Canon GL1 MiniDV Digital Camcorder
with Lens & Optical Image
Stabilization
A Pleased User
The Canon GL1 (and its big brother, the XL1) are helping to blur the line
between consumer and professional video equipment. This camcorder
borrows most of the professional-quality components from the XL1 and
puts them into a more compact, affordable camera. Though its small
enough to carry around and doesnt cost much more than a top-of-the-line
consumer camcorder, the GL1 produces such high-quality results that it
could be used as a broadcast video camera. Great movies start with great
CCD sensors, and Canon cuts no corners here. For the best possible
picture quality, they use three separate 270,000-pixel CCDs (one for each
primary color). To further improve image detail, Canon has intentionally
shifted the green CCD half a pixel horizontally and vertically. This shift
allows more accurate interpolation, resulting in an image that Canon
claims rivals those from cameras with 410,000-pixel CCDs. Each pixel is
72 square microns, which is about 1.5 times the size as those in competing
camcorders. This increased size increases light sensitivity, allowing you to
shoot in lower-light situations. Ultimately, the larger pixel size results in an
improvement of 4 dB loss budget in sensitivity. For great optical quality,
the GL1 uses a fixed (nonremovable) 20x optical (100x digital) zoom L-
series fluorite lens. The fluorite element in the lens increases sharpness
and contrast, as well as helping to preserve color fidelity. Audio is
recorded through the built-in microphone, which features two pairs of
pickup elements. Audio can be recorded in 16-bit mode on two channels
on one track. Alternatively, audio can be record in 12-bit mode, where the
audio track is divided into two, and two channels of audio are recorded

onto one track, with the other left over for audio dubbing. The electronics
of the GL1 have many advanced features, including a number of
programmed AE modes, as well as both shutter and aperture priority
modes. There are two different auto modes, one of which allows you to
adjust any setting manually, if you want, and the other, which adjusts every
setting automatically and lets you adjust nothing. A spotlight mode
automatically compensates for lighting difficulties when shooting a subject
bathed in a spotlight. Finally, a sand-and-snow mode is designed to
prevent dark, underexposed subjects in situations with bright
backgrounds--commonly found in sandy and snowy areas. There are also
three different shooting modes: normal movie mode, digital photo mode,
and frame movie mode. Normal movie mode is for any time you want to
shoot video footage. Digital photo mode records a still image for six
seconds on the miniDV tape, and also captures any audio, such as a
commentary. The frame movie mode records 30 still images per second,
but it isnt intended to be used for shooting video. Rather, frame movie
mode should be used as burst or continuous shooting mode, as youd find
on a still camera. The GL1 uses an IEEE 1394 port for digital editing and
for transferring footage to and from other IEEE 1394-compliant devices.
The camcorder also has RCA (composite) audio and video ports, and an
S-Video out. The analog inputs allow you to transfer old footage to DV for
archiving. Built-in effects include a fader for transitions, black and white,
slim, stretch, and strobe. Picture adjustment is also possible; you can
adjust camera sharpness, softening or sharpening your subject, as well as
the color tone and how dark or light the camera sets the auto-exposure
level.
Personal Review: Canon GL1 MiniDV Digital Camcorder with
Lens & Optical Image Stabilization
I purchased my GL-1 almost two years ago with the original intention of
using it to create videos of weddings and grandchildren. After comparing
numerous available models and brands, I chose the GL-1 for its good
reputation, high-end features, lenses, and of course for the more
reasonable price.It could be said that the GL-1 is among the worst of the
best, but that is not a fair way of comparing its features to other
camcorders. The GL-1 is top end material, producing similar or equal
quality as equipment costing twice as much or more. The lower price
mostly reflects the fact that the GL-1 does not have as many features as
the more expensive models. It already has more buttons and settings than
most of us even want to know exist anyway, so except for professionals
and hard-core video fans, we amatures are plenty happy to leave the
settings on 'automatic' and simply push the record button.What really
matters is the end result, and viewing a video on your television recorded
with the GL-1 looks no different than a video recorded with more expensive
models (well, unless you are one of those hard-core types who are very
critical, but then too, every camcorder model produces slightly different
results, so any differences noticed would be noticed in all). The major end-
result difference will be noticed in audio quality. Recording video in a
normal room setting is no problem, it comes out great, but in areas with

high noise, winds, or too low of sound, the recording is sometimes less
than desired. Too loud of noise causes distortion (avoid sitting directly in
front of or even behind a rock group's speaker array, even if 75 feet
away!), and when the desired sound to be recorded is too quiet, you may
hear a slight humming of the camcorder's motor. Many users have solved
the problem by purchasing additional audio recording equipment, which is
of course an acceptable solution, but one that new owners should be
aware of.Every camera of course has it's good points and bad points, and
except for the bad points of not-perfect audio, everything else about the
GL-1 is good. Good balance, medium weight, easy loading, good battery
life (1 hour with the factory battery, other batteries can be bought that will
record for over 3 hours), and the appearance does say you are using high-
end equipment.All things considered, the GL-1 is right about in the middle,
giving better results than all known lower-end models, but not quite as
good of results as the more expensive models. The Gl-1 is Goldilock's "just
right" choice (sorry, I just had to say that).The Sony camcorder is said to
be a little better, close to that of the Canon XL-1, and I did consider it, but
at the time I had just overcome a less than favorable experience with a
Sony product and I did not want to make another mistake. If you have the
money to spare, get the XL-1 just because it's cooler looking, but for fast,
easy, quality video, the GL-1 is a great choice.
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