Canon XL2 Test: "Night / Low Light Test"

Testing out the Canon XL2 in low light / night time settings. Filmed in 24p, 16:9 (cropped to 2:35). Stock everything on the Canon XL2.

Audio content owned by Sony Music Entertainment. No copyright infringement intended.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Canon
• XL2
• XL-2
• XL
• 24p
• Progressive
• Cinematography
• Night
• Camera
• Test

[rockangel1967]

not sure but the xl-2 still has a little filmgrain in the dark?

[MichaelSirois]

@rockangel1967 Sometimes, yes, but film grain will always result in poor lighting. Cameras need enough light to produce clear images, so proper lighting will eliminate grain. This particular video was done with natural lighting (no set-up was done, I used the normal lights in my house). See my film "Voicemail" for some low-light shooting with the Canon XL2, which was done much better than this (I wasn't experienced with the XL2 when I made this test video).

[bennyfresh01]

the simple footage looks good. Was wondering if there is a way to turn of the 2 second pre timer that occurs when you are about to record footage? That 2 second count before recording causes problems of missing footage that happens spontaneously and can't seem to find it in the manual.

[MichaelSirois]

@bennyfresh01 Normally the 2 second pre-timer doesn't occur. Only when the camera needs to find the correct timecode does that occur. In that sense, spontaneous recording should be done when the camera has been set to the right timecode spot. If you click stop recording and then 2 seconds later you try to record again the camera will lag for a few seconds in order to find the right spot. I don't believe you can turn this off as it isn't so much a function as it is a necessary process.

[MichaelSirois]

@AsianKidsPro Indeed, as the YouTube video frame is also 16x9 - 1:85:1, the same ratio that the XL2 shoots native. As you can see, I uploaded this back in July of 2007, so years have passed since then which have caused changes in the YouTube video presentation. Videos used to be displayed in 4x3 fullscreen, which is why this film appears in a smaller square. If I had uploaded this today it would fill the entire box.

[AsianKidsPro]

@MichaelSirois So it would fill up the whole box were the video is played on youtube

[MichaelSirois]

@danhayabusa The answer is simple: I didn't shoot at "such a wide aspect ratio". Instead, I shot footage with the XL2's native 16x9, 1:85:1 widescreen lens and setting. Then I edited the footage in post by extending the black bar frames a bit further into the image--not much, but still a crop--which results in a faux-2:35:1 aesthetic. As long as you are aware of what is appearing on your frame and where you are going to crop for super-wide, footage should come out fine using this method. ^_^

[MichaelSirois]

@AsianKidsPro Yes, the XL2 is native 16x9 widescreen. However, I believe you're asking whether it shoots 2:35:1 or 1:85:1. The 16x9 native means that it shoots naturally at 1:85:1, but I cropped this footage in post by extending the black bars a bit further onto the image, resulting in a faux-cinema super-wide aesthetic.

[AsianKidsPro]

does this film in widescreen