My 7 month old GL2 that has performed without a hitch just threw me a little curve ball. After playing a tape to a unused spot for recording the loading mechanism started making a noise that was definately not there yesterday. It sounds like it is under load or the battery is barely giving it enough juice to do its job. All my batteries are in great shape and the camera plays and fastforwards without any problems. I have decided not to record or mess with it until I can have it looked at. Its still under warranty but I dont want to send it back to Canon because of the turn around time. Oh, and the camera also makes this noise when it moves from fast fwd, rew, and play to rec. pause. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Im in the Seattle area so I would like to find a good Canon approved shop that can help me out under warranty.
When I used a JVC approved shop to repair a previous camera they ended up screwing it up even worse and sayinig it wasnt their fault. So I am a little nervous about who works on it.
Has this noise happened to anyone else?

I don't have much advice for you, I'm afraid.

Is it possible that the noise could be caused by a faulty tape cassette? I think you should play with it. If it is clearly broken, there's not much you can do, other than get it repaired. I don't have any experience with Canon's authorized service, so I can't give you help there, but I will be watching this thread to see what others say. I have had very good experiences with Olympus and Sony warranty service, but it wasn't for prosumer video equipment.

Good luck to you, from a fellow GL2 owner.

Ryan,
This is nothing fixable here. Best to contact Canon Service (http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ServiceLocatorAct&fcategoryid=227&modelid=7512).

the tape loading mechanism makes this noise with or without a tape. It sounds like it just isnt operating smoothly anymore.
Off to Canon service I go.