Hi Pete,
Given the very narrow scope of your subject matter and wide range of focal length with maximum depth of field not to mention the ergonomics of your venture, the only way to be fully sure would be to rent an XL1 and give it a run. Or "hire out" as they say in Britain.

As for the focus stops, there aren't any on the stock lens. You want to talk about infinity, well that's how far you can turn the focus ring. The manual 16x lens would be a definate add-on in this example. Pull wide, grab a focus, zoom in (if possible) do the same and you are set.

As previously stated, the frame mode is great when the camera moves little and the object being shot is in motion. Perfect for frame grabs for the net.

adding audio to XL1s after 16bit recording
 

I know that when you record audio with the XL1s in 16bit, the manual says that you cannot add anything else to the tape (music, voice over, etc..), is that true for NLE's such as FCP 4? For instance, if I record an interview in 16bit, when I go to edit can I still add overlapping audio tracks and then put that back on to MiniDV or do I need to record in 12bit to add more audio later? Thanks

no it's not true in fcp4 when you add your different soundtracks they will be mixed down to 2 channels of 16bit when you print to tape.

VCR Playback Woes
 

Hi fellas. I registered here some time back, and have come back for more! Hey ho!

*Ahem*

My XL1s is having trouble playing back tapes...even if the recorded footage was shot JUST before switching over to VCR mode. I've been using my unit for around eight months now, and never had this problem to my recollection. It just gives me the blue standard screen, and when the tape is playing, all I get is a minutes left count, not the timecode.

Would this be a job for a head cleaner, and if so, where would I get one?

Thanks a ton, this forum rocks my pants off. (I'm a guy, so...the majority of ya'll can just stay there.)

One more thing, and I'm sure this is covered, but I've checked the last three or four pages back and saw nothing mentioning it...on some of my older tapes I get three or four thick grey bands across the image. Sup with that? Can it be fixed, or is the tape a goner?


-Teague

Head cleaning might help - but usually the early sysptoms are not as drastic as you describe.

MiniDV head cleaning tapes are available at most quality consumer electronics stores taht sell MiniDV gear. Any brand name (Sony, Panasonic, etc.) should work OK. Follow the instructions.

Azden vs. Sennheiser
 

There is an Azden model out now, system msrp for $450, transmitter and reciever.
How does that compare to the Sennheiser system running about the same?

best protective filter for indoors?
 

WHen shooting indoors I have to shoot with a naked lens because every protective filter I've used gives me either double images or tiny beads of light when certain lights and lighting fixtures are in the frame(double images of the lighting fixtures themselves or tiny bead floating around the fixtures, usually wall mounted.

Does anyone know of a protective lens that will not do this when mounted on an XL1?

Outdoors no problem with either a protective lens or cicular polarizing filter.

thanks

Hello Bob,
Answer: none.

Even the best filters will produce fireflies and other internal reflections under certain conditions. Under dim indoor lighting with bright point-sources, and at night with headlights or streetlights, you're nearly assured to encounter such problems.

It is a natural inclination to provide continuous "protection" of the camera lens' outer element with do-nothing filters such as a UV or clear glass. But, in fact, it's best to 'shoot naked' whenever possible for the best image.

Particular usage on XL1s 3 Shooting Modes
 

I very new to Xl-1s and confused about the usage of 3 movie modes (Normal Mode; Digital video mode and frame movie mode) since the Canon manual lack of detail and short of info;, how exactly the functions of 3 movie mode relevant to quality of the shooting a video and when do I need to use those 3 movie mode and any particular usage??? …normally I used “normal video Mode” to shoot all the videos. Any idea? Any experiences or just Canon added value to the Xl1s cam.

Digital video (if I know what you mean) is for synching your
camera to a computer / TV monitor so you don't see the rolling
bar.

Normal video shoots interlaced. Frame mode is a special form
that yields a progressive frame. Since the XL1S does not have
true progressive scan CCD's this isn't true progressive. But the
end result is progressive footage with a slight resolution loss
and thus softening of the image.

xl1s selling/purchasing info
 

I want to sell my ntsc xl1s body and buy a xl1s pal body. Whats a decent price for me to sell my xl1s body for? its about 2 years old and is in good shape. what would be the easiest way to sell it? ebay? private ads? i have never sold anything online before. also, whats a good price for a new xl1s pal body and where might you guys suggest i purchase it?

lots of questions....

thanks!

xl1s go to ebay and click on completed items enter in xl1s find a description that's similar to yours youc an probably get around that much. If you're looking for and XL1 pal body (no S) I'm selling mine in the classifieds section, I believe another member is also selling an xl1s pal, if you need to by new I guess go to b and h but it's up to you.

Can you provide model numbers?

White Balance Question
 

I'm using a PAG on camera light with my XL-1s. If I'm setting up my white balance manually should I do that with my camera light on, or before I turn the light on? I'm shooting some scenes in doors where I can't control the enviroment too well. I'm a newbie, so please don't laugh too much at my question.

Thanks, Jerome

Great question. Once you have your scene set, apply the actual lighting that will occur and drop in a white card at the point of capture. Focus on the card and hit the w/b button.

Thanks for the info. :-)

It certainly compares for the price of a Evolution 100.

One of the things Canon is referencing is the difference between the GLs and XLs. On the GLs 4-track allows yo to add these as dub tracks after you complete the recording.

Interesting results with Frame Mode
 

Hi, all

I just shot a wedding this weekend and I used an XL1s and a GL2 but by accident I forgot to turn off the Frame mode on the GL2. I was going to set them both to standard mode since I have heard of lot's of people saying they did not use Frame mode for weddings.

Anyways when I was going to edit it in Vegas I was looking for flashes to sync the shot's I was pretty amazed at these two shot's at the exact same time during a flash.

Check these out. Here is the XL1s shot in standard mode.

ftp://totalsolutions.bz/pub/XL1s.jpg

and here is the GL2 in frame mode

ftp://totalsolutions.bz/pub/GL2.jpg

Do you see the scan lines?
pretty cool huh?

Believe it or not the XL1s looked great the rest of the shoot it's just here that it looks crappy!

.. oh just saw your posts on the Vegas Forum . . . good results too!

Grazie

NTSC or PAL?
 

Hi All,

I'm considering buying a Canon XL1S camera for wildlife video but there is an enormous difference in the price if purchased in the US opposed to Australia ($2-3000). I am aware that the US version is NTSC and the OZ one is PAL but I'm not sure how this would affect output. I would be hoping to use the results on DVD, CD and Web rather than TV so if anyone could give me advice or point me in the direction of discussion I would be very grateful.

Tom

Welcome Tom,
As you'd imagine, the issue of shooting in a non-native format is a frequent topic here although it's usually NTSC folks that want to shoot in PAL. (Search on PAL and you'll find pages of such threads.) As you already probably know, PAL offers a slightly higher resolution and a capture rate (25 fps / 50 fields per sec) closer to that of film's 24 fps.

The primary considerations, however, should be practical logistics. For example, you will certainly have some level of customs duties to pay for a camera purchased here. Also, unless you have a dual-format production monitor you won't be able to view your taped footage directly on a television. These two factors alone may more than negate any economies from purchasing a U.S. NTSC camera.

I just happened to notice that you've a fellow Australian with the same inquiry concerning a GL2. Must be something going 'round the continent!

DVD Enlightenment DVD shot with XL1S
 

We are proud to announce the DVD Enlightenment DVD, years in the making, was shot almost completely with an XL1S (a few shots are GL2), and is now shipping!

Click here for more info and to check out some still images.

This DVD has some amazing-looking shots on it and shows what the XL1S can do with great lighting (and good-looking talent!).

You can get the NAB show special until 5/15/04.

Thanks, Chris et al, for allowing me to let your folks know about this!

Frame mode is the only mode I use to shoot wedding unless I have the Xl1s on the glidecam for preshots. The brides notice the difference between normal and frame and they love the frame mode.

the ship of fools
 

Salutations for any person of this foro! the name of the post is for a situation when i lost the cover of my lens(16x zoom XL) in a paramo of Venezuela, travel in truck.
For this my lens no have protection!
Where i search other(?), here in my country no have a place for buy canon, and its dificult to see only the cover.
Can show me the way(?¿(

thanks, and welcome.

A
(speak spanish) too.

Welcome Adrian. Shame on you! <g>

I'm sure there's a way to purchase a genuine Canon replacement lens cap. But, in fact, any good 72mm lens cap will work. Check with a photo store.

Shooting wakeboarding from a boat
 

Hi all

I'm trying to shoot some video from a boat and I'm not too happy with the results. I'm using a XL1s with the standard lens. I am an amatuer so go easy on me.

What I'm doing at the moment is:

Sticking the camera on auto including autofocus.
Problem with this is that the light levels on water vary a LOT depending on which direction I'm travelling ie: against the sun or it behind me. Things change quickly as the speed we travel at. Autofocus has some difficulties with the fast target as well.

If I put the camera on manual:

In this case I find the workload too high and I'm constantly tweaking the camera. Hard to keep the skiier in focus manually.

BIG QUESTION:

How can I put the camera in manual so that I can keep the skiier lit consistently and also have enough depth of field to keep the guy in focus most of the time. I am trying to get closeups as well and some ideas on how to keep the camera steady would be good. I usually travel in another boat so I'm usually on the left or righ side of the skiier and about 10 meters out from the ski boat. That means the skiier comes to about 2 meters of me and away to about 15. Can I get this large a depth of field while keeping a high shutter?

I'd also like to shoot in widescreen but am I better doing this in post?

Many thanks for any help
Donie

Hi Mark,

Jeff is correct, that isn't normal.

I don't know if you have already sent the unit back or not, but if you haven't send it to...

Rob DuBree
NEBTEK
3007 S. West Temple, Suite K
Salt Lake City, UT 84115

I'll take care of everything and get it back to you poste haste.

Best Regards,
-Rob

On Camera Light
 

Can anyone suggest a good on-board light for an XL1s.
It will be used close range for interviews and at about 3 metres for club work.
I've been told that 15 watts is plenty, but it doesn't sound like a lot of light.
Regards, Dave

I use a Luxmen 100 watt and it works fine for me, but I am no export and have only had my new XL1S afew weeks.

David, I don't know what is your budget, but I have used the Canon VL-10li in similar situations and it does quite well for me. This little lamp is cheap and use the same type of batteries than your XL1.

Sure, if you have more money to invest, a 50 or even 100 watts lamp with a dimer and barn doors will be better

XL1s in the NYC, PA or NJ
 

I am shooting a graduate thesis in NJ in october. I current live in california and know all the rental houses out here but have no idea about them back home.

I am shooting it on the XL1s and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good place to rent equipement for it. I think i am going to use the servo lense and the anamorphic adaptor w/ the 16x9 mode so I can make it 2:35 and I need to rent a matte box.

Also if anyone knows any good places to rent sound equipement that would be goood to know.

Thabnks for your help.

I've never rented video equipment in the area but I looked on ZGC's website (www.zgc.com) and they are a stand up company and they have a list of rental houses that they have sold to on their site and here are the ones listed for NY, they didn't have anyone listed for NJ or PA. Personally, I would probably try to find a rental house in PA or NJ, I would think it would be cheaper but I might be wrong.

Only thing I can say is keep looking around, I'm sure there are people on some board with personal experience with a shop.

Sorry can't be more help:

New York

Hand Held Films, Inc.
315 West 36 Street, Suite 2E
New York, NY 10018
+1-212-502-0900

DuAll Camera
231 West 29th Street, Suite 210
New York, NY 10001
+1-212-643-1042

TCS - Technological Cinevideo Services
630 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
+1-212-247-6517

Tape Playback...head Damage??!!!
 

How you guys playback tape after recording? Direct playback on Xl1s camcorder? Will it damage the Camcorder head? Every time I recorded more the Six hour tape and rewind by tape rewinder and playback thru Xl1s Camcorder…Is this normal or right procedure to playback and capture to computer!?

Beside getting another Xl1s for playback only...:)

Professionals and sophisticated amateurs use decks. Some folks use inexpensive miniDV camcorders as decks. But most consumers and probably prosumers use their cameras for capture.

Certainly there is some wear-and-tear involved using the camera as a playback deck. But the fact is that the majority of owners of prosumer cameras will (a) lose their interest in the hobby, or (b) upgrade/discard their cameras long before they come anywhere near end-of-life wear on these transports and heads.

Transfer FOOTAGE BACK TO XL1s???
 

Have anyone experience transfer back (RECORD) edited footage from computer (Edius or Premiere) back to Xl1s Camcoder thru Firewire? Hows the result ?

It will look as good as your editing. I've transferred back from Vegas and it looks great. The areas that have had no changes at all should be an exact duplicate.

whoaaa!! That sounds like hard work! my initial thoughts:

Using a polarising filter on your XL1-s will dramatically cut down the amount of glare you get from the water. Generally you attach the filter, then rotate it while looking thru the viewfinder until you like what you see. Rotating the filter is how you control how much reflection from the water is reduced.

the pf will also reduce your exposure somewhat, but it sounds like you're ok for light.

The smaller your aperture the greater your depth of field, so choose your shutter speed (u prolly want to keep it fast as your shooting a fast moving sport eg. 1/125 - 1/500), and then stop down the aperture as much as u can.

Hopefully u can then stick the camera on manual focus & u will have enough depth of field to keep your rider in focus. But it sounds like you tried this already?

keep pushin it...

Hagop

Can fisheye distortion be corrected?
 

Hi, I'm a Newbie, don't hate me for asking a silly question but . . .

If I put a fish-eye lens on my camera (3mm-ish) on my EF adaptor, does the 7.2 magnification, bumping the effective mm up to 21.6, increase the fish-eye warping or correct it?

Any info is appreciated.

- James