A History of the Canon XL1 and XL1S Camcorders by Robin Liss Published on

During their six and a half years of existence, the XL1 and the XL1S have had a greater effect on the low-budget independent filmmaking community than any technology since the invention of digital video. From its unique design to its image acquistion system, Canon engineered the original XL1 to be a versatile and special camcorder from the ground up. The versatility of the XL1 and XL1S have allowed them to be developed, adapted, and used like no other consumer or prosumer digital video camcorder in the entire history of digital video.

The Canon XL1 was introduced on October 23, 1997, and made its way to consumers first in January 1998.

The XL1 was revolutionary because it brought many professional concepts, including interchangability and a new level of quality, to the prosumer market.

"In 1997, when Canon first introduced the XL1, we simply thought we had a high-end consumer camcorder with a radical design and advanced features," said Mike Zorich, Marketing Director for Canon's Consumer Video Group. "At the time, we did not imagine it would contribute greatly to the transformation of the video and film industries. The XL1 quickly became popular because it offered exceptional image quality at the same time that videomakers were looking for lower cost solutions and Firewire was emerging, which further spurred the video revolution."

Unparalleled Options
It was only logical that Canon, a lens manufacturer, would introduce the first prosumer camcorder with switchable lenses. As a company with more than sixty years experience in manufacturing lenses for still cameras and high-end video applications, Canon's first entry into the high-end consumer video market needed to center on their area of expertise: the glass. Canon had a whole portfolio of still lenses which had been adopted by professional photographers. In a move that would later prove to be a runaway success, Canon utilized their still lens expertise in their first high-end camcorder. The XL1 was the first digital prosumer camcorder to offer interchangible components, specifically lenses. Before the introduction of the XL1, the MiniDV camcorders on the market had standard lenses that were permanently attached to the recorder and could not be changed. This presented a problem for higher-end shooters accustomed to acquiring their video on expensive broadcast equipment that allowed you to change lenses based on the shooting conditions. The XL1 delivered lens, viewfinder, and microphone interchangibility for under $5,000. The ability to swap different components and supplement them with third-party accessories gave videographers more flexibility in this price range than they'd ever had before.

Lens versatility has been the cornerstone of the XL1's success. It made shooting options on the XL1 theoretically limitless. Over the next six years, many third-party manufactuers would develop a variety of lens options for the XL1, making it even more popular. The original XL1 sold with a 16x optical zoom lens. Canon also introduced an adapter for the XL1 that allowed their EF still camera lenses to be used with the camcorder. The EF lens adapter instantly made a wide variety of around 50 affordable lens options available to videographers, who previously would have had to settle for a camcorder fixed lens. Canon later introduced a 3x wideangle zoom lens for the XL1. The third lens introduced with the XL1 was a 1.6x extender, which extended the range of the 16x optical zoom lens.

Quality Video Performance
At the time of its introduction, the XL1 offered the best level of quality of any camcorder below $5,000. At the time, MiniDV was not a widely accepted format, and there were many full size Hi8, 8mm, and other professional-format camcorders which were competing with the XL1. Although today digital is accepted industrywide as the superior format, the original XL1 marketing brochure from 1998 had to describe the benefits of MiniDV over analog. "Whether your need is broadcast production or simply the very best picture quality, the MiniDV format delivers more than 500 lines of horizontal resolution – nearly a 25% improvement in picture quality over the best analog formats."

The XL1 included 3 CCDs. Although this feature was not unique to Canon in this price range, combined with Canon optics it allowed the original XL1 to outshoot competitors like the Sony DSR-PD100. Canon also introduced a technology called pixel shift, which, as the XL1 marketing brochure described, gave "wider dynamic range, better low light, reduced vertical smears, and high quality still images without sacrificing the highest resolution."

Each of the three CCDs on the original XL1 featured 270,000 pixels and measured 1/3 inch. The camcorder also featured the wide array of manual controls that professional XL1 videographers demanded. The XL1 gave manual control of each picture option through real button controls, in contrast with many camcorders on the market at the time, with their controls buried in a menu.

Unique Design
The XL1 was also unique in its design layout, which some industry professionals and reviewers criticized. Chief XL1 Designer Hiroyuki Fukushima explained why Canon chose such a unique design.

"The XL1 was planned as a completely new DV camcorder concept that would meet the needs of both commercial and family use. Extensive studies were undertaken to find the best layout for controls, which led to the adoption of unitized ecto-chassis with the rear section canted up. The first step in designing the XL1 was to find balance between the large lens and major components such as the viewfinder, grip and microphone."

The camera is built on a magnesium alloy frame and is larger than other camcorders in its price range. Some users criticized the awkward shape as too big to be a handheld camcorder, yet too small to be a shoulder-mounted camcorder. Canon solved this problem with a shoulder mount that attached to the back of the XL1, allowing it to be operated like a full-size event news gathering camcorder.

Liftoff
In July 1999, the XL1 traveled to space aboard Shuttle mission STS-93 as the offical camcorder of NASA. The shuttle mission's main purpose was to release into space an X-Ray capable telescope, and the astronauts used the XL1, along with other professional high-definition camcorders, to capture the telescope release as well as other space activities. According to Canon, the XL1 had to undergo a series of tests for its durability, flamability and electromagnetic radiation so it could be certified to be allowed on board the Shuttle.

A Makeover and An Update
On July 12th, 2001, Canon announced the successor to the popular XL1, the XL1S. The camcorder had an almost identical body with a few minor upgrades. Canon apparently improved the signal-to-noise ratio of the CCDs by 4 dB. They added an interval recording option, a clear scan mode for shooting computer monitors with the ability to adjust the scan rate based on Hertz, SMTPE color bars, preset zoom speeds, and a variable setting for the IRE level of the zebra pattern. Canon also added the ability to adjust color shift, picture sharpness, color gain, and black level plus or minus six steps each. They added two more gain settings of +18 dB and +30 dB, as well as the ability to save preset white balances. Canon included audio dubbing for 12-bit audio mode, video insert for the SP recording mode, and two custom preset keys

With the XL1S, Canon introduced two new lenses. The first was an update to the 16x automatic lens that shipped with the original XL1. The new IS II 16x automatic lens did not include any specific spec updates, but Canon stated that it was improved. Canon also introduced a 16x manual lens for the XL1 and XL1S. The new lens replaced the previous 14x manual zoom lens. Unlike the automatic lens which ships with the camcorder, the manual lens includes a black barrel with marked focus, zoom and apperture numbers, allowing users to accurately control all those attributes in the lens. The new 16x lens also added a motor, automatic iris control, and two built-in neutral density filter settings.

A Starring Role in Feature Films
The XL1 and the XL1S were immediately adopted by the independent filmmaking community as the affordable digital camera of choice. Thousands of independent filmmakers, students at film schools, and just individuals with a creative spark have used the XL1 to turn their projects into reality. Filmmakers worldwide turned to the XL1 and the XL1S as an affordable alternative to film. Movies could easily be made for under $10,000 or even $5,000 - amounts which wouldn't purchase more than a few seconds of conventional 35mm or 16mm film. The XL1 enabled new filmmaking projects that would otherwise have been unfeasable.

Possibly the most famous use of the XL1S was in director Steven Soderbergh's feature film, Full Frontal. Soderbergh is an acclaimed director who has directed many feature films, including Erin Brockovich and Ocean's Eleven, and won an Academy Award for directing Traffic. Shot in 2002, Full Frontal is a comedy set in Los Angeles about the people in the movie industry. Soderbergh didn't pick digital video for its low cost; rather, he wanted the DV look for his film and explored many digital camcorders as options. Soderbergh picked the XL1S partially because of its optical image stabilization, which enabled the filmmaker to shoot the entire film handheld.

"To use any other camera to shoot Full Frontal would have been an unthinkable compromise," said Steven Soderbergh. "The XL1S continually expanded my ideas of how to stage and shoot scenes. Equally important is the fact that we experienced no technical downtime whatsoever. All in all, I couldn't have been more pleased."

The XL1S was also used in Danny Boyle's horror feature film, 28 Days Later, released in 2003. Director Danny Boyle explained that one of the reasons they chose MiniDV as a format was the quick set-up for lighting when compared to conventional film. In the film, there are multiple wide shots of a completely deserted London. The police and authorities limited the amount of time that they would give Boyle and his crew to film these shots because they required shutting down all traffic in certain areas of a very busy city, so they needed to do it as quickly as possible. They used multiple cameras – six in one shot and ten in another – and filmed them in as few takes as possible. Boyle said that it would not have been possible to film the shots which made London seem abandoned without the DV camcorders.

Cinematographer Claudio Chea used both the XL1 and the XL1S for his independent films. Chea used an XL1 for Pinero, staring Benjamin Bratt, and an XL1S for his most recent work, Washington Heights.

"What I saw from the tests was that the (XL1) color is a little warmer," stated Chea. "The edges aren't so harsh. They seem more rounded. This gets away from the flatness of video. With this and the right lighting, I would be sure to get something stronger, more dramatic."

For Washington Heights, however, Chea decided to use a European PAL version of the XL1S rather than the US NTSC version. He picked the PAL version because it acquires video at 25 frames per second, which is much closer to the 24 frames per second of film than the 30 frames per second that US NTSC camcorders use. This lack of a film-like shooting frame rate, specifically a 24 fps shooting option, is what eventually led to the drop in popularity for the XL1S in recent years.

Online Community
Few camcorders have developed the following which the XL1 and XL1S have. As a digital camcorder, it only makes sense that this following would develop around a digital medium: the Internet. In January 1998, Texas filmaker Chris Hurd founded the XL1 Watchdog. As Hurd describes on his web site, he started the Watchdog to gather information about the XL1 as he was deciding whether or not to purchase it.

The XL1 Watchdog started with a few informational pages about the XL1, but grew with articles on how to use the camcorder, case studies, as well as information on technical issues with the XL1. The XL1 Watchdog transformed into what is now known as DVInfo.net, an online message board community where XL1 users, as well as users of other cameras, discuss their products, provide support for each other and generally discuss their craft. Although DVInfo.net features information on other camcorders, as well as users who use other camcorders, the bulk of its content and message boards concerns the XL1 and XL1S. DVInfo.net has grown to nearly 11,000 users. The community has provided a base support group for the XL1 and, in recent months, has become a hotbed for speculation on what the replacement for the camcorder would be. Hurd now works for Canon, helping to display the camcorder at trade shows and providing input on the XL1. Hurd's website and his work with Canon is just one way that Canon has been deeply involved with their customer base on the XL1 and XL1S.

Third Party Options
One of the most sought after accessories for the XL1S is the P+S Technik Mini 35 digital image converter. With a price tag around $7,500, the P+S Technik is not for everyone. However, when hooked up to the XL1S, the adapter gives the camcorder virtually the same depth of field, focus and angle view as a 35mm film camera, and allows owners to use 35mm film camera lenses with the XL1S. The product also uses oscillating ground glass instead of spinning ground glass. It enables users to shoot footage with a Canon XL1S that looks almost identical to that acquired with a true film camera. P+S Technik introduced their first mini-adapter for the XL1S; however, they now offer adapters for the Sony DSR-PD170 (Review, Specs, $2579) and the Panasonic AG-DVX100.

Recent Drop in Popularity
In October 2002, Panasonic introduced the first camcorder to pose a serious threat to the XL1 or XL1S. The Panasonic AG-DVX100 had one major advantage over the XL1S: 24 frames progressive scan video. The AG-DVX100 was the first camcorder to offer 24 frames progressive scan video for under $25,000. This feature was important to independent filmmakers because it mimicked the frame rate of film. Much of the reason that independent filmmakers turned to the XL1S was for its ability to give a "film look." The problem was that it still acquired video using standard NTSC interlaced video, and motion is represented quite differently in interlaced video than in progressive scan video. Additionally, the AG-DVX100 offered users a higher level of image customization and "film look" presets which, combined with the 24 frames progressive scan feature, allowed independent videographers to shoot their movies on video, yet have them look very much like film.

Independent filmakers began to flock to the AG-DVX100 and it quickly developed a strong following like the XL1S. Just as Chris Hurd launched the XL1 Watchdog, a few similar user groups developed on the internet for the AG-DVX100. Industry buzz quickly began to center around 24p: who had it, who didn't, and who was working on it. The XL1S didn't have it, and sales were hurt.

At the same time, the AG-DVX100 offered a much sharper image and many users began to complain that the the CCDs on the XL1S were getting old, and that they did not match up to comparable camcorders as they did when the camcorder was first introduced. Users began to complain, and on message boards throughout the Web arguments broke out comparing the AG-DVX100 to the XL1S. The XL1S remained the only camcorder in the price range to offer interchangable lenses, but the AG-DVX100 seemed to be customized with independent filmmakers in mind. Filmmakers were now picking the AG-DVX100 instead of the XL1S; the 2004 winner of Best Cinematography at Sundance in November was shot entirely on the AG-DVX100.