Canon GL1 Mini DV Camcorder

Pros: Great image quality, easily portable
Cons: Expensive

After researching digital videocameras extensively, I am now the owner of a Canon GL-1. During my search of cameras, I had some specific criteria. I wanted to find a camera that was the mini-DV format, had analog in, was a horizontal design instead of...

Pros: Looks Good, 3-CCD's, Heavy Enough to be Stable
Cons: No Manual Audio Recording Level Controls

While the Sony TRV900 DV camcorder is like a professional camcorder hidden in the body of a consumer, home-video cam, the Canon GL-1 is like a consumer-level camcorder hidden in a professional body. Actually, the two camcorders are quite similar, and...

Pros: Great Video Quality, Perfect Size (not too big or too small), Lots Built In
Cons: Price, Battery Life, Sound Limitations

I have had my Canon GL-1 for about a month and have been testing it out and I find that it records excellent digital video. It offers a ton of features in a tight little package. As I gain more experience with the little gem, I will update this opinion....

Pros: Clean sharp digital images that make quality movies.
Cons: Tape eating problem (read review)

I have been using the GL1 for nearly 1 year 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...

Pros: Excellent image & zoom; manual overrides well placed, no need for interchangeable lenses.
Cons: Autofocusing like a first generation Canon EOS, bulky, & low res. stills.

Although the GL-1 has been round a few years it still sets the standard for quality, value and versatility in a single digital package. My primary interest in video is natural history, particularly birds and butterflies. The key requirements I wanted in...

Pros: Easy to use, great quality
Cons: Price isn't really affordable for everyone

A few friends and I used the Canon GL1 MiniDV for our recent film short and we were all really pleased with its performance.

It has a great blend of the simplicity of the point-and-shoot and with a lot of professional-level techie-pleasing...

Pros: Canon optics, nice and small, lcd screen option. 3-CCD unobtrusive
Cons: no interchangable lenses, no on camera audio track options

OK. I shot a feature using the XL-1 last year and am working on another. I have a GL1 at work and use it for everything from focus groups to miscellaneous narratives.

It is much better than your standard miniDV but I'll assume most people...

Pros: The lens the thing
Cons: Expensive, but 3CCD consumer digital video is still new.

This camcorder has the best lens in this price range. The optical zoom, 20x, (extended to 100X digital) along with the solid optical image stabilization and aberration free L-Flourite technology make this lens, alone, worth the price of the camcorder....

Pros: Great Picture, nice features, and solid feel.
Cons: Audio, Weight, and low-light performance

Canon has combined the professional look and features of their high-end XL1, with the ease of use and price point of the average prosumer camera in a camera that is anything but “average”.

Professional Features:

Fluorite Lens –...

Pros: Picture quality, weight, durability; manual controls
Cons: No convenient accommodation for capturing still pictures; no interchangeable lenses

Canon GL-1. Just the thought of a tiny camera producing broadcast quality video is absurd but this one does it!

I purchased my GL-1 in July and have been totally amazed by the camera. Straight out of the box, I plugged up a battery and used...

Pros: Compact camera with good lens and well-designed controls.
Cons: Small and low-rez LCD screen

The GL1 feels good in the hand, especially for such a small unit. Although it's a bit heavier than some of the other camcorders we've reviewed recently (see April '99 issue of DV), the Canon GL1's size and weight fall within standard palmcorder...

Pros: cheap price
Cons: horrible service, false advertising

I am a filmmaker who produces short films for distribution over the Internet. I have been using a borrowed GL1 and just absolutely love it.

I must apologize in advance for diverging from the topic somewhat in this epinion. By that I mean...

Pros: Mobile, good picture
Cons: Complicated, lense not interchangeable

After using the Cannon XL, I have high standard for digital camcorders. This camera has great sound recording and a good lense bad it is unessecarily complicated. It is a slightly advanced version of a typical sony digital camera but it is not as...

Pros: production quality video for under $2500
Cons: lacks manual audio gain control

Camcorders have improved dramatically over the past few years and I found myself lusting after miniDV like the Sony VX-1000 and the Canon GL-1. Unfortunately both were a bit pricey for me and lower end miniDVs rarely the feature and picture quality I...

Pros: Amazing picture quality, Flourite lense, sturdy design
Cons: No exchangeable lenses like the XL1

The GL1 is not a step up from the Xl1, more a step down. It is an amazing camcorder with great ability to capture some beautiful crisp pictures, but it is not really an alternative to the XL1. The GL1 is a more compact version of the XL1, featuring the...