XL1 / XL1S various posts

July 25th, 2002, 02:03 PM

I work for a university athletic dept, and have the XL1 to shoot game footage during basketball seaon for commercials, highlight tapes, etc. I have the MA-100 and I want to use that to record the play-by-play voices of our radio announcers. I'm assuming that the setup they have has an extra XLR output that I could plug a transmitter into, and then plug the receiver into the MA-100 and have that strapped on the XL1.

First of all, has anyone had experience with this? And secondly, what are the best systems out there? We have wireless microphones already installed in the basketball arena for PA purposes, so I would want something that won't interfere with that system. And my budget would be around $200-300.

Also, a system with maybe 2 inputs, because I'd love to be able to use a good lavalier mic and pin it on our head coach, to get game audio from him. So a system that could handle two wireless inputs, or maybe 2 systems where the receivers would both be small enough to simultaneously strap on to the XL1.

Can anyone suggest a good system to buy, or how I could best go about achieving this? Thanks in advance!

Don Palomaki · July 25th, 2002, 04:00 PM

Your budget makes this a challange. Look into the Azden VHF models, perhaps the WDR-pro receiver (two frequencies, diversity) and a corresponding transmitter. It should be in your budget range for on chaannel of sound. You would need a similar system on a differnt frequency for the second channel.

If you rcamera is in fixed location you may be able to run a wire from the announce system to the camcorder. That woudl be a lot cheaper and probably more reliable.

You may not want a wireless mic on the coach for fear moms would hear what he is saying to/about their darlings <g>.

July 25th, 2002, 04:10 PM

The camera will not be stationary, I usually shoot from underneath the basket, up in the crowd, etc. I have a minidisc recorder which I guess I could hook up to the announcer, but it makes it much more difficult to keep the audio in line with the video, I'd have to go trhough and figure out what part of the audio commentary goes with what part of the video, and I'd rather just have that on camera so it is imported onto my computer along with the video.

And with the coach, I definitely would edit it a bit, I sure don't want to piss anyone off. :)

rjkmedia · July 25th, 2002, 07:42 PM

I have a 2 yr. old XL1. I shot footage for a client this week and a lot of it (not all) came back all broken up (pixilated) and the frame wasn't holding at times when played out of the cam.
Playing out of another player deck was even worse.
I was recording in SP mode and used brand new tapes.
Any help would be appreciated. If need be, can anyone tell me the process for getting it repaired in Jamesburg. I live close by.
thanks

Rik Sanchez · July 25th, 2002, 08:22 PM

When was the last time you took your camera in for servicing? I think if it was a dirty head, the tape should be okay on playback on another deck. Two weeks ago the playback out of my XL-1 (2 years old) looked very bad like yours. On another deck it was okay, when I took it in they said the playback head was bad, luckily the recording head was okay so whatever I shot was okay. they changed the whole assembly for about $300.

With your camera it sounds like the recording and playback heads are bad. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but won't a tape cleaner only clean the playback head? Is there a way to clean the recording head? Try a tape cleaner, I don't think it will help much, you will probably have to send it in for servicing. With my camera it seems that after about every 8 months, I need to take it in for something. little things mostly, but the last time it was a big problem. Of course it had to happen during a big job and a week before I was going out of town and needed my camera, luckily they fixed the problem in 3 working days. It also helped the service center is one subway stop from my place.

Give the service center a call and tell them about your camera, they can tell you the best way to send/bring it in

Jeff Donald · July 26th, 2002, 05:21 AM

A cleaning tape will clean (to the best of its abilities) both the record and playback heads. Do not excede the cleaning times recommended by the Mfg. They also don't clean the tape path very well, so a professional cleaning is recommended every so often.

Jeff

Jeff Donald · July 26th, 2002, 05:43 AM

If it says it's safe for optical surfaces etc. it's safe for your lenses. You may not need to use it unless you have a really greasy smudge or smear. Small marks can be removed with the lens pen. For larger smears, moisten the filter by breathing on it, use the micro fiber cloth and rub with some force and keep breathing on the filter. Being too gentle at this point only moves the smear around. It is at this point most people give up. The trick is to use moderate force, your not going to scratch the filter.

Jeff

Daniel Chan · July 27th, 2002, 10:46 AM

Could anyone help me out with setting the image settings on the XL1S menu???

I changed the image settings such as sharpness, color phase, color gain and setup, I changed the settings until I got the picture I was after, then I clicked return... then the image suddenly changed back to normal, I recorded a short segment and the image settings for the footage returned to normal.

I also tried pressing the menu button to exit as stated in the user manual, but the same thing happened, the imaged changed back to normal. I can tell, because I changed the setup to all the way left and sharpness all the way right. as soon as I exit or click return with the iris button, the image changes back to normal.

I have tried changing image setting in custom, Auto or green box.

I also want to shoot some black and white footage but was unable to make the color gain stay at the far left of the scale and record B+W. Please reply if you know what I am doing wrong.

Thanks....

Daniel

Chris Hurd · July 27th, 2002, 11:18 AM

I don't have the XL1S manual with me at the moment (you can download it from www.canondv.com) and I'm at a tradeshow right now, but here goes.

Once you configure an image in the custom preset menu, the way you activate it is with the custom preset keys (the buttons under the red sliding door around the power dial). That's how you turn them on.

For black and white, knock the color gain all the way down and save it as a custom preset. Then access it with the custom preset buttons on the camera.

Page 69 of the manual explains how to set them up; page 70 explains how to recall them. Hope this helps,

July 30th, 2002, 07:43 AM

Recently had a new head assembly installed under warranty on a brand new XL1s, but now I noticed that DV tapes recorded in my Sony DSR40 will not play audio when played in the XL1s. No audio on RCA outputs, no signal in headphones, no activity on audio LCDs. Is this another head alignment, or is Sony DSR deck audio incompatable with XL1s audio?
Video plays fine, and both audio and video play fine when recorded on XL1s and played back on either XL1s and Sony deck.

Edward Troxel · July 30th, 2002, 08:03 AM

My guess would be difference in head alignment. In my experience with head misalignments, the audio is the first to go soon to be followed by video glitches.

Revolver1010 · July 30th, 2002, 12:13 PM

I was looking at getting a PAL model XL1s since it transfers easier to film. The only thing is it may be a while before I output to film and will most likely be outputting to DVD for the time being. So, the question is how wise would it be to buy a PAL camera and just convert from PAL to NTSC in software? I would think that since motion pictures are 24fps and are converted to NTSC it should be quite similar shouldn't it? Basically I just want to buy one camera that will let me comfortably output to both film and NTSC DVD and so far from what I've read it seems PAL may be a wiser choice. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Revolver1010.

Jay Gladwell · July 30th, 2002, 12:20 PM

Anyone considering buying filters for the XL1(s) to enhance/alter the image should read this article first. It was written by cinematographer Barry Braverman. Interesting reading!

http://www.lafcpug.org/curseofdigital_feature.html

Steve Nunez · July 30th, 2002, 03:29 PM

Excellent article- thanks for posting it.

Srinivasa Yerneni · July 30th, 2002, 04:05 PM

I was reading thru the ZGC products and came across the
Anamorphic Attachment.

They say,
"ZGC Tech Desk: We tried the new OpTex adapter ring that is specially made to allow the OpTex Anamorphic lens to be used with the Canon 16x auto lens. As the clear aperture of the adapter is smaller than the lens’, the edge of the adapter will cut in the frame when the zoom is set at a focal length wider than 10mm. The image stays sharp when the zoom is operated in the range below 25mm with the aperture set at F1.8. If the iris is closed down, the range is extended: at f5.6 the image is still sharp when the zoom is at 30mm. "

Is this a real problem for any Anamorphic lens users? Has this
rescricted you in any way? How did you overcome this?

July 25th, 2002, 02:03 PM	#451
ucsbgaucho Posts: n/a	Recording basketball play-by-play.... I work for a university athletic dept, and have the XL1 to shoot game footage during basketball seaon for commercials, highlight tapes, etc. I have the MA-100 and I want to use that to record the play-by-play voices of our radio announcers. I'm assuming that the setup they have has an extra XLR output that I could plug a transmitter into, and then plug the receiver into the MA-100 and have that strapped on the XL1. First of all, has anyone had experience with this? And secondly, what are the best systems out there? We have wireless microphones already installed in the basketball arena for PA purposes, so I would want something that won't interfere with that system. And my budget would be around $200-300. Also, a system with maybe 2 inputs, because I'd love to be able to use a good lavalier mic and pin it on our head coach, to get game audio from him. So a system that could handle two wireless inputs, or maybe 2 systems where the receivers would both be small enough to simultaneously strap on to the XL1. Can anyone suggest a good system to buy, or how I could best go about achieving this? Thanks in advance!

July 25th, 2002, 07:42 PM	#454
rjkmedia New Boot Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 5	video breaks up...need help I have a 2 yr. old XL1. I shot footage for a client this week and a lot of it (not all) came back all broken up (pixilated) and the frame wasn't holding at times when played out of the cam. Playing out of another player deck was even worse. I was recording in SP mode and used brand new tapes. Any help would be appreciated. If need be, can anyone tell me the process for getting it repaired in Jamesburg. I live close by. thanks

July 25th, 2002, 08:22 PM	#455
Rik Sanchez ChorizoSmells Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Osaka, Japan Posts: 424	When was the last time you took your camera in for servicing? I think if it was a dirty head, the tape should be okay on playback on another deck. Two weeks ago the playback out of my XL-1 (2 years old) looked very bad like yours. On another deck it was okay, when I took it in they said the playback head was bad, luckily the recording head was okay so whatever I shot was okay. they changed the whole assembly for about $300. With your camera it sounds like the recording and playback heads are bad. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but won't a tape cleaner only clean the playback head? Is there a way to clean the recording head? Try a tape cleaner, I don't think it will help much, you will probably have to send it in for servicing. With my camera it seems that after about every 8 months, I need to take it in for something. little things mostly, but the last time it was a big problem. Of course it had to happen during a big job and a week before I was going out of town and needed my camera, luckily they fixed the problem in 3 working days. It also helped the service center is one subway stop from my place. Give the service center a call and tell them about your camera, they can tell you the best way to send/bring it in __________________ ChorizoSmells Video Barrio Tamatsukuri, Osaka, JAPAN

July 27th, 2002, 10:46 AM	#458
Daniel Chan Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 30	Help!!! Activate CSTM image presets Could anyone help me out with setting the image settings on the XL1S menu??? I changed the image settings such as sharpness, color phase, color gain and setup, I changed the settings until I got the picture I was after, then I clicked return... then the image suddenly changed back to normal, I recorded a short segment and the image settings for the footage returned to normal. I also tried pressing the menu button to exit as stated in the user manual, but the same thing happened, the imaged changed back to normal. I can tell, because I changed the setup to all the way left and sharpness all the way right. as soon as I exit or click return with the iris button, the image changes back to normal. I have tried changing image setting in custom, Auto or green box. I also want to shoot some black and white footage but was unable to make the color gain stay at the far left of the scale and record B+W. Please reply if you know what I am doing wrong. Thanks.... Daniel

July 27th, 2002, 11:18 AM	#459
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	I don't have the XL1S manual with me at the moment (you can download it from www.canondv.com) and I'm at a tradeshow right now, but here goes. Once you configure an image in the custom preset menu, the way you activate it is with the custom preset keys (the buttons under the red sliding door around the power dial). That's how you turn them on. For black and white, knock the color gain all the way down and save it as a custom preset. Then access it with the custom preset buttons on the camera. Page 69 of the manual explains how to set them up; page 70 explains how to recall them. Hope this helps, __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

July 25th, 2002, 04:00 PM	#452
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	Your budget makes this a challange. Look into the Azden VHF models, perhaps the WDR-pro receiver (two frequencies, diversity) and a corresponding transmitter. It should be in your budget range for on chaannel of sound. You would need a similar system on a differnt frequency for the second channel. If you rcamera is in fixed location you may be able to run a wire from the announce system to the camcorder. That woudl be a lot cheaper and probably more reliable. You may not want a wireless mic on the coach for fear moms would hear what he is saying to/about their darlings <g>.

July 25th, 2002, 04:10 PM	#453
ucsbgaucho Posts: n/a	The camera will not be stationary, I usually shoot from underneath the basket, up in the crowd, etc. I have a minidisc recorder which I guess I could hook up to the announcer, but it makes it much more difficult to keep the audio in line with the video, I'd have to go trhough and figure out what part of the audio commentary goes with what part of the video, and I'd rather just have that on camera so it is imported onto my computer along with the video. And with the coach, I definitely would edit it a bit, I sure don't want to piss anyone off. :)

July 26th, 2002, 05:21 AM	#456
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	A cleaning tape will clean (to the best of its abilities) both the record and playback heads. Do not excede the cleaning times recommended by the Mfg. They also don't clean the tape path very well, so a professional cleaning is recommended every so often. Jeff

July 26th, 2002, 05:43 AM	#457
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	If it says it's safe for optical surfaces etc. it's safe for your lenses. You may not need to use it unless you have a really greasy smudge or smear. Small marks can be removed with the lens pen. For larger smears, moisten the filter by breathing on it, use the micro fiber cloth and rub with some force and keep breathing on the filter. Being too gentle at this point only moves the smear around. It is at this point most people give up. The trick is to use moderate force, your not going to scratch the filter. Jeff

July 30th, 2002, 07:43 AM	#460
doc hamilton Posts: n/a	XL1s and Sony DV decks, no audio Recently had a new head assembly installed under warranty on a brand new XL1s, but now I noticed that DV tapes recorded in my Sony DSR40 will not play audio when played in the XL1s. No audio on RCA outputs, no signal in headphones, no activity on audio LCDs. Is this another head alignment, or is Sony DSR deck audio incompatable with XL1s audio? Video plays fine, and both audio and video play fine when recorded on XL1s and played back on either XL1s and Sony deck.

July 30th, 2002, 08:03 AM	#461
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	My guess would be difference in head alignment. In my experience with head misalignments, the audio is the first to go soon to be followed by video glitches.

July 30th, 2002, 12:13 PM	#462
Revolver1010 Registration incomplete -- contact admin Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 29	PAL to NTSC conversion question I was looking at getting a PAL model XL1s since it transfers easier to film. The only thing is it may be a while before I output to film and will most likely be outputting to DVD for the time being. So, the question is how wise would it be to buy a PAL camera and just convert from PAL to NTSC in software? I would think that since motion pictures are 24fps and are converted to NTSC it should be quite similar shouldn't it? Basically I just want to buy one camera that will let me comfortably output to both film and NTSC DVD and so far from what I've read it seems PAL may be a wiser choice. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. Revolver1010.

July 30th, 2002, 12:20 PM	#463
Jay Gladwell Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,244	Filters to enhance or alter image Anyone considering buying filters for the XL1(s) to enhance/alter the image should read this article first. It was written by cinematographer Barry Braverman. Interesting reading! http://www.lafcpug.org/curseofdigital_feature.html

July 30th, 2002, 03:29 PM	#464
Steve Nunez Trustee Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Pembroke Pines, Florida Posts: 1,418	Excellent article- thanks for posting it. __________________ Steve Nunez-New York City www.stevenunez.com

July 30th, 2002, 04:05 PM	#465
Srinivasa Yerneni Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 30	XL1S with Anamorphic Attachment question I was reading thru the ZGC products and came across the Anamorphic Attachment. They say, "ZGC Tech Desk: We tried the new OpTex adapter ring that is specially made to allow the OpTex Anamorphic lens to be used with the Canon 16x auto lens. As the clear aperture of the adapter is smaller than the lens’, the edge of the adapter will cut in the frame when the zoom is set at a focal length wider than 10mm. The image stays sharp when the zoom is operated in the range below 25mm with the aperture set at F1.8. If the iris is closed down, the range is extended: at f5.6 the image is still sharp when the zoom is at 30mm. " Is this a real problem for any Anamorphic lens users? Has this rescricted you in any way? How did you overcome this?