This should help. Here's a review I found on DV.com
Canon: GL2
Do you believe in deja vu? You know, the feeling that you've seen something before? Well, the Canon GL2 (
www.canondv.com) is a camera that inspires that kind of emotion - it's familiar, but something seems a little different.
It's logical that the GL2 should carry over some traits from its older sibling, the Canon GL1. The basic shape and white color are still there, albeit with some smoothing of lines near the lens. Most of the controls are pretty much where they were before, but there are surprises in store for the eagle-eyed user.
Hit parade
Number one on the hit parade are the two manual audio-level knobs near the back of the camera. When the GL1 came out, users were shocked that Canon's camera had no way to adjust audio manually. Canon heard the call on that point: Two recessed thumbwheels make it possible to individually adjust left or right levels. And to make these gems even more useful, Canon added XLR audio inputs. Don't see them? Hang on - I'll get back to that later.
To go along with the audio-level controls, the GL2 features three audio meters, but you can only use two of them. There are meters in the viewfinder and the 2.5-inch pop-out LCD screen, and a third set on the left side of the camera. Although I applaud the addition of metering, I was mystified by the placement of the third meter on the side. There is no way anyone could actually use the side meters while looking in the viewfinder or at the LCD screen because these locations have their own meters already. Maybe the side meters could be used by a separate audio operator, but they could do that just as easily using the meters in the LCD. I just don't get it.
Peek below the LCD screen and you find a door with an SD MultiMediaCard installed behind it. Yes, the GL2 is now a still camera as well, with a 1.7 Mega-pixel (1488 x 1128 pixels) maximum resolution and the ability to transfer stills via USB. You can also capture still images at DV resolution to tape as well; you select between recording to tape or SD card with a switch above the roll button. The imager is still three pixel-shifted, 1/4-inch CCDs, although the pixel count has jumped up to 410,000 (380,000 active) and the gorgeous 20X optical zoom Fluorite lens holds over from the GL1.
All over again
This is where the deja vu got stranger. In the December 2001 issue of DV, I reviewed the new Canon XL1S, which boasted advanced new features such as SMPTE color bars; adjustable shutdown modes; 16:9 guide markings; picture adjustments like setup level, color gain, and sharpness; and clearscan. What's weird is that the GL2 now has all of those features too! It looks like the software from the XL1S was lifted lock, stock, and barrel and dropped in the GL2 - and that's a good thing. Another newly inherited feature is variable dual zebras. If you've ever used a camera with in-monitor zebra patterns, you know they are an indispensable tool for getting great pictures. As with big brother XL1S, the GL2 offers variable zebra settings at 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100. Set one zebra to 80 percent for average Caucasian skin tone and a second zebra at 95 percent for peaking via the GL2's custom keys function, and you are well on your way to better-exposed video.
Test shots both inside and outdoors revealed a nicely balanced, colorful picture, which offered a tad more sharpness than the Canon picture we're all used to. Low-light shots at +18 dB show a bit of grain, but it wasn't objectionable. Warm pictures have always been a Canon hallmark, and the GL2 didn't disappoint, the new picture adjustments allow you to add or subtract from that.
Nice shoes
"Okay," you say, "where are the XLRs?" It turns out that the flash shoe on the GL2 is a lot more than a place to clamp a light. In fact, it's now called the Advanced Accessory Shoe, and it supports the MA300 XLR adapter (optional, $250), a DM-50 directional stereo shotgun (optional, $199), or a 3 W (watt) light. Of course, you can only use one accessory at a time.
When you slide the MA300 into the shoe, you end up with a camera configuration that can only be called "PD150-esque," and I don't mean that in a good way. When the Sony PD150 came out, I was thrilled that Sony had finally added XLR audio connectors, but I was aghast at where they had been put: up in the front, mounted sideways, so that there is no clean way to plug in cables without draping them over the side of the camera. The MA300 uses the same design and is just a bit worse with a removable XLR block and a mounting shoe made entirely out of plastic. This thing is going to shatter the first time an inattentive audio person tightens the cables on a walking shooter. Again, nice try, but no cigar.
On the whole, I like the GL2. The addition of all of the XL1S features is a great step forward, but the camera falls back when the audio meters and MA300 are factored in. Is it a worthy successor to the GL1? Certainly. Is it all it should be? Not quite.
Bruce A. Johnson has been shooting and editing for over 20 years, most recently at Wisconsin Public Television. He freelances through his company Painted Post MultiMedia (
www.ppmm.com).