On Wed, 06 Mar 2002 06:21:54 GMT, "Jim Harvey" wrote:

>David:
>
>Have you ever considered just giving the guy advice on how to accomplish
>what he is trying to do rather than give him a sermon on how wrongheaded he
>was to not have bought a Sony in the first place?
>You seem to be rather monomaniacal on the Sony, and while is is a very good
>camera, it is by no means the BEST MiniDV out there (or DV for that matter).
>With your extensive photographic experience, you should be able to guide
>this hapless soul to a resolution to his problem without requiring him to
>purchase a new camera.

?????????????
From the original post:
"I rented a canon xl1, and wanted to get the highest quality
footage i could acquire for a cross country ski video."
And, from your copy of my post in your response:
">> From the original post, and my response:
>> "I rented a canon xl1"...."
And later:
">> The poster also said "I [...] wanted to get the highest
>> quality footage i could acquire for a cross country ski
>> video.""

Doesn't anybody read???;-)

My response WAS appropriate, since he could choose to
rent for the next shoot a camera that would, in several ways
pointed out in my post, make the shoot both easier to do
and higher-quality in its result. I also gave specific advice in
the response, and later, on how best to shoot in the difficult
conditions described.

My point was that the VX2000/PD150 *does* have imaging and
control characteristics that would make it a better choice
for shooting the *specific* material the original poster was
asking about; when the XL-1 is the more appropriate choice
for a *specific* shooting condition, I will say that, too
(but as several have noted in these XL-1 vs. PD150 threads
of late, the Sony solution *is* for *most* purposes, and
for the price, *generally* the better choice; this is NOT
"rocket science", nor is it "Sony brand loyalty" - is is a
reasonable conclusion drawn from the observation of the
relative picture quality, control capability, and
suitability for serious use straight out of the box,
without having to spend money on expensive accessories...
And, since the original poster was renting, one could
reasonably assume that he might have access to a more
appropriate camera for his needs, for about the same rental
fee...

Gosh, pardon me for offering advice that could actually help
someone instead of just "dumping" on someone who can
offer helpful advice.....! ;-)

For those who missed my original response to the poster's
questions, it is below. Instead of calling me names, how
'bout challenging me on the specifics of what I said.
I think that would be more useful than empty name-calling
and "bitchy" posts...;-)

>> >> Yes, but at the risk of raising the "XL-1 lovers'" ire yet
>> >> again...;-) The VX2000/PD150 handles the lighter tones
>> >> better (less "burn-out" due to lower contrast), handles the
>> >> subtler near-neutral colors better (instead of turning them
>> >> brown or grey), has a sharper picture, has less "outlining"
>> >> on contrasty edges (lotsa these in snow-shooting), has
>> >> better AF, and (maybe most important for you) it permits
>> >> biasing of the excellent AE in 1/2 stop increments to
>> >> compensate for things like bright averages that do not
>> >> represent correct exposure, while still enabling you to
>> >> use the advantages of AE (you can also take care of color
>> >> biases and excess/insufficient saturation - as you can
>> >> also do with the "s" version of the XL-1). These controls
>> >> are accessed with the small button at the rear base of
>> >> the handle, and are changed using the wheel at the camera
>> >> lower left rear corner. BTW, if you use the accessory
>> >> large eyecup with the VX2000/PD150 and carefully adjust
>> >> the finder brightness and color level (vx2000) while
>> >> connected to a monitor for reference, the finder serves
>> >> as a pretty good guide for exposure (it may need "zeroing
>> >> in", after a little field experience, though...). You can
>> >> also set "zebra" levels in the finder for judging
>> >> overexposure areas... For more on the VX2000/PD150, see:
>> >> http://www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/sony_dcr-vx2000.htm