XL1 worth it?

[Unframed Obituary]

I know the XL1 is dated as hell. However in a search for camera gear I found one for $250AUD (Where as something like a Canon T2i is $1200AUD to put it in perspective). I can't find much of a comparison between the XL1 and the cameras I have. I don't care that it's SD, half of the film I'm working on has been shot in SD anyway. More my concerns are, manual focus control, low-light performance and over-all colour reproduction/sharpness in comparison to something like the HV20.

[cgbier]

We are finally throwing our 4 XL1s away. They are simply not worth it anymore.

I would only go for that offer if hadn't too much hours on the clock. Manual focus control is fine.

Even though you "only" have that seemingly small b&w viewfinder, you can focus very well. Sharpness is owed to the L-lenses. Colors are great because of the 3 sensors (and you have gazillions of possibilities to set colors). Generally, the picture quality from the HVxx is better though. I have the feeling that the HV doesn't get as grainy as the XL and holds the colors better in low light (but can be pushed in cam with the XL with some penalty).

What I like most on the XL: It is very easy to handle. It is a pseudo shoulder mount, but can also be used beautifully for low angle shots. To have it perfectly balanced, you should have a big battery and some ballast on the accessory plate (it is a bit lens heavy) - then you don't need a tripod. The two standard lenses are superb. With an EOS adaptor, you can mount mostly any Canon photo lens.

[Almohada]

We are finally throwing our 4 XL1s away. They are simply not worth it anymore.

I'll take one!

[Unframed Obituary]

We are finally throwing our 4 XL1s away. They are simply not worth it anymore.

I would only go for that offer if hadn't too much hours on the clock. Manual focus control is fine.

Even though you "only" have that seemingly small b&w viewfinder, you can focus very well. Sharpness is owed to the L-lenses. Colors are great because of the 3 sensors (and you have gazillions of possibilities to set colors). Generally, the picture quality from the HVxx is better though. I have the feeling that the HV doesn't get as grainy as the XL and holds the colors better in low light (but can be pushed in cam with the XL with some penalty).

What I like most on the XL: It is very easy to handle. It is a pseudo shoulder mount, but can also be used beautifully for low angle shots. To have it perfectly balanced, you should have a big battery and some ballast on the accessory plate (it is a bit lens heavy) - then you don't need a tripod. The two standard lenses are superb. With an EOS adaptor, you can mount mostly any Canon photo lens.

What do you mean "not worth it anymore"? It's technology is no inconvenience to me, all my cams are Mini-DV and I only use Firewire. I mainly want to know if this will perform better in low-light than my HV20, grain isn't a huge concern in low light as long as it does better than the HV20 and if the image is atleast as crisp as the HV20. Also colour in low light isn't a big deal, it can't be worse than what we already have. Oh and my other concern is if the level of manual control is worth it, not just focus but also Iris control, gain, audio controls etc etc.

Edit: If you're throwing away XL1s' I'll gladly take one off your hands ;)

[Unframed Obituary]

Turns out the XL1S has been sold... Oh well...

[cgbier]

They have thousand of hours on their backs and are all in dire need of repair - f'd up lens mounts, screwed tape mechanism to electronic failure. The one I normally use drops more frames than it records (yes, I ran a cleaning tape). Right know, we are only using the two we know to be in working conditions to at least 75% - if at all... and always my Sony A1 and HV30 in reserve.

They have been serviced by Canon every year. 400 bucks each service and six weeks waiting period. Now we decided it is not worth it anymore. I should get the XF100 by September. If that works out, we replace the XLs with XFs.

Almo, even though I absolutely love the XL, I wouldn't give those ones even to my worst enemy. They are completely screwed.

[Unframed Obituary]

It's a shame, be sure to put up a review of the XFs when/if you get them.