Customer Reviews
An excellent choice 
2002-05-12
I produce news programs and documentaries, and I use my GL1 to suppliment video from the professional grade cameras used by my videographers. Only a professional can tell the difference in video quality. The unit is easy to use and has performed flawlessly in the field...and I can be pretty hard on equipment. The only thing that keeps it from getting five stars is the small flip out screen...there are larger views on the market, but on DigiCams that I believe are more awkward to operate.
Performance Unsatisfactory 
2002-05-07
The GL-1 attracts a lot of praise, but I regret buying mine. It supposedly has optical stabilization, but I don't see much of an effect. I bought several pieces of overpriced grips and handles to secure a comfortable and steady grip. I was disappointed especially when trying to tape a bald eagle during a nature outing. I wanted a steady image in the worst way, but there was no apparent help from the optical stabilization. Another problem I noted was a mushy resolution in taping an outdoor scene in cloudy conditions. I was taping preparations for a blimp flight, but the footage taken as late as 10AM was muddy and of poor quality. In bright light, the quality was OK. I think my Panasonic camcorder at half the price is just as good as the GL1. I am experiencing a bout of Buyer's Remorse.
Big Money...bad Camera 
2002-03-21
I don't know if it's bad luck but it is a lot of money to spend on a camera that has terrible pixelization problems after 1 hour of use. 1 hour into filming it spit out the tape and wouldn't film anymore...
The best in this price range 
2002-03-10
I've owned the GL1 now for almost 3 months now. It was a christmas gift to myself. It took me 3 months to decide on the GL1 (my 2nd choice was top of the line Sony). The picutre quality is GREAT. Plus, I wasn't impressed with all of the special effects that came bundled with the Sony. IMHO, a digital camera should take the best quality videos and NOT be used as an editing tool on the fly. I use the supplied cables to transfer the movies that I make to my PC (winXP) and do my editing using DV Studio PRO which comes with tons of special effects. The results are awesome....I can edit and make movies and do video streaming, create DVD, Video CDs, etc. etc. The camera is bulkier than the Sony but it has a nice handle with controls, which is not a big issue for me. The audio is sensitive and picks up lots of noise, this is probably an issue if you're doing interviews....as for other occasions, it's not a big deal for me, since, I usually add background music to go with the recorded sound.
Best Digital cam on the market 2001-12-11
After upgrading from standard 8mm tape to MiniDV I could not be more happy. Very simple to operate for a novice, but the more I learn the better I am in photo situations which used to leave me flat on my face.
Menus, manual parameters, automode, optical stabilization, 3 CCD's, and the design and ergonomics are great.
My only gripe is the poor response in low light situations. My previous sonycam did MUCH better. I better invest in a light.
Works Great!!!!!! 2007-10-17
This is one Great camera! Works great no probs. I am shooting a movie and this camera works great for it. Good for anyone who needs a in the middle camera from customer to pro cameras. I have had this camera for 2 months now and I love it! P.S. The pic of the camera at the top of the page is the pic for the GL2 not the GL1.
A pleased user 2003-06-10
I purchased my GL-1 almost two years ago with the original intention of using it to create videos of weddings and grandchildren. After comparing numerous available models and brands, I chose the GL-1 for its good reputation, high-end features, lenses, and of course for the more reasonable price.
It could be said that the GL-1 is among the worst of the best, but that is not a fair way of comparing its features to other camcorders. The GL-1 is top end material, producing similar or equal quality as equipment costing twice as much or more. The lower price mostly reflects the fact that the GL-1 does not have as many features as the more expensive models. It already has more buttons and settings than most of us even want to know exist anyway, so except for professionals and hard-core video fans, we amatures are plenty happy to leave the settings on 'automatic' and simply push the record button.
What really matters is the end result, and viewing a video on your television recorded with the GL-1 looks no different than a video recorded with more expensive models (well, unless you are one of those hard-core types who are very critical, but then too, every camcorder model produces slightly different results, so any differences noticed would be noticed in all). The major end-result difference will be noticed in audio quality. Recording video in a normal room setting is no problem, it comes out great, but in areas with high noise, winds, or too low of sound, the recording is sometimes less than desired. Too loud of noise causes distortion (avoid sitting directly in front of or even behind a rock group's speaker array, even if 75 feet away!), and when the desired sound to be recorded is too quiet, you may hear a slight humming of the camcorder's motor. Many users have solved the problem by purchasing additional audio recording equipment, which is of course an acceptable solution, but one that new owners should be aware of.
Every camera of course has it's good points and bad points, and except for the bad points of not-perfect audio, everything else about the GL-1 is good. Good balance, medium weight, easy loading, good battery life (1 hour with the factory battery, other batteries can be bought that will record for over 3 hours), and the appearance does say you are using high-end equipment.
All things considered, the GL-1 is right about in the middle, giving better results than all known lower-end models, but not quite as good of results as the more expensive models. The Gl-1 is Goldilock's "just right" choice (sorry, I just had to say that).
The Sony camcorder is said to be a little better, close to that of the Canon XL-1, and I did consider it, but at the time I had just overcome a less than favorable experience with a Sony product and I did not want to make another mistake. If you have the money to spare, get the XL-1 just because it's cooler looking, but for fast, easy, quality video, the GL-1 is a great choice.
Worth the Price 2002-11-27
I bought this camera about 10 months back, and at the time made a compromise in choosing it because I couldn't afford the XL1S. What I've learned though after using it for so long now is that Canon didn't compromise on this camera. The GL1 has essentially every feature the aspiring film maker or video professional needs to get underway quickly and easily.
My favorite feature of this camera is the frame mode ability that allows you to shoot non-interlaced video, with results that are very similar in appearance to film rather than video. After shooting in frame mode and seeing the results, I've yet to shoot interlaced video again.
The one thing that this camera lacks is any ability to manually control the audio levels for the internal or external mics, which can sometimes give you less than optimal results in situations where the noise volume fluctuates noticably, or where you are trying to achieve a specific audio effect.
Summary - Excellent camera worth the price tag. Across the board, far more features and better quality than all competitors in its class. Probabaly the only camera that can top the GL1 in this class is the GL2.
Professional Quality Video...period. 2002-08-04
I wasn't so sure about this camera because I had listened to the hype about Sony DV cameras. But let me tell you, I have never seen a mini DV camera pack such a punch for the price. Between the GL-1 and the much more expensive Xl-1, I cannot tell that much difference at all, maybe none at all. This camera captures truly stunning video. From reproducing each and every color vibrantly and crisp to the razor sharp picture quality. And I haven't even gotten to the microphone. It captures the audio very true to life. From soft whispers to loud bangs, the audio never becomes muddled or distorted. The menu buttons and function keys are all very well placed, and it takes a still photograph of a fairly decent quality, although it couldn't compete with a 2 megapixel photo camera. It has many different video modes,including toggling between Video and Frame recording, although most of the time you'll never need to take it off of automatic. Another sleek feature is how it captures video in low light. In low lighting conditions, the picture NEVER becomes the least bit grainy. I am continually impressed, and am impressing others with this camera. It is perfect for the beginner or the pro.
Good zoom, color, shutter, controls= medicore image? 2002-06-18
I just purchased a canon GL1 for use with filming sports (I am a golfer). My overall experience has been good but things are left to be desired. This review gives you the good the bad and the silly, so read on!
The Good
The controls on this thing are great, it's almost like having an SLR in a camcorder. The lens on this thing is great! Images come through very bright allowing for high shutter speeds. The zoom is 20X optical and something like 100x digital, and the digital zoom is usable, trust me on this one. You can switch between interlace and progressive scan with the use of one button interlace=60 1/2 frames per second, progressive= 30 full frames per second. The image stabilization is great, and it is very easy to shoot with. Shutter speed is good up to 1/15000 of a second. Oh and did I mention lots of manual controls if you want them.
The Bad
The CCD's on this thing have no resolution. I would almsot have to lie to tell you I get 500 lines of horizontal resolution. When displayed on a big screen pixilization is obvious. Still images stink too. You can't even get VGA out of this thing. Also the auto focus is amazingly slow. Terrible for action sequences but not a problem for a normal situation or say filming a golfer tennis player.
The Silly/trivial
You need to push a seperate button to eject a tape. Canon could have made this thing smaller to. The camera has an uncomfortable inbetween size. It is by no means small, not even medium sized, but not really one of those huge shoulder mounted things. The LCD screen on this thing could have been bigger too. In all honesty I think cannon wasted a ton of space on this thing. I know some will say the lens head is big, and that is fine, but the tape deck is way too big and the LCD is almost an inch thick, not excusable.
Overall I am satisfied with it. A very nice piece of machinery. The best camcorder for recording golf hands down.
