March 1998.
My favorite photo store had this used camera in the window and I was able to borrow it for a weekend to try it in nature. In the middle of the afternoon, I filmed a roe deer in the forest where I had little chance of taking a correct photo.
At the end of April, I go on the lookout near a fox burrow. I get good images despite a difficult light. The camera is silent and the fox cubs approach me, full of curiosity, observing this unknown form for a long time.
Previously, with my photo camera, impossible to get correct shots without flash so late at night. And the noise of the trigger required the device to be equipped with an anti-noise cover...
These images of fox cubs - we can distinguish the mother at the beginning of the sequence - have finished convincing me to switch to the video.

1999. Aiming for better image quality, I opt for a tri-CCD camera with electronic viewfinder and LCD screen for more shooting comfort. It was also equipped with a 12x optical zoom.

For my 50th birthday, I received THE Canon XL-1 camera.

A 16x optical zoom, a 1.4x focal converter, a wide-angle zoom and a Canon adapter that quickly received an excellent 300mm from the brand. A dream.

The XL-1 allowed filming in 16:9 instead of 4:3, but at the cost of an anamorphic conversion causing loss of image quality.

After 9 years, the cassette training system began to show signs of fatigue. The HDV was then well established and it was time to change the format. Unfortunately, Canon's HDV model was overpriced and the autofocus too slow for shooting in nature where animals can sometimes lack patience.