Canon GL 2

The Canon GL2 has produced a love/hate relationship. There are lots of things to love: 20x optical zoom, picture quality, manual controls and light weight. But what is to hate makes me hesitate to recommend this unit and that is its notorious "Remove Cassette" error message.

Do a Google search on "Remove Cassette GL2" and you will see no shortage of complaints and bitterness directed at Canon for this problem, which they have never acknowledged. This problem shows up suddenly and without warning. When you go to rewind a cassette, it will spin at slow speed then jump to high speed. When it kicks into high speed, it will stop almost immediately and flash "Remove Cassette" in red. You then have to remove the cassette. You can try inserting it again and rewinding, but more often than not, it will not get you far.

No amount of cleaning will work. It happened to me within 5 months of light usage. It can happen earlier or later but the solution is always the same: send it back to Canon and go without it for 3 weeks. Try that if you shoot for a living.

You would think that Canon would own up to this problem and give some kind of extended warranty on this fix, but no. This leaves behind a trail of disgusted and angry owners. What mitigated my situation was that I started using Focus Enhancements' FireStore FS-4 video hard drive, so I didn't have to deal with tape. Good riddance. Still, I was very unhappy with this glaring defect.

If it weren't for this near-fatal flaw, I would have no problem recommending it. The 20x optical zoom is unmatched by other units in its class. The picture quality is superb - with its proprietary "Frame" mode, it comes close to mimicking the Holy Grail of the film look.

While not progressive and certainly no substitute for it, the Frame mode is an honest attempt at coming close to it, and it does make a positive difference.

This unit is light and compact enough for me to stuff it into my daypack and carry it on the plane as carry-on with no problems. At a big event, I eyed a professional's camera, wishing I could try it out. In the same instant, he was looking at the GL2, saying, "You don't have to carry this around all day." Point well-taken. You're not going to be scraping the knuckles of one hand after an all-day shoot with the GL2.

The other problem with the GL2 is its low-light sensitivity. It's not as good as several others in its class. This means you wind up increasing the gain (and hence the graininess) of the footage.

I have used the GL2 for weddings, parties, recitals, performances and family vacations. It gives me the chance to produce great video.

So if you decide to buy one, especially on eBay, be sure to ask the seller if it has the "Remove Cassette" error message problem. My second GL2 has not had the problem yet. So it is a mixed bag.

I got my GL2 for 1,200 and have been very pleased with it. I read all of the warnings about the 'remove tape' problem when rewinding, so I have decided to just use this for videotaping and I never rewind or fast forward with this camera. (I use my smaller and less expensive camcorders for that. ) I was luck to get one that works very well so far.... This camcorder is great for videotaping our football games as well as various other features for our local cable access channel. Great picture quality...easy to use. I also make sure that I use a cleaning tape on it after every 10 hours of use. My school district spends a lot of money on cheaper camcorders that don't last very long... it was worth the money to invest in this one for the quality. If we limit its use, hopefully it will last a long time.

I was so excited that i was buying the famous CANON GL2 for 1000 dollars not a professional videographer is that the right word?, he was going to ship it priority mail that only takes 3 days i was counting days guess what i kept on counting 3 days,4 days,5 days and so on never got camera had to file a claim with pay pal i was affraid i was going to get my money back because you know how pay pal says that all purchases are cover up to 2000 dollars not true you have to read the fine print because i was covered for only 200 they said that they were going to try to recover all my money but they didnt promissed any thing, thanks pay pal, any way thank god some how i got all my money back by the way the seller had 100% feedback only 10 transactions now he got like 78%

Shipment was fast. Item was as described. It was a pleasant transaction. Would do business with this person again.

The a thatudio quality of a Canon video camera is superior to others on the market. My first video camera was a Canon A1, then a panasonic and then a sony. In the processmof converting these tapes to dvd, i was shocked that the older videos were much better from the Canon. The features of the GL2 make this a superior choice for the novice photographer that wants to step up to near pro results. The video records on a minidv tape, it's not HD but that's OK. The camera also takes still pictures on an SD card. Amazing results with the 20X optical zoom. Lots of accessories available. Unfortunately the size of the camera is a bit bigger than some but the quality and features of the camera make it worth the extra size and weight.

I bought the Canon GL2 a couple of weeks ago. For the type of video-cam it is great light weight and easy to use. Its not too over powering to my subjects, yet still has a clean professional look to it. The quality of the play back of videos is outstanding. The color is great, the sound is clear, and the use is easy. For the level of camera it is; it is fantastic.

great cam my daughter really enjoys all the features and components. she will be starting film school this fall

A great camera if it just worked. The rewind defect is real and pervasive and Canon does not care. They just ignore it. I will NEVER buy another Canon video camera if they continue to pretend this is not a defective product.

The camera works fine, I am very happy with its performance. The price was right for me to purchase this as my first mini-dv and I have been using it everywhere I go since purchasing it.

My first impression of buying on e-bay was a very educational one as I paid near $1,000.00 dollars for a Canon Gl2 Mini DVD camcorder that was not in operable condition. The matter is currently under dispute in paypal; and it would now be easy for me to say that I would possibly never bid on any such items again. I am not very impressed.
Sincerely,
Don F. Olson

Love the camera, fast shipping, did very well when it came to communication. Thank u so much! Would most def. purchase another product from this seller

I already knew about the Canon GL2 having used one at work. I realized my only option for having one was to purchase it on Ebay. I didn't realize it would be a GL2 that had repair issues not mentioned prior to purchase.

Upon arrival, I did note that screws were missing and the manual focus was not working (though I really didn't recognize this until it returned from the Canon Repair Center and noted that it was now working as intended). Having actually used the camera for under 30 min., I was then left with no video at all. Clearly, this was a tough pill to swallow after paying $1000.

This necessitated another expenditure of $400 to send it off to the repair center. Upon return to me, I learned that it had never been maintained as recommended. The lens assembly was inoperative, the image exposure was incorrect, the CCD contact was repaired, and a number of parts such as the zoom key, and gear screws were replaced. There were other electrical and mechanical adjustments made along with cleaning and being set to factory standards. Questions such as "Had it gotten wet?", "Had it been dropped?" were asked of me.

I now have a 90 day warranty and am pleased with the GL2. My lesson would be to not buy a camera of this caliber on Ebay. Additionally, if one were to purchase a GL2 on Ebay, I would encourage any buyer to use it frequently before providing feedback. It is ironic, that my usual protocol is to be late on providing feedback, this time I thought I'd take care of it sooner. MISTAKE. It did work for the first 25 or so min. of use. It is clear from the list of repairs that the seller must have known that it was on it's way out.

I would welcome an opportunity to offer feedback at this time so that other potential buyers won't make the same error I did with the seller of the GL2. If you can assist me with that request/ I would be very pleased and settled RE this ebay purchase.

E bay is not a safe place to by , even when they know , e bay send me a leter that i got this camara from a member allready with out privilegies and was an scam , I payed by pay pal , they were notified and even with that , pay pal hold the payment and just return to me the 30% of what I payed , if they hold the payment , and didn't pay to the seller , where is the rest of my money ? Who is the SCAM ?

What can I say that thousands of other GL2 reviews haven't already? It's a great camcorder. If shooting a lot of indoor material, then get some lighting gear. if you have appropriate lighting, then you'll get excellent results. I can offer you a tip that you won't get from the Canon company: Never use this camcorder as a playback device(such as capturing to computer, etc). This camcorder's mechanics are known to get exhausted after "x" amount of capturing time. No fear..If this happens, all it takes is some servicing from a professional. To avoid this, either use an expensive playback deck, or just buy a crappy little consumer dv camcorder for $50 and use that for playback. Works like a charm!! Oh yeah, also works great to convert analog to digital. Works better than most converters out there. I LOVE THIS CAMERA!!

the camera is easy to use and the end product is excellent .I wanted a video camera to video in the outdoors and this camera is excellent for the money

THE CANON GL2 FOR THE MONEY IS THE FINEST CAMERA I HAVE DEALT WITH IN ITS CATAGORY. I HOST A TELEVISION TALK SHOW IN MONTANA. I WAS FORCED TO SHOOT IN STUDIO WITH REGULAR TELEVISION EQUIPMENT. THAT IS UNTIL I FOUND THE GL2. I DID MY HOMEWORK, VISITED WITH MANY PROFESSIONAL TELEVISION CAMERAMEN. ONE IN PARTICULAR WAS USING THE XL1 HE TOLD ME TO GET A GL2, IT WOULD GIVE ME THE QUALITY I WAS LOOKING FOR AND NOT THE FRUSTRATION OF MANUALLY SETTING AND ADJUSTING LIKE MORE UPSCALE CAMERAS DEMANDED. HE WAS RIGHT. NOW I AM ABLE TO GO TO AIR SHOWS AND OTHER EVENTS AWAY FROM MY HOME AND TELEVISION STUDIO. THE CANON, WITH ITS FLIP VIEW SCREEN ALLOWS ME TO CHECK MY POSITION AND MY GUESTS AND I SHOOT MY OWN INTERVIEWS. I LOVE IT..THAT CAMERA IS SO GOOD, I JUST BOUGHT A SECOND ONE TODAY AND NOW OFFICIALLY OWN DNA PRODUCTIONS. THANK YOU CANON.

I love the built-in audio meters (both left and right channel.
Great low-light capability
This GL2 and the other Canon Camcorders I have owned have never let me down.

The picture quality is great and the camera is easy to use. However, it has a fatal flaw that Canon refuses to acknowledge. The "remove cassette" nightmare. I hadn't had the camera very long before this message started appearing randomly. Seems that the tape transport isn't designed to last very long. It's very costly to repair. Search for Canon and "remove cassette" and you'll get a sense of the frustration and waste of time and money people have experienced with this camera and other Canon models. I paid $2600.00 just to find out that it is going to cost at least another $300 to repair. Out the window with this camera. I'm glad I have a Sony TRV-900 as a backup.

I was looking for a good "prosumer" model camera with which to do some of the vodeo production my business needs. I have worked with some really great expensive cameras but I wanted one that has a really different feel... rather "look" when it comes to the final product. I did my research and came up with the Canon GL-2. I found a used one on eBay and boy was I pleasantly surprised.

THe picture clarity is terrific (it's a 3ccd camera after all) and I have decided to use it exclusively to produce two of the television shows my company is working on. The "feel" of the picture really drags you into the screen for the "Outdoors" show and then for the "live music" show... WOW... It's almost like the old commercial... "Is it LIVE or is it Memorex" It really feels like you are actually there.

I am probably going to use the GL-2 to film the Miss Mississippi's Outstanding Teen Pageant in June. Needless to say, I am extremely satisfied with it's performance.

Here's the breakdown:

THE GOOD
Picture Clarity, Ease of Use, INTERCHANGEABLE LENSES, Audio Clarity both with the On-Board Mic or with plug-ins (I usually use the XLR adapter and go with a handheld or my wireless mics)

THE BAD
It's not a "shoulder mount" camera (although there is a bracket available), the LCD panel is not easy to see when using it in bright sunlight, the eyecups that come with the camera are poor quality!, you have to move the "eyecup viewfinder" in order to change the battery/hook up the adapter, the adapter/charger does not have a switch to go back & forth from charging batteries to powering the camera so you actually have to plug the camera cord in and out of the adapter.

THE UGLY
1) Shoulder brackets are not easy to find.
2) Every eyecup that I have bought for this camera is poor quality as well!

There are some drawbacks but overall this is one smokin camera. It's listed almost everywhere as a "consumer model" camcorder but the quality is definitely on a professional level.

The Canon GL 2 has many features that enables anyone from an amateur to a professional videographer to produce a quality video. One of the most important features of this camera is the optical image stabilizer that allows a person to capture recordings at high magnification with very little noticeable camera movement...hand held. I like it because it is light, compact, has a variety of features, is the best video camcorder I have ever purchased. As a professional photographer/videographer, this unit has improved the quality of the work that I do for others. If you are thinking of purchasing a digital camcorder, look at the Canon GL2.

it is what we wanted and it fit the need we had. we are very pleased with our purchase thank you very much mattie hampton

professional results, easy to use. THis camera has all of the features of professional grade cameras, at consumer pricing.

Be careful and buy the warranty. Camera shots very red in auto. Has a tendency to drop pixels over time (expensive repair) and the auto gain stops working after about 1.5 years of regular use. (very expensive repair) This has happen to the 5 we've owned and we've bought them from different places. We went to sony and panasonic, canon is just to unreliable.