gl2 lens quality
 

i read a thread last night, which i can't seem to track down at this time, where the user informed the person interested in buying a gl2 that there was no question that the xl1s' stock lens is a much better lens than the one on the gl2. according to this person there was a big difference in the optics of these two lenses-quality issues. is this the general consensus? if one were to screen footage side by side between these cameras could one notice this alleged "higher quality" comming from the 16x lens? anyone who has used or owns both cameras can you please clarify this for me.

thanx,

mb4

Mmm... I would disagree here. The GL2 lens is superb, the best in its class in my opinion. It has flourite elements using technology borrowed from Canon's professional EOS still photo lenses. I don't think you could possibly have better glass on the GL2. It's also the longest focal length (20x) of any 3-chip DV camcorder, with all the great features of the XL1S 16x IS II lens, including a neutral density filter and Canon's excellent Optical Image Stabilization. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Mb4

My experience has been the opposite. I have always felt the Gl1/2 lens is superior to the xl1s lens in terms of sharpness, especially in middle to wide settings of the zoom. I have shot footage side by side on the two cameras, (actually all 3) and the gl1/2 always looks sharper (not just sharpened)...the image in my opinion just has more integrity. The main benefits of the xl1s lens is in the manual zoom and better zoom control.

Barry

Having both cams, and every available lens for my XL1s, I'd certainly second Chris' and Barry's remarks. The GL2's lens is probably the best value of the whole camera and it's certainly at least on-par with the XL1s' lenses. Lens technology is Canon's leading capability in the video field. Many of their professional lenses are highly sought-after and sell for $15,000+.

The fluorite element is why the GL1/2 is so sharp in the extended 20X range. Fluorite is a naturally occurring element and solves (corrects) several optical problems that affect sharpness. Fluorite is very expensive to use because it is not man made. It is also very soft and fragile. Canon is the only lens manufacture I know of to use fluorite.

Jeff

Clear flourite large enough for lenses is very rare, so Canon has solved the problem by making their own. Apparently, they are the only ones who has the technology to do it.

Interesting article at:


http://www.canon.com/technology/production/flourite_lens/content.html

A very interesting Canon article! Also rather humorous that this article has obviously been on their site for a long time but retains a typo in the title <g>.

Thanks very much, Tom. Good for future reference.