G'day dvinfo.net readers,

I've recently been very seriously interested in purchasing a 3x wide angle lens for my XL2, and have found a whole lot of various prices; Canon Australia quote at AUD$2,000 and something, A seller on ebay who ships from Hong Kong with some good feedback and history is selling it for $1540 plus postage, which is much better in price. I'm also after some new batteries, as my one Canon battery is nowhere near enough, the standard price is normally set around $240 or so...

In my travels, I have met a guy working for a production quality that is selling their XL1 rig with the following features...

* Canon XL-1 3CCD PAL mini DV Camcorder

* Canon wide angle lens 3x zoom 3.4-10.2mm 1:1.8-2.2 7 with bag

* Canon lens 16x zoom 5.5-88mm 1:1.6-2.6 with optical stabalizer

* 2x 3000 mAh + 2x 3700 mAh li-ion batteries

* Canon charger

* MA-100 XLR balanced microphone adapter / shoulder pad

* Canon battery video light VL-10Li

* Canon remote control with jog shuttle dial

* Steel camera case

All for approximately $3500...

Now for a just under $2000 more than the ebay sale I am getting a secondary camera, the lens I wanted, a bunch of batteries and some handy tools.

So my question to you is, would this purchase be worthwhile as a secondary rig? Has the 3x lens changed at all since its initial release, that would make this one inferior to a new one?

Thanks for your advice,
Tim

I could just dream of such a set up for a secondary unit. As it is now, I have my XL2 and I can borrow my friends XL1S if need be but it would be nice to have something readily available.

The 3x lens has not changed since its introduction in 1998.

Does anyone know what the package would actually be worth?

Hi Tim,

I'll assume you're using AUD$ for all your $ amounts, as will I.

It sounds like this dude is selling the PRO kit, which was the camera body, 16x lens, MA100, hard case, and a dual battery charger/power supply, which he doesn't include.

But he is throwing in the WA lens, a couple of batteries and a video light.

Providing it's in good nick, it's a bargain.

The Pro kit was $7500 RRP while they were still available, which was about a grand more than the standard XL1s.

I was hoping to get about $4k for my rig, without the WA or light.

Hi Tim,

I'm not really able to directly answer about whether the whole package is a good deal or not, but one caution:

Although I've never personally used the XL1, I doubt that its widescreen footage would mix well with the XL2's due to the substantial difference between the XL1 and XL2 in their widescreen resolutions. Also, one would assume that the XL1 has a lot of time on the heads if it was owned by a production company.

It may well be that the rest of the equipment is worth the price even without the camera, or that the kind of shooting you do makes my concern moot. If so, you've got a good deal. If the camera really "makes the deal" you may want to consider its usefulness to YOU before jumping in.

For comparison, I bought a NEW 3x a few months ago from Zotz for $1150-1180 US (can't quite remember the exact amount).

Mark,

Thanks for the wise words.. It sounds like the camera itself would almost still be sellable once I've kept all of the other goodies. It's nice to see another Aussie round these parts. ;)

Pete,
Yeah, I did consider the resolution problems that I could encounter but figured I'd play it as it rose. So if it becomes un-usable, then I'll keep the lovely goodies and either sell the other camera to go towards a new XL2, or just keep it for emergencies. The production company that is selling it is more of a 3D architecture company, that also do corporates for building developments, so I would imagine that the camera has seen some use, but not exessive. Thanks for the reply.