PAL vs. NTSC
 

I am looking at both the PAL and NTSC versions of the XL1s to use in making independent films. I understand that PAL is supposed to capture a better image (more detail, resolution) than NTSC and is, at 25 fps, closer to the film rate of 24 fps (so transfers to film are smoother).

My questions is this, if I shoot PAL and convert to NTSC on my computer (through my NLE) will the resulting quality be the same as, or worse than, if I shot in NTSC from the start?

Thanks!

This question is covered quite well in numerous threads. Do a search on PAL/NTSC and you should get your answers

wide angle adapters
 

Does anyone know of a high quality wide angle adapter for the GL1 that will give me the widest possible angle without going fisheye?

Canon makes a very good (and reasonably-priced) wide-angle adapter for the GL-1. You might also look over at CenturyOptics.com. They make a variety of good quality optical adapters.

Hi Ken,

Thanks. I am familiar with the WD-58 that Canon makes but it is not wide enough. I want something wider without going fisheye. I have seen many wide angles out there but they have been pretty low quality.

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!!!

Hi there....

This recent thread may be of use: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1236&highlight=insurance

Also, if you search for "insurance" using the button at the top, there are quite a few other threads on the topic.

Hope this helps.

No low down here, but my understanding is to just make a few start/stops every few minutes (+-10) just to be safe.

Anamorphic Lens/Converter
 

Can someone explain to me how such a device works?

I think an anamporphic adapter squishes the image down from top to bottom so one does not have to crop or otherwise convert the image to 16:9 while editing/compositing in FCP, Commotion or AE?

I know my theory can't be correct as people say an anamorphic lens allows a person to use the camera's full native resolution. If my Xl-1's CCD's are 4:3, how can I possible get full resolution in anything but an image shot 4:3? It seems to me that there will always be pixels at the top and bottom that go unused no matter how I matte, crop or shoot anamorphically?

Any explanation is apprciated.

Greg Matty

White Balance?
 

Here I am again trying to stump you guys.

I have been working on a feature for the last month and a half and yesterday I was shooting outside in the shadows of a building.. When I came around to the sunny side of the building a lens flair hit my camera and for that split secong everything change to a sort of magenta color (almost like I had white balance to dark blue!). Strange I thought, so I tried it again and sure enough again and again it would do it. No big deal I thought bacause I am sending my camera in for servicing when I am done this feature in 2 more months.

Here is the strange thing; Later I was shooting inside under some flourescent lights, when all of a sudden "bang" everything changed to a blue color, the complete opposite of the magenta color I had experienced a few hours earlier!!! I tried to get rid of it but could not untill I removed my battery and replaced it.

Is this related?

thanks- Nori

An anamorphic adapter is an optical device that looks like a cylinder of glass. It "distorts" the image seen by the lens(much like a funhouse mirror) so that a 16:9 FOV (field of view) fits onto a 4:3 CCD detector. In order to view the 16:9 FOV in an undistorted frame, image processing has to stretch the horizontal dimension to convert 4:3 to 16:9. You don't lose res because all the available pixels on the CCD are filled by the distorted image coming thru the lens. The real downside to these optical adapters is that it's EXTREMELY difficult for optical designers to control off axis coma, color fringing and barrel distortion with these strangely ground pieces of glass. You are paying a big price in optical quality with these adapters. Choose your poison, losses with an AO or losses by inefficient use of the available pixels. Ya just don't get something for nada. The only "good" way to capture 16:9 format is with a 16x9 CCD.

Bill Ravens

Peak DV
 

Has anyone used Peak DV much? If so, any ideas of good books that help with a jumpstart on using it?

For those of us that have purchased FCP 3.0, it comes as a freebie. But I have to admit I'm a little lost in how to use it.

Canon/Soderbergh Ad
 

I know this is probably pretty anal but has anyone else noticed the horrible hack job Canon did with "photochoping" the sunshade onto the Xl1s in the ad "Soderbergh on the XL1s"??? Everytime I see the ad it seems to stick out more and more. Its in RES and DV and a few other magazines.

As I said, i know its pretty anal but I was wondering if anyone else noticed?

I had a similar thing happen when I shot in really really cold weather.

All computer controlled electronics, like the XL1, are subjected to EMF....stray voltage pulses called radio frequency waves. EMF can wreak havoc on those electronics. Manufacturers do the best to shield their sensitive stuff from EMF/RF, but there's only so much one can do. This sounds like what happened. Removing the battery cleared the memory corruption.

You will need to remove the zoom motor grip handle from that lens in order for it to fit onto the XL1. For a lens mount adapter, contact Optex International at http://www.optexint.com/ or their US distributor Z.G.C. at http://www.zgc.com -- hope this helps, I would like to see how your results are with this lens on the XL1 as I've always thought it would be a good match.

fujinon lens and other dusty issues
 

i spent a weekend shooting in the desert in high winds. some of the moveable camera pieces (slider for the menu buttons, viewfinder joints, fujinon lens rings, etc.) have dust in them. i know i should send in the xl1 and the viewfinder to canon, but does anyone know where i can send the fujinon lens to get it cleaned?

has anyone else had this problem?

thanks.

I can't comment on your lens question, but living in the desert southwest, I have to put up with high wind and and blowing sand/dust all the time, particularly this time of year. Whenever I'm shooting in windy conditions, I use the PortaBrace Rain Slicker. It has done a good job in keeping the camera clean, but I do notice some gritty sounds when using the focus ring, probably from the one time I didn't use the cover.

Mic for G4
 

Can anyone suggest a good mic for plugging into a G4 when using FCP3 voice over tool?
Regards to all David

Black and coding
 

Just a quick question on how you guys black and code your tapes or your xl1s, whats the best way ?

Some people don't think that blacking or striping isn't necessary if you follow good shooting practises such as using record search to find the end of your last scene and continue the TC from there.

With some capture cards if there is the smallest break in the TC you could experience capture problems. I found this to be true with the Pinnacle DV500 so I stripe all my tapes before use. I usually stripe with the colour bars in the XL1.

1.Turn on the colour bar by pressing both the shutter speed adj buttons togeather for a few seconds with the camera in Green Box mode.(this is the trick for the XL1, with the XL1s colour bars are in the menu)

2.Disconnect the mic so no audio is captured.

3.Press record

4.Sit back and have a beer(or your prefered beverage).

Happy shooting and a trouble free capture.

As mentioned in the previous post, as long as you back up into the recorded footage, there is no need. I believe that new code is laid down during each recording, so the only outcome is twice the wear on your heads, plus the extra time involved.

Hi David,

There's a thread on that same subject in the "Mac" forum now. Check it out.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1347

Dave,
I use a an Electro Voice RE50B and a long extention, works great.

Bruce

ZGC
 

Try contacting ZGC inc at www.zgc.com. Seeing that they sell the fujinon lenses and are a great company, they should at leat be able to point you in the right direction.

Frame mode recoding in VCR dial position
 

Hi all,

hope this is not a dumb question.

I shoot video mostly in Frame mode. Firewire to FCP to edit and then firewire back to my XL1s for backups and transfers to VHS tapes too.

Question is: When recording back into the camera from the Mac do you need to be in Frame mode again? or is the footage automatically always frame mode that its been shot in Frame mode? or does the camera in VCR setting convert the footage back to interlaced 50 fields. (I have PAL) or does the XL1s need to be in frame mode or does frame mode not apply to VCR dial position.

Can anyone understand what I'm trying to say?

many thanks