Canon XL1S

R

Rick Garcia

Member
I found a posting on a local craigslist for this camera and the guy wants $500 for it. I emailed him and he replied with...

Hello,

I received numerous emails regarding this camera and I don't have the time to answer all one by one so I thought that replying with one email for all of you will save me some time.
First of all, you should know that my location now is United Kingdom. I had to come here with work.
It uses NTSC system which is specific for US, here the cameras work using PAL system.
The camera was used only a few times, it's just like new, in perfect condition.
Please do not ask me to call you because if it were to call you all I should stay all day long at the phone.
I'll pay for the shipping and I want to use a secure way to handle the transaction.
Still interested?

My question, is this a good deal? I replied back and said why are you selling this camera so cheap? He can sell it for almost double that.

My concern is that I all I have is the $500 right now for the camera and it would be my first "prosumer" camera.

Do this look suspect or should I give it a shot? If so what other questions could I ask to make sure this is a legit sale?

Please reply!!!

Thanks,

Rick
 
Seriously,
even if this would be a good deal and everything with the transaction would go as planed, you would still invest in way outdated equipment.
2008, anything under a DVX100a or XL2 gets a big NO from me.
VX1000, XL1/s, PD150 all great cameras back then, but not anymore...

Cut down on smoking and drinking, work some extra time and get a used DVX or XL2...
 
Spartacus said:
Seriously,
even if this would be a good deal and everything with the transaction would go as planed, you would still invest in way outdated equipment.
2008, anything under a DVX100a or XL2 gets a big NO from me.
VX1000, XL1/s, PD150 all great cameras back then, but not anymore...

Cut down on smoking and drinking, work some extra time and get a used DVX or XL2...
Click to expand...


Okay, now I here what you are saying in regards to outdated equipment. Now here me on this. I do not smoke or drink, I am a man with a family and priorities to feed my family. So please "pump the breaks" on any assumptions in regards to my finances .

I saw this as a possible investment and was curious to know if it was worth the risk. I did not ask whether or not it compared to any other camera, just wanted to know if this sounds a little suspect.
 
Sounds like a standard scammer's reply to me: "I'm in a foreign country where there's no Paypal etc. so if you can send me the money via Western Union I'll send you the camera." Stay away.
 
Rick Garcia said:
Okay, now I here what you are saying in regards to outdated equipment. Now here me on this. I do not smoke or drink, I am a man with a family and priorities to feed my family. So please "pump the breaks" on any assumptions in regards to my finances .

I saw this as a possible investment and was curious to know if it was worth the risk. I did not ask whether or not it compared to any other camera, just wanted to know if this sounds a little suspect.
Click to expand...

Wow,
I guess I didn´t make my point clear enough:
I think this is a scam.
But even if not, it´s still an outdated piece of gear and the 500$ are wasted IMHO.

Sorry to also have mentioned the IMHO only reasonble SD cameras to buy used atm:2vrolijk_08:

Seriously, didn´t mean to brand you as a smoker and drinker, not at all, just have seen to many people looking for "great deals" like this, without considering changing their lifestyle first, thus saving a lot of money.
Never meant to say you where one of them.
I´m sure you´re a great guy, all the best for you and your family!
 
Stay Away From The Uk

Stay Away From The Uk

i responded to the same add just to have a backup camera and as soon as i saw im in the u.k. (GIANT RED FLAG)
icon13.gif
 
I believe you're giving the Canon XL1s a bad rap. I own both an XL1s and a DVX100a and I much prefer working with the XL1s.

First, the XL1s is much easier to handhold than the DVX. I have the MA-200 shoulder pad and this makes the Canon almost perfectly balanced on my shoulder. In addition, the MA-200 gives you a lot more real estate to mount a couple of wireless mics. I have a Bracket 1 for the DVX and in addition to adding putting more weight on my wrist, it makes the camera even more off balance to the right. Shooting, say, a three or four minute handheld interview wih the DVX is close to agony and is so much easier with the XL1s.

The XL1s also has a much more useful zoom range and far superior image stabilization. If I need a wider shot I attach my Century .7 wide angle converter.

Image-wise, the DVX is (when shooting 60i) a smidge better than the Canon, but not enough to matter in the real world. Most of my work is legal, corporate and a little broadcast and I've never had any client have an issue with the XL1s image quality. The DVX does shoot 24p, but in the three years I've owned the DVX, I've shot exactly one story at 24p and that was for TSN in Canada.

The XL1s will also burn in date and time on the video, a feature that Panasonic left off the DVX for some reason. This is a must for legal work such as depositions.

Also not to be ignored is the "wow" factor. I've owned a dozen or so video cameras (including three Sony and Ikegami Betacams) and no camera I have used has the wow factor of the XL series of cameras. The DVX looks too much like a home video camera. while to XL1s just screams "pro".

If you buy a used XL1s or DVX, I would strongly recommend sending it in for a complete checkup before using it professionally. Figure $500 - $600. Money well spent.

Mike Parker
mparker@verdictvision.com
 
Mike Parker said:
I believe you're giving the Canon XL1s a bad rap. I own both an XL1s and a DVX100a and I much prefer working with the XL1s.

First, the XL1s is much easier to handhold than the DVX. I have the MA-200 shoulder pad and this makes the Canon almost perfectly balanced on my shoulder. In addition, the MA-200 gives you a lot more real estate to mount a couple of wireless mics. I have a Bracket 1 for the DVX and in addition to adding putting more weight on my wrist, it makes the camera even more off balance to the right. Shooting, say, a three or four minute handheld interview wih the DVX is close to agony and is so much easier with the XL1s.

The XL1s also has a much more useful zoom range and far superior image stabilization. If I need a wider shot I attach my Century .7 wide angle converter.

Image-wise, the DVX is (when shooting 60i) a smidge better than the Canon, but not enough to matter in the real world. Most of my work is legal, corporate and a little broadcast and I've never had any client have an issue with the XL1s image quality. The DVX does shoot 24p, but in the three years I've owned the DVX, I've shot exactly one story at 24p and that was for TSN in Canada.

The XL1s will also burn in date and time on the video, a feature that Panasonic left off the DVX for some reason. This is a must for legal work such as depositions.

Also not to be ignored is the "wow" factor. I've owned a dozen or so video cameras (including three Sony and Ikegami Betacams) and no camera I have used has the wow factor of the XL series of cameras. The DVX looks too much like a home video camera. while to XL1s just screams "pro".

If you buy a used XL1s or DVX, I would strongly recommend sending it in for a complete checkup before using it professionally. Figure $500 - $600. Money well spent.

Mike Parker
mparker@verdictvision.com
Click to expand...

Hey Mike,
as a former XL2 owner, I can only say, the XL with a mattebox definetely had that "wow" factor for clients.
Than we went HD with two HVX200s (no extra mattebox) and the clients still kept talking about how expensive these cameras must and were impressed how small things got...
So maybe the "wow" factor also is because of us mediapeople creating it, with all our talking, with the lighting setups, the microphones in their fuzzy covers, the wireless transmitters, reflectors and the makeup...
Just saying that the look of the camera is only one part of the equation...

Back on topic: I preferd the XL2 over the DVX for several reasons. But I also shot with both XL1/s (which I didn´t own). For me the jump in image quality from XL1 to XL2 was more than obvious.
Maybe Rick should have stated, what the camera should be used for, I´m sure there are still projects the XL1s suffices, like legal filming as you metioned or personal projects.
But for most stuff when getting a miniDV SD camera NOW, anything below the DVX or XL2 is a waste of money IMHO...
Hey, long text for beating a dead horse, the add seemed to be a scam, didn´t it?:grin:
 
Resale value is everything. A DVX is easy to sell if you want to upgrade, an XL2 is more difficult but you can still get good money for it. An XL1s is nearly impossible to get rid of without losing your shirt. With all these new cameras coming out, even DVX prices are falling fast, and there will soon come a day when $500 is all you can get for an XL1s.
 
I doubt that anyone would disagree that neither the Canon XL SD cameras nor the DVX cameras are "state of the art" these days and that HD is the "future". That said, there is still a market for SD production, whether it is for DVD or internet distribution.

I seriously considered buying an XL2 to replace my XL1s and didn't for a few reasons. First, my clients mostly live in a 4:3 world and the performance of the XL2 in 4:3 is not (based upon what I've seen) THAT much better than the XL1s, plus the 16:9 native chips give a 33% reduced angle of view when in 4:3 mode. I need the extra wide-angle for a lot of my stuff shot in cramped quarters (doctors' exam rooms, for example). Another issue, and I know this sounds trivial, is the iris control on the XL2. Canon for some reason changed the control from a wheel on the XL1s to a nub on the XL2 which I really disliked. Apparently others agreed as Canon reverted back to the wheel on their XL HD models.

I haven't joined the HD bandwagon (yet) because of the proliferation of formats. I really like the idea of recording to a memory card, but the P2 cards and the SxS cards are simply far too expensive to hand to a client as I would with a Betacam or DV tape. Some of the newer cameras will offer recording to inexpensive SD or CF cards but they record in either HDV format or AVCHD format and I have concerns about the image quality. Since my clients are not now requiring HD, I'm staying on the sidelines until the formats get sorted out and/or the price of P2 or SxS cards come down to the point where they are as disposable as SD and CF cards are today. (When I shoot stills for my clients, I simply give them the SD card with the images on it. If they eventually return it, fine. If not, it's a minor expense.)
 
Mike Parker said:
I doubt that anyone would disagree that neither the Canon XL SD cameras nor the DVX cameras are "state of the art" these days and that HD is the "future". That said, there is still a market for SD production, whether it is for DVD or internet distribution.

I seriously considered buying an XL2 to replace my XL1s and didn't for a few reasons. First, my clients mostly live in a 4:3 world and the performance of the XL2 in 4:3 is not (based upon what I've seen) THAT much better than the XL1s, plus the 16:9 native chips give a 33% reduced angle of view when in 4:3 mode. I need the extra wide-angle for a lot of my stuff shot in cramped quarters (doctors' exam rooms, for example). Another issue, and I know this sounds trivial, is the iris control on the XL2. Canon for some reason changed the control from a wheel on the XL1s to a nub on the XL2 which I really disliked. Apparently others agreed as Canon reverted back to the wheel on their XL HD models.

I haven't joined the HD bandwagon (yet) because of the proliferation of formats. I really like the idea of recording to a memory card, but the P2 cards and the SxS cards are simply far too expensive to hand to a client as I would with a Betacam or DV tape. Some of the newer cameras will offer recording to inexpensive SD or CF cards but they record in either HDV format or AVCHD format and I have concerns about the image quality. Since my clients are not now requiring HD, I'm staying on the sidelines until the formats get sorted out and/or the price of P2 or SxS cards come down to the point where they are as disposable as SD and CF cards are today. (When I shoot stills for my clients, I simply give them the SD card with the images on it. If they eventually return it, fine. If not, it's a minor expense.)
Click to expand...
If your clients were and are still satisfied with the XL1s image quality, I also wouldn´t see a reason to upgrade...
Milk that cow! (better than a real one...)
 
Spartacus said:
If your clients were and are still satisfied with the XL1s image quality, I also wouldn´t see a reason to upgrade...
Milk that cow! (better than a real one...)
Click to expand...
Did I mention that one of my clients is the Miami Center for the Blind? ;-)

Actually, I am considering the new Sony Z7 HDV camera because it records both to tape and CF cards simultaneously. That works around one of my main fears about the long GOP codec: if you have a tape dropout you lose 1/2 second of video. Presumably, flash cards don't have dropouts.
 
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