With the exception of the mediocre lens controls discussed above, the manual controls are precise and responsive. The camera starts and stops almost instantaneously. Unfortunately, the Canon XL H1's automation is considerably less impressive. The autofocus and the autoexposure are quite accurate but lag badly, particularly when you're shooting in 30F or 24F mode. This should not be a major issue for most users, however, as a camera with the XL H1's advanced capabilities deserves to be controlled manually.
The audio performed well in informal testing. Quiet and relatively directional, the built-in camera microphone is better than average, though of course, it's no substitute for a proper audio kit.
Image quality
There is no doubt that the Canon XL H1 produces interlaced HD video of extraordinarily high resolution. However, those shooting narrative work will want 24P imagery, and the Canon offers only a 24F mode, which sacrifices approximately a quarter of the vertical resolution in order to run at 24fps. While the 24F footage may suffice for many projects, this is a real weakness in a camera whose main selling point is its HD resolution.
It's important to note that resolution is only one of several measures defining overall image quality. Another critical variable is dynamic range, or latitude -- the camera's ability to handle a contrasty scene without blowing out. Here the Canon is less impressive, easily clipping on uncontrolled highlights.
With regards to colour, the Canon XL H1 provided an accurate, saturated image. In addition, the very rich Custom Presets enable the user to dial in any desired look, from the naturalistic to the stylised and experimental.
Like all new small-chip semipro HD cameras, the XL H1 has mediocre low-light performance -- it needs something in the order of a stop more light than its standard-definition predecessor. This is simply physics at work -- surface area dictates that the tiny pixels on the chips of HD cameras be less sensitive than the larger pixels on the chips of SD cameras.
As previous HDV cameras have demonstrated, the HDV compression scheme does a surprisingly good job of squeezing an HD picture onto a DV tape. Even complex, high-motion imagery revealed little in the way of artefacts.
In standard definition, the Canon XL H1 performs similarly to the XL2, which costs half as much and offers a true progressive mode. Finally, the XL H1's still-image quality is extremely limited, offering only 2-megapixel resolution.
Edited by Aimee Baldridge
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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