My camcorder upgrade has been long overdue and while there are a variety of options to choose from, I'm totally into the Canon XL2. Great video images and and pictures that I can put into digital picture frames are not easy to get with consumer grade cameras and camcorders. Unfortunately, the widespread availability of these new consumer level camcorders, editing tools and the new Youtube clones that come out every week online has prompted everyone and their mom to start making "films". Oh wait, I mean "movies". So, it would be great to have a better camcorder to compete with amateurs and professionals. The ideal one would produce a good looking image and also have still image capabilities.

The Canon XL1 was very popular when it came out and now the Canon XL2 is available. These digital camcorders aren't cheap though, at an average $2000 price tag. It seems that the Canon XL2 camcorder doesn't have an option to capture still images. However, it may be that I just was not able to find that information. One great thing about the Canon XL2 is that it's way more professional that standard camcorders. There have been many movies made with this digital camcorder and they look great. In fact, they are a little more convincing to audience members even though it is still video.

My decision is not final on what will be chosen yet, but the Canon XL2 is definitely in the running. However, I have read some reviews that talk about the limited options offered with this digital camcorder. That is one big concern. However, there are so many options that can be used if you're shooting on Digital Video anyway. Therefore, it may not matter. The Canon XL2 is large in size, but not like a horse so it's easy to carry. Microphones can also be hooked up to it which will definitely be helpful in monitoring the audio for Madlab's online videos and movies.

There are also options to switch between full and widescreen, although I may not use that feature often. The audio monitoring issue is what's most important right now because those capabilities are limited with the current equipment that I use. The still image issue isn't a big option to worry about because some experts say that it's best to use a stand-alone digital camera anyway because the quality is much better. That makes sense, so it's time for me to consider some along the lines of that Canon PowerShot SD800. I'm not trying to be a professional photographer, so I don't really need a major SLR like the Nikon D40 or anything like that.

A simple point and shoot digital camera will be sufficient to log important scenes and anything else that needs to be done. I'm just a writer and director. I shouldn't be trying to shoot behind the scenes and publicity stills anyway. That’s what the on-set photographer is for. I guess this is what happens with low-budget, independent filmmaking or moviemaking. That’s a story for another day.