DVX100a vs. XLs1 vs GL2
 

I was initially going to buy the Canon XL1s or the GL2. The XL1s is a little too expensive but i heard it yields broadcast quality films (although the lens' are expensive). Then i heard the panasonic DVX100a yields similar results plus, 24p like film and is cheaper than the xl1s. My question is, is this true? How good in terms of quality of film is the DVX100a vs the Xl1s vs the GL2. What are the pros and cons? Another question, does adobe premiere pro/ulead and all the other editing software compatible with the panasonic DVX100a.

any help would be appreciated.

thanks.

Well, lets see. You've asked lots of good questions, all of which have been addressed in previous posts to some extent. I would suggest starting by searching previous posts. You'll get a good idea on most of your issues.

The 100a is new but not substantially different than the 100, so don't restrict your searches to just the 100a. You'll want to concentrate on distinctions like whether you'll be transfering to film (the 100a with 24p is probably your best bet) or whether you're looking for film-like video (depends, xl1s provides greater lens flixibility, etc.).

I'm a new 100a owner and love it. But I also loved my VX2000. It depends on a lot of factors.

Stuart,

thanks. I actually did go and look at other posts, but they more or less compare camcorders of the same model. You said you bought a dvx100a, how do you like it. What are the pros vs. cons of it. I was really excited about buying the xl1s, then i read that the new xl2 may be coming out later, and i'd hate myself blowing $4000+ then 4 months later a newer camera comes out. As far as the interchangable lenses, while this is great the lenses are >$1000 and out of my price league.

Link to first impressions discussion is below. To that I would add low light in progressive is not quite as good as dreamed but not as bad as feared, and 60i low light is quite good (low light of VX2000 was great). In general you should hear from the more experienced 100 users who may now have a 100a -- they'll be better able to give you pluses and minuses. (For that matter hearing from just down right more experienced folks on this board will be better ;-)

For example, I still can't really tell the difference between the _V and _D gamma settings on the 100a -- probably because I haven't hit a shot that emphasizes the differences between the two curves.

Are you going to transfer to film? Will you be using an anamorphic adapter? Will you use XLR mics? Do you need lots of customized controls or will you be on auto mostly (a la GL2)?

I use Vegas with my 100a and it fits like a glove. There are a couple of other ones that support the 100a (see the other forums and the Notice links above).

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18746

XL1s vs DVX100
 

I have both a PAL XL1se and a DVX100(non A).

I think there is a pretty definite difference between these two, because they offer several non-overlapping features. It depends on what is more important for your situation.

First of all, i am assuming that you want the film look...in which case I would recommend not to bother with the NTSC version of the XL1s. The PAL XL1se gives you close to 24fps, better color and more resolution. ONLY possible downside is that you can't play from the camera to an NTSC TV directly, no big deal to most of us.

The DVX has a slightly sharper picture, true progressive and 24fps out of the box. But you have to decide if not being able to change lenses is going to be a big problem as well as the infinite spinning focus wheel, because it is for me.

The PAL XL1se can achieve very comparable results, as long as you have the right software and know how to perform good color corrections and aquire material that will work in post. You can obtain 24fps simply by slightly slowing down the PAL 25fps footage(and stretching the sound to synch). It's a procedure that works, but the DVX does all this out of the box.

The main issue is the lens. If you can work with the standard DVX lens then go for it, but if not the XL1 is your only option, at least for a year or so. Specially if you are seriously interested in going on to larger pro cameras, the XL1 is a good idea, since it lets you practice with a (somewhat?)professional setup.

Juan

I am not an expert but I have read many posts on different forums:

If you want to shoot sports, wildlife, beach babes, and wild outdoor things, do frame grabbing of action shots and the occasional high res still get the GL2. Limitation is that it looks like video and frame mode is not as sharp as progressive scan of the DVX100a.

If you want to have film like movies, with the highest possible resolution for intimate shots, and if you want film like movies and stills with a lot of exposure lattitude and infinite control over picture appearance that does not look like video get the DVX100a. Limitation is the amount of zoom available because it is set up as a wide zoom.

You may think this is insane but it may be cheaper to buy both cameras than a lot of gagets to have one camera do the function of both.