geffxl5's Full Review: Canon GL2 Mini DV Camcorder
No doubt about it, the consensus in the film community is clear: the CANON GL2 (in the UK called "XL2") is the best bang for the buck in the semi-pro miniDV format (remarkably, this includes Canon's own XL1s!). What's more, the next best camcorder in this class is the Panasonic AG-DVX100, which sells - at a street price of around $3500US - for about $1500 more!
While the GL2 sports many general upgrades over the earlier GL1 (such as the "pixel-shift technology" of it's capture hardware), it is chiefly the "frame' (or "movie") mode (which somewhat emulates a "cinema-like" look to screened footage) and the various (and genuinely 'manual') override functions that push this petite workhorse in front of the pack of other "pro-sumer" camcorders, so much so that it has become, almost by default, THE ubiquitous camera in the mini-budget indie film movement.
Read around EVERYWHERE (as I did before forking out my $$) and you will come to the same conclusion, for lens quality, shooting in low-light, optional "frame" mode - and countless other features - for it's price the GL2 is in a class of it's own.
Setting a performance benchmark for a prosumer-level camcorder, the GL2 offers high-quality digital video up-to 530 lines of resolution. Building on C...More at Fumfie
Canon GL2 Canon Mini DV Camcorder, Digital Video Formatand IEEE 13942.5 measured diagonally (6.4 cm), 200,000 pixels (approx.) LCD screenCanon hastake...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
20x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 100x) and image stabilizer 2.5-inch LCD with 270-degree rotation Save to MiniDV tape or MMC/SD card (8 MB SD ca...More at Amazon Marketplace
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