Hi there,

ive been reading this forum for sometime now and i'd just like to say that i think its fantastic! and how its actually useful advice!

im currently shooting for a kickboxing video that is to be shot in the next couple of months. im a little unsure as to whether shoot in SD or HD. its not a major production by any means but i'd like to get tyhe quality the best i can.

so should i shot SD or HD? what do you think? if you have any questions on anything i didnt mention then just say and i'll try and answer them the best i can.

im still pretty new to this game and all of the help will be greatly appreciated. links and all. thanks for your time.

Liam :-)

I personally went with the Canon XL2 and shoot most everything in 16x9 format. One of the big reasons for choosing SD over HD is the difficulty of distributing HD. The current best practical way of giving the footage to others is DVD, which isn't HD. Until HD distribution is widely usable, I'm sticking to high quality SD, which is where the XL2 comes in.

Thanks for that Brendon. ive been looking at the XL2 and it seems a good choice, the camera will be hire and ive got some knowledge on the settings of camera, white balance etc. im not new to operating a camera but is there anything that you recommend i do before i say hire the XL2. obviosuly i need to practice with one but is it simple enough to set the WB and focus and all that? the shots i will be doing wont be anything difficult just some nice simple long shots and close ups and such. i cant imagine anything thats difficult.

I think the minimum of "stuff" is the XL2, both the 20x and 3x lens and a good set of sticks.

As for operating the camera, the image is stunning, and while you won't get the best out of it until you understand and make use of the range of settings that you can use to get the footage to look exactly the way you want it too. If you simply take the camera, WB it and shoot, you'll still be better off that most cameras.

I'd suggest searching the XL2 forum for some settings that may suite what you want to do and try those presets. It will help you get what you are lookng for. Just playing with the various combinations can be a little daunting, so starting with some of the "known" settings can save some time.

i like the sound of that. i'll post on the forum and hopefully get a chance to have a little go with one before the shoot. thanks for your time, greatly appreciated! thanks!!!