Canon GL2 Mini DV Camcorder

Pros: Numerous manual adjusts, upgraded 3-CCD technology, custom presets, Viewfinder volume meters, top ejject
Cons: (wish list) direct XLR inputs, gamma adjust, stock zoom speed LANC control.

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.

Picture and sound quality knocked my socks off. I download via firewire (IEEE 1394) directly to a DVD RW recorder and wind up with broadcast quality high school football games on DVD's.

Great camera, light as air, 2 different zooms, one slow, for fine zooming, and one general zoom, for fast zooming. great low light shots, excellent still pictures. i love this camera, it was our first camera, and definately a great choice. it is a little spendy, but i think its worth every penny. the batteries charge VERY fast also. I would recommend this to anyone.

Pros: Quality video and sound; Options; Fairly easy to use; Battery life; 1.7 megapixel still
Cons: Takes an above average intelligence to operate; Heavier and bulky compared to the mini-cams.

I have many years of video experience (starting in '85). Recently I transferred ALL 60 hours of video (Beta, VHS-C) to DVD. The interesting thing is the better the quality the better the memory. I have "grainy" video from the daughter's birth in 1986. Compare those to the quality of the G2. The difference is like Black and White movies from the 20's to modern color!

The point is that you can't get better quality than the Cannon GL-2 for home or documentary use.

oh my god. this camcorder is the illest thing i ever bought. i use it to film rollerblading and the video quality is amazing. the sound is unbealivable and the weight feels like it only weights a pound. it is so light but heavy enough to be stable. believe me, if ur looking for a 3CCD camcorder that does well in low light and want spectaular video and audio, this is it the GL2

I love the Canon Gl2. Its has great picture quality and since I use it to film skaters, I can right down low, to thier feet and now have it not shaking. I love the handle on it. It is so much easier to hold than any other camcorder I know. IT ROCKS!

very good camera could be smaller, but great picture and good sound. I taped my daughters school play. It turned out great. My family couldn't go to the play so i taped it. I have had lots of cheap ones with crapy picture. Once i thought i had a perfect camera but the sound was awful. This is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Pros: Good quality of videos, Easy to use, durable.
Cons: batteries did not last long, and camera was hard to understand at first.

I like this camera a lot, the videos came out perfectly, almost as if it was done by a professional. The problems I did encounter were the batteries not lasting too long, and some troubles understanding the buttons and how to use them. It took me awhile to understand how to use the camera, but once I did it was pretty easy to use.

Pros: high quality shots, very versatile
Cons: cant change lenses, consumer looking camera

great for a prosumer level camera...very versatile and takes a beating, large weakness of permanent lens...can only use a clip on wide angle adapter....keep this in mind....once you get past a prosumer level of shooting...you'll need to buy a new camera

Pros: Good quality video. Lightweight, easy to find the controls
Cons: Outrageous prices to have it repaired and very poor customer service people to deal with.

I purchased 2 Canon GL2's about 2 years ago. They are good cameras and do a fine job until you need to get some work done on them. There are only 2 facilities in the US to get them worked on. NJ and CA. To clean the heads it is a minimum of $250.00. I recently damaged one of mine and had to have the main board replaced. It took numerous calls to NJ to get a tape back that would not eject and when they gave me the estimate I about told them to keep it. To have the main board replaced was $1059.00. $550.00 for the parts and $400.00 in labor. (I need a job there because they must pay their techs pretty good) They WILL NOT give you an estimate without seeing the camcorder. The customer service people were downright rude or obnoxious. I was lied to, transferred from one person to another without anyone trying to help me. So if you purchase this camcorder just remember it's probably a throw away once something goes wrong because you can probably buy a new one cheaper than getting the old one fixed.

Pros: Great Picture Great Sound
Cons: Poor quality tape transport

This is a great camera, features-wise, and gives great video results. The audio upgrades over the GL-1 are also very good. The controls are reasonably ergonomic and the operation of the camera is comfortable. However, all the positive attributes of this camera are meaningless when you first encounter the dreaded "Remove Cassette" error message. At this point the camera will essentially freeze up and become useless for either playback or recording. Research this issue on google by typing in "Canon Remove Cassette", follow a few of the results and see how large a problem this is and why I agree with some others here that Canon should voluntarily recall affected cameras to help restore or repair their negative image.

Pros: Excellent picture quality
Cons: Without any warnings it instruct you to eject the tape from the camcorder.

The camera a itself is great until suddenly it gives you a Reject Tape message. It is very easy to use, but with this major problem I do not recommend it.

Pros: Good pictures. Decent sound.
Cons: Bad tape loader, worse customer service.

The infamous "Eject" problem. Rewinding function fails after very light use (less than 100 hrs).
This is the my 2nd Canon camcorder that had the same problem. I bought a ZR40 a few years back. It "ate" up my tape while rewinding. Rather than paying unknown amount to fix a cheap camcorder (they refused to tell me the repair cost up front), I bought the GL2 with the thinking that they would fix the problem in their newer models. It happen again!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pros: Lots of great features. works pretty good for a year.
Cons: Things go bad after a year and a half.

In a two-year span I have done three important projects that went to DVD and maybe five family home videos. I'm getting pretty good at using manual settings to get rich colors and high quality shots. But lately, as I watch the video from the last two projects I am noticing a couple of dead pixels, tiny white spots that are always there. They are especially noticeable when you zoom in on someone’s face. So on the next project I borrowed a GL2 from my friend to avoid having this flaw in my shots, but his camera is about the same age and it also has this problem. I called Canon to see what it might be, and it turns out that it is something wrong with the CCD and prism system. The Part is $500.00 and the labor starts at $400.00. In other words, its is not worth fixing. So I consider the GL2 a throw away piece of junk after about a year and a half. For real quality, check out the Sony VX2000.

Pros: takes great pictures, easy to use, and has many great features
Cons: Design problem leads to broken rewind mechanism.

The GL2 takes great pictures, easy to use, and has many
great features, BUT; it has one major problem, the rewind
mechanism has a design flaw! Like many others, I got the
infamous "EJECT TAPE" message.

Until Canon recalls the cameras with rewind problems, I wouldn't recommend any Canon products.
The quote I got for fixing the problem was $420.

Unless you've got 400 bucks to toss in a year or so, don't
buy a Canon camcorder.