Hi Matthew,

Thanks for your reply, unfortunately the tripod has already been sold to someone else for £180... :(

Ola

XL-1s and Lens Support for 100-400m Lens
 

I use a Canon EF 100-400mm lens with my Xl-1s. My main subject matter is wild life/ Natural History. Does anyone have suggestions for minimising shake. especially at high magnification?

Errant focus--not zooming
 

Yesterday, I had to shoot a talking head--simple! It was a one-time deal, no going back.

1.) Person in chair, sat relatively still, no moving forward or backward within depth of field.

2.) Camera on tripod, fixed image size--no zooming in or out.

3.) Always shoot in "Manual" mode.

4.) Auto-stabilizer "off."

5.) Auto-focus set to "Manual."

When I got the footage home and looked at it, every minute or so it appeared to go slightly out of focus then come back into focus as if the auto-focus were trying to find itself. I looked at the lens and the focus switch is set on "manual".

Have any of you ever had this happen or known anyone that has?

Thanks!

Jim,

This question has been covered many times on this site. I myself have asked it before.

Les Bosher just across the water from you in Wales sorted me out and I am very satisfied with my lens support for this lens on the XL1.

His web site is www.lesbosher.co.uk/default.htm

I took mine over to him so I have seen his facilities and wildlife camera operators from every corner of the globe send their cameras to him. I admit not many are XL1's more like Arriflex and Aaton and what I had wasn't cheap but at the end of the day over here I couldn't find anyone else with a better solution and Les was very helpfull.

Basically I use a converted Arri Matte Box Interface with extended support bars and obviously you can use this for other lenses and add a matte box etc.

A decent tripod is also a must and a steady hand goes a long way but at extreme telephoto on a windy day, don't expect too much!

Gareth Trezise

Thank Gareth,

I checked out the web site. Its exactly what I have been searching for on the net for some time.

Jim

First time using XL1S
 

I had the wonderful opportunity to use an XL1S this weekend as I'm DPing an independent film my friend's shooting in Victoria right now. He indulged and bought an XL1S for the shoot, so I get to use it for the next few weeks.

This will most likely be old news to all of you who already own one, but I can't get over how well this camera seems to be designed. I was comfortable with it within 5 minutes of picking it up; everything is so well placed and convenient. Now I know what all the buzz is about!

Glad you like it! Let us know how the shoot goes <g>

discontinue XL-1s?
 

Anyone got idea “WHEN” the canon Xl-1s will be discontinue ?!!!, after the new model XL2 ???? How about the Re-sell value???

No-one knows. Even if a replacement hits the market the XL1S
will still be in stores around the world for some time (due to stock).

Resell value is also unknown, but the "old" XL1 still has a good
resell value over the XL1S to give you an indication.

What Wide Angle adapter to use on an XL1 on a Glidecam V16?
 

Hi folks

Which wide angle adapter to use on the XL1 for use on the Glidecam V16? Or should I go with the 3X lens? I understand that the 3X lens has no stabilization. But if I'll be flying the XL1 on the V16, I don't think I need the lens stabilization at all, right?

Thanks

Correct, you won't need the lens stabilization with the Glidecam.

3x lens is great. The Century .7x zoom-through for the 16x lens is also great for its flexibility. The .6x is only partial zoom through so you would have to remove to shoot telephoto.

Without having any idea what you are shooting, it's not an absolute necessity to shoot wide angle with a stabilizer--longer lens stuff can look terrific also.

Chromakey and Normal/Frame Mode
 

For those who have used the XL1s for green screen footage...what mode is better to use normal or frame mode...or does it really matter?

trouble shooting
 

Hey guys, here's a question...

I'm using the MA-200 shoulder pack with my XL1S and i tried using an AKG C568 Shotgun mic. Obviously this mic need phantom power and i guess i was mistaken to think that the camera would provide this. How much power can the camera provide through the DC line to the shoulder pac. Also, as i am a novice, how do i get a phantom power mic to work with the camera? Thanks for you help.

- Steve

Disclaimer: I haven't got any experience with this, so these
thoughts are from thinking about it.

I'd say shooting in interlacing is going to be hell with green
screening. You can't do de-interlace before the green screen
removal since it will probably mix green with your subject on
the intersections. After the green screen removal there might
not be enough information to do a very good interlacing removal.

Shooting in interlaced does yield a resolution increase though.
Why not run some tests? But my feeling tells me you should
probably shoot in frame mode at high shutter speeds (to remove
any motion blurring that will trouble your key extraction. And you
can add motion blurring later to only the green screen layer
anway).

The 5 volt output is spcifically intended for a few Canon accessories such as the MA-100, MA-200, a RFU (channel 3/4 output adapter) and some of the Canon mics. Most third party mics looking for phantom power expect 48 volts. Conecting another load to the 5-volt jack may cause problems if the load is excessive.