Today Canon introduced its new GL2 DV Camcorder. The company said the new FireWire-equipped camcorder takes professional elements and incorporates them into a DV camcorder that’s easy enough for novices to use.
The GL2 utilizes three CCD image sensors for each primary color, and uses improved “Pixel Shift” technology that Canon claims can produce sharper images than other digital camcorders with almost twice the number of pixels.
The camera comes equipped with a built-in 20x optical zoom and Canon’s professional L-series fluorite lens. The zoom provides the 35mm equivalent to a 39mm to 790mm lens. What’s more, the camcorder also features 100x digital zoom and optical image stabilization, which Canon said is so good, the video remains steady and shake-free at 100x.
The GL2 features three recording modes. Movie Mode records interlaced video for standard TV playback. Digital Photo mode records images at 1.7 Megapixels to Secure Digital (SD) or MultiMedia Card (MMC) storage, integrated on the unit along with its DV cassette capability. The camera also features a USB interface for easy uploading of still images to a Mac or PC. Frame Movie mode is a non-interlaced method that records video at 30 frames per second and gives it a cinematic appearance, according to Canon.
The new DV camcorder also sports manual audio level control, and features an external VU meter and meter levels inside the viewfinder and on the integrated LCD screen. Separate audio modes are useful for shooting under windy conditions, recording voices over background noises or just shooting normal audio.
The GL2 has an advanced accessory shoe that can be used to attach directional mics, special lighting devices and other accessories manufactured by Canon.
The GL2 features many other enhancements as well, like “Clear Scan” mode which helps users capture a clear image of a computer monitor or television screen without seeing scan lines, slow shutter speeds, picture adjustments, 16:9 aspect ratio support and much more.
Look for the GL2 to hit Canon-authorized stores next month for about US$2,999.