Thanks. I was hoping that was the case, but couldn't find an answer.

Is it time to send my XL1s to Canon for maintenance?

Today my XL1s ate a tape in rewind.
So, I put in a brand new tape. fast forward to end, then rewind. EJECT TAPE warning at almost the same place...approx 12 min from beginning of tape.
Decided to use a tape head cleaner. Would not load. Tried another brand new tape. It would not load. It appeared the loading mechanism was encountering a block.
Ejected tape, and got little coiled spring in my lap. Compared loading mechanism to that of my GL1 and figured out where the little spring came from. Took about an hour to get that little bugger back where it belongs.
Ran the loading mechanism without a tape a few times. After a few hiccups the gears, sliders and other things actually seemed to go where they looked like they belonged.
Took another brand new tape and tried to load it. I not only loaded, but a compete fast forward and rewind encountered no problems.

Repeated the process several times. No glitches.

Should I send to Canon or no?

First of all, congratulations on that successful operation.

I've heard of several "self-made surgeons" who have tried the same thing as you, but lost their patient on the operating table.

Just to be on the safe said, I think you should send it in for service, which is something you should be doing once a year anyway. Don't mention this incident. They'll check the tape transport mechanism regardless. Good luck, although it sounds like you've already had plenty of good luck,

I appreciate any specific advice on Shops in Tokyo where I could shop for XL-1S accesoires over the weekend. I would be interested in an EF adapter XL and/or the 1.6X extender.

Thanks,

Guus Verheijen

Hi there,
Very impressed by all the set ups; I'm looking for some advice regarding an audio set up. I'm looking to buy a wireless kit, like the sennheiser G2 100 series to use along with my regular on board mic. What's the easiest set up? I saw that Ed had ev100 receiver connected to the ma 200, does the ma200 connect to the camera via audio2 rca jacks and thus allow him to use his standard mic as audio 1?
I'd appreciate the info prior to shelling out on anything
Thanks

Hello Guus and welcome aboard!

One thing we always warn people about when buying abroad is
warranty (garantie). What happens if the piece is defective or
something breaks down when using? I'm not sure Canon Holland
will give you any warranty on items purchased abroad for example.

And sending it to and from Tokyo might not be such a good thing
either. Perhaps it is better to look in Germany? It is usually (much)
cheaper there and far easier for warranty in your case.

Welcome aboard DVInfo.net Emmet! Why not download the MA200
manual from www.canondv.com and look through it?

Ken,
I found an article of yours about Canon XL lens.
Would you happen to know the back focal length of any of the lens for XL1/2 ?
Flange distance to CCD.
Thanks a lot,

Sorry, Dan, no I don't know that. The 16x Manual Auto lens is the only production lens for the XL series that has a flange back adjustment.

I mostly use the auto recording and don't adjust much of any buttons. Have I missed anything?
Problem is that white light and white objects look extremely white and shining on TV. It's not so obvious on computer screen. I think it's not the problem with the camera, since I've seen similar problem with other people's video.
Thank you

Auto exposure uses bottom center weighted metering to come up with the "best" average exposure. Hot spots in the image, especially if outside the metering zone, are likely to be "over exposed" even if the overall image is OK.

Manual exposure allows you to more precisely control highlight vs. shadow exposure to meet your artistic needs. But keep in mind that increasing shadow exposure will tend to blow out highlight, etc.

Does anyone know of an adapter for an Audiotechnica AT835ST stereo mic to fit Canon's mic isolation block MM-XL1? The Audiotechnica is way too small of a diameter and right now I have just rolled a quarter roll of electrical tape around the mic to fatten it up. It is effective (and cheap) but I figure someone has to have a better solution that doesn't get all gummy when it gets hot. I can imagine it will be a real mess in a couple of years.

Thanks
Steve Zellers

There should be two different black Canon cylinder sleeves to fit inside the block, one for the XL1 mic, and one for the wider XL1s mic.

If this does not fit, or you do not have one, you may try another solution that I used:

Cut the bottom off of an empty plastic 35mm SLR film canister (not the film roll, but the actual protective canister that the film comes in), and then also cut a split along the cylinder. Wrap the plastic cylinder over the mic stem - overlapping the cut edge if needed - adjust the mic to correct L & R position, and then tighten the MM-XL1 screw down where the plastic edges of the cylinder overlap. The small lip of the film canister should be facing forward (towards the lens) so that it sits tightly against the inner rim of the MM-XL1 clamp.

I hope this helps.

I'll give it a try.
Thanks

connecting to XL1s , I have the ma200 should I go to xlr mic imputs or the rca line inputs of the camera? the specs of the receiver:_
Receiving System
Dual independent receivers, automatic-switching diversity

_
Image Rejection
60 dB nominal, 55 dB minimum

_
Signal-to-noise Ratio
110 dB at 35 kHz deviation (IEC-weighted), maximum modulation 75 kHz

_
Total Harmonic Distortion
<=1% (10 kHz deviation at 1 kHz)

_
Sensitivity
24 dBµV (S/N 60 dB at 5 kHz deviation, IEC-weighted)

_
Intermediate Frequency
85.38 MHz, 10.7 MHz

_
Audio Output (AF Level set at "0")
Unbalanced: 50 mV (at 1 kHz, ±5 kHz deviation, 10k ohm load)
Balanced: 32 mV (at 1 kHz, ±5 kHz deviation, 10k ohm load)

_
Output Connectors
Unbalanced: 1/4" TS ("mono") phone jack
Balanced: XLRM-type

would like to use the fader function with my remote control (bogen/manfrotto) or any other remote control if available.
does anybody has some expirience or advice please

greetings

Yesterday, I had a shoot at a pipeline construction site in cold weather. All went well until I noticed some dancing dust visible in the dark areas. I warmed the camera for a while and returned and all was well. They were very small little points of light that looked like about a frame of duration.

Shooting with an XL-1. Any ideas? Was it the cold or something else?

Thanks!

Sorry but this is not possible through the wired Control-L (LANC) connection.

<<<-- Originally posted by Chris Hurd : Sorry but this is not possible through the wired Control-L (LANC) connection. -->>>

hello chris,

thanks for your post. i also contacted canon today, and their answer is the same then yours.
the remote control functions are mechanical function , and the fader is a digital feature..wow did i get this right?

thanks

karl

John;
Just returned from a cold weather shoot where the temp went as low as 30F below zero. I had to change tape at - 20, and had no problems such as you have indicated. I have previously been at very low temps. with my XL1 without tape problems, so I don't think temp. is a major problem provided you take normal precautions.

Anyone?

I've just been out with the XL1s in ice-cold conditions - very strong winds and sometimes snowstorms and freezing sleet, that combined to drop temperatures due to the wind-factor - so really put the equipment and lenses through some testing. Luckily, I had a Kata raincover with me, including heavy-duty batteries, and this helped keep everything funtioning smoothly.

Please help me before Tuesday. I need to shoot some micro technical equipment with my XL1-S and I understand I should use the macro feature of the 16X manual lens.

But what does it do and how do I actually use it? I can't find actual instructions in the manual or on the web. It doesn't appear to have an effect. Maybe I am doing something wrong? What should I expect from this lens and using Macro setting?

thanks,
Tom

Take the lens hood off. Zoom out all the way to full wide. Make sure you have plenty of light. Welcome to macro. As long as you stay at full wide on the zoom, you'll be able to focus to less than half an inch from the lens. Hope this helps,

Hello all-

I want to attach my 5" lcd monitor and the vl10li on my xl1s. Does anybody have any idea what kind of bracket I need and where to buy?

Is there anybody here that uses that configuration? How is it?

ZGC.com has a dual hotshoe adapter that may work.
Talk with Chris.

lol!
oh im sorry,
your talking to Nick. thanks so much for the info. i had used one of those for my GL2 mic adapter and it worked awesome. i gotta get me another!

Hey Nick;

We,ll get it right yet!!!!!!

Ron

I will be starting a project shortly, where by I need to film from the drivers cabin of a moving underground train, coming from the darkness of the tunnel approching the underground well lit station. I want to capture the LEDS and displays of the drivers cabin as the train is going through the darkness of the tunnel, but I dont want the camera freeking out on me as it sees the light of the platform arriving. Is there a safe techneque for this, as I won't have much time to do it over and over again to get it right.

I found one brand new from an authorized dealer for $3200. This is the only one they have left. Is it a good price? I don't really want to spend 4k+ for the new XL2. TIA

Well, I recently bought a used one for $2600. Included XLR shoulder pad, mic isolater, furry wind screen, 3 huge batteries, battery/accessory holder, system case, white balance cards, etc.

$3200 "might" be a bit high, but it is still a new camera.

You might want to check the Private Classified boards, there are some for sale.

i have a tape on a Sony Handycam tape, i think its those 8mm tapes, and i want to copy this tape onto my xl1's little mini DV tapes, i have both cameras, what can i do? can i just hook to cameras up and record? let me know what to do, never done this before, thanks

If the Sony is a Digital8 model (as opposed to the older Hi8), you should be able to just use a 4-pin firewire cable between the two. Put both of them into VTR mode, set the XL1 to Record, and hit play on the Sony.

I've never actually copied from one tape to another, but I think this should work. Make sure your Sony tape is set to Erase Protect first, just to be safe.

I’ve got an onboard XL1s Canon stereo mic covered in a Reinhardt fur windshield, fitted inside a Light Waves Systems mini-mount, and connected to an LWS systems Isolator. I also have two separate Audio Technica AT815 Line + Gradient Super-Hyper-Cardioid microphones with a narrow acceptance angle for picking up long distance sounds.
The AT815 mics connect directly to the back of my MA-200 with XLR –XLR cables.

I’ve been thinking of trying different ways of using them during future filming – mainly outside work.

I could remove the Canon mic and replace it with one AT815 mic, and then place the second AT815 mic on a small arm and clamp (connected to the LWS system bar or slotted into the hotshoe mount). This would mean that both AT mics are pointing at the same subjects as the lens; but if I needed to pick up a sound outside of the lens view (such as a bird in a tree etc) while still recording the main subject, I could adjust the second AT mic on the arm-mount to point at the bird.

Another option is to keep the Canon mic inside the normal onboard LWS mount, and then connect each AT815 microphone to two separate long XLR cables stretching in a forwards cone, from the left and right sides of the camera, and fitted to either small stands or short metal rods screwed into the ground.

Has anyone used two or three mics connected to an XL1 or XL1s? I’d be interested to know your favourite ways of mounting them to your camera, plus your preferred methods of connecting them up for producing the best sound, and even more importantly, your favourite setups for the internal Camera Menu, and Audio mic/audio 2 control settings.

In attempting to fine tune the exposure , I would like to use a Sekonic Light meter. Does any one know the film ISO equlivant for the shutter / f-stop settings ?

Or this there a better why ?

Thanks,

Tom

I think you already have a topic about this, perform a search.
And there is an article written about it, about people trying to find the ISO value of the XL1 (not s I suppose, but I'm not sure)

These are some topics on the subject:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17351&highlight=iso


http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4166&highlight=iso


This is the article about it:

http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles/article33.php (this is part 1)

http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles/article75.php (this is part 2)

Good luck.

How do.
I’ve recently been using 1 canon xl1 and another canon xl1s for a small live awards show, for some reason the canon xl1s has an unstable irregular video output. The camera records fine but the picture on the external monitor and plasma screen rolls etc. I have changed all cables and tried different pro monitors….. please help got another job very soon and don’t feel at all confident….
Cheers
Jamie

It sounds to me that the connector may be loose or something else is faulty.
Did you try both composite and s-video out ports?

I think the camera needs to be serviced.

I don't do feature ("film") work, but I often find myself facing the need to manage several microphones. One issue I recently faced (documenting a dog sled race) required four audio channels. I set my camera for four channel audio at 32k sample rate and every thing appeared to work well during the shoot. However, the posting of the field acquisition had to be done at a 48k sample rate. It was a resolvable situation, but one I do not want to face again because of the added post time it cost. From that point forward, I only shoot at a 48 k sample rate.

I use an external audio mixer. I prefer one with mute switches for each incoming audio channel and a three-band paramatric EQ on each incoming channel (high frequency, mid-band sweep frequency, and low band frequency). While not absolutely necessary, the mid band sweep allows me to choose a narrower range of attenuation/gain than I would have with an average mid-range control. Additionally, the Main Out of the mixer should be XLR with the option to choose high (+4dbl) or low/mic level (-60dbl) output, which, of course, feeds into my camera.

External audio mixers offer quite a bit of control over incoming audio, but still feed out to a select number of channels (usually two). Yes, there is pan control, but what about the live audio that should only be introduced in post, not onto the two or four channels available on the camera? Some kind of independent audio recording device should be in the equipment inventory. Then there is the issue of how to manage control of the mixer itself. Do I split my attention between camera and mixer or find a competent person to manage audio for me? This also affects camera mobility as all of the connections are hard wire.

Because the audio mixer does amplify signal strength and the camera's audio system is in itself an audio mixer, over-driving an incoming signal is a caution to be observed.

To quickly conclude, my decision is to decide in advance which audio signals actual get recorded onto video tape and which ones will be recorded onto an independent audio recording device. Sync them with a clapper sound, and do the final adjustments in post. How one chooses to position and stabilize microphones is a never ending quest.

Waldemar - thank you for your comments. How many members do you have in your film/sound crew by the way? I would think that shooting a sled race would need a lot of gun & run stuff to provide a flowing 'beside the sled' atmosphere, combined with some static set-up or prepared shoots. How did you manage to cope with all the extra sound equipment and mixers etc when you needed to film the sleds and dog teams during the actual race, and more importantly, did you cut down to just a single mic for some of the more hectic stuff. Did you film from your own sled or snow mobile alongside the teams? - And did you try any footage from a plane or chopper to give a 'birds eye view'?


My next shoot will need to combine some long static tripod filming at the same location (where it should be easy to set up a couple of mics on static booms) combined with a lot of on-shoulder filming.
I will be doing almost all the filming solo with one camera (even though it will be a two-man film team, that second member will be in-shot for a lot of the sequences, so cannot always be there to hold up booms etc). In the static shoots the only real problem will be making sure that long XLR cables will not be tripped over, because long periods of waiting will be interspersed with short bouts of mad action.
If important action occurs, I'll be able to get some footage from the static tripod set-up (framing, zooming, panning etc), but there will be times when I need to quickly unclip the camera from the tripod and follow the action with the handheld XL1s. If the static tripod set-up has the two narrow acceptance shotgun mics connected to the long XLR cables from the back of the MA-200 and set to Audio 1 (with Canon mic fixed to the camera, but switched off), I could then quickly pull out both XLR cables, switch the Audio 1 lever to Mic, and then be able to follow the action with the handheld XL1s and lightweight on-board mic.

The only problem in following the action with a handheld cam using the normal small Canon shotgun mic, is that I would often prefer to use the tighter sound cone of the AT mic, and because the action would often be unpredictable I wouldn't have time to run around swapping onboard mics.

Another option I've been experimenting with is to only use the two AT mics (and not use the XL1s Canon mic at all). By fitting one AT mic mounted on a small anti-shock microphone holder (plus hotshoe adapter) to the XL1s, and a second AT mic clamped inside the LWS Mini-Mount, with both connected to short 0.5m XLR leads to the MA-200, I could simply unplug the mics back and forth between the longer 6m XLR cables when needed.

The biggest problem I've found when using the much longer shotgun mics on-camera, is keeping the very tip of the mic out of the edges of the frame when a wide-angle optic is fitted to the 16X manual, especially when the long shotgun mics are enclosed in large and bulky fur wind socks. I've compensated slightly for this by moving the mics further back on the microphone holders, and also adding a twist of wire tag to clamp the XLR leads to the Canon dual-battery holder mount (this prevents the mic from 'tipping' into the viewing frame if I’m doing a lot of walking or running around with the camera and fail to notice that the mic has slighty tilted in it’s holder).

I’ll also be doing some filming from a plane, chopper, or microlight during this next expedition, so would like to know how you cope with sound recording from the air. Do you use a mic at all? I would be inclined, due to the constant drone and wind noise factors, to either switch the mic off completely (and add ambient noise in post), or just have the mic set on a very low setting. What are your views? I’ve never filmed from the air, so seek advice from someone who has. I’ve done a lot of still photography from the air, especially from a microlight, and even used a small plane to take me low over the Botswana swamps. That time I had the pilot remove the main door from its hinges prior to take-off, and then was strapped to my seat next to the exit door opening. The wind blast was incredible, especially when I needed to almost hang out of the plane for some shots, but the end results were worth it.
Trying to do the same holding on to an XL1s instead of an F5 is a whole different ball game, especially when sound needs to be included. I suppose I might be able to somehow plug in the XL1s audio into the plane’s intercom system to keep out some of the engine drone. However, I can’t see a US pilot agreeing to fly without a door (I’d rather not film through the triple-layer window glass), so the only other option is to maybe hire someone with a motorized micro-light.

There is a new inexpensive Raynox wide angle lens adapter out which is made for HD cameras (HD-7000).

Does the fact that it's made for a 16x9 format mean that it will distort the 4x3 image of an XL1 if used with an XL1?

I inquired a few days ago if there was anyone out there that could direct me to a source for a solar unit to field charge batteries for my sweet xl1? I didn't see my inquiry posted. I spend days in the field, in the mountains and on the water, (not usually at the same time, but you never know.) I am sure that I am not alone in this one. Thanks, Chuck Towne

Check out West Marine:

http://www.westmarine.com/

They might have something made by Siemens Solar. You can connect Canon's version of the XL1 battery charger that will plug into a cigarette lighter (runs off 12 VDC source).

Hello,
I have a XL-1
Need advice... 2 questions.

question 1, The picture seems to jump and split every once in a while..
Maybe every few min or so... and then goes back to normal..
This happens on playback.. on XL-1 and when I have downloaded it to VHS tape...

question 2, Tape footage Time or DV tape on screen doesn't seem to move with tape during playback... or should I say it jumps from one time to another.. as in stops and then jumps to catch up to the real time..

Or course this might be part of question #1 problem too.

Any advice?

r. severe

Was the footage shot with continual time code?( no break in recording from one scene to another).Sounds like your losing timecode, either a tape defect, dirty or misaligned heads, or a break in the timecode track from pausing then watching some of what you record then pausing to record again

I ran a tape cleaner through the camera.. all fixed.. no problems now...

I was given the camera..
I didn't know much about wroking it.. wow what a beautiful picture and great sound..

ralph

Obviously the shoulder mount that came with the xls1 is a joke.

Anyone have a good suggestion for a replacement?

Thanks!

I am about to sell my XL1s. It is about a year old and in absolutely perfect condition. How much do you reckon I can sell it for in London? It has no accessories - it's just the camera.

Do a quick search on EBAY under 'completed sales' for xl1s and see what they went for, that'll give you an idea.