On Sat, 13 Jan 2001 09:35:04 -0500, Bill Van Dyk wrote:

[...]
>Most opinion seems to rate the Sony VX 1000 (and VX 2000) higher than the Canon
>(GL-1). Yet many people's initial comments about the Canon are, "wow, what a
>gorgeous picture..."
[...]

By VHS/8mm and most Hi-8/SVHS standards, it is - but if you
critically compare the GL-1 picture with others (VX-1000
and VX-2000 especially, but also with the TRV-900 and
EZ30U), it is less sharp, has more "artifacting" (white
"oversharpening" halos on contrasty edges, vertical-line
"stair-stepping", and Moire patterns) than the competition,
and it also has a strong overall orange color cast (that
may appeal to many on first viewing, since TVs are often
set up too blue, but in the long term....;-). Also, if
you are into good sound, the "saddle-back" response of
the built-in mic (which can compensate somewhat for
midrange-heavy cheap TV speakers, and so at first sound
good...) will soon annoy with its "heavy-but-nasal"
balance. Like bad speakers in a showroom with their
"boom-sizzle" sound (that appeal to those less
experienced with good audio gear), the GL-1 was
optimized, I think, to sell to those less experienced
with better video gear (a VERY large market, and smart
marketing on the part of Canon, as usual...! ;-).
More on these camcorders is in my reviews, at:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder-comparison.htm