The Best Wireless microphones ?
 

I am looking for a wireless mic for my XL-1. I have been looking at the Sony WRR-862B receiver and the WRT 860A Transmitter as well as the Countryman B6 lavalier mic. Any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. It's not really a money issue. But I don't want to over buy if I don't have to.

David

I'd go with Win 2000 for now. I've been using it since it came out with my XL1 and Pinnacle DV500. The OS has never let me down. When running NTFS it's very stable, wish I could say the same for Premiere. The main thing is make sure you have at LEAST 256MB of RAM, and keep your OS on a seperate drive to your video files.

Audio mixer cases????
 

Does anyone know if the Porta-brace MXC-32(for the FP-32 mixer) case fit the Shure FP-33 mixer? The catalogue says to buy the MXC-33 case but as far as I can see the two mixers(FP-32 and FP-33) are pretty much the same in size and shape. I have an opportunity to buy the MXC-32 case, but can't see it first. Thanks for your time.

Palm Pilot DOF, FOV & Focal Length Calculator
 

I saw some posts that some of you were looking for a Depth of field calculator, etc. There is a program for the Palm Pilot called pCAM. You can find it at http://www.davideubank.com/

Basically you can input something like your exposure and focal length and it will calculate your depth of field and vica versa. It even graphically displays your field of view as if you were looking through the viewfinder with a 5'10" person as a reference. You can input your desired focal lengths and it will calculate your needed aperture and focal length settings etc. It's very very very cool and well worth it for any serious DP's out there. You can custom your lens settings from various 16mm, S16mm, 35mm, HDTV, Still Lenses and CCD chips sizes for use with the XL1 & DV lenses. I find it works great and if properly configured is accurate to the inch, in my rough experiments with the XL1.

Mike

Yes, pCam is great. I frequently use it when we need to match image sizes--like shooting one side of a conversation at a certain focal length, then having to change the focal length on the other side for one reason or another but keeping the same framing on the other actor. You give pCam the original focal length and distance as well as the new distance, and it calculates the new focal length. Very handy.

Also great for telephoto lenses, like one might use with the EOS adaptor: if you are looking to get a head-to-toe shot with a 200mm or something, you can use the FOV section as you described and match the image size to a distance, which will tell you how many counties away you need to set up the camera, without having to truck it around by trial and error.

We have had great results with our Azden UDR400 series. You should definitely get a UHF version of whatever mic you decide to buy.

Focus Pull
 

Does anyone know anything about manual or motorized focus pullers for the XL1 for Rack focusing etc.?
EX:
If they even exist.
Where to get one.
How well they work.

Thanks in advance!
Nate

See www.varizoom.com and www.zgc.com

Manual focus pulling devices aka follow focus, made by various companies such as Cinetech and Chrosziel. Not at all cheap, but good stuff for use with the manual lenses in a serious production environment.

New XL-1S
 

I was here whining earlier in the day about my camera that "won't run". NOW--

Canon tech says, since I've tried all kinds of tapes, blacked, not blacked, "write-protect" on, off and, etc., etc.....They say that the cassette mechanism must be broken. That, becasue the "No cassette"symbol keeps flashing and, obviously, the camera doesn't run. I'd also noticed immedicately that my cassette mechanism was NOT slow and mechanized ---- was UN-like my GL-1. Thought that was odd.

Question: What's best---just send camera body to Canon OR try to make my dealer give me a whole new kit. I bought it 10 days ago but only shot for the first tiime yesterday.Problem immediate. Do I have the RIGHT to a new kit?


Thanks--


Meg

My opinion is that, as long as you have not yet registered the cam with Canon, your dealer should replace the unit. I'm sure they will get a credit back when they return your defective unit.

You seem to have every right to "whine", Meg.

Hi Meg,

First, let's make absolutely sure you loaded the tape properly (as a GL1 owner, I'm sure you did). Were you sure to close the inner tape transport carriage first, before closing the outside white door that covers the mechansim? See "Two Doors to Close" on the User Tips page of the XL1 Watchdog at www.dvinfo.net/xl1.htm

If that's not the problem, then what to do next depends on who you bought it from. A reputable dealer (such as my sonsor ZGC) will exchange the camera, no questions asked. In fact you should ask them to open the box, power up the camera, insert a tape and record a bit of video for you. If they don't choose to accomodate you, then you need to do two things: 1.) don't do business with them ever again and 2.) send the camera to Canon service in Irvine, NJ. Contact info on the Watchdog under "XL1 Skinny."

Hope this helps,

Viewfinder readout
 

This is a question I have wondered about for some time so here goes.

Why lenses aren't made that display a numerical reference to focus in the viewfinder? In other words focus values would be from 1 to 100. You could easily preset focus points and it would be easy to find them again quickly.

For example at a wedding the back of the church would be 75, the middle of the aisle would be 57, and the place where dad gives the bride away would be 46 and so on.

The numbers wouldn't have to refer to distance in feet but they could.

I use a JVC studio control kit and mark the focus points on the hand control, but the cable has enough play in it to throw the accuracy off.

Just curious why a lens like this has never been offered.

Mike

Audio Mixers: Are they necessary?
 

Hi everyone

I keep reading on the net that most movie production requires an audio mixer. Is that necessary with DV movie production (specifically with the XL-1)? If I run the mics through the XL inputs of the MA-100, aren't the separate sources recorded separately on tape? So can't I remix in post-production?

I suppose a mixer would make sure that the source is in an acceptable range. How to ensure that without the use of an audio mixer?

Thanks.
Phillip

timecode
 

I understand that timecode from the xl-1 isn't able to be transfered into the editing program along with the clip.
Is this a huge inconvienience? How do you handle this?

Also, is the xl-1 timecode 'drop frame"?

I've been working with professional gear for years (shooting and editing), and I was all set to buy xl-1, but now have second thoughts. I don't want the edit to turn into a confusing nightmare.

Actually, could anyone give me an overview of exactly what the timecode situation is with the xl-1?

Thanks in advance. I enjoy this site...I've learned quite a bit about the miniDV world here. :)