Rick,
I know what you mean. I've not experienced this with my GL2 but I have had such a weird color balance shift with my XL1s. In my case, the color balance began drifting towards daylight balance while shooting a tungsten-lit scene. After a moment of panic I realized I had mistakenly turned WB to Auto. Auto WB has a mind of its own, continuously statistically resampling the center portion of the image.

Color on continuous follow-shots when moving between indoor and outdoor settings is darn hard to control, especially if you've no control over the indoor lighting. The only advice I can offer is to either (a) break the shot to rebalance, or (b) try to set a manual balance that kinda works for both settings, assuming the indoor scene is not extremely warm.

Thanks Ken. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who has seen this kind of problem with a Canon unit. My GL1 is 3 years old, and I'm just waiting for the next major repair on it. It sounds like this white balance problem is just a shortcoming of the camera rather than a malfunction. I'll report back if I have any problems on the manual settings.

Thanks,

Rick

Or you can put gells on your lights indoor (or screw in different
bulbs) to match the outdoor light temperature.

wideangle for gl1
 

im tryin to decide what kind of wideangle lens i should get, ive been looking at the century optics .3x, the optex .3 and the raynox .3. The least expensive one is the raynox lens, i've heard rumors that this lens clamps on and breaks easily, i also heard that you get a margins on ur video. I havent heard much about the century otics and the optex lenses. All i know is that the century optics retails for about 700, and the optex goes for 350. Right now im leaning towards the optex lens. If anyone has any info that can help me out i would really appreciate it, and also does anyone know where i can buy the optex lens online?
thanks.

GL2 vs. GL1 16:9
 

Has anyone compared the in-camera 16:9 capabilities of the Canon GL2 to the GL1. My GL1 does a poor job on anamorphic 16:9; there is a big loss in resolution when filming in this mode. I'm wondering if the GL2 is better since it has more pixels.

Using the electronic 16:9 is never going to be great. The best advice is to get on of the screw on anamorphic lens adapters which do a reasonable job.

I heard that with the anamorphic lenses, you can't zoom, pan, or move the camera without the image looking weird. Do these lenses only do static anamophic shots?

how many hours is too many for a used GL1 ?
 

hello everyone. i'm a total newbie and this is my first post! these boards seem very well informed and everyone seems to treat each other well. nice job...

my question is how many hours is too many for a used GL1? i found one that seems like it has been VERY well taken care of and it has about 250 hours of use on it. the guy wants about $1200 for it and he said he would throw in a five hour battery.
it seems like a pretty good deal, but even though i am trying to research as much as i can on the internet, i must admit i don't know a whole lot about this gear.
i've been playing, engineering and producing music pretty seriously for more than ten years, so i do have a grasp on sensitive electronic gear, just not cameras. i woke up one day about a month and a half ago and just knew that i wanted to make decent looking low budget movies, so here i am.

sorry for the long post. any thoughts about whether this is a good deal are very appreciated. i'm sure taking the camera to a shop to get checked out is prudent. i'm just wondering whether or not i should worry about this or just go for it and fork it over for a GL2...

thanks everyone!
-ryan

Hmm, whenever I ask this question I don't seem to get a reply. Anyone? please?

Thanks

anybody have an opinion on this? pretty simple question: is 250 hours a lot of use for a GL1 in good shape or is it hardly any use....? how many hours is this camera good for, when taken care of?

i know SOMEBODY has a clue about this.... it would really help me decide what to do with my money.

thanks
-ryan

Ryan,
Unlike professional video cameras which track their head hours, there's no reliable measurement of prosumer cameras' usage hours.

Here's a recent thread basically on this topic that you might find informative. The concensus seems to be around 500 hours, but who's counting? <g>

Good luck on your prospective purchase!

with the 16x9 anamorphics lens attachment you can pan , run , move camera , zoom but not full zoom ... you might only be able to use 60-80% of the zoom depending on the F stop ... you loose a little on the close focusing on med/long shots .. say with zoom at 50% ( long) it can focus at 5 ft then with the anamorphic it might be 8ft ...

you have to work with their limitations and the 16x9 image is very good ....

Price fo GL1?
 

Is $2000 CAN, a good deal for a GL1?

Ken -

thanks a lot for the reply and the link to the other thread!!
i should have searched the message board first. DUH!
the thread did give me some general info and that's just what i was after. thanks again!

ryan

Used model? Depends on the condition and amount of use. Check prices on Ebay, especially completed auctions for an idea of what the market is. Also, keep in mind that Ebay prices tend to be a bit on the high side.

Yes, if it's in good shape, that's a fairly good price.
I find Ebay prices on electronics tend to be lower than what things sell for in a local market. People tend to pay less for expensive stuff they can't buy in person.

I'd say 250 hours means it is fairly well used. I don't know if I'd pay $1200 for one with that many hours, as used GL1's have become considerably cheaper since the GL2 was released. I'm pretty sure I've seen GL1's with less than 100 hours selling for a similar price. I'd rather pay $1400 for a GL1 with 50 hours than $1200 for one with 250.

Well I've tried the Optex 0.3x single element aspheric on my VX2000 (also has a 58mm filter thread). I was disappointed with the price but most of all with the barrel distortion. If it's worth grinding aspherical surfaces, surely it's worth removing the barrel distortion? If not, we'll all use spherical elements and save ourselves a lot of money, thank you very much.

The Century is very expensive but makes no pretence about distortion, selling itself on the fish-eye look. I have a Raynox 0.66x converter and that is one of the very best (and least distorting) wide-angles I have, though it's too mild an optic for you I'd guess.

tom.

thanks dylan.

i like to err on the ULTRA cautious side when i buy used gear. actually, if it has moving parts, i generally won't buy it used. i take immaculate care of my gear and i know not everybody does. i guess i would agree with your logic about paying more for one with less hours. i should just admit that i'll probably end up springing for a new GL2, 'cause that's the way i am.

thanks for the reply!

ryan

250 hours is like 250 tapes put through it-

If it were 250 hours with a tapeless solution- it wouldn't be that bad.....but 250 tapes through it is alot- transports will have taken some wear

....that's 24 hrs a day on constantly for 10.4 days!

For $1199- order a Panasonic EZ50 from B&H
3CCD cam new at that price.

Good luck.

thanks for the feedback tom i really appreciate it,

GL1 Hot Pixel--Mack Warranty
 

I have a GL1 that is a little over a year old. It has developed a very large white spot in the lower left part of the screen. The edges of the spot have a slight flicker to them. It appears that several adjacent pixels "died." I have an extended warranty through Mack--has anyone had any experience with them? How long might it take to get it fixed and returned? Could the symptom I described be caused by something else? Is there anything I should know or do before sending the camera off?Thanks.

Les

The problem is correctable at Canon Service. As for how long it will take, that's really up to the Mack warranty. Please let us know how the procedure goes. Best of luck,

guessing 4-6 weeks for repair if you have to send it to mack and then mack subs the work out to canon ...

3-4 weeks if send direct to canon and you pay for it ...

my GL took 3 months but that was the fault of the repair place .. they were paid by the GE extended service within 1 week of looking at camera ( they then sub-contracted the worked out to canon) but they didn't pay canon till 2 months later ...

GL1 Upgrade to GL2 Sensor?
 

I just bought a used GL1 with a hot pixel in the sensor. I have to send it into Canon for repair. Does anyone know if Canon can upgrade the sensor to the GL2 sensor for improved low light abilities?

Richard,
I assume that by "sensor" you mean the CCD block. No, Canon will replace your GL1's CCD with the same model of CCD. The GL2's is different and incompatible with the GL1's.

Okay, I know I'm dreaming, but wouldn't it be great if you could? I'd love to have a camera that I could ugrade in pieces, adding a better viewfinder, CCDs, and mike without having to hang a bunch of ridiculous looking accessories all over. I guess its the same reason they make cars more and more disposable. There's more money in selling a new one than selling parts.

Connecting 2 lapel mics to gl1
 

Can you connect 2 lapel mics to the mic input on the gl1 with some kind of adapter? I'm looking for the cheap way to do this so i'm not interested in the xlr connector box. Thanx much in advance.
-Kris

What mics are you planning to use?

Kris, I would assume that your lapel mics are mono. I am also guessing that the mic input on the GL1 is a stereo minijack. With a simple adapter from 2 female mono minijacks to one male stereo minijack you should be able to get one mic in each stereo channel. I am sure you can get such an adapter in Radio Shack or equivalent.

Is this what you meant?

Hans Henrik

Yes, Hans that's exactly what I meant. Thanks so much for the help.
-Kris

gain and zebra questions on GL1
 

I recently bought a used GL1, but I couldn't get the manual. There are two things I'm still wondering about, and I hope someone can clue me in.

First, the camera always defaults back to +12dB video gain when I turn it off. This seems, to put it mildly, insane. Why on earth wouldn't 0dB gain be the default? Is there any way to change this default? I can't find it in the menu.

Second, is the zebra striping set at 100 IRE or 70 IRE?

Thanks for any help.

Stu

Hello Stu,

You can download the GL1 manual (in PDF form) from the Canon DV site.

I don't own a GL1 any longer, but I believe the zebra is fixed at 100 IRE.

I don't recall the gain resetting to +12dB unless the camera was switched to manual from a low-light condition in an auto setting (Tv, Av, Auto). Are you, perhaps, turning the camera on with the lens cap on, then switching to manual? Just a thought.

Hope this helps.

GL1 zebra is fixed at about IRE95 per the specs. You can check your specific camcorder if you have access to a vector scope. other appropriate meter.

Well, I downloaded the manual, and of course it doesn't give the specific IRE or the zebras. Wording suggests it's set at 100, but I think I'll try to track down a WFM to check it out.

As for the video gain, I did some experimentation based on Ken's suggestion and basically discovered he was almost right. It boils down to this: If you open the lens cap before turning the camera on, it sets the gain to 0dB. If you have the cap on when you power the camera, the gain sets to +12dB. Weird thing is, it does this even when you're only using manual mode, no automatic exposure controls at all. I still think this is bad design, but at least I know what's going on now.

Thanks,
Stu

IMHO experimentation is the best way to learn! Get to know your cam. You will be glad that you did!

Thanx,

From the "Performance and Functions" section of the GL1 service manual: "The portion of brightness over 95 IRE is displayed in the form of black & white zebra pattern." There might be some variation among individual units based on factory setup and aging of the analog output.

Disable auto shuttoff on GL1?
 

Hey Guys...
I'm wondering if there is a way to disable the automatic standby/shuttoff that happens on the GL1. I want to use this camera with iChat AV, but it keeps shutting off on me! Please let me know.
Thanks!

Do not load tape in the camcorder, then it will not shutdown when in camera mode.

You can change it to shut off the tape instead of the power, that's another way of doing it, just in case u like leaving your tapes inside. I have done that.