Great sticks for the money
 

I love mine. They're lightweight but solid enough for an XL1.

Yes, they have a spreader and adjustable head.

Mike Avery

Good good. Anyone know anywhere in Houston where I could try one out?

K6/ME66 AA 1.5 vs 48v Phantom and SKP100
 

I was wanting to ask you all several things...

1) When using the K6 Power Module on say a ME 66 Sennheiser, is there any quality difference in using the AA 1.5v battery vs. running 48v phantom power up through the XLR cable?

2) Will the SKP100 plug-on transmitter work with the ME66/K6 setup to make a wireless boom? I think someone said they were doing that.. not sure.


I found a company selling the Evolution wireless 100 System that comes with :

* EK100 portable camera mountable receiver
* SK100 body pack transmitter
* SKP100 plug-on transmitter
* ME2 omni lavalier microphone
* CL100 output cable w/XLR connector

All for $499

I haven't seen a Evolution package like that, that came with the SKP100... I was wanting to purchase the ME66/K6 combo slap it on a boompole with blimp/deadcat, and wireless transmitter, and sidestep the need to buy the ma-200 box for now as long as the SKP100 will work on that mic, and that there is no terrible quality loss running it off the AA 1.5v vs. the Phantom.

Hope you all have some input. Thanks!

-Brad

Black Bars in XL1s veiwfinder
 

Hi All,

My wife is filming in Yugoslavia and is reporting problems
with her Canon XL1s.

Here is what she says
", the camera has four large horizontal
stripes in the viewfinder when in playback mode.
Miodrag found a place that can play the mini dv and
said that the picture is fine, great. We cleaned the
heads a bunch of times and that's not it. The crazy
thing in today when we were filming in Kalegmegdan a
Russian had my same camera. When we looked through
his viewfinder with our tape it too was a bad picture.
Crazy! Miodrad is going back again tomorrow to check
our filming from today. I have been very stressed over
this situation. "

I've recommended that she import to an NLE to check
the footage.

Any other ideas regarding likely problems/fixes etc would be
very greatly appreciated.

matt

This might sound dumb, but is the viewfinder cable securely
attached? Try wedging it a bit to see if it goes away. Other
than that, it might be a good idea to send the camera to
Canon for a cleanup and checkup?

Hi,

You might want to check out http://www.singh-ray.com/index.html they make custom filters etc. They have great phone service.

Jeff

Hi,

Usually the lower voltages causes a slightly lower S/N ratio and a little loss on the high end. I wouldn't worry unless you're doing very critical digital audio mastering.

Jeff

XL1 sunshade
 

does anybody know where I can find the lens shade that comes standard with the XL1. I lost it at a shoot and have been looking for it, but I can't seem to find it for sale by itself. any info would be much appreciated. thanx

Call up Canon Service (contact info and phone numbers on the Watchdog under the XL1 Skinny page) and request a replacement lens hood -- be sure to say "lens hood for the 16x lens," that's what it's actually called -- I don't think they'll charge too much for one. Hope this helps,

Struggling with XL1S and Shure Field Mixer
 

I'm not having much luck "riding" audio levels with a Canon XL1S camera linked, through the XLR ports, to a Shure FP24 field mixer. I want my audio person, holding a boom mic, to adjust for optimum audio by 1) monitoring via headphones and 2) watching the Shure's LED meter. Of course, all of this could be done with the camera's level control and meter but the boom person isn't close enough to see the camera meter nor adjust the camera level control. So, here are my questions if I use the mixer:

1. Where should the XL1S audio controls be set? Manual, I assume, but at what level? Anything just a hair above "on" quickly distorts the audio.

2. How does one then set the Shure level controls? For example, it seems that setting the XL1S level control at first two or three markers gives best sound quality but the Shure meters never register much past one light on the LED with the Shure level control just barely turned on. I can't figure how the boom person would ever be able to accurately monitor audio via the Shure meter.

3. And which headphone "out" should we monitor? Logic suggests it should be the one on the camera but, again, the boom person may be too far away. But monitoring through the Shure seems one step removed from what's actually being recorded on the tape?

Help!!! Thanks. DCS

re: using Shure58
 

Is it possible to use a mic. like a Shure 58 for live recording on an xl1s?
I have tried but can't seem to get enough level?
Regards
Rick Banfield

Rick,

How are you connecting the SM58?
Are you using the MA100 or 200 XLR adapter?

The SM 58 is a good dynamic vocal performance mic designed to be used fairly close to the sound source. It may not be sensitive enough or have enough output for your application.

I have used similar dynamic mics (A-T ATM 41a's) for handheld interviews where I needed close micing to help minimize pickup of background noise. I used a good XLR - XLR cable and the MA100 adapter.


Hope this helps.
Cheers

David,

A couple of questions... Do you have the XL1s inputs set for line level. It sounds like you are using the mixer line level outputs (XLR-M) and the camera input set for mic level.

This would explain the reason you can just barely crack open the levels on the XL1s before it distorts.

I find the key to good audio is a balanced gain structure.

I would start by setting the mixer controls to achieve "0 VU" or optimum audio and then match the cameras inputs.

To do this, first, turn on the "Tone Osc" in the mixer to send a 1KHz tone through the system. (This tone should register "0 VU" on the mixers meters.) Then, use the gain control on the camera to set its level meter to the "0 VU" position. Finally, using the input controls on the mixer, set your mic levels so that they average "0VU" on the mixers LED's with your desired source audio (be sure to turn the tone generator off as it mutes the mic inputs when it is engaged.) If all is set properly, the camera's meters should read "0" as well.

This way, the boom operator can adjust his level using the mixer's LED's as a reference.

The boom op can monitor from the mixer, and I the shooter would monitor at the camera as a extra precaution.

Hope this helps...
Cheers

XL1S and Mixer
 

Buford - Your suggestion (also offered by a few others) got me up and running. I shot about three and half hours today and the sound levels seem right on the money. Thanks very much for taking the time to respond. It truly was a great help. DCS

Premiere + XL1 + Win2k Pro + Pyro DV = BOOM!
 

Ok... here's the deal. I use a ADSTech Pyro Basic DV OCHI Firewire card and Windows 2000 Pro. While my computer was in the shop I needed to edit so I took the firewire card and my camera (XL1) to my friend's house who also has Windows 2000 Pro and Premiere 6. I popped in the card, booted the system and viola I was editing without having to d/l anything. Now I get my computer back, pop in the card, computer recognizes the card, but not my camera. It knows the card is there but when I plug in the camera it tries to install it as a new DV devices, now I tried installing it the way windows wants and it doesn't work. Also tried not installing it as a new dv device and it still won't work. I can't capture or dump!! It's like the camera needs a driver... but why would it be so different on two computers that are practically identical??? I've tried all these different patches and updates with no success.... please help cuz I'm going on vacation tomorrow (WED 6/19) and want to dump some stuff to show to some people but I can't unless I get this to work!!!

P.S.
My video card is an ATI All-In-Wonder and the message Premiere tells me is, "The DV device is unavailable for Device Control"

Have you checked out your DV cable?

I don't think it's the DV cable because the computer recognizes that something is being plugged into the cable when I turn on my camera.

When to use polarizer filter
 

Is it a good idea to always have the polarizer filter on when shooting outdoors (sunny days)?

If not, why?

Thanks in advance from a simple hobbyist.

I can think of a couple of times you might not want to use a polarizer outdoors. A polarizer reduces the amount of light hitting the chip by about 1 1/2 stops to 2 stops. This loss of light means reduced depth of field, by the lens opening up 2 stops to compensate for the loss of light. In close up or macro photography i usually need as much depth of field as possible.

If i wanted to stop action or motion of a fast moving subject I would choose a higher shutter speed. The loss of the 2 stops of light means selecting a shutter speed slower with the polarizer than without (2 stops slower).

Jeff

while I don't keep my polarizer on the camera very often...I always have one close by... they can be very handy at controlling reflections, and reflected highlights, and can be used to increase overall saturation when your camera is angled near perpendicular to your main light source (sun). I usually keep it in my pocket while I'm setting up a shot, then I rotate it in front of my eye to see if (and how) it effects the shot.

Typically in bright sunlight, your xl1 will request that you engage the ND filter (if you're not in the green box)...using a polarizer usually negates the need to engage the ND, thus your exposures will be about the same.

What is 'Balanced audio"?
 

Hi,
I've once read an article of XLR connectors and minijack mics. They have mentioned balanced audio and unbalanced. It didn't go into great detail of what balanced audio is.
What is the
can someone be kind enough to explain this?

Hello,

Without getting real technical.

In a balanced audio circuit you have two signal carrying conductors (+) and (-) (Pins 2 &3 on an XLR) plus a shield. The shield does not carry any signal. Since the signal is flowing in opposite directions (+ -) down the cable at the same time, any noise or hum induced into the line would cancel itself out. It is also possible to "lift" the shield at one end of the connections (known as a ground lift) to eliminate potential differences or ground loops betweeen devices whcih often causes hum

In an unbalanced circuit the signal is carried by the center conductor (+) and the shield (-). The signal is only flowing in one direction down the cable so the nulling effect of the balsnced line is lost. Also, you can not lift the shield to eliminate grounc loops or hum.

The minijack mic inputs are unbalanced. (left channel, right channel, shield). for the short distance from an on camera mic to the camera input they are fine. however, for lnger runs, I prefer to use the MA100 with XLR connection and balanced mic lines.

There are several more detailed articles in some of the video magazines on this very subject.

Hope this helps
Cheers...

A cranking noise coming from the XL-1
 

Hi gang,

I looked up "zoom" noise in the forum, but I'm not sure that this is what I'm experiencing. Just last week I notice kind of a cranking noise or grinding noise coming from the zoom motor. The lens is quiet (I took it off and turned it a couple of times) and it's not the mic or holder. It's coming from inside the camera. Is this something that you have had happened? Is it easy to have fixed? How long did it take and how much did it cost?

Thanks for any help.

bill in japan

Minidisc..HELP!!
 

Hi,
I have just bought a sony MZ-500 minidisc recorder and an Audio Tehnica ATR 35s Lapel mike...although it does record, the audio is extremely soft... I have tried adjusting the audio volume manulaly etc, but to no avail! ALso I have no clue as to ho one can transfer the audio to PC for editing... I ahve a PC link with a USB cable...but how does one get the PC to recognise the sound and store it as a WAV file.....
Would apreciate any input..thanks!
Brin
P.S Just completed my showreel using the XL1s and have had rave reviews from broadcasters re the quality of the XL1s footage!!

I do not know the Sony you have. Some Sony did have an issue with audio level control while recording - can't be adjusted on the fly. You have to pause recording to change the record level.

Many portable consumer MiniDisc recorders do not support digital output. Easiest way to capture the audio is to feed it to an analog input on your sound card and digitize at the desired sample rate.

Alternatively, if you have a MiniDISC player with S/PDIF output, and your sound card supports S/PDIF input, capture the digital audio stream that way.

Sounds like your best bet is to take it to Canon Service. Let us know how it goes,

Law & Order
 

I forgot that the FOURTH (or is that fifth) Law & Order spin-off aired tonight... Law & Order: Crime & Punishment.. so I only caught the last few minutes of it.

First thing I noticed was it was shot in some kind of Film/Progressive/Frame/(insert other euphamism here) mode... as the tripod-mounted camera kept getting panned around this was clear... at first I was wondering if they used an XL-1.... but judging from how MUCH strobing I saw, I'm almost convinced they used the 15fps progressive mode from a Sony. I've panned with the original XL-1 in frame-movie mode and no way it looked THAT "strobey"... unless the florescent courtroom lighting exacerbated things.

Anyone have behind-the-scenes info on the new series production?

XL-1 tape drive glitch after G force event
 

Greetings, My XL-1 has been a delight for over a year. My most recent tapes are showing what appears as a tape studder with sync'd audio loss at average thirty second intervals randomly distributed during record function, and also at start and stop record. My heads are clean, but the camera did suffer a drop of 18 inches onto concrete while in its soft case just before the problem started. Any suggestions are welcome. It looks like I've got to send the camera to a Canon service center, but I'm checking with the community-at-large before I part with my precious workmate. Thanks, Peter Davidson, 805-969-1413 / 455-0008, macgyver@thegrid.net

Monitors (14'' or 5''-9'')
 

Dear all,

I am about to purchase an external monitor, but I am not sure what to buy exactely. I have been looking into either a small monitor 5'' - 9'' which can be mounted on the camera or tripod or an external professional 14'' monitor. I guess it all comes down to what my needs are. I believe my needs are:

- I would like to use the monitor for critical focus when the DP is operating the camera.

- I would also like the director to be able to see the cast when filming.

I am going to use my XL1S mostly for mounted on a tripod shooting both interrior and exterrior.


I guess the obvious comment is that I need 2 monitors, but right now I really only have the means to buy one. At lease for now.

Currently I am leaning toward a small one monitor which can be mounted on the camera itself for the DP (but can also be used by the director and then the DP needs to use the EVF). And then buy a small cheap TV for the director.

Another option could also be to buy a portable DV deck incl. display. Then I would have a dv deck as well as a monitor? But I doubt that this display can be mounted or even be used for critical focus?

Any comments or suggestions???

Thanks in advance.
Thomas

stuck cassette
 

Hi all !

I'm sure someone knows the solution to this very simple problem: a cassette is stuck in my XL1... impossible to unload. The cover opens, but the cassette compartment remains tightly shut.

Thank you for your help!

Gerard

You'll probably be interested in reading through this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=728

NTSC to PAL ?
 

Is there any way to make video shot on an NTSC XL-1 viewable
with PAL (European) equipment?

The video can be converted to PAL by a standards converter. They are usually built into a VCR so that you can copy the tape as well. There are stand alone converters as well. Try some of the sponsors and if no luck B & H carries both types.

Jeff

How important is the tape? If the tape needs to be removed with no damage take it to a service center. It can be an hour or two of work to extract the tape undamaged. If the tape is not critical, just cut the tape with an exacto knife and it should eject. If not, your problems are more serious than a stuck tape.

An emergency eject that sometimes works is as follows

1. remove battery

2. turn camera to vcr mode

3. hold down eject button

4. insert battery and continue to hold eject button

5. tape may eject - it works about 20% of the time

Jeff

Hi Peter,

The drop is definitely what caused your problem, and you must send it back for service immediately for repair. I understand that you're attached to this baby and can't bear to part with it; believe me I feel the same way about mine.

But if you love and care about her, then you'll do what's best for both of you and send her in to a place where professionals who know her inside and out can restore her to pristine condition. And she justs wants to do a good job for you. So make that happen by getting her the care she needs. Service center contact info on the page called "The Skinny" at www.dvinfo.net/xl1.htm

Improper XL1s Use - Wacky images
 

I was reading a leading video production magazine yesterday and came across an advert for some post produciton DVD software. The interesting thing about this ad, was the large photo of an XL1 user.

When I took a closer look at the picture, I noticed that our shooter in question is holding one of the "extremely rare, custom made, hand-built, pre-prototype, engineering sample, one of a kind, ambidextreous, LEFT HANDED, XL1s'" made by "nonaC" the obscure manufacturing affilliate located somewhere west of East Alongapoo, NY. ;-)

In essence, he is holding the camera with his left hand! IE: Left hand on the zoom rocker control under the lens handgrip strap. His right hand was holding a DVD or CD high in the air (Training video on how to shoot left handed?)

H'mmm, I thought, since I am also left handed, this may be the ticket to better video. (Although I do swing a golf club right handed.) But upon careful examination, I realized that some paste-up artist in the graphics department, in order to get the proper "look direction" toward the spine of the magazine just reversed the photo.

After a grand laugh, I thought has anyone else seen similar wacky XL1s uses since the camera appears in many print ads for all sorts of products.

Cheers...

Chris- Thanks for your response confirming my fears of damage. I'll get my XL the service it needs. Peter Davidson

why couldn't I...
 

Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum and have been reading like a mad man trying to get caught up with what is going on with DV. I have just been asked to build a wedding videography wing within a wedding DJ company. I have an education in photography and film, but DV is new to me. So far, I have learned a lot.
So here's my question. I am sure that this has been addressed here, but I've yet to find it. There is a lot of talk about the mini disc for sound recording, and that sounds like a great idea. How about instead, I get a wireless sending unit and send an audio signal directly from the sound board into the camera. That way I don't have to do any sound syncs and I get everything that goes through the mixer.
If this is crazy, (i.e., is the signal too hot/cold or some other compatitability issue), please let me know. If this is easy, what equipment should I look into. I don't want to have to re-invent the wheel.
Thanks everyone!
-Kyle

Hello Kyle, this is a bit long... sorry.

I did just that very setup last week to record a band playing at a community concert. I used and Audio-Technica U100 UHF on-camera type wireless microphone system with a "plug-on" or "ice cube" transmitter. I fabricated a short cable to go from a 1/4" TRS (tip ring sleeve for balanced audio) connector to an XLRM that pugged into the transmitter. I plugged the cabe into an output on the bands Mackie mixer (I used the mono output on the rear of the unit). I took care to make sure the level control on the transmitter was set low enough so the output from the band's board would not overload the transmitter. I mounted the receiver at the camera location and connected its output to the left channel input on my MA100.

(You could also use an instrument cable with a bodypack style transmitter in lieu of the ice cube, but I have the cube so it was my first choice.)

For the right channel, I used an Audio-Technica ATM31a condenser mic (it runs on a battery) mounted in a shock mount on a Bogen lighting stand. This setup allowed me to get the mic in the air above the crowd for ambiance/nat sound. There are several companies that make a little brass adapter thing that converts the light stands threads to mic stand threads. I bought several and find them indespensible.

I used the output level control on the wireless receiver and the balance control on the XL1s to balance the two levels.

This way I had crowd reaction on one channel and Band PA sound on the other. (Note, this works best if the band is running everything through their mixer board.)

I then had two channels of audio to use in post production to balance crowd to band sound.

Note, if you want a stereo sound, I would use an AT825 stereo mic in lieu of the ATM31a and feed its outputs into my field mixer along with the feed from the band. This would allow me to have stereo sound, but would not allow me to do any balancing in post.

A final note, I used good batteries, and big foam windscreens on the mics.

Hope this helps.
Cheers
BTH

XL1 video clips on the web
 

I viewed these clips at the link posted below and thought they were pretty good considering they had been compressed quite a bit.

I have nothing to do with the link, the cinematographer just emailed it to me because of a project I am working on so I cant give you anymore information on it.

www.oneeye.net