Canon XL2 or XHA1

Figure this place to post this.
Come spring time I wanna get into video. Now I was really into getting the XL2 for the ability to use the canon adapter and use all my lenses on it. Plus the shoulder mount holding is a big plus to me. easier to keep it stable. Seems the XL2 is PACKED with features as well. now the only down side is that its not HD. Now the XHA1 is HD but doesnt have interchangeable lenses and is not shoulder mount holding style. they are about the same price for each camera but not sure what one would be the better one to get just dabbling into this stuff...I really like the XL2 but the HD XHA1 has me really leaning towards it as well cause of the HD recording quality.

05Xrunner wrote in post #6669099
Figure this place to post this.
Come spring time I wanna get into video. Now I was really into getting the XL2 for the ability to use the canon adapter and use all my lenses on it. Plus the shoulder mount holding is a big plus to me. easier to keep it stable. Seems the XL2 is PACKED with features as well. now the only down side is that its not HD. Now the XHA1 is HD but doesnt have interchangeable lenses and is not shoulder mount holding style. they are about the same price for each camera but not sure what one would be the better one to get just dabbling into this stuff...I really like the XL2 but the HD XHA1 has me really leaning towards it as well cause of the HD recording quality.

I love my XL2...funny thing. It's for sale! I'm selling it for 1600 if you'd like it =]

It all depends on what you want to do? I'd go with the XHA1 with a 35mm adapter if it were me.

adam8080 wrote in post #6669499
It all depends on what you want to do? I'd go with the XHA1 with a 35mm adapter if it were me.

the XL2 has that..the XHA1 is a fixed lens.
If I was in the market right now 1600 is a killer price. I wont be buying till around spring time...So how would you rate the image quality of the XL2. even though its not HD...

05Xrunner wrote in post #6669586
the XL2 has that..the XHA1 is a fixed lens.
If I was in the market right now 1600 is a killer price. I wont be buying till around spring time...So how would you rate the image quality of the XL2. even though its not HD...

The quality is awesome. Obviously it's not HD, but for the definition it is, it's the best.

05Xrunner wrote in post #6669586
the XL2 has that..the XHA1 is a fixed lens.
If I was in the market right now 1600 is a killer price. I wont be buying till around spring time...So how would you rate the image quality of the XL2. even though its not HD...

One of these: http://adapterplace.co​m/

Not one of these: https://estore.usa.can​on.com …Id=10051&produc​tId=174196

that looks way to cumbersome and expensive compared to the canon one

The canon ones allow you to use 35mm lenses with the crop factor taken into account. The other adapter will allow you to use 35mm lenses as they would appear on a 35mm camera including the depth of field that cannot be archived with 1/3" sensors.

well I will just see what I want to do in the end. those adapters are pretty expensive..

They are. It just depends on the look you are wanting.

I have an XL-2 (with an EF Adapter)
It is an extremely good video camera with a lot of flexibility, especially in the audio department.

But if you are doing audio separately from the video, then I would actually recommend looking at the 5DmkII as an option.

If you are strickly doing video then the XL H1 would be your overall best value for flexability, video, audio and price combined. Although it does have the highest price; it is the lowest priced "video" camera with both HD and interchangeable lenses.

The XL-2 has flexability and price, with good audio, but it is starting to lose the video to HD cameras.

The XH A1 (or XH G1) Has good video and price, but loses flexability for both audio and video options compared to the XL series.

The 5DMkII has the video quality and some video flexability, but not much else going for it other then price and ability to do high quality stills. It mainly lacks good internal audio capability.

Just remember in choosing for video, audio is as important as video.

yes but the 5DII only does 5min of video..i dont want a still cam dubbed as a vid cam. i have a still cam. i want a pure video camera. I think still I am going to be using this as only fun for me. Just like my Camera now just hobby and fun for me. I might go with the XHA1 just cause I will have the best IQ i wont have the flexability of interchangable lenses but the one that it has built in I am sure is pretty good and would probably fill all my needs. I cannot afford 6grand for a vid cam for the XL HD version. So we will see if anything new comes out by spring time when I am ready to purchase.

I just got an XL2 a month or so ago. I love it. The XL2 with the EF adapter and a 70-200mm f/2.8L is amazing. I also have the 20x and 3x lenses for the XL2. For me, the use of multiple lenses was far more important than having HD (although I did already own a Sony HD camera).

If you are serious about doing video, I think that you are right about not wanting the 5D MkII. It just doesn't have the features for serious video work. It is a great SLR that shoots pretty good video, but it is not a video camera.

I have an XL2 for my business (shooting corporate things mainly) the lens on it is so good, I have only taken it off once (when I had to take it in to get fixed - the camera that is, not the lens). I do have a WA adapter for it, but I don't use that all that much.

The XHA1 has essentially the same lens as the XLH1 (just not interchangeable). The zoom (with a WA adapter from Century or other brand) will do you for 99% of what you need to do (unless you plan to shoot animals, very, very far away).

Personally (after owning the XL2 for a few years) I don't think interchangeable lenses are all that necessary on the XHA1. So I'd buy that over the XL2. It simply makes a better image.

The 5Dmkii will do 12 minutes of video (not 5) on a modern 4GB CF card (the new ones, can't remember what they are called right now... UM???). Since I have the XL2 for my video work, and HD video isn't a big thing/in demand in my area of video production. I'm going to buy a 5DmkII for those select times I'll need HD in the future (say talking heads with extreme shallow DoF etc.) and use the XL2 for the rest.

If I were you I'd get the XHA1. Go for it.

My sound guys can capture the sound for me (when using the 5DmkII) then I'll just line up the tracks. Easy enough.

i would vote for XHA1. I had XL2 and sold it. One thing to keep in mind when you buy Canon camcorder: the value drops like crazy when you want to sell it later. I bought my XL2 from BH for $4000+ and couldn't sell it at half price a year later. Consider it is still brand new. Just like 05Xrunner couldn't find a buyer for his XL2 at $1600.

I learn the lesson and bought Sony. The resell value is much better.