I Bought My Dream Camera…From 25 Years Ago | Canon XL1 

Here's a follow-up video that compares footage imported via FireWire to the analog method: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-U1xhEN9qWwk.html Thank you to everyone in the comments here who helped me figure out which adapters I needed to make it happen! Overall I think the FireWire footage is definitely better, but it's not quite the drastic difference I expected. I still feel like the analog method gets you 90% of the way there with a much simpler workflow, so that's what I'd recommend for anyone who's not too familiar with cameras. But if you are a camera nerd (and I mean that in the best way possible), then FireWire will give you the best quality possible while also being a fun project to tinker with.

This camera was used to film 28 Days Later but they used the PAL version that recorded in 25 frames a second but was converted to 24 frames in post.

I shot my movie "Swingers" (2002) with it. Printed it in post to 35mm negative, to create theater copies (pre DCP era). The movie had a nation wide theatrical release in the Netherlands. Love the look of the image.

Oh, I can just hear the parents of a super-enthusiastic 13-year-old telling him that, you know, Tom, expensive electronics don't grow on trees. And now that you've proved them wrong, you finally have your XL1. Yeah, I laughed out loud when you panned to the Casio keyboard in a tree. And yeah, I miss my Canon XL1S, for all the exact reasons you covered in this XLent video. And as someone who's been searching, fruitlessly, for a modern version of that form factor and those specific features, I'm totally with you on wanting an XL-4K. Please, Canon?

purchased that when it was released, also had the XL2 and they were great cameras. probably one of my favorites

I wanted a Sony VX-1000. The XL1 was a beast of its day.

I had a buddy who owned one. He let me borrow it twice and I was way in over my head haha. The GL2 was always my goal in 99'

I WANTED THAT CAMERA SO BAD!!! Sorry. I'm only 10 seconds into the video. I'm so excited to watch this one 😂

Elgotos definitely hurting the image quality a fair bit. I extensively used the xl1 and xl2 with dv both direct to a pc and to a dvr and both were significantly sharper than the composite.

I would love a Panasonic micro four thirds 25MP sensor camera in this form factor. Particularly one of the newer sensors with phase detect autofocus and dual-gain output for increased dynamic range. Please and thank you haha!

I wanted this camera so bad when I was a kid. they cost thousands and now they cost $200 on ebay lol

Nice video. 😀 I wish I had your studio. One day. 😊

how did icarly look so hd with freddie using this 1900´s cameras

Of of the most stunning examples of industrial design in the history of electronic devices...

This was the goto camera for wedding videographers and college A/V departments. I think it helped define the term, prosumer. I remember, I read every article in Videomaker magazine at the time time dreaming of this camera as well. Now you just need to buy a Video Toaster and your 90’s production studio will be complete.

The XL1 and DVX100b were my two dream cameras when I got my start!

Thanks to a bunch of suggestions in the comments here I was able to get all the cables/adapters needed to import XL1 footage via FireWire and it looks soooo good! I'll definitely be doing a follow up comparison with footage imported via both methods and how to do it (since it works with any MiniDV cameras and not just the XL1). I'm also really impressed because Final Cut does a great job of de-interlacing footage when necessary and automatically creating clips based on when recording was started/stopped on the tape, which saves a ton of time. Maybe this is nothing new, but I haven't imported footage via FireWire in at least 15 years, back when it was just one long clip that had to be cut up manually. This is awesome, so thank you to everyone who helped explain the difference adapters and everything! 🙏

Ugh… now you went and made me buy one on eBay… thanks

DUDE YES! I've been waiting for this video from you, forever. I still wanna get my hands on a XL1, but I did just get a VX1000

I need to find one and put some sort of digital recorder on it, is that the iCarly Freddie camera? 90s kid here myself (91)

The best standard definition camera that I ever used was the Panasonic DVX-100B. The video quality, although standard definition, in the right lighting was close to HD. Some movies were filmed on it

Direct digital import of MiniDV footage was definitely better quality than capturing from the analog outputs. It would also be interesting to see what today’s grading tools could do to refine that footage.

I was a videographer back in the 1990's and really wanted an XL1. Couldn't afford it or the GL1 but watching this brings a smile to my face as I recall all the times I looked at video catalogs wanting them. If you had an XL1, you were hot stuff! And you're right, having physical switches and controls you can press is something I miss too. Your eye could be in a viewfinder and you could instantly feel a switch and hit it as opposed to going thru a menu. When things became menu driven, I wouldn't upgrade for a long time because I hated menu driven controls. This video was a lot of fun to watch.

I'd still suggest people try the firewire route if possible. Apple make plenty of dongles from firewire to thunderbolt which GREATLY improves the quality.

Never use Composite output , you get the worst signal ever made

I used to work at a ritz camera… 1990-1996… I remember 1991, Canon A1 Digital and L1. Of the Hi8 variety but eventually Canon moved to MiniDV tape. We also had the Sony V5000, which everyone lusted after. Fast forward to 2000, I remember using an XL2 on a Powermac G4. They were really cool to use.

For me, the biggest ground breaking feature of the XL-1 was the “Movie” mode feature which recorded 30 full frames vs 60 interlaced frames. I believe it was the first camera available to the common person that had that feature. When shooting in “Movie” mode, it created more of the look of film , instead of the “soap opera” look.

Great video, Tom! I saved up and got an XL-1s back in the day and ended up filming weddings for a while to pay for it. When the XL-2 came out, I saved up again and sold the XL-1s to get it because I HAD to have the true widescreen and 24fps! I mean, I was basically making movies at that point, right?! I never ended up selling the XL-2 and still have it to this day, but my path did take me eventually to the 5DmkII for a web series I made. But i'm with you, I would love to see an XL-3 or XL-4K because the form factor was so amazing on those cameras!

I loved this camera, used in constantly in film school, when I found out 28 Days Later was filmed with the Canon XL1, I was obsessed. It was the pinnacle of gorilla filmmaking tools. The worst thing was logging footage in real time. I do not miss that at all. Cool to see how things have moved on but at the time the XL1 was the dream. Thanks for showing me what I missed out on!

With all the trends of VHS Look, Film Look, Grain Look, VCR look, are we really going back to this road in our creative lives? Do you think its the right time to ditch our mirrorless cameras and start holding camcorders again?

Nice memories! I remember using this to film my first total solar eclipse in 1999, fitted with an EF lens! I've included that clip in a recent tutorial I made about eclipses.

I have a xl1 16mz what looks like a wide angle lens. really heavy piece of glass is this worth anything? cant find a ton online

Man, how many times did I reinstall the IEEE 1394 drivers on my computer? Not the camera's fault...WINDOWS fault

was my first "real" video camera. photographed a friend's wedding really early on and he paid for it partially with that camera. some amazing memories with that thing.

You might not believe me, but I too had a Canon XL-1 poster on my wall! Great video Tom! You even covered what I was going to mention about the XL-1 DNA still being alive and well in todays cinema and professional models. Great video as always!

Wow! I had the little bro to that camera the Canon GL2 that I paid 5k for CAD. I saved up forever for that camera. It's amazing how dated the footage looks

I know the first season of the office was shoot on a mini dv panasonic camera and they used probably a wire fire in a pci port method that allow u to don't loose any quality compared to the usb or hdmi and u can see the quality of that show is far better than the tests u made here, or maybe i am wrong

I really enjoyed this video, my first pro camera as a young teen was a Canon XH-A1s my father bought for me second hand for a really good price. It was basically the HDV 1080i upgrade to the XL1! I think you can get beter quality out of the XL1 if you capture the DV through firewire and deinterlace it to 60fps!

Oh my gosh, I remember poring over brochures for that camera! I was 20 years old in 1998 and I did wind up buying a Canon Hi-8 camera that was the prosumer equivalent of that, then later a Sony PC110 camera which was nice and compact Mini DV. Truly amazing how much things have changed but back then few people had ways to record events and the footage I have is worth every penny those cameras cost, I even started going through old tapes and finding stuff I thought was junk and taped over that is just interesting because it's so long ago. Often the everyday things made for the best memories. I remember editing VCR's, (Panasonic AG1980 SVHS) and titlers, so lossy! When NLE"s came out that was crazy exciting, I had a Canopus DV Storm with a computer just for that. Exciting journey and cool purchase.

I used one in school for a while, it was my favourite. Except for the digitizing process. Log and capture = nap time

This reminds me my teen years too. You were not alone pinning an XL1 commercial on your wall.. Same here. My parents told me I had to chose for my 18th birthday : car or camera. The rest is history :D

My gosh, what a trip down memory lane. We used these things in school and I thought they were really neat. They were kind of "reserved" for the big projects, so you knew when you got to use it that it was serious business.

This is like the kid that had the Lamborghini Countach poster on his wall and grew up and bought one only to find out how miserable it was to drive even though he looks cool. I owned 2 of each... The XL and the L2 and I have never been so glad to get rid of them. Their autofocus was next to useless. They looked cool though... I was indoctrinated into Sony and so far, yes complaints but so glad to see improvements way beyond the old Canon pretty stuff. Good job on the fulfilling childhood dreams. I always wanted the Nakamichi 680 deck and as an adult I bought 4 of them and not a one works now. Funny what childhood memories cause us to do as adults. :)

FYI: This is the camera, that Freddy uses in Nickelodeon show, iCarly!

I bought one of these used a decade ago and it was busted. I was so bummed out. 28 Days Later inspired me.

I'm starting to see these and other older camcorders in use at car shows and other events. People are into the unique way they make the world look I guess. A buddy just picked up a GL2 for that purpose.

The phone comparison was super interesting to see! It definitely took me back haha

My favorite camcorder is the canon vixia HV 40. I have 5 of them.

Shot a lot of footage with this camera back in the day. Kept it for a long time until it started eating tapes.

Please review the Moana PD 400X, I think it’s a hidden gem of a mic.

Going to wipe the melted travel case foam goo off my XL-1s when I get home.

My dream camera when i was at uni. I think 28 days later was filmed on one of these

I watched your video. It was like watching a thoughtful discussion on a dear old friend. Your video was very well presented, and brought back so many lovely memories. Have you tried using the parfocal lens from the xl1 with any full frame cameras? I would LOVE to see the footage! Thanks again, I am feeling good. p.s. I would buy a modern version of the same form factor tomorrow if Canon offered it!

Thank you for making this! I've also had a strange fascination with this camera since it was released, and especially with some of its history (e.g. used in filming 28 Days Later). Even though the specs pale in comparison to any modern camera today, Canon really was ahead of their time with the form factor, design and ergonomics of the XL-1. Very much an early preview of features we now have and take for granted shooting video in modern DSLR/mirrorless and cinema cameras.

Sweet! I bought a church's old broadcast equipment lately, and in one bin I found an XL 1. I've been a Canon DSLR guy since 2012, so I have some lenses..... my XL1 is in rough-looking shape and I haven't gone through everything yet to discover more missing parts. But wow, what a cool find! I never had a 3-chip camcorder before.

Mate - such great storytelling on something you clearly are very passionate about. Cheers.

The design was incredible… i bough one ten years ago, just to get one behind my desk ;)

my dreamed unaprochable camera is the sony nex v10g

I still have mine and the GL2 but the foam disintegrated on the mic.

Had the GL1 and while we really wanted the XL1 we just could not afford it... the GL1 was amazing.. at the time!

This was my first professional camera back in 2008 😳

I remember using this at university back in 2001

The DV quality of the tape is higher than the S-Video output, consider getting a MiniDV tape deck or a FireWire adapter.

The best cámara... Everything dream Whit this cam

Ah, we recieved three of those 3CCD Sony DVCAMs as upgrades to our SVHS-system back in media school 1999. Man this video takes me back! 😅

Even though I ended up getting into music and (for work, computer networking), I had always had a passion for photo and video since the late 1990s. I used two VCRs to edit dubs of footage I shot off of Digital8 Canon and Sony cameras (the Canons were always better). The XL-1 was my Dream Camera for a screenplay I wrote but like you, $4k might have well been $4MM to me when I was 18 and this camera was first released. I had always wanted a "real" camera from the perspective of having that big body that offered stability and ergonomics like nothing else in the sub-$10k range. Like everybody else, I now shoot on 4k DSLRs & Mirrorless (and Canon is still better than Sony, but far more expensive), as today's sensors are insanely amazing and the lens lineup is undefeated. But I took something you said to heart when you said you believe there would be a market for an 8k prosumer/semi-pro XL1-like body mirrorless camera. I now own the relatively inexpensive (though still Very pricy) a7iii by Sony and the endless touch screens is not a workflow I would enjoy if I had to do video work for a living. Same with my Canon EOS 850D. At the end of the day, those bodies were made for photography, same with the lenses. This is why "real" productions use CINE lenses that are parfocal with T-stops (not F-stops) for aperture control, and camera bodies like the ones you see made by ARRI are in that form-factor (not to mention it really helps with cooling). You have to (like I did) buy all this extra hardware and gear to bulk up these tiny, lightweight cameras so you can hold them low with overhand handles or, even better, shoulder-mount them like in the old days and use a viewfinder for some of the most stable, handle-held footage possible without a multi-thousand dollar SteadiCam rig. Because you Can buy hardware to get "close" to the same ergonomics while still having relatively tiny cameras with super powerful image processors and chips filming 4,6 and even 8k video, I doubt even the legends at Canon will really go all the way in the non-pro market with a camera body like this ever again, but you never know. And I hope they do. Like you, I dreamed of such beautiful piece of technology and engineer that was the mighty XL-1.

I wanted one of these so badly when I was in college.

Mine just arrived today! All sticky-old-rubbery and gross. But nothing a little rubbing alcohol can’t fix! Small price to pay because everything functions great. Can’t wait to start shooting.

Detailed breakdown as always….when I was in high school I had a Back to the Future wall…..and you had a picture of a camera. 😂

The Canon XL1s was an art work in form factor. Thanks for making this video. My girlfriend (now wife) and I both saved from our part time retail and fast food in 2002 while at film school to buy one together. With the very few accessories we needed it was almost $9K AUD from memory. We then started a business doing corporate video and events. Many local competitors at the time were very locked into their larger ENG and even analogue cameras still and the XL1s, and a little creativity gave us a big advantage in adaptability in what and how we could film. I think my first RU-vid video is filmed on it actually. When we finally sold it we actually kept the stock included fold up/down shoulder mount (as we sold the camera with the xlr shoulder mount) and I adapted it to a DSLR shoulder rig that I sometimes still use to this day. Great review though. Oh you missed the hidden buttons under the red circular door, Also very satisfying to access.

Eu queria uma versão 2024 dela com vídeo 4K!

I remember pitching Canon on an idea to let us borrow one of these… they never replied. We continued filming surf videos on our consumer-grade camcorders.

This form factor is missing in modern day I guess smart phones make it not worth making as there isn't a big enough market. I'd love to try a big camcorder style or over the shoulder camera like these with modern quality. The professional stuff is like £40k and then there's literally nothing worth having below that. The Mirrorless stuff like the FX6/3 or C70 are better.

Thansk for sharing. I worked with the XL1s in the mid 2000s, while producing my first video content for the internet. It was a great camera and all follow-ups never brought me that feeling again. After your video I regret selling it... 😂

Great Brother.... i know that feeling 😊

There is one on I see for sale now thats a Cannon XL1s for $100 but it needs a new battery. Thinking of picking it up maybe

Enjoyed the in-depth nostalgia. It was my first video camera purchase in 1999 along with Final Cut Pro. You did show me some accessories I did not know were available. It paid for it's self many times over with corporate shoots. Good job on the video!

omg... does this bring back memories! couldn't pry it from my father's hands. threatened to give me up for adoption when he caught me playing with it!

Great video! I have one of these and I noticed that you “X’d” out the clip where you mentioned the “bits & dittles” located under the red ring that sits below the mode selection dial. Quite the Easter egg. What gives?

Love this stuff . And ya it wold be cool to see a re boot XL1 4k .. or maybe just lower end C300 - C500 like a c70 but in a camcorder buddy. although I like the way the C70 is to. I have been trying out camcorders resiliently. And there much better then I was thinking they wold be. And yes I saw your vary well made camcorder video. Wold love to see more stuff like that one and this one. I am relay happy I found your channel.. you just make relay well done videos. And I like that they are long enough to get into the weeds of it.

I am so fed up with touchscreens. What happened to be "the future" (TM), has become a cheap flood of trash. Real haptic buttons on a well designed panel are not replacable.

Yes. Design, ergonomics, ease of use and good looking. A camera everyone wanted to use to impress clients back then.

One of the first cameras I ever shot with.

It was a toss-up for me between the XL1 and the DVX100A

I still have the little brother the X-M1 (because I couldn't afford the X-L1). Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

The XL2 was even better ... I had two of them, and - like a fool - I sold them 10 years ago.

I've alway wanted to have the camera that Freddie used in iCarly, never knew what is was called but thought it looked cool in the show. At least now I know what its called!

As a teenager I bought the xL2 because it was used in the movie 28 days later, it just is so sexy looking it made my GF jealous 😅. Bought the HD version for TV work but hated its colour science.

Thanks for this video. I'm like you and wanted a XL-1 for a very long time. When I finally got one and all the accessories that could be found for it, when I firewired the footage into my MacBook I thought the sensors were messed up. the footage was real bad. But now after seeing the footage of yours I know that's just the way the look on fancy high resolution monitors we have now. I loved your A-B comparisons with the iPhone models.

I was working in broadcast when this came out, and saw ads for ths cam in the trade mags. But even though I was a working adult, this was beyond my budget as well. I settled on a Sony Digital8 camcorder in 2000, as regular 8mm tape was lower cost than MiniDV.

isn't that sensor like 1/3" type? crop factor of 7x makes a 24-105mm EF lens quite... long-reaching

The answer is yes. I managed a local cable access channel using an XL1 and a GL2.

We used one of these for all of our cartoon videos from 2003 to 2019! Poor thing finally died, unfortunately - great lens on the thing though! Very fond memories.

WOW! What a walkthrough Tom!

Phenomenal dive into this piece of history. Great work!

I had one...a great little DV camera.

Oh the ingesting of footage in real time! Kids won’t know what we went through back in the day 😂

Back when this was brand new I was helping two friends make indie films for their film classes they were taking. One was attending Emerson the other was taking a film course at Rhode Island college. My friend Jorge (the one going to RIC) was friends with the head of film studies there and since he was familiar with computers (he had one of the first Mac G3's that had come out) he volunteered to set up the school's very first digital editing suite. This was back when Avid had yet to really take over as the main means of editing films. I got to see this in use and it was crazy how much better the visuals looked and how easy and quick it was to put scenes together. We made our own steadicam and dolly's and because it was so light you didn't need huge pieces of equipment to move it around. Our dolly was a few pieces of fiberglass pole and our dolly was some 2x4's and rubber cart wheels with lengths of fiberglass poles for tracks. At the time they were some of the first students making indie films on digital. I really wish I had copies of the one we made for practice. It was a short comedy skit where I chased Jorge through the woods. It's nice to see someone who appreciates this piece of equipment as I have many fond memories of it.

I used it back in college. Loved that camera. CCS had only one. And another crew took it out and it got stolen.

Canon please remake this camera with today’s technology… I’ll buy 3