Various GL1 / XM1 questions

[Martin Redfern]

EDITING - has anyone encountered a problem with split files when capturing using an EDIUS system?
If I use the NX card setting and firewire connection, when capturing and having selected 'no divided files' it does divide / split the capture into 1 second clips. Someone informed me that it is due to a setting in the Canon to do with data stream.
I need to know what can be altered to stop this.

Regards,

[Nick Mavropoulos]

I had this same problem (actually, mine would also zoom out on its own... thought mostly it would zoom in) happen to me a year or two after I purchased my GL-1. It was still under the extended warranty at that time so I took it in to the Jamesburg Canon office, and they did some work on it. The problem seemed to be gone, but then came back maybe six months later, though I think not as severely as before I took it in.

If you ever figure out what it is, I'd appreciate it if you posted your findings (or just message me)

[Don Palomaki]

Hot pixels are a possible issue when shooting at slow shutter speeds and with gain is used; i.e., shooting in poor light. They should not appear in images with average content with shutter of 1/60 or faster and 0 dB gain, and usually fiorst appear in deep shadow areas. High temperatures can make they more apparent.

Can't say whether or not they will get worse over time, but you may want to warn the buyer with some specific notes as to when they may be apparent.

[Don Donatello]

from my experience .. if you do see hot pixels at shutter speeds below 1/200 - you might leave the camera ON for 1 1/2 - 2hr and see if they start showing at any speed ... also i find you see them better using interlace mode and 0 gain ( after camera is on for 1 hr)
i've had nothing but problems with hot pixels over the years ... it's a good thing i bought a GE service contract ... from 2001 - 2006 they replace the CCD's 3 or was it 4 times ?? .. my GE contract expired last Dec 14 - lucky i had the camera in for repairing hot pixels on Dec 11th ... they are still trying to fix it 7 months later ... this year they were replaced in Feb , April & May and i still have hot pixels ( yes 3 times .. 3rd party repair shops blame it on faulty Canon CCD's ) ... just yesterday they approved $793 for Canon to replace the CCD's ...
i don't get it ?? they have put more $$ into repairing the camera this year then it is worth BUT what can i say but THANK YOU GE ... i guess i can say GE has a excellent service contract !!!!

[Connor Grimes]

the same has been happening to me but one day it just stopped doing it..but this problem needs to be solved.

[Bill Hardy]

I'm having the same problem with my 1 year old G2, but my rocker zoom does not work at all. The handle zoom works untill the "auto zoom" takes over, then nothing works till I shut the thing off and then back on.

[Don Palomaki]

Might be caused by bad contacts on the rocker switch.

[Tony Neal]

I had this problem with my XM1 a couple of years ago when recording some stage shows. The zoom just kept doing its own thing in the middle of the performance and I had to fight for control of the lens.

Strangely, it only happened at 2 venues which were within a few hundred yards of the police HQ, where they were testing a new secure radio system at about the same time. I blamed RF intereference at the time, but was never able to prove it.

[Zachary Kent]

My church uses a Canon GL1 to record the weekly services. Right now there is NO post-production being done so its being recored live to a DVD burner directly from the camera. How do I get the GL1 to operate without needing a tape actively recording in the camera? It goes to sleep on me if I aren't recording. For now I am just recycling the same tapes each week but I know there must be a setting for this.

[Chris Hurd]

Sorry but there's no way around that on the old GL1.

[Mike Donley]

I believe that it can be accomplished by leaving the tape door open. This is a crude work-around, and it can subject the inside of the camera to excessive contaminants.

[Tony Albelo]

I just bought a used GL1. The camera works in every respect except:

There are some black bars on the left and right side. This does not show up on the LCD or viewfiner. It only shows up when I download the video.
- This happens in 4:3 and 16:9
- I tried with PPro and Windows Movie Maker's capture and results are the same.

Questions:
- Is this normal for all GL1's ?
- If it is, what is the best solution for removing in post?
- Is there a way to capture WITHOUT the back bars?

I imagine the simple solution is to crop by increasing the size of the image, but then EVERYTHING on the timeline would have to be rendered. And that sucks.

HELP!!

[Don Palomaki]

An old question. You can find several threads on this issue here and in the XL1 forum.

The black bars correspond to the "overscan" area with normal TV sets. You do not see it on a TV. The bars are well out of the "action safe" part of the image, amounting to 8 pixels at each end of the scan line. It equates to a true 4:3 aspect ratio for a 480 line NTSC image, and is one of several standard standard formats.

However, overscan concept does not apply in the world of PC, so you do see the black bars on a computer with video shot on an older camcorders such as the GL1 or XL1.

How to deal with it depends on your NLE and what you are delivering. For most purposes producing video for display on a TV set you can usually ignore it.

The bars are in the video stream from the tape, so you get them if you do a IEEE-1394 (firewire) capture.

.

[Tony Albelo]

Thanks for the reply. Since I rely heavily on my content being delivered to the web, the black lines are a big deal.

Thanks for the input.

[Ivan Mosny]

I try to remember, but i am not sure... it will works, if you use the camera on Power Supply and without tape inside.