I am having a few problems using a XL-1 I borrowed from my boss. I first recorded some stuff using just the Viewfinder for reference, just to play around. I watched the video and it was super over-exposed. Then I hooked the camera up to a monitor to do my filming. The monitor never looks like the viewfinder, in fact the viewfinder almost always looks good while the monitor looks like crap. Now it seems that I have to carry a monitor everywhere, which is fine but I just want to know if my camera is broken.


The thing is I cannot tell if my camera is busted, or if this is how the XL-1 works normally.

Thats pretty much been my experience with an XL-1, except maybe in reverse.

I recorded some stuff at night, and thought it would all look like crap, becuase my view finder didn't see much.
When I played it back on the TV, it looked fine.
I have no idea why it happened.

Switch it to Manual mode. Thats the M on the knob. From there you can adjust the iris, shutters and filters. See if that works.

Yeah, the problems not the final product, the problem is the view finder not showing the proper result while recording.

Is there a way to adjsut the settings on the viewfinder?
I shoot everything manual, and often just have to go on instinct because I don't trust the viewfinder. (I use a monitor when possible).

There are controls in the menu to adjust the brightness of the viewfinder. I'm sure they're just cranked up to the max. (That's why everything looks overexposed and the footage is fine)

Turn on the zebra patterns too to avoid the over exposure.