Hi I'm new on the block!
 

I am based in Kaduna Northern Nigeria, ( originally from Liverpool UK)I have a media company that Prints (ie. Have Printing Press), photography studio and video production.

Have recently bought a Canon XL1s previously had analogue equipment (a few years ago) but hiring cameras locally mostly Sony DSR250p, decided to aquire XL1 as I had to get someone to bring it from UK to Nigeria I guesss the size was the decider. am happy but the fotage on the Sony DSR250 looms better in terms of sharpness at medium shots and the tonal range - what do others think?? how can I get the most out of the XL1 - or should I buy an XL2 later - is this beter than Sony DSR250? please we are out in the bush in Nigeria and need some advice

Arthur Brooks

Welcome aboard DVInfo.net Arthur!

I have moved your thread from the original forum to our XL1/XL1S
forum so more people will look at your question.

All the best!

Arthur, I know this is completely is off-topic and I'm not helping you with your question (not really, maybe if you give more information about settings, I don't have the sony, don't know it, I only have the XL1s, but maybe if you give comparison frame grabs other people will have it more easy helping you).
I just wanted to say that I notice that your name (I'm not sure, I think it is) is the same as in an episode of Dawson's Creek (I know, it's sentimental stuff, but I like it and got interested because Dawson was a moviebuff and obsessed by Spielberg, as I am, so... excuse me :-p) where Dawson meets an old director, named Arthur Brooks. It's from season 4. In the series he's a filmmaker who made film noirs in the 50's.

Good luck with the cam by the way.
Sorry for the possible stupid reply.

My Reply
 

Thanks for reply Mathieu,

It is good to hear from other film makers.

Maybe good idea to post still shots?

Will have to read the forum more - maybe answers out there?

Would welcome replies, me I am fairly new to DV many years with analogue here in Nigeria and in advertising in UK.

I helped start the National Television College here in Nigerai in town of Jos in the 80's

Any Nigerians out there??

Yeah you could do a search on the forum, maybe someone already asked something similar to your question.
Good luck!

Here sir! How can I be of assistance? :)

Hi Arthur

I'd be surprised if there is a huge world of difference between the Sony and the Canon.. Both are 1/3 chip 4:3 SD cameras. Both are capable of very nice results. The Sony is bigger, but the chipsets should be pretty similar.

However both are of an ageing technology that will pretty soon be but a thing of the past. I can appreciate that in Africa things may move slower than in the UK, but probably not a whole lot as the third world countries often embrace recent technology faster. Your question is for your market do you need more..??? Do your Nigerian clients need 16:9, HDV; etc. if not your XL will be fine until these things matter.

Re: the XL2, yes its a step on from the XL1 but mainly in its format: it shoots 16:9 rather than 4:3.

Slowly but surely the world is going HD, which for most of us is HDV.

If I were you I'd look at either exploiting your XL1 , via settings etc to the full while you still have a market for SD 4:3, or start to look at the newer range of HDV cameras that are out there.

From Sony you have the Z1 and the soon to be released V1.
From Canon you have the XL H1 or the soon to be released XH G1.

Regards
Gareth

PAL and NTSC the old story?
 

I have a Canon XL1s and also use a Sony DSC250 I am based hgere in Nigeria where the standard is PAL.

I have been asked to supply some footage to CBS Network USA.

My cameras are both native PAL standard will there be a problem supplying footage on DV tape to USA?.

Or should I capture to computer in NTSC (I use Premier Pro 1.5)and re-dubb tapes to my Sony DSR11 using the NTSC setting or what!!!...Help

in good light the canon will give superb results in terms of picture quality and dynamic range. In lowlight the sony may give better results in some circumstances.

The sharpness you note in the Sony is just image enhancement settings. Look at the two with a really good monitor - you will see that the Sony image contains no more detail, it just has sharpness turned up. The Canon defaults to a slightly softer look, many prefer that - hence the popularity of diffusion filters.