so you want to be a filmmaker?

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great image quality, user friendly..

Cons: Cost of additional parts.

The Bottom Line: 
Great Camera, easy to use and with a bit of skill will help you produce high quality videos.

Author's Review
Of course, we've all been hearing that thing for years now.. y'know, "the digital filmmaking revolution is here" and "now you at home can make movies for nothing!". And, of course- in a way that's true, you can pick up your sony handycam, shoot a short film and have a lot of fun. But chances are your £/$500 camera doesn't really deliver the sound, image and overall aesthetic qualities that will give you work you're proud of. Therefore I think that gap between amateur and professional has been pretty much as wide as ever, at least until a few years back when camera's like the Canon XL1s came about (actually the XL1 came first, a slightly predated version of what I am about to review- but they're pretty similar).

The Canon XL1s delivers broadcast quality pictures, or at least- it can do. Don't expect to pick up your camera, cast your brother in your own version of 'Friends' and expect it to look as good. You still need to learn the functions of the camera, how to make best use of it, and you still need professional lighting to make everything look the part. However, the quality is very strong with the XL1s.

The camera has a feature called 'Frame Movie Mode' which adjusts the settings and frame rates to pretty very similar to that of a camera using film-stock, and this does work.. if you're shooting yourself a film this will look more film-like.. which in a way is a silly point to make, because it's subjective, and you need to know how you want things to look. Suffice to say that messing around with the movie mode for a few days will allow you to appreciate what sort of quality you can get. On top of adjustable frame rates, the camera also has interchangeable lenses, which is a BIG PLUS in getting this camera, because the more into it you get the more different things you'll want to try, and the XL1s leaves you with plentiful options.

The sound is shockingly good with the onboard mic alone. It's a stereo mic with two inputs, which pick up sound far better than when I have recorded with multiple long length mono mics, it's good to know that Canon have treated the sound as well as the image quality.

Overall, it really is a good camera and it's been very useful for me in beginning my career in filmmaking.

Feel free to view the projects on my website - http://www.danieljohnsonfilms.co.uk - everything there has been shot on a Canon XL1s by myself.