot cameras?

Question regarding audio input(s).
 

Just purchased and recieved my GL2! Works wonderfully!

Also purchased the XLRPRO mic/line adaptor. The XLRPRO has a stereo 1/8" plug to be connected to the audio input(s) of the GL2. And, as you probably know, the GL2 has two inputs for audio. One is the "audio/video" input. The second is the "Mic" input.

The GL2 manual is vague regarding the type of audio inputs that can be used for the camera. Clearly, for the the audio/video input of the camera, the manual states to use their "STV-250N" cable which has an audio/video 1/8" plug. . . there are three areas on the 1/8" plug, two for the Left and Right audio channel and one for the video channel. Also, there is an 1/8" audio input marked "mic".

Here are my questions:

1) Regarding the audio/video 1/8" input on the camera, is it possible to use a PLAIN stereo 1/8" plug (from the XLRPRO line), or does this camera's particular input only accept a audio/video 1/8" plug like found on the "STV-250N" cable???

2) Is the "mic" 1/8" input found on the camera mono or stereo?

I haven't experimented yet to see what works best when connecting the XLRPRO to the GL2. Quite frankly, I'd rather hear (read) your responses to my questions before I risk damaging this new camera of mine.

Thank you for your responses!

Ted Fiebke

That right/left/video connection you're referring to is used to output to rca (cable is provided with your camera). This isn't for bringing audio into your cam.

The XLR adapter is plugged into the 1/8" plug located on the right hand side of the camera, near the front between the palm strap and the lens.

Oh, and it is stereo. I use the Studio1 XLR-BP Pro. You can record to just the left or just the right, or both.

First of all, the AV input at the back of the camera will only accept input in VCR mode, not camera mode (unless there's a switch that I'm missing in the menus). Apart from that, no, a normal 1/8" stereo (TRS) plug will not work right, because the two channels don't line up right with the audio channels. You would have to use your 3-way Y cable and then adapt back with the two audio channels.

Frame Mode vs Magic Bullet
 

Did anyone compare footage shot in frame mode to footage shot in normal mode and deinterlaced using Magic Bullet (plugin by theorphanage)?

Comments? Is Magic Bullet rendering Frame Mode obsolete?

Thanks for the clarification!
 

Appreciate the input!

Ted

Hi Gary,

You'll need a go-between the like Firestore.

Check out these threads:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=4445
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=2169
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=1708

. . .or just a laptop with a firewire port. I don't know about other software packages, but with Premiere, I can record to any hard drive recognized by my computer (including removable firewire drives) directly, without recording to the camera's (GL2) tape.

Just turn the camera on, see it in the capture monitor window in Premiere and hit the record button (on Premiere, that is). Aside from the camera going into sleep mode which you can turn off, it should work.

A 1G P4 laptop with firewire would cost about the same as the device in the links above and you get a laptop at no additional charge. I assume you already have the software.

Just some thoughts.

Tom

Basic comparison
 

I bought a GL2 after comparing the picture with the Sony VX2000, but now that the Panasonic DVX100 is out, I went to the store and compared the GL2 with the DVX100, and the Canon doesn't look quite as good as the Pana. The Sony looked way to contrasty and video-like to my eyes, and an XL1s is a lot more expensive than the Pana here (Taiwan).

So, the advantages of the GL2 are: More shutter speeds, less artifacting in high-contrast situations, less audio-video synch issues, and a much longer lens. Does the XLR adaptor provide phantom power? I don't know.

The Pana seems to have a slightly better picture (more glass/larger CCDs), better zoom and focus controls, and gamma control. Also built-in XLRs with phantom power.

The Canon is brand new, and I could probably sell it for a reasonable amount and buy the Pana, though it would cost me; I am not sure how big a deal the Pana's synch issues or artifacting are, however. I couldn't see either when I was at the store.

Can utilizing the lower shutter speeds plus frame-mode bring about an image comparable to the Pana's?

So what do you think I should do? I film shorts and plan to do longer features in the future, and so I want the best picture I can get. The Panasonic is just about at the limit of my spending abilities. The company, however, seems rather blase about the synch issue and I'm not sure if that's a good sign. Should I take the leap?