I'm planning to buy an XL2, and I've been thinking about, possibly, getting a used one.

A couple of the used ones I've seen on ebay and elsewhere list the number of hours on the timer. Does this timer show the number of hours the camera has spent recording or is the number of hours of actual use (capturing, rewinding, time spent scrolling through menus, etc.)?

I can't seem to find this info online or in the XL2 manual, and it sure seems like there would be a drastic difference between the two.

There is no user accesible hour meter on the XL cams. Most users do not use their 3 chip cams to capture, so your best indication of hours of use are to find an honest seller who will know within 10 or 20, how many tapes have been driven through the cam. The pros keep all the tapes and do not overwrite them. Fresh tape stock every shoot.

Oh, I must be confusing my info with the DVX-100, which I have also been looking into.

Thanks for the correction.