Hi,

I'm just about buying a Canon XM2 here in sweden. But before spending so much money on a camera I'd like to be as sure as possible that it is the "right" camera for me.

I began my camcorder careér with a Canon MV5i/MC(I think it is called ELURA in the states ) - and that camera was a real big disapointment! 25min battery stamina and a picture quality like a cheap webcamera(and that in broad daylight). So now I'm a bit worried about going for another Canon camera - even if it is a "semi pro"-model ( and I do like Canon, I have an IXUS II, Eos500N and a D30 ).

My demands on a good videocamera are:

1. Excellent video quality in daylight
2. Good quality in indoor environment
3. Good-average quality in low light. Lowlight = filming in candlelight or in the afternoon.
4. I want to be able to edit all the settings in the camera, like aperture, gain, color balance etc etc
5. Atleast 60 min battery stamina using the LCD

Will the XM2 meet my demands? I friend of mine have a 1 CCD Sony ( on of the more expensive ones ) and it produces VERY good quality in lowlight ( almost no noise at all when shooting using only 4 candles, with a short DOF ).

I'd VERY much like to see for myself what the XM2 can do, so if you now any WWW site where I can download videos produces with XM2 I'd be glad to have the URL.

Also, all your opionons about the camera is welcomed! My "seconds" choice is the Sony TRV950....

Best regards,

Lars Siden

Sweden

Hello,

for the low light you can best buy the vx20000 for Sony, but this
one cost +/- €3600,00
The Canon XM2 is a very best second choice because his price an best performance.
I had the Sony TRV 950 and i have to return it, because his vertical smear (a vertical line from the light)
The Canon is less money and more camera. I am very happy with it.

greetzzzz

Thanks for your reply!

You're right, the VX2000 is out of reach!

Do you have any samples on the net for me to view?

// Lazze

i posted some videos in another forum that were shot, all daytime, with the GL1. http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7750 These were all shot in outdoor, sunny environments for the most part. I saw a demo of the GL2 in Washington DC at a seminar and i was very impressed with the improvements it boasts over the GL1. I will be getting a GL2 in the next couple months most likely as well as an XL1s. I am not saying that the GL2 is neccessarily the camera for you, but i believe that you would find the experience much better than your previous one with the MV5i/MC.

Oh i have two bp945 batteries and two bp915 batts...a typical college football game last 2-3 hours, and except for halftime i keep the cam on the entire time (barring injuries). i do not use the LCD, only the viewfinder. I typically only use about 1/4-1/2 of the big bp945 battery.

One of the members of this board, Rob Unck, uses the GL2 and has some shorts on his website http://www.robustfilms.com/ i encourage you to check them out. a few were shot in some lowlight.

hopefully these suggestions help you out some!

<<<-- Originally posted by Lars Siden : Thanks for your reply!

You're right, the VX2000 is out of reach!

Do you have any samples on the net for me to view?

// Lazze -->>>

Sorry, not yet.
(very bussy bilding a house.)
Maybe in the next month

greetz

Hi Trey,

>Oh i have two bp945 batteries and two bp915 batts...a typical >college football game last 2-3 hours, and except for halftime i >keep the cam on the entire time (barring injuries). i do not use

OK, the BP915 is included with the camera, so if I get a BP945 I should be on the safe side for 60min with LCD? The BP945 is quite expensive here in sweden, 1968:-SEK ( mmm, about 200USD )

I feel more and more for the XM2

// Lazze

i would say you would prob be able to get an hour with the LCD or very close too it. that price seems outrageous though! i know that one of the sponsers of dvinfo, ZGC http://www.zgc.com/html/canon_battery_packs.html has the batt for $115 USD.
I have never used one of these but ZGC has them - expedition batteries! http://www.zgc.com/html/expedition_batteries.html
one of the bp945s i have is not even an actual Canon battery, it is by a generic manufacturer so it may have been even cheaper. i would definately shop around if you decide to go the xm2 route. i guess you cant simply order things from here to over there because of import laws or whatnot. shippping would prob be expensive too.

See also this GL2 thread (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6759) -- there's a downloadable video clip in there which I'm pretty sure you'll like.

Lars, as you can see, I am in the country next to you :-)

I just ordered my XM2 from Germany (much cheaper there than in Denmark) and I should get it in a few days. Ill be happy to supply you with some footage, or if you are in SE Sweden you can come over and see for yourself.

You can buy much cheaper generic batteries than the Canon ones in Sweden. They are called Haehnel. An equivalent of a 945 battery will cost you 995 swedish kroners. Check out:

http://www.scandinavianphoto.se

Best regards

Hans Henrik

Hello Hans,

Glad that you wrote in english ;-)

Thanks for the batterylink, I wonder if http://www.cyberphoto.se/ have them too - Cyberphoto is almost 2000:- SEK cheaper on the camera than Scandinavian.

I'm 99% convinced of buying a XM2 now, maybe we can trade some tips later on when we both have our cameras. I use PC and Premiere 6.5 as my editing soloution.

Best regards,

Your "neighbour", Lazze

Sweden

<<<-- Originally posted by Chris Hurd : See also this GL2 thread (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6759) -- there's a downloadable video clip in there which I'm pretty sure you'll like. -->>>

Hello Chris,

I've tried to download those movies, but my Quicktime plugin "takes over" ... guess I'll have to uninstall the plugin so I get the "save as..."

// Lazze

No, Lars, you dont need to uninstall Quicktime.

Just right click on the link instead of left click. Then choose "save as" from the popup menu.

Hans Henrik

<<<-- Originally posted by Hans Henrik Bang : No, Lars, you dont need to uninstall Quicktime.

Just right click on the link instead of left click. Then choose "save as" from the popup menu.

Hans Henrik -->>>

hmm, I try again...felt like most pages did't directly linked the .mov file, instead they linked to a HTML file containing the plugin that loaded the file... I'll give it another try!

// Lazze

Hi,

Maybe this is 100% obvious for all of you ;-) I had some problems viewing QT movies on my PC. I Could only view them in a small window in the browser.

Checked QuickTimes homepage and found out that I needed the PRO version for fullscreen video. So I upgraded over the net, and now I can open a standalone QT Player and choose "open URL". You can often find the URL to the movie on a webpage by "view source". For instance, Steve N:s Hawk Eating prey can be viewed from: http://stevenunez.com/GL2frames/GL2rthawk.mov

But again, probably you all already knew this.

// Lazze