XL1 Misconceptions

I have owned an XL1 since it first was released. In fact my serial

number is 497. I just found this forum, and feel obligated to convey

some misgivings, for those who do not already know. Prior to the XL1,

working at Community Cable and doing the odd Corporate video, it was

stricktly SVHS. Big horses heads of cameras. Power pigs. Also little

Panasonic Reporters. I own a Pan. F70 as well.(horses head) It's mint

and for sale with all the fixin's. I'm running DPS w/ VideoAction.

(you'd have to beat me to get that. I've turned my Premier discs into

ashtrays)

 

I ran into a little money just about the time I first saw the XL1 in

a magazine ad. Bad combo. I just had to have one. "Just think of the

work I could do with that"! Instantaneous boner.

 

 

To the chase:

 

 

The lens on the XL1 is a touchy animal. I have played with cameras

all my life, and after the years of playing with the XL1, I still

can't get it down. It is unpredictable, & takes off on you or leaves

you behind in auto focus without warning and for no reason. In manual

mode, I would describe it as trying to stand on a beach ball with one

foot in a hurricane. If you must have the camera, go for the manual

lens, but there are sacrifice's to be made with that choice as well.

(no servo Zoom being one of them, so I hear)

 

 

The Stabilization is nice. Best I,ve seen especially on telephoto

shots. Gives you a real nice sense of false security.

 

 

The controls are generally clumsily placed. They look really cool,

which is one of the reasons I bought the camera, but they are a pain

in the ass. Unless you plan on sleeping with this thing for a few

years, you'll never be able to push the right buttons the first time

without looking at it. Kind of hard to do when it's on your shoulder,

and your in the middle of a shot.

 

 

That's another thing ... it will not be sitting on your sholder. At

least not comfortably. I would hold a horses head on my shoulder for

two hours before I tried to do that with an XL1 for ten minutes. It

truly is a very uncomfortable shoulder camera.

 

 

The XL1 has exceptional audio quality, except, if you don't mind

listening to the sound of the zoom lens in the audio track of your

lovely wildlife shot(which you had to do eight times to zoom

smoothly) I have my mic off the camera, and use at least a light

stand and a clamp ... as far away as possible. This is a common

problem with the XL1 and I have lost some very good and irreplacable

footage due to this.

 

 

I could go on, and I'm sure I could fill the database with XL1 horror

stories, but not to discredit the machine too badly, the XL1 is a

good piece of equipment. It seems to be rugged enough, but it doesn't

care much for moisture. Mine has shut down numerous times in fog. It

takes a beautiful picture, but it lacks those warm tones that Betacam

SP or even VHS give you. Pixel resolution is not the best. The

features are exceptional, but for regular everyday videotaping, ENG

etc, it can be a bit overwhelming. I like to describe the XL1 as

a "film camera which records to tape." I have worked on numerous

movie sets in various capacities, and used the XL1 there as well

doing press kit work. It is not a point and shoot, carry around on

your sholder, move from one light source to another type of camera,

unless it is on AUTO mode. And I don't think that's what I paid the

big bucks for. The digital zoom retains the color and chrominance

well enough, but the focus falls apart. Mine has been in the shop

twice now to fix this trouble, and they say it's normal. Well .. not

to me.

 

 

The XL1 belongs on a tripod. It cannot deal with an onboard mic. You

need the little gizmo for the back so you can hook up XLR's which

will run you another 250.00 clams. Get the manual lens, a camera

operator, a lighting director, and a best boy. You'll do fine.

 

 

I'm selling mine now. I'm actually going back to a Hi-8 Sony on a

trade. It is 12 volt, and personally, the picture quality is better.

For one, the gadgets don't make the shot, the operator does. If you

aren't in control, the fun dissapears in a hurry.

 

 

If anyone has any specific questions about the XL1 feel free to

contact me at alore@ns.sympatico.ca. I won't be too mean. For all you

XL1 lovers, I'll take your heat as well.

 

 

Does anyone know the value of a Sony Hi-8 - 16X7BRM-18B?

 

 

My Best R

 

 

I've heard all of those complaints before and I was a little suprised. I thought the XL1 far surpassed anything else out there, but I guess that just isn't true. One thing I found really interesting is that the XL1 is better for digital filmmaking or recording in well lit, controled situations, as opposed to the PD150 where is better for run and gun documentry work.

I've been using an XL-1 for about 4 months now, and I don't share your complaints. I have the shoulder adapter with XLR inputs, which might be the difference. It's a VERY comfortable shoulder-cam that's gotten good footage (and audio) in a variety of conditions.

 

With this camera, I've never had any machine sound appear on an audio track. I also have the manual zoom lens (which DOES still have a servo zoom, if you're so inclined)

 

As far as the controls, they're very intuitive; it didn't take me more than a cursory once-over to note where they were before I could use it easily.

 

It took me a little while to acknowledge that a camera this small could get professional results, but it still has the accessible manual controls that I want and use. It's a vast improvement over the little handhelds where you need to go through 5 layers of menus to adjust your iris!