What is wrong with my XL1-s?
 

Hello,

I shot a wedding about two weeks ago. Now I'm editing my footage on FCP 4.5. As I look at the clips from this particular camcorder I notice that there seems to be a shadow of an image moving as if there was two tracks of video layed on top of each other at different levels of opacity. Basically the image looks like there are ghost moving around in the background. I noticed this before on another project I was working on but I did not really look at it. The other problem is a strange reflection with a tint of blue when there should not be one. At this wedding I also used a GL-2 with no problem. If anybody out there can explain with I'm dealing with it would be great to get some help.

Thanks Jerome

were you shooting through glass or did you have a UV or other filter on your lens?

Also, did he footage look fine when you were shooting? How about on a TV straight from the camera?

Hi Andrew,
I do have a haze filter on the lens for protection. Also when the camera was pointed at some decorated window panes I noticed the reflections more.

Thanks for answering my post,
Jerome

I would bet it's the filter that caused the reflections.
I know some people are going to to come after me for this, but unwanted reflections are one reason I personally don't like using filters for lens protection. I trust the lens hood will keep unwanted things from hitting the lens and if I must use a filter, I would rather just use it as a lens cap - that way you can still shoot if there isn't time to take it off. If I were shooting in a harsh environment (salty/sandy) I'd probably just get a high end filter for protection, but for weddings, I don't really think they're needed.

I agree with Andrew, short of a wedding with a food fight, a filter to protect the lens is not needed, and if the filter is not exceptionally good (e.g., multi-coated), it is likely to add unwanted reflectons that can become painfully apparent under certainlighting conditions. Further, because a filter is further from the optical center of the lens and because video has great depth of field, any dust on a filter will be more apparent than if the same dust was on the lens itself

Note that the front glass on the standard Canon lens is not a lens element in the traditioinal sense but a piece of protective glass. Behind it sits the VAP and then come the typical lens elements/groups intended to bend and focus the light.

Thanks for the info Don and Andrew. I'm going to take that filter off.

Jerome

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We are very fortunate to have the talented and educated regulars in here helping the new to video type of shooters to the arena. I have learned more from these guys and gals in here than I have in many books. Thanks to all for be OVERLY generous with information, manuals, and anything else I could think of - and they were quick answers. Actually, Canon techs recommend this site because of the vast and endless amount of knowledge these guys possess.