Canon XL2 Buying Advice?

Question

I was looking into buying a new camcorder and, after a lot of researching, I saw the Canon XL2 on this website (http://soniccameras.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2296)

I was wondering if this was a legit price and sale and what you think of the Canon XL2 as a short films camera and possibly for starting a very small production company. Any advice on this camera and anything you might know about would help. Thanks.

Answer 1

You were right about being suspicious of that company. Yes, $999 for the XL2 is too good to be true, so I looked up the company Sonic Cameras on www.bbb.org, and it is not an approved business. It also has a bad record with customers. Check it out for yourself at http://search.newyork.bbb.org/reports.as...

I recommend getting a used one at www.bhphotovideo.com. They are extremely reliable and their used products are all refurbished, so they run perfectly.

Regarding your second question, yes, I don't think you could have picked a better camera for a beginning professional or for short films. The XL2 is excellent!!! Most people overlook it because it is standard def, and instead, go with consumer HD cameras, which are actually worse. Well, standard def is never going to become outdated; it's also much easier to edit, and doesn't strain your camera nearly as much. Despite consumer HD cameras having more pixels, I believe prosumer standard def cameras have better picture. This is because pro cameras have 3 chips (the XL2 has 3 CCDs). The image sensors help with color reproduction, and in my opinion, excellent color reproduction and good resolution is much better than excellent resolution and poor color, like that on a consumer HD camera. Also, the XL2 has manual controls, and that makes a difference. They are especially important for beginning professionals such as yourself as they give you the artistic freedom you need.

        Being more specific, the XL2 has many features that make it much better than its competition. For one thing, it has a 24p mode, which simulates the ideal look of film on a digital video camera. This is especially important for short films, or anything that requires that "artsy" look. However, I do not recommend using 24p unless you know what you are doing; it's much more difficult to work with, especially in post production. The XL2 also has interchangeable lense, as opposed to a lens fixed to the body. This feature is very unique on any camera under $10,000, and is a great feature. I really recommend it as it gives you more flexibility as far as zoom distance and depth of field.

Other cameras you could look at are the Panasonic AG-DVX100B, and Sony PD170 (no 24p) for standard def, and if you want to upgrade to HD, I really like the Canon XH-A1. None of those cameras have interchangeable lenses though. If you want interchangeable lenses on an HD camera, I highly recommend the JVC GY-HD200U and the older model the HD110U. It's hard to beat the XL2 though :)