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4 months ago
I just put my videocamera in the mail. I’m selling it to B&H, the same company I bought it from. I’m getting a fraction of what I paid for it four years ago, but it’s still more than I’m likely to get on eBay. It’s a great camera, a Canon XL-2, but it isn’t HD and that has become the standard.
I’m not doing freelance videography much anymore, but I’m planning to get back into short film work and I’d much rather shoot in HD. Besides, I’m not confident they’ll even make tapes for the XL-2 in the next few years now that consumer camcorders are recording to harddrives. So I figured I should sell the XL-2 now before it depreciates further, then put that money into an HD camera.
The price has come down on HD videocameras recently. There are still high end models that run between two and five thousand, but what I learned with my last camera was it’s not always smart to buy the absolute best one on the market because it will become obsolete quickly. I got a lot of use out of the XL-2, but I probably could have bought an older XL-1 or GL2 for half the price and got the same results (most of the features new to the XL-2 I never even used in the four years I had it).
So instead of shelling out a few grand for a camera I’ll most likely use sparingly, I’m going to buy a DSLR that shoots HD footage. What B&H quoted me for the XL-2 will cover the cost of the new camera, so I’m not out any money. And if in three years I find myself needing a true professional quality HD camcorder, I won’t have invested a huge amount in this one.
Still, it’s sad parting with a camera that I used for all of my projects in the last four years. It’s the one I used to shoot my sister’s wedding, my friend Kate getting her first tattoo, and all of the projects I did at Ball State. It was a good camera and I hope it finds a good home with whoever B&H sells it to next.
Feel free to ask me a question!
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