Okay I have a canon gl2, but i'd like to know what the difference is between the XL1-s and the GL2...(other than the interchangeable lens system). Everybody said the XL1-S is amazing for manual and creative opportunity. What does the XL1-S have that the GL2 doesn't? I checked every spec on it, and the only thing I can see is the ccd size, and the lens system... is that it? Is the XL1-S's picture quality really that much better than the GL2?

actually...

the GL2 produces higher resolution than the XL1. a lot of people think the XL1 is a lot better, but in reality it is a much older camera; Canon was just trying to milk all profits they could from it. its lens system and larger CCD's are the only real difference. and it's not even that big of a difference. very few student filmmakers can afford extra lenses (since they cost several thousand dollars) so that makes the lens system almost worthless. and the CCD's are a bit bigger, but in my personal experience, the grain and low light sensibility was not that different as a result. in fact, grain was more prevalent in the XL1 because of its decreased resolution.

right out of the box, in my opinion, the GL2 is a much more suitable camera than the XL1 for the student filmmaker.