XL-1s from cnet.com
Previously I mentioned the camera my friends and I drove to San Francisco to purchase in January of ’06.
The Canon XL-1.
I really can’t sing enough praises about this machine. It was there with me in the beginning, and was my trusty rig through every production from early ’06 until now. This camera was my pride and joy; the finest piece of equipment I had ever owned in my life, and it paid for itself by the end of the year.
In June I decided to upgrade. Not that the Canon wasn’t good enough, but it had been used when I bought it, it’s manufacture date being January 1999. The machine was getting old. It had it’s drawbacks. No XLR input. I had to change the 16x zoom lens out to get a wide angle shot. It has no 24p shooting mode (for indie film stuff), and was murder on the arms. Hold this 7+ pound beast up for a few a few hours and you’ll know it.
I was in a position to purchase something newer, and I had multiple upcoming gigs that called for multi-camera shoots, and date bookings where more than one camera would be required.
Enter: The Panasonic AG-DVX100B.
My DVX100B on homemade jib.
The DVX100B beat out it’s only competitor, the Canon XL-2 for a few simple reasons. Both cameras are comparable in terms of capabilities, functions, and image quality.
Cost was primary. A used XL-2 was running for the same cost of a new DVX100b.
Weight was a secondary; at almost half the weight, this camera would be easier to lug around all day. It also has 2 XLR inputs, opening the door for vast improvements in my audio quality.
Finally, this camera has a reputation. I’d used a friend and associate’s DVX100A before, and I really liked it. Basil of Being MEdia, whom I had worked for and with since the inception of my business, loved the camera. As for the camera’s credentials, Basil’s camera, (not this type of camera, but his own camera, the camera that I had used , the very same one that filmed this documentary: 
James Longley’s Iraq In Fragments. After winning awards from Sundance and many other prestigious festivals, the film was nominated for an Academy Award. As we know, Al Gore walked home with the Oscar, but what I’m looking at here are the credentials of this Panasonic camera. The DVX100A that has been the favored camera of indie filmmakers for years.
The 100B heralds multiple improvements over it’s accomplished predecessor, and I don’t feel even slightly intimidated running it next to a guy operating an HDV camera that cost 3 times as much. How many Oscar nominated films has the Canon XL-H1 shot? Sony’s HVR-V1U? JVC’s GY-HD100U?
Ah, well, I digress… the point would be that the DVX100B is a pretty stellar piece of equipment. Since getting mine I’ve been blown away. The colors, the controls, the look, the feel, it’s all great. Everything I’ve shot with it so far is in some phase of post production, I’m looking forward to wrapping some of them. I think that Mr. Tafoya and his lovely wife will be happy with their wedding video; it was shot with the new DVX100B and the trusty ol’ XL-1.
