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At $2,699 list, the GL1-Canon's newest 3-- CCD, miniDV camcorder-is priced to compete with Sony's TRV900 and VX1000 miniDV camcorders. Most of the technology in this feature-packed, two-and-three-quarter-pound camera was first developed for the XL1, and the GL1 also offers an IEEE- 1394 DV I/O. Although it does not offer interchangeable lens capability as does its big brother, the GLI's fixed lens is an innovation because it's the first time fluorite has been used in a low-cost camcorder lens.
Fluorite has been used in broadcast zoom lenses because it can substantially reduce chromatic aberration, and HDTV's higher resolution is pushing designers to create lenses with fighter tolerances. The same factors come into play here with the GL1 because the CCDs, and consequently the pixels, are so very small. Any chromatic aberration introduced by the lens will have an enormous impact on sharpness, contrast, and color fidelity.
The GL1's fluorite glass lens is a 20X optical zoom. The lens has a maximum aperture of f/1.6 and a focal length of 4.2 to 84mm. In 35mm still terms, this translates to a 39.5mm to 790mm lens.
Canon's optical image-stabilization system is based on the use of a variable-angle prism, and this camera's imager section uses three 1/4-inch, 270,000 pixel CCDs and a variable angle beam-- splitting prism. The imager design is identical to the one in the XL1 though the CCDs have been scaled down from 1/3-inch to 1/4-inch CCDs. Canon's Pixel Shift technology is used to raise the camera's maximum resolution. This approach shifts the green CCD a 1/2-pixel distance from the red and blue CCDs. The green channel is sampled at more frequent intervals to increase the picture detail. Canon claims this approach improves the dynamic range of the camera, reduces vertical smear, and enhances the quality of still images.
Many other of the XL1's notable features have been carried over to the GL1: progressive scan (frame mode); seven modes of recording control; shutter speed control from 1/60 to 1/15,000 of a second; a duplicate set of zoom and recording controls on the top handle; and a 16:9 anamorphic squeeze effect.
One of the most useful new features is an input for dubbing analog source material to miniDV. Controls for sharpness (picture detail) and color...