Just Got My XL2 - Few Questions and Observations
 

Just got my new XL2 last night. Shot my first footage, no tweaking yet, and it looks beautiful on a widescreen plasma tv. I have a couple quick questions and observations.

1) The manual focus really isn't hard to use at all. It isn't as nice as a real manual of course, but it is definately easy enough to find focus with the viewfinder.

2) The camera makes a lot of noise. Especially the focus, makes a sound like a harddrive seeking. Does everyone else's do this as well?

3) The viewfinder is a little wobbly at its joint. Is this normal?

4) The iris setting is the only control that is not nice to use. It's just not responsive.

5) The camera itself looks really nice. Except for the EVF joint, it feels very sturdy and can hold up to abuse.

6) What does everyone set their EVF brightness/color/etc. to?

7) What does everyone use to add weight to the back. It is pretty front-heavy.

Thanks,
Brandon Katcher

1) I don't think the focus is that hard with the viewfinder, but not the best. I find exposure a lot harder.

2) I have heard that sound before. Probably in some AUTO mode.

3) Mine's like that.

4) I kinda like it. A ring on the barrel would be better.

7) An 8 hour battery.

What you hear is probably the image stabilzer of the 20x lens. Don't worry, it's not a fault, it's a feature ;-)

Tighten the locking screw.

3) mine as well

7) I attached the mounting plate and mounted a Firestore, and that balanced the front to back nicely as well as left to right (I mounted the firestore a little off-center to the right to get a better left to right balance)

Im trilled you chose the XL2. I hope my information in the other thread by yourself helped your decision. Mostly everything stated by others is just the same with every XL2 I suppose. The front heavy part is a pain sometimes but you eventually will build up the strength to hold it. Like I said I HIGHLY suggest you get the Tiffen Steadystick to get that weight off your arms and shoulder. You loving the image your getting? ;)

-Kyle

Yeah, so far the image is beautiful, even before the tweaking. I haven't really been able to test it out at length yet (stupid work). But I'm gonna being it up on my local mountain soon and really put it through its paces.

Decided on the tiffen provista tripod with F18 head. Should be getting it in a few days. It will be a little bit heavier for the Nepal trek, but the steadyness should make up for it.

Question: any ideas for a mic and boom pole? I am hoping for something at most $200.

Thanks,
Brandon

I am certain you will enjoy the camera.

I dislike the tightening of the view finder. I took it apart and made a thin leather washer (rubber would be better) so that when it tightens down it stays firmly tightened.

If you need to get a tiffen steady stick for the camera, cheap and a c note.

You will get used to the weight. Rear weight, use the bp 945 battery, and then the dual battery charger model on the bracket.

Also set the view finder so you pull the camera in a little more on the shoulder.

Enjoy such a great camera!!!

Brandon,
Your problem with the view finder being wobbly could be caused by the tightening ring not adjusted. It is fixed on the view finder unit itself. Turning it clockwise will tighten it, if you've not already done this.

Thanks for the replies. I don't mean where the EVF attaches to the camera, I mean where the EVF bends 90 degrees.
Brandon

Brandon I don't know about the NTSC xl2 but over here in PAL land I'd heard a few people say the EVF was too bright and mine was no exception.

I set my cam on the 'pod and hooked a monitor to the BNC video output and balanced the EVF to the output signal - brightness ended up as low as 10% on the evf scale and contrast at 30%.

The balance also looks good on a portable DV player which I sometimes use as a field monitor if I'm not working in a hide.

I left the evf colour settings alone and turned the sharpness down to 20% as mine shipped with all the evf settings at 50%.

The EVF on the pal version is in reality a piece of junk - but the replacement FU1000 mono crt is a bit beyond my budget at the moment plus is near impossible to find here in the UK so I'm stuck with the lcd.

When you come to playing with your presets - HAVE FUN!
The Master Pedestal and Setup Level seem to have very dramatic effects on the image.

Hope this helps

Regards

Andy