XL2 Image Quality- Low Resolution
 

Hi eveyrone,

I purchased a XL2 about two months ago, but now I realized that the picture is no as sharp as some other footage I saw on the web. I tried shooting under different light condition, outdoor, indoor and so on. I also tried different settings. When I capture it the quality is not that good it should be especially when I have it in full screen.I tried capturing with Final Cut, premiere, mediastudio and so.

Please tell me what is the problem. Could it be the camera or the 20x lens?

And its already past the time that I could return the camera.

pleae tell me what I should do...

thank you

Clealry you are not using the camera properly, as mine has yeilded nothing but superb video images.

What settings are you using? What customs presets ar eyou using? 24p? 30p?60i?

How soft do you have the image set? Are you sure you are in focus?

An image being sharp is not the same as an image being good.

What is your subject matter? The XL2 is not a Point&Shoot Cam. It takes getting used to and setting up.

Image quality
 

I tried 24p 30p and 60i

and about the setting I did every little thing I could think of

its only loosing quality when I try to see the footage in full screen mode.

it looses quality like some videos on the web.

i tried capturing with different settings and sizes , but i still can't get that good picture when I watch the footage in full screen mode

Are you watching it on your computer in FinalCut or some other NLE? If so, your computer monitor won't display the video the same as a tv or broadcast montior. You should check it out on a tv instead. It should be very sharp if the camera is fully functional and being operated correctly.

low quality
 

I did try it on tv too using S-video

its still not that good and i played back the same footage i captured with the computer.

Could the camera or the lens have any problem?

If you're comparing the image (raw video) you're seeing directly from the camera to the television to poor web video, it's not the camera or the lens. Without seeing what you're doing or knowing in detail what you're doing it's impossible to say. It sounds like operator error.

Or are you talking about video that you've compressed for the web?

Jay

bad image
 

I am talking about the raw image. It doesn;t have a high resulotion, when I play it directly to tv or I capture uncompressed.


what I said about the web video was just an example of how it look when you watch in full screen mode.

It should look very good thru s-video... we need a lot more inforation. Was the camera on full auto? Were you outside? etc.



ash =o)

Image problem
 

I tried both manual and auto mode.


when I play on tv (s-video) is not as bad as when I capture it.

but even on Tv its not that good.

and yes I was out side.

So, its not a technical problem of the camera or the lens?

thank you

Kalil,

I felt the same way when I first started testing out my XL2, I was not pleased with the quality of what I was seeing until I started reading details about the XL2 settings Ash and some other wonderful people shared, and since then, the pictures I started getting from my XL2 was unbelievable.

I think you really need to do some serious testing with the camcorder.

I know a lot of people in here started you should use Automatic mode first but I went straight for the manual mode since I like messing up things and then fix them, that way you will have a better understand on how each operation works on the camera.

If someone can send me a link to a site where I can post videos for free, I can just do that so that you can see what I think it's ok.

Image getting better
 

Hi again every one and thank you for your replies.

I just took some more shots outdoor in the automatic mode with 60i

the picture is ok when I play it back directly to tv S-video, but after I capture it is still has low resulotion on full screen.



thank you

What NLE are you using? Does it have different viewing modes, like draft, good, best?

Jay

Hi jay- image control
 

Hi


When I capture, I do it with final cut .mov and NTSC 48khz

and I capture with premiere too .avi NTSC 48khz


Thgank you

S video connections are no good you need a television with component video connections which is a 5 cable connection with a red blue and green cable for video as well as a red and white cable for audio. Also a television that is capable of displaying progressive scan video is essential for a good picture. These televisions are called enhanced definition television or EDTV.

Are you looking at Final Cut Pro full-screen preview?

final cut
 

yes, I am looking at Final Cut Pro full-screen preview, and it doesn't have a high quality picture, its not sharp. The picture is good when I am looking at it smaller.

It was the same even after I exported it to dvd. and played it on the computer.

Thank you

Tommy, I have to disagree with that statement. It simply isn't accurate.

Jay

There is 'some' accuracy to Tommy's statement in that component video should yield the highest image quality. However, the problem with his statement as it applies to this scenario is that without some additional expensive hardware, there is no way to obtain component video to feed out to a compatible viewing device. S-Video may not be the 'best', but it's not bad either.

From personal experience, I fed 16:9 60i footage straight out of the s-video connection on the XL-2 into my 65" HDTV. When viewed from the normal viewing distance, the picture was gorgeous. That was with no presets active while taping the material, just straight out of the box settings.

There have been others that have come through here in the past that talk about less than expected image quality from the XL-2. I am wondering if in fact, some XL-2 cameras are performing better than others straight out of the box. We do need to allow for that possibility rather than straight out blame the camera operator.

The thing that holds back the Canon XL-2 is its inability to shoot 60 progressive frames per secound. The Canon XL-2 can only shoot 30 progressive frames per secound.

Why don't you go to Best Buy and hook up your XL-2 to a Sony XBR television with digital reality creation that upconverts 480i to 960i for a 4 times greater pixel density ?

i have a 65 inch mitsu and even on interlaced (in 24p) the resolution looks better than most DVDs

Image quality
 

Hi eveyone, thank you for your help

I finally got a better image with my xl2, its really good when I play it directly to TV. But when I capture it, its not that good. It is loosing quality

and I can't watch it in big picture.

thank you

Perhaps you are simply having capture problems.

How familiar are you with your NLE's? I know adobe premiere has a slight down-res in the preview window. That's why it's a preview window...

Matt

Capture Issues
 

Hi friends, thank you all, I finally get a better picture with my xl2.

And about the capturing, using final cut pro, after I capture, when I export it normaly NTSC 48khz evendough I capture them in NTSC 48khz, it doesn't have a good quality. but, if I convert it to HD while exporting, the picture is good.


Is it normal to be that way?

thank you

Cupturing issues
 

Hi, Kalil,
It is nice to hear you are getting good pictures from your XL2. If that is so, you should not get a bad cupture ... I guess! And the quality of the exported picture also should be the same. So, can you clarify it more. May be I can help - though I work on PAL.

Makonnen