Canon has avoided a radical redesign and taken an evolutionary approach to the XL series for a reason. The XL2 camera body shares the XL-mount lenses, viewfinders, and accessories that were originally designed for the XL1. This is a real advantage for those who already have a significant investment in the XL system and to those with special needs that can be served only by these optional accessories. I'll go into more detail about the available lenses and viewfinders in the Features and Performance sections.
Controls for selecting a frame rate and aspect ratio, adjusting the exposure, and activating colour bars are easily reached on the left side of the camera
You can adjust white balance and image gain with the dials and button at the bottom
The XL2 continues the XL1's legacy of providing nonstandard but easily accessible mechanical controls over all major camera functions: iris, shutter, gain, white balance, and so forth. Most obviously, the XL2 retains the large rotary selector on the camera's left side, through which the camera is turned on and placed in one of its many exposure modes. Perhaps to show off the camera's new capabilities, a couple of conspicuous controls have been added to select frame rate and aspect ratio. Also new to the control layout are a couple of handy custom keys, which give you easy access to your favorite functions. Since the controls are laid out differently to most cameras, they do take some getting used to. However, I've grown to appreciate the XL cameras' peculiar logic, with one caveat: the f-stop control on the XL2, previously an easily manipulated wheel, has been replaced by an awkward, three-position switch that makes gross iris adjustments unnecessarily tedious.
This dial on top of the camera lets you make quick exposure adjustments
You can adjust the zoom speed, as well as choose whether it's constant or variable
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User reviews2
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Little Tyke 18 May 2005
Good: Choice of progressive scan modes, high degree of image manipulation
Bad: Not particularly ergonomically designed
Comment: This is a fantastic piece of kit for those who don't mind splashing a bit of cash for an industry standard, hardcore silver extra from Doctor Who.
Jah Womble 17 May 2005
Good: Good 16:9 ratio widescreen images, handles contrast very well.
Bad: Viewfinder a little small
Comment: The viewfinder doesn't do justive to the sharpness and clarity you get from this camera. Viwing back on TV is just incredible - but then, you're paying for a professional-level camera here.
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