Well I’ve been a lurker for a while now & I just wanted to say thanks for all the great input and insight on the XL2. I finally purchased one the other day and I’m anxiously waiting its arrival and have a few questions. I ordered the CH-910 & a couple of cheapo BP-945s and was wondering what the charge time is from dead to full. I have a Mach 1 charger and just wanted to know if I should order another one and just use those. Also, I’ve been looking into getting the 1.6x extender and wanted to know if it’s good for run & gun type work or should it strictly be used with a tripod?

Thanks,
Jason

See my article "Canon XL2 Battery Endurance" at http://www.dvinfo.net/canonxl2/articles/article09.php

Strongly recommend a tripod any time you're using the extender. The longer the telephoto, the more difficult it is to hold steady by hand, even with OIS.

Thanks Chris, that's a big help.
Jason

Jason,

You will truly enjoy your xl2, money well spent. check out the various presets and try them on for size.

As for the 1.6 extender I would recomend getting an ef adapter and a seperate lens, however that is rather expensive. The extender is alright through about half to 2/3 of its reach. when at full extension it gets soft as all duplex extenders do!!
I was out using mine today and bottom line is it is not sharp enough for the wildlife I film.

It would be great if you could try one out before you spent your hard earned dollars to make sure you are satisfied with the output.