GL1 or GL2 w/ FCE

Question

Level 1

0 points

GL1 or GL2 w/ FCE

Any thoughts on the video quality of either the Canon GL1 or GL2 used with FCE. Thinking one of these may be a good fit for shooting skateboarding footage due to their ergonomics and large lense. I know that these are not HD, as I would prefer, but I hear that the 3CCD sensor gives as good a picture as some consumer entry level HD camcorders. Is this true? Would they look good being viewed on an HDTV?

The majority of these films being put together will be short in duration and posted to youtube.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

IMac, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on May 14, 2009 6:13 PM

Reply

Answer 1

skalicki

Level 5

4,448 points

May 14, 2009 6:15 PM in response to sk8nb

See if you like the way the footage looks in these clips on Vimeo:
http://vimeo.com/videos/search:canon%20gl

They are both DV camcorders, so they should be fully compatible with Final Cut.

Reply

Answer 2

sk8nb Author

Level 1

0 points

May 14, 2009 6:26 PM in response to skalicki

Thanks for the quick reply. I appreciate the hyperlink you included. What are your thoughts on a DV vs. an AVCHD camcorder? I like the idea of the GL1 or GL2 because they are Canon's prosumer version and as mentioned have a bigger lense which would be great for skateboarding videos.

However, I have heard that AVCHD is the future. Any major difference in qualities?

-Brett

Reply

Answer 3

skalicki

Level 5

4,448 points

May 14, 2009 6:58 PM in response to sk8nb

Well, I have an AVCHD camcorder and I love it, especially the whole ingest process. It really comes down to whether you would like HD 16:9 footage or SD 4:3 footage. I prefer the large frame sizes my AVCHD camcorder gives me.

Whether or not AVCHD is the future can be debated for countless hours. The undeniable present is in tape-based camcorders. One thing is for sure though, that SD DV camcorders are on their last legs. Soon the market will turn to only be HD camcorders, it's already starting.

It really is your choice. You might try looking into HDV cameras as well, because they shoot tape but they are HD. In the end, the real decision you will have to make is do you want HD footage or SD footage? Either way, you will probably burn onto SD DVDs.

Also, remember that HDV and AVCHD are transcoded to AIC upon capture/ingest resulting in much larger file sizes. If using one of these, it is a good idea to use an external drive to store your media.

If you're interested, you might have a browse through the HDV and AVCHD camcorders on the Canon site:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ProductCatIndex1Act&fcategoryid =102

Several of these cameras (both consumer and professional) have quite large lenses that I'm sure you would be pleased with.

Reply

Answer 4

sk8nb Author

Level 1

0 points

May 14, 2009 7:19 PM in response to skalicki

You have reaffirmed my first instinct to go with HD due to the future of this format and the devices on which the footy would be viewed. Not sure why I am waffling but must have something to do with the investment cost and not wanting the feeling of regretting the purchase of something that may be outdated soon.

Thanks a bunch!
-Brett

Reply