Comment on Canon GL1 MiniDV Digital Camcorder with Lens & Optical Image Stabilization by Shelley Gammon “Geek”.
feature packed,
I have been using the GL1 for nearly 3 years now. I take it out on shoots for a website I work on… sometimes I create QuickTime Movies, sometimes I take stills from footage and convert the stills to .JPG files.
The 30-lux capacity means you can walk into a subdued lighting environment such as a dining room lit by a single candle and get very good, balanced exposure. It is not like an infrared camera or anything, however… there must be SOME non infrared light, or you get nothing.
The 30x zoom can’t be beat. You can be 50 yards away from a person and zoom in and get a shot of their nose… in many ways, it must be seen to be appreciated.
Considering the features, the unit is light-weight, but newer digital camcorders of similar strengths are now on the market for far less and weigh half as much. Still, the GL1 is easy to hold with one hand while using the eye piece or the LCD panel.
I only have a few criticisms. For one, the unit does not ship with a firewire cable. If you are ordering this item for its firewire compatibility, you will need to order a 6-to-4 pin firewire cable separately. (6-pin for your Mac, 4-pin for the GL1).
Also, the GL1 has a tendency to eat tapes. For a while, I thought I was just getting deffective tapes, but a co-worker got a DV deck and the deck was able to view and use the tapes without difficulty. Just viewing the tapes on the DV deck seemed to “fix” whatever the GL1 perceive was wrong with the tapes. On occasion I will get an all red “WARNING: EJECT TAPE” display on the LCD panel… I then eject the tape, rewind it a bit on the DV deck and then I can use it fine for several weeks w/ the GL1. This has been a problem from day one and I have head-cleaning tapes.
The unit has a tripod screw mount on the bottom and a hot shoe on top, so it’s a good piece of hardware for professionals.
The battery that ships with the unit will only run for about 30 minutes on a full charge… but that’s 30 minutes of actual recording, rewinding, etc. I highly recommend getting an additional 2 hour battery as back-up, especially if you’re stuck somewhere and don’t have the luxury of having an AC wall socket nearby. You can run the camera straight off AC power, but it is awkward… you must run the cord from the GL1 to the charger and the charger is then plugged into the wall. This extra cord does not come with the unit and you must buy it separately. It would have been nice if they had included this cord as well as a DC charger for the car.
Back when I was ordering this item, I spoke with Canon directly to ask them information about the firewire capabilities, etc. Afer speaking to a customer service rep. for over 1 hour, it was obvious that the folks answering the phones for Canon absolutely know NOTHING about their own products or terminology used in photography or videography… if the answers are not in the little book in front of them, they are worse than uninformed… they tell you the wrong information. If you want more information about the features of this camera, seriously examine the specs featured here on Amazon and read all of the reviews.
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