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Canon GL2 worth buying?

S

superspiffy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 6, 2007
740
0
I do a little video work filming birthdays or shows sometimes. I always rent a Canon GL2 but I'm planning to purchase my own professional camcorder soon. I'm wondering is it worth buying the GL2? I know it came out 6 years ago so are there better and newer models for the same price point?

HD is a bonus but only secondary to my uses considering its price. hard drive cams looks cool but I don't know if they're big enough to replace the 60 minutes you get with mini DVs and worth the premium.
 
-DH said:
It's only worth buying if the price is right for you. And only you can make that determination.

-DH
Click to expand...

I've got no problem with the price. The point of my question was to ask if the GL2 is the best bang for your buck at that price range ($1999) or can I buy a better camera for the same price if not a little cheaper?
 
This might turn off a lot of people, but I personally prefer to buy a used camera off a reputable person and after checking out the camera in person carefully, because you can easily save half the cost. You probably won't have the warranty, but I guess that's the risk you take, and I never had a problem with any of my cameras yet *knocks on wood*

On craigslist or popular video classified ad forums, you might find a GL2 for $1000 or less.

Or if you still want to spend as much as $2000, you might look into a Panasonic DVX100A or B which you can find around $1500-$2000. I kind of wish I had started using this camera instead of a GL2 for the events I film.

Lastly, if you see yourself doing videos for quite some time, you might want to invest a bit more, like $3000 on something like a Canon XHA1. Then you'll be set for years to come.
 
321estrellas said:
This might turn off a lot of people, but I personally prefer to buy a used camera off a reputable person and after checking out the camera in person carefully, because you can easily save half the cost. You probably won't have the warranty, but I guess that's the risk you take, and I never had a problem with any of my cameras yet *knocks on wood*

On craigslist or popular video classified ad forums, you might find a GL2 for $1000 or less.

Or if you still want to spend as much as $2000, you might look into a Panasonic DVX100A or B which you can find around $1500-$2000. I kind of wish I had started using this camera instead of a GL2 for the events I film.

Lastly, if you see yourself doing videos for quite some time, you might want to invest a bit more, like $3000 on something like a Canon XHA1. Then you'll be set for years to come.
Click to expand...

I second this post. When talking about SD, you can't get much more of a bang for your buck than the DVX 100B. If you can find a cheap used one (and I'm sure you could with HD being all the rave now), that might be what you're looking for.

With that said, I got the Canon XH-A1 and I absolutely adore the camera. It produces some excellent looking footage, but falls in a reasonable money frame. If you're going to be doing video work for quite a while, I would seriously consider spending more for this camera.

Let us know of what you decide!

P-Worm
 
Red Scarlet?

If you don't need it for awhile...

Have you read any of the releases for the Red Scarlet? It promise 3k for under $3k, uses a raw format, all sorts of fun stuff. Of course, it doesn't exist yet, and it might be inappropriate for what you do. Just throwing it out there :)

Take a look at:

http://www.red.com/nab/scarlet

and:

http://www.scarletuser.com
 
The RED Scarlet (like the RED One) costs much more than just the price of the body... don't expect to shoot any projects with it for only $3k.

I would definitely agree with picking up a used DVX. There are some great deals on DVXuser.com with people selling whole packages (I just sold mine to a fellow DVXuser). If all you need is SD right now, that's the way to go.
 
I second the DVX route for SD. My first "serious" camcorder was the GL2. It performed reasonably well, but had I known better I would've sprung for the DVX.

For HD, though, I love my XH-A1. Granted I would sell it in a heartbeat for the Sony EX-1, but the XH-A1 still makes more sense for documentary work or for when I don't have time/resources to be dumping cards on set.
 
bigbossbmb said:
The RED Scarlet (like the RED One) costs much more than just the price of the body... don't expect to shoot any projects with it for only $3k.
Click to expand...

For the sake of preventing the spread of misinformation, the Red Scarlet will reportedly be a different animal than the Red One. It has a built-in lens for one, and includes a viewscreen and power pack. You'll need media, in the form of fast CF cards, but you need to buy tape for other cameras anyhow.

As I said, it's not even a choice right now, but don't spread misinformation just because you want to justify your own purchase. Obviously, a DVX is a far superior option NOW because he can shoot with it NOW.
 
Leave the Scarlet talk to rumor junkies - we don't even know if it'll have audio inputs yet. I was at NAB when it was announced - besides the specs, all we saw was a hunk of raw aluminum with some accessories bolted on to hide anything too specific (IE lens).

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For this user's needs, the DVX would be the perfect camera - the ability to start simple and then begin to experiment with custom parameters and manual settings if you choose to pursue more complex storytelling. As a former GL2 owner, I would recommend going with a good used DVX
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. It's clear that the DVX was the clear winner around here. The cheapest I could find it for is 1300 in CL but that's only for the DVX100. The DVX100B variety cost 1700. I found a GL2 for 1100 so I went with it. I have it now and I'm sure for what I do, it'll be just fine.

As I've read on other threads, getting the best camera is not as important as learning how to shoot with that camera. You can get a cheap camera to film just as well as an expensive camera if you know how to use it. So my only concern now is to learn this camera well enough so that it'll take the best possible picture for any occasion I use it. I'm going to be shooting birthdays and shows. Not knowing much about manual control, I've messed up a few shows in the past while shooting on automatic. Filming a brightly lit stage in a dark theater is tricky. So does anybody know where I can find resources on how to operate pro cameras like the GL2 and how to deal with manual settings and tweaking the camera for various shooting environments?
 
Sorry but i feel you may regret this decision. Im glad you bought atleast a semi professional looking camera. However, that camera is a handy cam in a semi professional looking body. I was in the same boat as you two years ago and i went with the Pansonic dvx for a variety of reasons and have never looked back since. Im shooting on a HVX now. Those cameras are worth the money and sadly i find the gl2 a overpriced handy cam
 
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