Canon camera help

[Doug Kereszturi]

I figured you would be a great place to start. Hopefully you can offer some feedback and answer my questions. I started to read the threads on which camera to buy but simply don’t have the time.

I am looking at purchasing a Canon XL2. I am not quite ready to go HD. What are your thoughts?

I mainly do wedding videography, maybe music videos into corporate training.

I don’t know where to purchase there are so many sites out there that offer packages but I don’t want to get burned.

One in particular is from I Pro Digital IProDigital.com - "Where Professionals Shop"

My concern is the prices are good but they do not have a technical department, just sales and customer service.

Plus the tripod isn’t the greatest but most of the other stuff would be useful to me.

I looked at Amazon but one place is offering 3 HD tapes included in the package..? Why would they give you HD tapes when the camera isn’t HD??

I am looking to move on a purchase soon. Do you know where I should look to buy? I would like to get the best bang for the buck without losing quality. I have looked at B&H video and several others. I would need the camera, lens, tripod (possibly) extra or larger capacity batteries, and a wireless mic system. A case would be nice but not necessary.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you.

[Chris Hurd]

Strongly recommend the Canon XH A1S over the XL2. In many ways it's a much better camcorder. Plus, when you're ready to go HD (which may be sooner than you think), it will be ready with you. MSRP for the XH A1S is nearly the same as the XL2.

There is no feedback on resellerratings.com for that dealer... proceed with caution. No feedback usually means that the company has recently changed names, most likely due to a lot of previous negative feedback. The low-grade "extras" that are thrown into those packages are very seldom worth it. Consider instead one of our site sponsors (text links in the dealer ads below). Hope this helps,

[Doug Kereszturi]

Thanks Chris,

Thank you very much for the feedback.

I talked to someone at B&H and they sided with the XL1..because I shoot weddings.. so many different opinions.

Then someone else said it's better to give someone a great SD product as opposed to a mediocre HD product. I hear also the XL1 works better in low light situations. Is the XHA1s a true HD camera? I am so confused.

I hope to hear back soon.

Doug

[Jeff Anselmo]

Hi Doug and welcome to the forums,

I have not heard of IPro Digital, so I can't help you there. But I did check out they're site for the price of the XL2, with the accessories. (And yes, they do seem to give you alot for the price.)

We bought our XL2 three years ago from dvinfo sponsor, Zotz Digital zotz digital - Professional Audio, Video, HD video Apple Final Cut Systems. Brian, the owner, was very helpful in giving advice to my questions (and I had alot of questions). In the end, Zotz didn't have the best price on the XL2, but their customer service and care convinced me to buy from them.

I have also bought various equipment from B and H. Although I've yet to contact customer service for anything (crossing fingers :), I've read mostly good things about them. So, I don't think you can go wrong from buying stuff from them.

You might also consider buying a used XL2, specifically from forum members. (I'm actually considering selling ours, but we have a couple of projects coming up, so we'll need it until June.)

I'd also be wary of buying brands that you've never heard of, like what IPro Digital is bundling with the XL2. (Unless other forum members have used them, and swear by them, I usually go with the name brands.) When we finally bought our XL2 package, the initial final price with all the accessories, came out to be less than $5000.

Good luck,

[Doug Kereszturi]

Jeff,

Thank you so much. It is so nice to see good people on here.

How many hours does your camera have on it? I may be seriously interested.

Doug

[Jeff Anselmo]

Hi Doug,

You're welcome! I've learned so much on these forums, so it's nice to give some advice (or what little I can offer :) back.

I really can't say how many hours I've shot with our XL2, but just looking at the pile of miniDV tapes, I'd say at least over 200 hours, or close to it! (I've been planning to send it out to Canon for maintenance and cleaning over the summer when things slow down. Canon will give you accurate tape head hours if you request it.) Plus, the original mic holder is broken (I can still place the stock mic in it, and screw it down.)

I was actually going to recommend the XHA1, but Chris beat me to it :) Before we bought the XL2, I seriously considered the XHA1, cause as Chris mentioned, they're about the same price. But our computers at the time couldn't handle HDV files, and we didn't have enough in our budget to upgrade our computers. (Just had enough pennies to buy the Adobe CS2 editing software, which we need to upgrade real soon!)

Best,

[Doug Kereszturi]

Thanks again..

I know I would need some hardware/software upgrades if I go with the XHA1s.

keep me posted if you do plan to sell.

Where would be a good place to post that I am looking for a used XL2?

[Jeff Anselmo]

Hi Doug,

DVinfo has a classifieds section where forum members post their equipmetn. But I think you need to be a forum member for at least 30 days to view, and post there (check with Chris Hurd)?

Best,

[Kyle Ross]

The Canon XHA1 can shoot in standard def as well as HDV too, so if you find out your computer can't handle the high-def, then you can still use the camcorder. (I have heard some negative things about the quality of the standard footage from the XHA1 though, but check it out for yourself!)

I don't know a whole lot about XL2 features, but I assume it wouldn't have a whole lot on the XHA1, besides the interchangeable lens.

[Doug Kereszturi]

Thanks for the info.