A few questions from the new guy.
 

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

1.6 extender
 

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.