This is a rumor, but my friend who is in the know and has been right a lot (except that the FX1 would be 4:3--that was an early plan, but scrapped fairly quickly, or may have been a rumor--who knows?). Anyway, I understand Canon wants to be the leader in the DV/SD market and is waiting for the HDV market to really take off before they jump in. I guess it's "why throw a lot of money into a camera when JVC and Sony can do it right now and develop the market."

heath

Well, traditionally Canon has always been a late adopter--seeming to opt for letting the other manufacturers come out with the "daring and new" while, waiting to see what feed back comes down the line, so that Canon can come out with something that "fixes" most of the problems others find in the "other guys" cameras. They were late getting into DV, they were late with 24p (so much that it might have hurt them if HDV really takes off in 2005--but that's a debate that could rage on endlessly). Honestly, as a loyal Canon owner--I'm very tempted by the Z1...but the possibility that in a year or so Canon may be announcing an HDV camera with interchangable lenses ala the XL series...is quite honestly more tempting (this of course based purely on speculation of where Canon has gone in the past).

What can I say? If you're loyal to Canon you know you're going to be waiting longer than you would for any manufacturer--but you also know that what you wait for is going to blow your socks off...unless you're a hippie...then you're probably not wearing socks...so I guess it'll blow your hair back...

Fortunately for Canon I don't have the cash yet to by a FX1 or Z1 when it comes out. When I do have the cash, if Canon hasn't come out with HDV, it's Sony all the way. I don't know how many other people feel the same way, but as far as I'm concerned, by not going HD Canon's lost my interest.

I'm sure the next JVC will be better than the FX1 and the Z1, then Sony will come out with something better, etc.

heath

See my own take (http://www.dvinfo.net/canonxl2/xl2faq.php#presales) on this issue. Canon is consistently the last camcorder manufacturer to release products in a new video format. Always has been, always will be.

Yup, Canon will eventually release a HDV camcorder. But I'm guessing they won't do so for at least another 1-2 years. They always come late on the market and bring the best. Since they just released the XL2 fairly recently, I think it will be a while. They might release an XL2s of sort, with HDV I'm guessing. They'll jump in (like you said) once everyone has played their cards.

It's no secret I'm a Canon fan myself. So, with that in mind, it seems to me that Canon is taking the safe road. HDV is in its infancy. In a year's time, everything we now see on the market will be obsolete. Technology is evolving by leaps and bounds. HDV is the format de jour, and I can say with some certainty that changes are coming as Blu-ray or some other HD-DVD format becomes the HD format de riguer. It's still ot decided, as much as Sony would like evryone to believe Blu-ray is it.

Unfortunately for all of us XL1/XL2 owners, the glass we use on their DV camera is useless on a format like HD. The existing lenses don't have the resolution to support HD. HD lenses will also need larger apertures.

Until this gets resolved(sorry for the bad pun) the XL2 is my choice.

Well, most technology is obsolete fairly quickly, but we still love it! I decided long ago I can't keep up with it!

If I don't buy an FX1, I'll probably wait to see what hits next fall, but chances are, I'll own either an FX1 with a BeachTek or a Z1 to shoot my next film, 9:04 AM (www.904am.com) next October 2005.

heath

Barry Green has an excellent review/comparison of the XL2, DVX100a and FX1 on the SOny/Vegas forum. It's a good read....

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