Ok, I appreciate the help!

The XL-1S as good as it is, is simply not HD. If shot in manual and used by someone who understands how to shoot video and how to use an XL-1S it will do an exceptional job.

The trick is to understand how to set the camera exposure, DoF, and gain. If you can handle that the camera will truly surprise for an SD cam.

What I will suggest to you is to learn how to use Canon's 4-track audio. It reduces audio resolution to 12-bit instead of 16-bit. The plus side is that you have 4 audio tracks which allows you to use the main stereo mic on main channels, and auxiliary (wireless, for example) on the sub channels.

That works great for anything but the most exacting audio demands.