The Infamous Canon XL1...

[Yammeryammeryammer]

Hello,
Ok, my university is on the verge of letting me take their cam out of the city for a long period of time, to shoot a non-school related feature with the above camera. The thing I am wondering from you folks, is have any of you used this camera before? If so, can you give me any information or potential pitfalls with use? How is the built in mic for camera noise, if there is any? I was initially planning to shoot on a Sony Handycam, which is horrific for noise, so I was going to use pin mics. Should I still go this route, or a combination, or what? Thanks.

[twister!]

Take a look at this site (and the XL1/s forums there too) http://www.dvinfo.net/xl1.htm

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ October 17, 2002 04:33 AM: Message edited by: twister! ]</font>

[tim.callaghan]

Its better than most handy cams, but the quality of the mic is quite poor in comparison to better models.

For instance my choice for a camera in this price range would almost certainly be the Sennheiser K6 with a ME66 and ME64 for shotgun and super cardoid, which should suit most of your needs. I would never leave the house without the Rycote softie either.

All of the above is expensive, but does the quality of the image justice. A less expensive option would be the MKE300 which is excellent value for money but still does not have the stable dynamic range of the K6.

Audio Technica do kits too, on the cheap, but again in comparison are no where near the quality.

Cheers

Tim

[BlackArtsProductions]

i own a canon xl1s and think they ae honestly, if u can configure one to your shooting spec, the dogs balls. yeah! the sound does change from the left to right channels if the subject your recording on moves but if you plan a decent shot, with regards to sound direction, you should b fine. the only thing i find really anoying is the sound the mic picks up of the recording itself. (you know? the noise of the tape you're recording onto as it spins) but if you have DBNR (dolby B noise reduction facilities) this shouldn't really stand in your way.

[Yammeryammeryammer]

Ya, the sound the cam picks up of the tape advancing is what I am talking about as 'camera noise'. Because with the Handycam is it like there is someone cutting wood outside with a scroll saw constantly.