Well, I guess there's something in the air this time of year that DV cameras don't like. I see where Mike Rehmus had to send his PD-150 in for repair and my XL1S also left last week for the second service in 12 months. This time it's eating tapes on rewind, a problem I've seen reported here, but not for quite some time. I'm also experiencing pixelation and the same banding type problem that caused the first repair. Repeated use of a head cleaning tape doesn't seem to help at all. Canon replaced the drum assembly to fix the pixelation/banding problems last year and while reduced, the problem never fully went away.

This tape jam on rewind started in October, just a month before the warrantee expired, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to get it in until now. I'm really going to be bummed if this turns out to be an expensive repair.

Oh well --- thanks for letting me vent a bit. Hopefully this won't be an indication of how the rest of the year will go. The camera was due for an annual checkup/service anyway, so hopefully it won't need to be returned again for another year.

Ed -- please let us know how it turns out. Good luck,

Hey Ed,

I had the same problem with a brand new unit. Turns out it was the tapes. I was trying out a five pack of Panasonic LP's. I thought the first one was a fluke but then I lost a second and third. I put in a Sony 60 minute and no problems.

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the comment. I'm not ruling that possibility out since I had used nothing but Panasonic MQs initially (about 100 tapes) and shortly after switching to the PQs the rewind problems started. This camera has always had excessive drop-outs in my opinion. I had ordered 50 of the PQs and I'm about out, so will probably go back to MQs with the next order.

Chris - I just got an email from Jamesburg. $193.83 to clean the lens (grit in focus and zoom rings) and $268.38 for the tape transport repair. These labor only estimates are after initial external examination and are subject to additional charges. No further details were provided. I'm hopeful that cleaning and adjustment is all that's required. I'll be calling them tomorrow to authorize the repairs and see what else they can tell me.

If all it needs is cleaning and adjustment, don't we get some sort of discount on that as part of the XL1 Owners Club Membership? $460+ seems a bit steep considering they haven't mentioned anything specific (yet)!

>>This camera has always had excessive drop-outs in my opinion. <<

That's why I switched to MQ tapes. Still get drop-outs on my XL-1, but not as many. (Besides, the white cases are cool.)

I think it must be an XL-1 "feature"!

I use nothing but Sony DVCAM tapes and I have never had a drop out with my XL1s!

Regards.