Canon GL2 Horizontal Banding

[Steve Zahn]

I have a 3 yr old GL2 that is driving me nuts with sporadic bouts of horizontal ‘banding’ and interlacing. This situation only happens when I turn on the camera and begin to record a scene. It doesn’t happen during the middle of recording a scene, only at the beginning of a scene. When I play back the tape, what I see is 10 horizontal bands across the screen, and the new video scene can be seen in every other band (5 in all), while the last image I shot is interlaced in the other 5 bands. This effect will usually clear up in 15 to 30 seconds of footage.

I’ve had the camera in for repairs 4 times in the past year, and nothing has fixed the problem. They’ve replaced the recording drum and head assembly, they’ve reprogrammed the software loaded on the video processor chip, and they’ve cleaned and recalibrated everything. The only thing they haven’t done is replace the processor chip itself. One thing to mention; I only use Sony premium DV tapes in this camera. The last time I got banding the camera was fresh out of the shop and I was using a brand new tape.

I’m curious if there are any DV Info members out there who have experienced the same problem with their GL2 and what was done to fix it.

Thank you!

[Jurgen Geevels]

I've heared things about bad reactions on sony tapes with canon camera's..

[Frank Simpson]

I've only ever used Sony tapes in all three of my GL2s and have never had a problem.

[Mike Donley]

You did not mention who did the repairs. Was it Canon?

[Travis Cossel]

I get the occasional banding that you are describing, but mine can occur at the beginning of a clip or anywhere in the middle. There doesn't seem to be any reason behind it.

Could you post how much your various repairs cost you, and who performed them?

[Steve Zahn]

Originally Posted by Travis Cossel

I get the occasional banding that you are describing, but mine can occur at the beginning of a clip or anywhere in the middle. There doesn't seem to be any reason behind it.

Could you post how much your various repairs cost you, and who performed them?

Of the four times I've had the camera repaired, Canon did the work two times. I'm up to about $700 in repairs now.

I tried a TDK tape this weekend and no problems yet....first time I've used a non-Sony tape in the camera since I bought it. Based on the feedback I received from another forum I posted on, it seems that Canon vidcams and Sony tapes aren't always compatible.

[Travis Cossel]

Originally Posted by Steve Zahn

Of the four times I've had the camera repaired, Canon did the work two times. I'm up to about $700 in repairs now.

I tried a TDK tape this weekend and no problems yet....first time I've used a non-Sony tape in the camera since I bought it. Based on the feedback I received from another forum I posted on, it seems that Canon vidcams and Sony tapes aren't always compatible.

Ouch. Sorry to hear that. I haven't really heard that Sony tapes are bad for Canon cameras, but I've always used Panasonic and been pretty happy with them.

[Ronnie Lindqvist]

Hi
Somebody (did not remember who) recommended me to never use Sonytapes on Canon camera. I have used Maxell and Fuji (and sometimes panasonic) and never had any problem.

All the Best
Ronnie

[Don Palomaki]

Most of what people say about tapes is Internet legend, and not based on fact. What I feel reasonably confident saying is:

There are only a few companies that make MiniDV tape (other just relabel it),
all brand-name tape is good,
but some batches of tape are better than others,
a camcorder may show a slight preference for certain brands (mainly due to specifics of the record current setup, but this is not an assured thing from one camcorder to the next),
the tape lubricant incompatibility issue between Sony and Panasonic was resolved in the 1990s,
however cleaning heads when changing brands is still a good idea for other reasons (involving mechanical properties of the tape) ,
higher price tape usually is subject to better quality control so it should have fewer drip-outs but that is not always assured,
drop outs tend to be higher in the first and last minute or so of a tape,
avoid using LP speed if you can,
some capture problems will rest with the PC, not the camcorder,
it is tape, a physical product subject to manufacturing variations and tollerances, so you will eventually encounter a tape with some defects, and
if YOU find a brand/model of tape YOU like, feel free to stick with it, but do not expect others to like it as much as you do.

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Don Palomaki

Most of what people say about tapes is Internet legend, and not based on fact. What I feel reasonably confident saying is:

There are only a few companies that make MiniDV tape (other just relabel it),
all brand-name tape is good,
but some batches of tape are better than others,
a camcorder may show a slight preference for certain brands (mainly due to specifics of the record current setup, but this is not an assured thing from one camcorder to the next),
the tape lubricant incompatibility issue between Sony and Panasonic was resolved in the 1990s,
however cleaning heads when changing brands is still a good idea for other reasons (involving mechanical properties of the tape) ,
higher price tape usually is subject to better quality control so it should have fewer drip-outs but that is not always assured,
drop outs tend to be higher in the first and last minute or so of a tape,
avoid using LP speed if you can,
some capture problems will rest with the PC, not the camcorder,
it is tape, a physical product subject to manufacturing variations and tollerances, so you will eventually encounter a tape with some defects, and
if YOU find a brand/model of tape YOU like, feel free to stick with it, but do not expect others to like it as much as you do.

Amen Don!!

[Steve Zahn]

Originally Posted by Don Palomaki

Most of what people say about tapes is Internet legend, and not based on fact. What I feel reasonably confident saying is:

There are only a few companies that make MiniDV tape (other just relabel it),
all brand-name tape is good,
but some batches of tape are better than others,
a camcorder may show a slight preference for certain brands (mainly due to specifics of the record current setup, but this is not an assured thing from one camcorder to the next),
the tape lubricant incompatibility issue between Sony and Panasonic was resolved in the 1990s,
however cleaning heads when changing brands is still a good idea for other reasons (involving mechanical properties of the tape) ,
higher price tape usually is subject to better quality control so it should have fewer drip-outs but that is not always assured,
drop outs tend to be higher in the first and last minute or so of a tape,
avoid using LP speed if you can,
some capture problems will rest with the PC, not the camcorder,
it is tape, a physical product subject to manufacturing variations and tollerances, so you will eventually encounter a tape with some defects, and
if YOU find a brand/model of tape YOU like, feel free to stick with it, but do not expect others to like it as much as you do.

No doubt there is an element of 'internet legend' to the Sony tape issue. nonethless, I have experienced thehorizontal banding problem using brand-new Sony tapes in TWO of my Canon vid cams , a GL2 and an Elura (and I never re-use tapes). I recently switched to a TDK tape in the GL2, and haven't had any problems in roughly 30 mins of recording. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[Dale Guthormsen]

Steve,

I have about 200 sony premimum tapes on the shelf, that is all I use. I have not experienced the banding issue while recording.

Interestingly, my camera shoots clean footage but in vcr mode the footage will show banding. the tape played on two other cameras in vcr mode and they do not show it. I have not bothered to send it in for repairs sense it shoots just fine and i use an 800 as a vcr player.

[Don Palomaki]

I recently switched to a TDK tape in the GL2, and haven't had any problems in roughly 30 mins of recording.

Better to make the judgement after 30 tapes, not 30 minutes.

my camera shoots clean footage but in vcr mode the footage will show banding.

Sounds like a marginally dirty head resulting in a slightly weaker recorded signal on tape and/or a reduced efficiency reading what is recorded on tape (but there could be other causes as well). A good cleaning might help.

[Dale Guthormsen]

Don,

I have always used a cleaning tape. After reading your post I thought, what do I have to lose, I ran the cleaning tape through the entire minute of the tape (they say only 10 seconds or you might ruin the heads).

Put it on the 54 inch plasma, NO BLOCKS or Bands!!


thank you for the simple comment, saved sending of the gl2!!!!

[Brian Olix]

They say on those tape cleaning kits, and in the Canon documentation, not to overdo the cleaning in a short period of time, or you'll damage the heads. Doing the full minute seems like a bad idea even if it gave immediate (but temporary?) good results?