Canon XL2??????????????????

Criddle · #1 (**permalink**) 05-28-2006, 05:04 AM

I'm thinking of buying the Canon XL2 but I hear the the stock lens is shit.. I can get the body for 2,300 maybe less, but I wanna know what's a good/ great lens for close ups.

-LENS-

I'm planning on only buying one high-quality lens instead of buy 2 or 3 mediocre ones... and rcommendations? Budget for the lens is around 500-1,600. (I want a lens that can create a a small depth of field without having to get far away with my subjects.) I want to be able to shoot from 4-9 feet away and have a shallow (blurry) background? THis is possible with the xl 2 and a good lens right?

-MONITOR-

I also want to buy a monitor, I heard the eyepiece viewfinder is big enough to make sure the shot is in focus when using the manual settings... I hate editing blurry footag :( Seeing as how all these expenses are going to put a major dent in my wallet... I was planning on getting a cheap lcd monitor around 3-6 inches? (Mountable) any recommendations?

-MIC-

I also planning on using an alternate means of recording audio. Aside from the built in mic. I was thinking about using wireless mics or just regular mics I can plug into the back and just use a gaffer... though wireless mics are much more convenient... I wonder if the quality is worse. Any one have experience with wireless mics?

Seeing as how I wanna make movies I don't really mind not having hd... but this camera become outdated anytime soon?

Thnx for your input..

Mark W · #2 (**permalink**) 05-28-2006, 08:38 AM

Regarding the lens / dof.

The lens on the xl is usually regarded as one of the better camcorder lenses. A better lens will not give you sharper dof unless it is a long lens, the longer the lens the sharper the dof, but zooming in with the std lens will achieve this.

There are gadgets that you can get that can give the effect you are after but they are sometimes fiddly or expensive soloutions.

This widget gives the same dof as 35mm film by projection the lens image to a spinniing ground glass plate, then into the camera lens.

http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/mini35/

Only 6000 dollars !

Cameras with larger ccds give shallower dof, with 35mmm film being larger than nearly all ccds (except mad expensive cameras), it gives the sharpest results and canoot be got reliably on the cheap.

Open the aperature, move back, zoom in, then you get the sharpest dof the easiest way.