I've used several 3 chip camcorders over the years that use the MiniDV format and as far as picture quality goes...this one delivered the best picture. I've used the Canon XL1, Panasonic's and Sony's first 3 chip MiniDV camcorders (forgive me, but I don't recall their model names because I only used them while working contract for some LO tv production companies) and I thought the picture quality on the GL2 was by far the best. I was very dissapointed in the quality of the XL1 by comparrison. The XL1 takes great images, but I can get Beta SP broadcast images from my GL2 (this requires a full knowledge of the manual settings, but I can also get great images using the auto settings). Reds weren't bleeding, flesh tones came out looking natural and the camera handles low level light very well. One problem others have had, that I haven't is the story all over the net about there being a hum in the audio. My audio has always sounded killer on this camera. You can record at 16 bit 44.1 kHz (CD quality) stereo (an external mic is recommended for professional projects which can be easily attached with an RCA stereo adapter).
Bottom line, I've shot numerous video projects and a DVD with this camera and was blown away by the results. The DVD footage especially turned out killer (you can transfer video from the camera to a computer editing system without losing image quality via firewire). For the price and image quality, I think this is the best value out of all the 3 CCD MiniDV format cameras out there.

What can I say about the GL2 that hasn't already been said. What drew me to this camera was the 20 X. optical and the still picture function. When I was making the choice between this and the XL1S I chose this camera because of the LCD display. This is something the XL1S does not have and I feel is needed so you don't always need to look through the eyepiece to size up a shot.

I think the best feature of this camera is Frame movie mode. where the camera takes 30 still frames a second instead of interlaced video. This keeps action shots from being blurry.

This camera will do what you needed to do takes great pictures. Even in low light. The wide-angle lens adapter, I feel is a must have also. So I recommend this camera!

Check out this web site for updated information on features
http://www.dvinfo.net/canongl2/index.php

Have fun and get it done

After just one and a half years of use representing around 200 hours of filming the manual zoom function acquired a mind of its own. There is no true manual zoom on this cam so if the internal logic that interfaces the zoom buttons both top and side goes whacky you lose control of zoom. This camera also has a real and serious focus lag problem if you do any sports/action shooting.

Optics and image quality are tops in its class but what difference does that make if you can't control the friggin zoom!

There are few flaws with this camcorder. Power save function automatically shuts off the camcorder ever when you are in recording mode. This does not happen always but once in a while you get this. Please read reviews from various sites before buying this expensive one.

Watch out for the lower prices listed for this item. I almost fell for a scam and, in fact, lost $64 to Western Union before I realized that I was being scammed.

DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH ANYONE WHO INSISTS THAT YOU SHOULD WORK WITH THEM THROUGH AN OUTSIDE ESCROW SERVICE.

http://www.waywired.com/FraudOnLine/EscrowSTD.cfm outlines how the scam works and this guy's experience was exactly the same as mine all the way down to the story about why the guy was selling so cheap. The e-mail was almost verbatim except for the product information.

The tell sign is that an e-mail address is mentioned in the product description. You should not contact the seller directly. The safest method is to use Amazon.com's system to pay.

I have called Amazon.com's customer service regarding the e-mail address of the guy who tried to scam me. If someone tries to scam you, report them to Amazon.com, to their e-mail provider (AOL, Yahoo, etc.) and especially report the incident to http://www.ic3.gov -- which is the FBI's fraud report website.

You should also know that Western Union is not connected to escrow services of any kind and they are particularly vulnerable to these kinds of scams, so DO NOT USE WESTERN UNION's transfer service to pay for any item.

See their website for more information on how to protect yourself: http://www.westernunion.com/info/faqSecurity.asp

I hope passing along this information will help others not be a victim like me.