Any one here using a 100mc? I've been shooting some great looking video with this older Optura, including climbing videos, and they're ( I have 3 ) working like champs for me! The footage even blends quite nicely with my GL2's footage too!!

PS - thanks for this Optura board Chris!

Craig, are you using Neoprene pouches to protect the 100MCs while climbing?

Fellow poster and board member Allan Rejoso in Tokyo Japan uses an Optuar 100MC and a Black Mamba (aka GS100).

Pretty close Tommy - I took small travel pouches that have a sewn in ring on either end ( Eagle Creek brand I believe - got 'em at REI ) and velcro'd old wetsuit neoprene ( with Barge cement ) in strategic locations. I use the neoprene quick release shoulder straps but take the shoulder part off so it can clip into a mini carabiner ( from Home Depot ) and be tethered fairly tight. Bottom line - with a small good quality cam and this set up, I can attach it to either a climbing pack shoulder strap or a big wall chest harness and have a camcorder available anywhere, anytime. Email me for a sample DVD !!

Hi Craig,

Although I own a Black Mamba, I just can't let go of my beloved Optura100. It has been real great to me. I think that was the very last magnesium-alloy bodied consumer cam from Canon. They tried to put everything in there but sadly, they still forgot about the manual focus ring.

A manual focus ring would have been nice, but auto focus works pretty good. I spend my energy while climbing using manual exposure - whichs works well!! I can only do so much while taping under " combat conditions " anyway!!

I too have a 100MC and think its just a dynamite little camcorder! I bought it back when my first son was born with the intention of taking good family video, but also with hopes of more creative projects should I end up going in that direction. I'm pleased to say that so far it has proved to be a very good choice for me! Actually, I'm something of an optics geek, so having features like a larger lens and the optic image stabilization in particular, were important parts of my decision making process. The accessory shoe was little used at first, but since I decided I had to have an accessory mic (I got the DM-50) I'm very glad to have it!

I think it would be great if we could start some threads here regarding how poeple are using their 100MC, how they've accessorized it, any problems they've encountered and fixes, etc. You might be interested to see the custom Lens hood I made for it too. But for now, I just wanted to chime in as another user of this camcorder. Are there other 100MC lurkers out there? This forum isn't just for the guys with the new Opturas you know! *S*

Hi Jeff. The only thing I've done to customize my Optura 100 ( I did the same to my previous Eluras ) was to aquire some " acoustical fur " ( the fuzzy stuff on those " mic muffs " ) and velcro it over the built in mic. Works wonders on wind noise, and makes your cam look like a " One Eyed Don King Cam "!

My Optura 100 MC has served me well over the past two and half years. This weekend at a family event, I discovered the zoom has stopped working for no discernable reason. It was the first time I had used the camera in a few months.

It will not work in photo or video mode. Nor will it work with the remote. I have plowed through the cameras menus to set the digital zoom to None, 40x and 200x and these do not cause any change. Luckily, it is stuck on no zoom or "W" rather than a tight zoom!

Anything short of hardware servicing by Canon to fix the zoom?

If I cannot get it working, any idea what such a repair would cost from Canon? Thanks. -- JPN

A recurring theme I'm seeing across this forum and others is "if your camera is doing weird stuff for no apparent reason", remove the main battery, remove and replace the back-up battery (if it has one) and press the RESET button (if it has one).

It seems quite a few folks have saved themselves needless repair visits by just resetting the camera to the factory defaults. I guess this equates to doing a restart on your PC which makes sense when you think that these are just optical computers.

A few minutes in your user manual may save you a wad of cash.

Thanks for the tip, Patrick. I will give it a try and see if it does the trick. -- J Patrick

Well it was worth a try, Patrick. I removed the main battery and backup battery for a half hour. Then put them back in. I re-entered preferences but the zoom was still dead. There does not seem to be a "reset" switch but I assume letting it sit with no power puts it back in default mode.

I did put the same old backup battery in so I may try a fresh one to see if that makes a difference.

The camera was not bumped or manhandled in any way so I am at a loss as to why the zoom stopped working.

I tried that too. Actually, I was cheap and just used black microphone foam instead of the fur, but it seemed to do a reasonable job. Shortly after that, however I decided I was still picking up too much unwanted "local" noise - motor noise, and sounds of the operator (breathing, coughs, etc). So I finally took the plunge and bought the DM-50 mic to try to improve the situation. I can say that the audio is definitely a lot better with it. Overall the sound is cleaner and more accurate, but in particular, you can hear subjects better from farther away, and you can reduce the pickup of dreaded operator sounds!

Unfortunately, I seem to still be picking up some noise. I fear it may be motor noise, but I have a little more study to do before I am sure.

Another thing I found was that popping the mic on and off every time I used the camcorder got to be a real pain. So I figured out a way to stuff the whole thing into my bag, mic and all. It's a tight fit, but its working for me. Now I just leave the mic on all the time.

I've only heard of this problem once before on another forum - camcorderinfo.com to be exact. The guy there never indicated wether or not he was able to find a solution, aside from sending it in for repair. But here's the link for what its worth.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/t47619.html

Maybe he can provide some guidance based on his experience.

Good luck!

Has anyone else had this problem? The LCD display on my Optura 100MC is just too faint to see when shooting in daylight. Indoors I have no problem. But outside, even when it doesn't seem particularly bright (i.e., it doesn't have to be in direct sunlight) its pretty much un-usable! When I adjust the brightness through the menu (with the jog-dial), it "brightens", but I should really describe it as just getting "whiter" - it loses all contrast by the time it gets to the end of the scale, so this doesn't help.

I'm trying to decide if it is getting progressively worse. Or, if it has been like this all along, and I'm just getting more sensitive to it. I do recall that early on I noticed it was hard to see in bright sunny conditions. Does anyone know if the LCDs on these camcorders are just low intensity, or do I have a bad/dying unit? Can anything be done about it?

Thanks

A pair of polarized sunglasses is the easiest solution. Otherwise, here's an LCD hood (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=264606&is=REG) that fits the Optura 100MC.

I've experienced washouts with the Optura Xi, my previous GL2s, and the Optura Pi. Some are better than others, but they've all washed out at some point.

I don't seem to have any problems picking up motor noise. Generally, the way I use my Optura 100's would preclude using an external mic unfortunately. When I'm in a postion to shoot with such accessories attached, I'm able to use my GL2!!

I find all lcd screens hard to see in bright sunlight. And I usually don't use them to conserve battery power. However, when it's darker, lcd screens are invaluable!!

Michael and Craig,

Thanks for your responses! I found that the polarizing sunglasses really don't help. The display being "washed out" (that's a good description, Michael) seems to have more to do with the brightness and contrast of the LCD than any polarization effect. I may try a hood next - in playing around with the cam this afternoon I found that cupping my hand around the LCD seems to yield some improvement. So there's some hope there, I think.

By the way, when I was looking around online for hoods, I came across one which was actually a lens/hood combination which fits over the LCD, basically turning the LCD into a viewfinder. Have you seen this? It seems pretty extreme! I'm sure it would make the display easier to see, but I question how easy it would be to use since the weight would tend to make the LCD flip down. And even if it didn't you would have to have your eye right on it to use it. (And this would be more awkward than the regular viewfinder).

I have to agree that the LCD can be invaluable sometimes. In the past I would use the viewfinder if the LCD was too washed out. But now I find that with my DM-50 mic attached (which is almost always), its harder to use the viewfinder comfortably since the mic pokes me in the forehead.

Like I said, thanks for the feedback. I'll look into hoods next and see if I can find any improvement that way. Otherwise I'll just live with it like everyone else does!

Finally, I hope I'm not giving anyone the wrong impression. I love this cam! It's been a good all around choice for me and still takes great video. I've been very pleased with it.

Thanks,


Jeff

I understand from reviews I've read that the 100MC can be used in "pass-through" mode. I presume this means that I can connect analog A/V as input and output DV over 1394 to my PC, right?

But do I actually have to record the analog A/V to a miniDV tape and then playback the tape over 1394? Or can the transfer be done without this step...?

Thanks,

David

I'm not sure if the Op 100 has direct pass-through or not. It was never billed as one of that cam's features. Can you try it out and let us know?

But do I actually have to record the analog A/V to a miniDV tape and then playback the tape over 1394?

I don't believe the 100MC has pass-thru like you described in your first paragraph. I checked the manual and there is no mention of this capability and I'm pretty sure you'll need to record to tape first as I quoted you above. The Optura 200MC does have pass-thru.

Click here (http://consumer.usa.canon.com/app/pdf/dv/optura200mc_bro.pdf) for the Optura 200MC brochure.

I called Canon tech support and they said the 100MC DOES support pass-through, but I'm not very confident they knew what they were talking about. They said to set one of the VCR menu options to "DV" (and there is no such option).

Anyway, once I've got my 1394 adapter on my PC working again, I'm going to try it...

David

I also own an Optura100 and unfortunately, it doesn't have pass-through. AFAIK, Canon models that came out in 2002 finally had such feature (eg. Optura200).