steady cam
 

does any one knows where i can find a site where to build your own stediecam. i mean build one.

shotgun mics
 

does any one knows what type of mic to use for movie making. im filming a feature and i want to know what type to buy for location sound.

XL-1s, 48k audio or 48.005?
 

Although Canon was reluctant to acknowledge it, the original XL-1 did not capture audio at exactly 48khz. Instead audio was captured at 48.005khz which meant that applications like Final Cut Pro had to have a sync compensating feature added to make sure audio and video remained in sync.

I have asked everyone in the world, short of this site, if this issue has been resolved with the XL-1s.

Does anyone have the lowdown on this?

Greg Matty

I had this url lying around:

http://www.geocities.com/kenosis/steadyvicker.htm

good luck,

Rob

LCD and Mini-Mount/System Isolator
 

The watchdog has reviewed a couple of different LCD monitors. I already own a Sony GVD-900 DV walkman with an LCD display. Has anyone ever compared the image on a GVD-900 to one of the reviewed LCD solutions? I am sure my Sony is good enough for focus, but it is an expensive item to take into the field.

The second question relates to the XL-1 and the Mini-mount or maybe the system isolator can't remember which. Using whichever one it is that isolates just the microphone with my XL-1 stretches the connection cable tighter than I would like. Is the cord on the XL-1s longer? I hope so.

Greg Matty

Hi Greg,

I'll bet there isn't much of a difference in the images from your 900 walkman and an LCD monitor. The real question is which do you want to take into the field.

I don't own an XL1S and don't recall a straight answer to the cable length issue. I was told they were going to be longer, but all the XL1S models I've ever handled at the tradeshows still have that same cord length. For what it's worth, it hasn't been a problem for me. My LightWave stuff does stretch the cord to its limit, but not excessively.

How's the rain slicker holding out?

Yes, good question... Greg, try searching the XL1 Audio forum as I think this has been discussed before. If anyone has the quick answer though, I sure could use the referesher.

Chris,

The seal skin works well but I haven't used it all that much. It is a tight fit without the aforementioned accessories so I haven't tried it with them yet. No big deal there but it would be nice if the all would fit.

The only issue I had was with the zippers. After zipping it closed, the first time I used it, the zipper opened up behind the zipper handle. I was able to back it up over the opening and re-zip it closed. Other than that, no worries.

BTW, is that company still around? I haven't checked their site in a long time, but it was down for so long that I figured they must have gone belly up.

A new XL-1 would be a nice addition to my XL-1 but I will have to wait for a while.

Greg Matty

interchangeability problems
 

Hi,
I have a tape that a client recorded in his XL1. It doesn't play back properly in ANY of our decks or cameras. We have a DSR-40, DSR-30, a JVC miniDV deck, a 200 DV-CAM camcorder and a couple of VX-2000s. I tried this tape in all these and it doesn't play correct. On the DSR-40 you can here pieces of the audio and the picture looks like its strobed. On the other decks you don't hear the audio at all. This tape plays back fine in the XL1 it was recorded in. Anyone run into this?
Thanks much,
-jim

Was the tape recorded in SP or LP modes? It's not unusual to have such playback troubles with tapes recorded in LP, in which case you may be best served by copying it from your XL1 to a deck running in SP mode.

battery prices
 

I was just looking at prices for extra batteries. Yikes! Any features to look for ...or particular brands? Likes? Dislikes?

Thanks.

If the tape was recorded in SP mode, then the transport chassis may need to be tweaked by Canon service.

Try the Canon-compatible Lenmar batts from my sponsor Pro-Tape at www.pro-tape.com (do a search for Lenmar on this forum to bring up other threads about this topic as it's been discussed before).

XL1 with Fujinon12X
 

Hi!
We just decided to switch from DVCPro&Beta to the XL1DV, which is really good.
Anyway the only thing I dont like is the standard lense of the Xl1, and I would like to know if there is any adapter where I can use the Fujinon 12X lense(Fujinon a12x6.8),This lense used to be on our Panasonic DVCPro.
I know if there is any Adapter for it , it will work only manually without the motor, but it is o.K.

Would be very thankful if somebody could help, been looking almost everywhere,in the watchdog site the same lense had also been mentioned.
Sorry for my not perfect english
Best Regards

Chungle&Co

Equipment insurance
 

I have the Canon XL1s with misc. shooting equipment. The trunk of my car is getting to look like a gaffers truck. I'm looking for information about equipment insurance. I have seen a few ads promoting insurance. Not sure what to look for or what to ask. Any recommendation on who to call and what to look out for? Thanks!!!