My XL1 is around 3-4 years old now and I am extremely happy with it. I am ALWAYS very cautious of the EVF sunburn problem and always turned the EVF down when not filming...until a few seconds yesterday.

I forgot, while filming in the bright African sun in a river bed - took my eye from the EVF for a while..... and now I have to my dismay, two to three small yellow/white burnt areas on my EVF. Not too bad, it is in the bottom right hand corner and is not really in my way but I keep on looking at it and kicks myself each time looking at it for not protecting the EVF for that moment or two. Jighhh!

*Will Canon be able to repair it (cam is rather old - 3-4 yrs!)
*Do they have to replace the whole unit (plastic, optics, etc)
*Can they only replace the LCD screen inside the cam?

I would really appreciate feedback!

I was going to send the cam in to Canon South Africa in Johannesburg for a normal cleanup/service withing the next few weeks - will have to add this repair to it.

The last post about this problem on this site was reported in May 2002 but I am not sure if users still have this kind of problem. The serial number of my cam starts with 667.... and ends with ....213. Some time ago Canon did this repair for free (?) but I think the cam must have been within its warrenty period.

Thanks again for a WONDERFUL website - EXTREMELY Helpful!

Danie Pretorius
South Africa

The EVF sunburn issue was addressed early in the XL1 lifecycle, in around 1998 or early1999. It was a free (for sending it in) fix to the EVF that added a filter (at least in the USA). Sounds like your unit may never have been modified by Canon. It probably can be repaired, best to contact Canon. Given the labor cost to put things on a repair bench, the lowest cost and fastest turnaround repair might be to just replace the entire EVF assembly.

Best to contact your local Canon office for more authorative answers.

Hi Don

Thanks for you prompt reply. I'll contact Canon (SA) tomorrow and find out what the situation is here in South Africa.

Best regards
Danie
South Africa

Just some feedback: I took the cam in for the normal service (cleaning, etc.) in January this year. Canon here in South Africa (Midrand) also replaced the LCD on my request in the evf - they did all that in one day! Received the cam back in less than 24 hours! Very professional service too - Thanks Jan Venter of Canon South Africa in Midrand.

That was excellent service by Canon, South Africa

Regards
Danie
South Africa

Glad to hear you've got it resolved, and thank you very much
for posting a follow up to it! Now be careful with the sun <g>

is this an issue with xl1s?

ultra newb

It isn't really an "issue". Any LCD screen (especially with a
magnifying glass in front of it like the XL1) is sensitive to the
intense heat coming from the sun. Just don't leave it pointing
at the sun. Make a habbit of turning the viewfinder down.
Canon has added some more protection to later models (including
the XL1S) to not allow the viewfinder to get burned so easily.

For more information please read this article (http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles/article6.php) on our site.
If you want even more protection visit this article (http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles/article54.php)