24P on the DVX100A vs. the Canon XL2

[Dashiell69]

Can anyone tell me if the Canon XL2 is comparable to the Panasonic DVX100A where 24P is concerened? I'll be shooting in 16 x9. I worked on a film shot on the DVX100A and it was by far the closest I've seen DV get to a film look. Trouble is, I have access to an XL2 for free! Anybody have any thoughts/experiences? If I shot on the XL2 without using the 24p feature and then added a film look in post, could that be comparable to the DVX100A?

 

[element80]

I haven't actually compared the two images, but I'm in the middle of ACing on a shoot where the DP is using both a DVX and an XL2, so I'd imagine they'd be pretty close. Some advantages to the XL2 are that it's native 16:9 (the DVX only has the squeeze mode), and you can put other lenses on it. If you could get a hold of a good set of primes, or at the very least, a zoom with REAL zoom, focus, and iris control, you'd be set. The DVX does have a mechanical zoom ring, but it still has a servo focus, which I find to be quite annoying.

 

[Walter Graff]

You'd have a hard time telling which is which. They both do 24p, just different ways and compared, both are indistinguishable.

 

[DanDan]

I own an XL-2, and the school I work with has both a DVX100A and a HVX200. The XL-2 totally blows the DVX out of the water in my opinion. No comparison. And when set up correctly (and barring the SD/HD quality difference) the XL-2 stands up well against even the HVX. The problem, as most XL-2 owners can tell you, is getting it set up correctly. It's not an out of the box, point and shoot camera.

What I do love most about the XL-2 is the lens. You can't beat the 20x optical zoom. I shot a rock concert for some friends from the back of the room, and I could zoom all the way up on the guitarists fingernails practically. The longer lens also helps get a more cinematic shallow depth of field that I haven't been able to re-create on the wider lensed Panasonic cameras.

Either way though, the Panasonic/Canon debate is like the Mac/PC debate. Both are just tools in the hand of the artist.

 

[Video Images by Trig]

DVX100 and XL2

DVX100 and XL2

DanDan,

I work with John Klein, producer in Chicago, and he used (2) DVX100 and (1) XL2 in 24P to shoot a movie last month. Contact him at www.windycitycamera.com and he can send you a copy of the DVD.

We are shooting "Glass City" in Toledo this summer with this equipment.

Trig