compents's Full Review: Canon GL2 Mini DV Camcorder
I've been an owner of Canon digital camcorder equipment since 1998, starting with the early release of the XL-1. In February of 2002, I had to submit to hernia surgery, and felt that any reduction in the weight of equipment that I would need to carry would be beneficial. Hence, I invested in the first of my two GL-2 camcorders.
My experience with the GL-2 has more than fulfilled my expectations in terms of ease of use and picture quality. It certainly is light enough during both camera use and transport. Compared to the XL-1, I've found the GL-2 to have a much faster autofocus response, enabling me to literally disregard any focusing issues during a shoot and concentrate on optimizing exposure and framing. Speaking of exposure, I always operate on manual control, and a minor complaint that I have of the GL-2 is that the iris dial alters exposure in detents as opposed to a fluid, steady change. Any exposure change shot during a scene is visible to the discerning eye on screen.
My primary complaint about the unit is durability. Both of my GL-2 camcorders share a problem with rewinding tape. A red-lettered message appears on screen during rewinding stating that the tape needs to be ejected. I've had one of my units repaired by Canon thus far. The other one is going to the shop this week. Based on what I've recently read on the internet, this is a very common problem with the GL-2.
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