I'm having some issues with my XL2. I find that my shots look good as I take them, but whenever I digitize the tape through capture into Premiere Pro CS3 or FCP, the colors distort and yellows take on a harsh orange and blues often become a nasty green. Mens lips resemble a bright red lipstick.

I'm not sure how to oversome this problem, any suggestions? I know color correction in post would do the trick but that's a lot of time and I'm working on deadlines so it's just a hassle.

First of all, you're not "digitizing" anything when you capture to a hard drive. The footage is already digital, and technically speaking, it is literally exactly the same footage as what you see when you play back the tape.

That being the case, are you sure the problem isn't with your computer's monitor? Have you calibrated it recently? How does your footage look on a TV?

Thanks alot.
I'll run the footage through the TV monitor to see what it looks like.
Is there any way with the XL2 to change any settings so that when RCA cables are run from the camera to the television that it displays in widescreen and not 4:3?

Is there any way with the XL2 to change any settings so that when RCA cables are run from the camera to the television that it displays in widescreen and not 4:3?No, not generally speaking, unless you have a TV which is itself switchable between 16:9 and 4:3 in a menu. This is something Canon really should have addressed when they designed the camera, but didn't.

In any case, you'll at least be able to see if your colors still look weird, even if the PAR (pixel aspect ratio) isn't correctly displayed.

Thanks Jarrod. This is all helpful, as for now I'll just forget about color correction in post and wait for the final product in DVD format.

I'm glad it's helpful. It sounds like you do have some kind of display problem though, so do look into calibrating your monitor--now if possible, but after your deadline if necessary. You won't be able to accurately judge your footage until you can trust your display.

If you run the s-video out to a television that supports 16:9, it will display as 16:9.

If you run the s-video out to a television that supports 16:9, it will display as 16:9.He's right, Andrew. I always forget about this point because I have an old TV with no S-video input.

Thanks for correcting my oversight, Richard.

Thanks alot guys.

I figured it all out. Truth be told, it was obviously a monitor issue. After calibration everything looked the way it should, and after burning the DVDs also looked very good.

Quite a relief, I was getting worried for a little while there.