Would the Canon XL1 be a good camera to film wildlife?

[Owenayers]

I have filmed on a cheap camera which doesnt produce good results and is all in all a bit of a cheapo camcorder, i have been looking at the XL1 and can offord it, i just wonder how good it is for this particular job?? Thanks for any replies

[Badllarma]

Great get one then try and get hold of a XL to EOS lens adapter then buy a cheap Canon 75-300mm zoom (Around £100.00 S/H) and you will be set to film any wildlife you wish

If you can spend a little more go for the XL1s or XL2 though

[Owenayers]

Thanks mate thats a great help just wasnt sure myself, wanted someones opinion before i spend that amount of cash lol

[Badllarma]

I've used(owned) XL1 XL1S XL2 and XM1 and they are all great cameras if money no object always go for HD of course but in the real world for personal use XL1 is as good as you need.

I've seen footage from a XM1 (same chips as XL1 but without the removable lens making the XL1 more feature rich) edited with 35 mm film footage and I needed to guy who shot the footage to point out which was which

The quality is great and will serve you very well like I said before if you can get the lens adapter as well that then turns the 75-300 cheap Canon zoom to a 2000 mm monster due to the size of the DV chips compared to DSLR chips. If you cannot get near enough to use that then you really need to give up

Just to note you need a good tripod, the XL1 with it's standard lens will operate "ok" on a Velbon DV 7000 tripod (cheap) BUT I'd invest in one of the bigger models from manfotto etc when you can, especially if your going to get the lens adapter and the 75-300 mm (or other) Canon long zoom.

[agatha]

Hi, have just got my hands on a xl1s,but the picture quality is not as good as my old ex2hi,the xl1s is like new and has just had a £100 plus sevice heads cleaned exct,as you have used the xl1s could you give me some help on setting it up,aperture,shutter, anything that will help.This camcorder must be better, HELP.

thanks Barry.

[squishy]

Originally Posted by agatha

Hi, have just got my hands on a xl1s,but the picture quality is not as good as my old ex2hi,the xl1s is like new and has just had a £100 plus sevice heads cleaned exct,as you have used the xl1s could you give me some help on setting it up,aperture,shutter, anything that will help.This camcorder must be better, HELP.

thanks Barry.

Start a new thread to get proper attention

[rogpow]

Originally Posted by agatha

Hi, have just got my hands on a xl1s,but the picture quality is not as good as my old ex2hi,the xl1s is like new and has just had a £100 plus sevice heads cleaned exct,as you have used the xl1s could you give me some help on setting it up,aperture,shutter, anything that will help.This camcorder must be better, HELP.

thanks Barry.

Try the DVInfo forums, they have separate sections for most camcorders, including the XL1S:

Canon XL1S / XL1 Watchdog Forum at DVinfo.net

You'll find answers to just about any question/problem you might have.

[agatha]

Thanks rogpow,its atop site,found all I was looking for.

Thanks again Barry

[rogpow]

Originally Posted by agatha

Thanks rogpow,its atop site,found all I was looking for.

Thanks again Barry

Glad it helped, Barry. I find it a very useful site for info on my XL2 and XM2.

Rog