We have just begun using two Canon XLH1 cameras in our church for the purpose of IMAGing. We were advised to purchase the Console software because it would allow us to shade the cameras. However, our experience has been that Console does not allow our camera operators to zoom and focus. Are we missing something? Is there a way that we can adjust white balance, etc while our camera operators still have control over zoom and focus?

Hi Douglas, welcome to DV Info Net.

I can confirm that manual zoom and focus control is indeed retained at the camera even while it is powered into Ext. Cont. mode and connected to a PC running Console. So yes, your camera operators will be able to control zoom and focus while other settings such as White Balance, etc. are managed remotely via Console elsewhere. Hope this helps,

Chris - Thanks for your response. A little more explanation... We are using the ZR-1000 Remote to zoom and focus. We would prefer not to have our camera operators having to reach around the camera to focus of zoom. We were looking (hoping) to maintain control zoom/focus with the ZR-1000... Is that possible?

-- doug

Hi Douglas, well apparently it is not possible, as I have just discovered myself. Like you, I am unable to get any response from a remote lens controller via the LANC jack while the camcorder is powered in Ext. Cont. mode and connected to a PC running Console. Which is a shame, because the "right way" to operate the camera is without touching it, using a remote lens controller as you have correctly pointed out. I have to wonder out loud why this situation exists... during Ext. Cont. mode, zoom and focus works at the camera but not over LANC, which does not seem to make much sense to me.