Canon XL1S MiniDV Digital Camcorder

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Rebel t3i Hands On SLR Camera Review

Rebel T3i Initial Thoughts
Out of the box, this is definitely a good looking Camera. Canon decided to class this one up a bit, as it's noticeably a more serious camera than previous ones, both in look and feel. Picking it up, the rebel t3i felt good on a tactile level. The rubberized grip material is better quality than previous versions, and the camera fit comfortably in my medium-sized hands. Turning the camera over, all the doors and flaps for memory card, batteries, etc.. were well secured and out of the way. They also open and close quickly and easily for when you need to access them during shooting.

Canon S

ViewFinder
One of the biggest bright spots of this new camera is the Vari-angle LCD viewfinder. As I played around with this, I was quite impressed. I had the camera outside on a sunny day. Even in bright sunlight the large icons and characters were easy enough to see on the viewfinder.

Photo Quality
Overall, the rebel t3i produced sharp, crisp pictures consistently. One thing that was immediately noticeable was how much faster the camera seemed to be due to the new Digic 4 Processor. When preparing to shoot, the focus was pretty fast and accurate, although the focus dots themselves are fairly small and were hard to see at times. The 9 point AF system was extremely responsive in bright light. It still worked well in darker settings, but was a tad slower due to the slower aperture range in the lens.

Video
As I'd heard good things about it's capabilities, I was anxious to try out the video function on this camera. Initially, I had trouble manually focusing between each take. It's not that it was hard, it was just awkward and not very fluid at first. Once I got the hang of it there was no problem, and the need to focus between takes is the norm with DSLRs, so this isn't really a negative. Besides, the vari-angle LCD on this camera still blows away most other cameras in it's class.

Menu System
In my opinion, Canon really did a great job with the menu system on the rebel t3i. Knowing their audience, they geared much of it towards beginner DSLR users. The interface has lots of instructions and helper images for beginners- for those of you more experienced users-you do have the option of turning them off, which I ended up doing. One of the coolest features here- the "My Menu" settings area allows you to register your most frequently used settings. If you're usually shooting in the same type of environment, this helps keep your optimal settings so you don't have to redo them each time.

Hand's on Review of Canon's Rebel T3i SLR Digital Camera

Overall the Rebel T3i has impressed me. Although not marketed as a "top of the line camera", it does everything quite well and has been designed with quality in mind. Some of the features, like the vari-angle LCD and the new Digic 4 processor make it hard to beat in it's class. If you're looking to get a SLR digital camera, the Rebel T3i, in my opinion, is a "mid-level" camera in terms of quality, with an "entry-level" price.

Amazon.com Product Description Small enough to carry around and costing not much more than a top-of-the-line consumer camcorder, the XL1S produces such high-quality results that it is sure to be the top choice for many independent filmmakers who demand full features and controls. Like its predecessor, the XL1, this camera uses three separate 270,000 pixel CCDs (one for each primary color) for the best picture quality. The XL1S records digital audio, with two channels of 16 bit/48 KHz sound or four channels of 12 bit/32 KHz sound. The body is based on a magnesium-alloy frame for maximum durability. It ships with a 16x optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization, but is also compatible with other XL camcorder lenses. With an optional adapter, you can use Canon EF (EOS) still-camera lenses--some of which also feature optical image stabilization.

The electronics of the XL1S have many advanced features, including a number of programmed AE modes, as well as both shutter and aperture priority modes. There are two different auto modes, one of which allows you to adjust any setting manually, if you want, and the other, which adjusts every setting automatically and lets you adjust nothing. A spotlight mode automatically compensates for difficulties when shooting a subject bathed in a spotlight. The computer-shooting mode gets rid of monitor flicker that happens when shooting a computer screen. There are also three different shooting modes: normal movie, digital photo, and frame movie. Normal movie mode is for any time you want to shoot video footage. Digital-photo mode records a still image for six seconds on the MiniDV tape and also captures any accompanying audio for a commentary track. The frame movie mode records 30 noninterlaced still images per second, instead of capturing 60 fps interlaced images. This mode isn't intended to be used for shooting video (playback may not look completely smooth). Rather, frame movie mode should be used as a burst, or continuous, shooting mode, like you'd find on a still camera.

The XL1S offers many new and updated features over the XL1. There is a 16:9 shooting mode where electronic lines draw are displayed through the viewfinder so you can compose your shots flexibly for later conversion to HDTV, where 16:9 is the standard. SMPTE color bars help establish a proper color reference for shooting and editing. Interval recording lets you shoot time-elapsed motion video with intervals from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. Zebra patterns help you determine overexposed areas in your shot so you can adjust the aperture and shutter accordingly.

Digital Video Format and IEEE 1394

The XL1S is a consummate professional creation tool that supports the established industry standards, MiniDV and IEEE 1394. Support of these standards make the XL1S a flexible video creation tool that interoperates with standard DV equipment and computer editing systems as accorded by engineering, scientific and broadcast communities.

DV Format Technology and Its Advantages

The MiniDV format supported by the XL1S delivers more than 500 lines of horizontal resolution -- a 25% improvement over analog systems. The DV format allows for near lossless transfer within digital editing environments for faster creation, increased productivity and improved production quality of final prints.

IEEE 1394 (DV Terminal)

The XL1S comes standard with a DV terminal that conforms to IEEE 1394 for digital transfer of video and sound, in addition to regular video and audio outputs. The IEEE 1394 (also known as FireWire®) standard allows editing, copying and recording of digital video over a single cable. This transfer format affords improved image and sound quality and is virtually free from generation loss.

The 3 CCD System

The XL1S maximizes the capability of the DV format by using a 3 CCD (charge-coupled device) system with a separate CCD for each primary color (red, green, blue). A beam-splitting prism separates light passing through the lens into individual color components and each is sent to its own CCD. Compared to a single CCD, the 3 CCD system achieves outstanding detail with highly accurate color reproduction suitable for the demands of high-end video production - wide dynamic range, low color noise, high-contrast detail, natural color resolution and low-aliasing. The 3 CCD system also makes advanced Pixel Shift (for increased image quality) and Low Light Recording (for increased flexibility) possible.

The three CCD image sensors in the XL1S, each with 270,000 pixels, were specifically designed to capture as much image detail as possible and for shooting under extremely low light conditions. The size of each pixel is 72 square microns - 150% larger than the pixel-size on comparable DV models. The result is an approximate 4 dB improvement in sensitivity. This improved sensitivity means that each CCD can capture more information at all light ranges. In super low light, the XL1S still captures crisp and clear digital data. Under extremely bright conditions, the Pixel Shift capabilities of the XL1S greatly reduces vertical white streaks and smears, making it a consummate field recording device for all conditions.

Because human eyes see green more clearly and readily, the green component of a video signal contains 60% of the picture detail whereas the red and blue components together comprise the remaining 40%. With the advanced Pixel Shift on the XL1S, the green CCD is physically shifted the equivalent distance of 1/2 pixel horizontally from the red and blue CCD, and the green signal is electronically shifted 1/2 pixel vertically. This shifting of the green CCD increases the sampling points, resulting in a system that is comparable to 410,000 pixel CCD systems in terms of resolution. With a larger pixel size and the process of Pixel Shift, the Canon XL1S gives wider dynamic range, better low light recording, reduced vertical smears, and high quality still images without sacrificing the highest resolution DV available.

Audio and Video Inputs and Outputs

The XL1S offers a plethora of means by which to get audio and video in and out of the camcorder. The XL1S is designed to handle two types of analog video input and output: using audio/video cables (composite) or S-video. There are four audio inputs and outputs. All connections are on the camera body.

What's in the Box