On Tue, 14 Jan 2003 10:36:20 -0500, Bill <bhoy@eaw.com> wrote:

>We have a small church out here in Massachusetts. For the past 11 years

>we have filmed our Sunday morning services on a Panasonic AG-450 S-VHS

>camera and delivered them to the local cable company for broadcast later

>in the week. We now have some grant money that we would like to use to

>purchase new equipment. My initial considerations are with the Canon

>XL1s or the cheaper GL2. I think either of these would be a great

>improvement over what we currently use.

>

>Could any of you shed some light on what we would gain if we went with

>the XL1s? The camera is 90% of the time on a tripod at the back of our

>church, plugged into an AC outlet. We put it up on a tripod and run it

>from there, looking thru the viewfinder. Once we get the upgraded

>camera, we would also start using it more in other parts of the church,

>for plays, talent shows, meetings, etc.

>

>Thanks for any info - I'd also be interested if there are other cameras

>I should consider in the $2k-$3.5K range. How about recommended

>vendors? I am familiar with B&H in New York City so far.

See: www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/vid_pict_characts.htm

(for picture references - click on the "key" after the

page has loaded to see what shot what...),

www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder-comparison.htm

(for comparisons of various Mini-DV cameras), and

www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/sony_dcr-vx2000.htm. The

XL-1 was never one of the very best couple of Mini-DV

cameras for image quality (particularly for interiors),

and it is more difficult to operate and more expensive

(properly outfitted) than several alternatives. The

VX2000/PD150 still has the best picture by a tad in

good light and the best picture in low light, has

excellent auto controls (that are easily biased for

improved results), is relatively inexpensive (as the

VX2000), and it has a "known" history of good

reliability. Good alternatives to the VX2000/PD150:

the Panasoniic DVX100, Canon GL2, and JVC 300.

B&H is an excellent dealer...