Mike Meaney

Is that even possible? I got an old 40D and it's great in the dark!

Hi Adrian, Thanks for the quick reply. I looked at that camera and must say the portability would be nice. Of the 'meat and potatoes', don't you get light, shadow, and movement from any video camera? Also the interchangeable lens system on the XL series is a reason I was leaning towards it. You mentioned event and documentary work, which are two things I think I would like to try out with the camera I choose. As well as, of course cinematographic uses. What would you say would be the divide between the older 'event' cams vs the new 'cine' cams? Just age? Also I should mention that I will be starting a continuing Ed program at Ryerson U soon, so that should probably be taken into consideration. I'm pretty sure the school uses XL2s (that's what I meant before when I said GL1 and 2's) so that was another reason why I was thinking the canons.

So I am a film enthusiast I suppose, and I want to step up my photography hobby into cinematography. I use a Canon 40D for stills and want to get a video camera. I definitely want full manual control because that's what made me fall in love with photography, so that pretty quickly narrows my choices down to pro cameras. I would consider a newer DSLR but I don't think it would offer enough control. I've done research and my impression is on Canon's discontinued line of affordable pro videocams which are made that much more affordable when bought second-hand. From what I understand, the main differences between the Canon Xl H1, H1a, H1s, XH A1, and A1s are just shape, layout, and the SDI output. I also understand that the older Canon GL1 and 2 are pretty similar to the Xl H1 but they're standard definition. So a few questions: Will I want the uncompressed SDI out? Would I really mind SD over HD? If it comes down to shape and layout, is the Xl line worth the extra cash for the shoulder mount, and what I think is a 'cooler' design?

So I am a film enthusiast I suppose, and I want to step up my photography hobby into cinematography. I use a Canon 40D for stills and want to get a video camera. I definitely want full manual control because that's what made me fall in love with photography, so that pretty quickly narrows my choices down to pro cameras. I would consider a newer DSLR but I don't think it would offer enough control. I've done research and my impression is on Canon's discontinued line of affordable pro videocams which are made that much more affordable when bought second-hand. From what I understand, the main differences between the Canon Xl H1, H1a, H1s, XH A1, and A1s are just shape, layout, and the SDI output. I also understand that the older Canon GL1 and 2 are pretty similar to the Xl H1 but they're standard definition. So a few questions: Will I want the uncompressed SDI out? Would I really mind SD over HD? If it comes down to shape and layout, is the Xl line worth the extra cash for the shoulder mount, and what I think is a 'cooler' design?

So I am a film enthusiast I suppose, and I want to step up my photography hobby into cinematography. I use a Canon 40D for stills and want to get a video camera. I definitely want full manual control because that's what made me fall in love with photography, so that pretty quickly narrows my choices down to pro cameras. I would consider a newer DSLR but I don't think it would offer enough control. I've done research and my impression is on Canon's discontinued line of affordable pro videocams which are made that much more affordable when bought second-hand. From what I understand, the main differences between the Canon Xl H1, H1a, H1s, XH A1, and A1s are just shape, layout, and the SDI output. I also understand that the older Canon GL1 and 2 are pretty similar to the Xl H1 but they're standard definition. So a few questions: Will I want the uncompressed SDI out? Would I really mind SD over HD? If it comes down to shape and layout, is the Xl line worth the extra cash for the shoulder mount, and what I think is a 'cooler' design?