On all footage shot in 16:9 mode (I have not tested with 4:3 as always use 16:9) on my XL2, there is a variegated band four pixels wide running up the left side of the image, starting with the leftmost pixel in every row & extending inward. It manifests itself as two very thin black lines on the far left of the screen. This is not visible in the viewfinder with its underscan.

Is anyone else familiar with a similar problem? Is this a CCD problem? (It occurs with all lenses including a 35mm adapter & primes.) Does anybody know if it can be repaired, & how much it's likely to cost if it can?

Regards,
Henry

Could you post a frame grab please? It may be easier to see what you're talking about.

Hey Henry ... does your XL2 have a film grain button?

This could explain the first generation ccd in your cam that was noted to have the band of four pixel malaise that you have described .... Chris might know of a fix ...

Thank you both for your replies.

Here are a few frame shots. They are color corrected stuff,so they show how the band persists through it. (I see the band is a little hard to see in these jpegs, although it is visible. It's somewhat more ovbious in actual footage. Zoom in on the left to see the four-pixel problem all the way up.)

Also, my XL2 does not have the 'film grain' feature.

H.

Henry, nice pictures by the way!
From what I can tell by your pictures this is perfectly normal. My XL2 does it as well, and in fact so do the professional DVCAM cameras. And from what I remember it was even more apparent. I can probably get some frame grabs from it. But it really doesn't affect anything since all these pixels are in the unsafe area of a TV. Unless you're watching it on an under scanned monitor or a projector. Here are a couple stills from my XL2. The lines are there, just not quite as apparent, maybe because I didn't do as much color correction.

Mine are on different sides because some of the shots I used a 35mm adapter, and so the footage is flipped.

Henry, nice pictures by the way!
From what I can tell by your pictures this is perfectly normal. My XL2 does it as well, and in fact so do the professional DVCAM cameras. And from what I remember it was even more apparent. I can probably get some frame grabs from it. But it really doesn't affect anything since all these pixels are in the unsafe area of a TV. Unless you're watching it on an under scanned monitor or a projector.

Thank you for the reassurance. Most of the things I do will be projected at some point (& also DVD), but I suppose I can get around the problem with some cropping.

Best wishes,
Henry