This thread has run its course
 

I think the decision has been made and there's no reason to keep this thread going any longer.

As a former owner of two XL2 cameras, having owned an XL1 prior to that, I can say it's an awesome camera and well worth the price. The XL2 really shines in 16:9 mode where it's using the full oversampling resolution of the imagers. If you want to stay in the SD realm, I think the XL2 fits the bill very nicely. If you add the FU-1000 b/w viewfinder and, the 16x manual lens, it will help you learn to operate an all out full size professional camera down the road. The modularity of this camera is amazing.

BTW, I had to delete some posts and looking back, some others should have been deleted. Please remember that we treat everyone with respect here at DVINFO, regardless of knowledge level, experience, or what choice they make.

As a clarification to an earlier statement, February 17, 2009 is not the day everyone broadcasts HD, it's the day analog transmission is ceased and everyone will be transmitting in a digital standard. There's no requirement that the source material be in HD.

Thanks to all who gave their input.

-gb-