Learn a few tricks about using your Canon XL2.
The Canon XL2 is a powerful MiniDV format camcorder with interchangeable lenses. Standard with the camera is a powerful 20X professional flourite lens; however, the camera readily accepts any lens from the XL series, as well as photographic lenses, when using the correct adapter. The camera itself offers a range of customization options when shooting images in both video and still mode. One fault in this age of high-definition video is that this camera does not capture high-definition.
Switch the Switch
If you are having trouble getting an output signal on your Canon XL2, look no further than the camera's AV jack panel. The panel (located next to the battery well) includes an S-video jack, a BNC video jack and a yellow RCA composite video jack. On the outside edge of the camera, there is a tiny switch that controls output between the BNC video jack and the RCA composite video jack. Make sure that the switch is toggled to the output jack that you are using. It's a simple solution, but the switch is small and not obvious.
Watch Those Optics
Having interchangeable lenses is one of the benefits of using the Canon XL2, so chances are you will want use different lenses in different situations, or even add adapters for special visual effects. According to Chris Hurd, who set up and created the XL series information site called The XL2 Watchdog, due to the extreme curvature of the front element in the new 20X lens, some optical adapters may actually make contact with the lens when properly attached. The risk: scratches on both pieces. The rule is to make sure the model being used corrects for this curvature, Hurd says.
Cannibalize Your Canon L1 or L2
For those XL2 users who happen to also have a Canon L1 or L2, they can use the microphone from those cameras on the XL models, including the XL2. The L1 microphone can be used in stereo mode or in zoom mode and will attach to the shoe on the XL. Hurd's XL2 Watchdog website notes the microphone will not fit some cases this way, but there is also the option of using the support bracket from the microphone in the L1 microphone holder before attaching it to the XL2.
Velcro That Cap
Smaller, less professional model camcorders usually have their protective lens cap tethered to the camera body somehow in order to make sure the cap isn't lost or misplaced. With the XL2-level cameras, Canon does not provide strings to keep track of lens caps. One suggestion for keeping the lens cap not only secure but in sight is to affix it using adhesive Velcro strips to either the top of the lens hood or some other obvious place on the camera body, so it isn't forgotten.
Tags: video jack, camera body, composite video, composite video jack, interchangeable lenses, your Canon