GL-2 Questions

Ken Tanaka · August 26th, 2002, 02:03 PM

Jeff,
Why should she endure the absurd hassle to repair a -brand new camera-?! If you "...bought a car that got 2 miles per gallon" you wouldn't repair it, you'd take it back and demand a new one.

Heidi:
"But what's the chance that if I return this camera (and get another GL2) I won't have other/different problems? This is my fear..."

If the source of your dissatisfaction is intrinsic to the design, then you will discover the truth. "Fearing" getting a camera with another problem? Uh, doesn't that strike you as just a bit silly? Simple solution: take/send it back.

Good luck, again, Heidi. I've said all I can constructively say on the subject. I hope you find a satisfactory video camera solution before you lose enthusiasm for whatever you were originally going to shoot.

Heidi Willoughby · August 26th, 2002, 02:06 PM

Peter:

Thank you very much.

I'm also wondering, how do things look in the viewfinder to you compared to the actual shot? My viewfinder appears warmer than the "real thing" and the actual shot on tape.

BTW, I agree about the yellow and orange, that's where I'm having trouble too! "Out of the box" (no white balance) the picture appears to almost have a blue/grey cast to me.

Jeff:

Thank you for your quick answer. I feel like your idea may be a good solution, since this way, a real person will look at the camera, I won't just be buying another random on off the shelf.

Your idea of including a tape is a good one, too.

Any idea of what kind of wait time to expect?

Hopefully yours,

-H

Jeff Donald · August 26th, 2002, 04:41 PM

I would think 2 to 3 weeks depending on how you ship it and weekends and all. In your letter give them day and evening phone numbers and you might even want to provide them with a link to the GL2 threads here. It might provide them with a little incentive. As always, keep us posted.

Jeff

Steve McDonald · August 26th, 2002, 10:29 PM

Actually, the one time I sent a camcorder to a Canon-operated repair center, they did good work and even replaced an entire lens without any charge or argument about how it got damaged. But, when I sent another unit off to two different Canon-authorized, but independent repair shops, the service was non-existent, the first 3 of 4 times I had to ship it out of town to them.

The camera section was completely dead, but one shop had it twice and sent it back unfixed, pronouncing that it worked perfectly. The second shop did the same the first time and only after I had an intense phone conversation with the repairman, did I get him to notice that although the VTR worked fine, the camera was dead. He then replaced about 80 capacitors and other parts and it worked again. This took 5 months and I spent $150. on shipping and insurance. The shops collected money from the extended warranty company, for each of the 4 times. Imagine how angry and frustrated anyone would be, if they had to pay for all this themselves, as well as losing the use of their main camera that long.

The extended warranty I now have on an ailing Sony camcorder is accepted by a local repair shop and I will be able to breathe down their necks, if they don't get it fixed just right.

I'd recommend that any purchase of an extended warranty be preceded by a survey of local repair shops. Make sure that they will honor it and take responsibility for either fixing equipment themselves or shipping it to a manufacturer's service center at no expense to you.

Peter Butler · August 27th, 2002, 03:52 AM

Yeah Heidi I've noticed that as well, the viewfinder is a lot richer in colour, reds are very rich. You get a lot truer picture from the flip out screen. Actually can you adjust the viewfinder, I think you can adjust the brightness but what about colour? I'd check the instuctions but I'm at work at the moment.

Peter B

Chris Hurd · August 27th, 2002, 09:24 AM

You can shift the color saturation of the viewfinder. It's in the display setup menu. Simply adjust it to match what you see on a monitor. Hope this helps,

Peter Butler · August 27th, 2002, 09:41 AM

Cheers Chris I thougt you'd probably be able to.

Peter B

Blake Haber · August 27th, 2002, 10:00 PM

Hi. I sort of hate to say this for the third time in three weeks on this same thread, but I feel compelled to!

Proof that Heidi's GL-2 is broken is that when she does a manual adjust of the WB and the WB icon keeps flashing slowly rather than doing a solid lock, she gets NO ADJUSTMENT OF THE WB!

On a properly operating unit (like mine, for example), there will be DEFINITE and even RADICAL change in the WB when you press that button but the icon keeps flashing.

In other words, her WB function is clearly busted. And that is a bad thing! Does this make sense?

Your unit is not functioning properly and MUST BE RETURNED.

Good luck!

b

Joshua Wachs · September 3rd, 2002, 10:50 AM

what was the final outcome?

-- Schwa, who was out of town for a week.

Heidi Willoughby · September 3rd, 2002, 07:56 PM

I'm currently in the midst of writing a letter to the Canon service people.

Despite some opinions here, I've decided to send my GL2 back to Canon and have them check it.

Once I get a little further with the letter (this weekend), I may send another post to make sure that I've mentioned everything I should (in the letter) and asked for everything appropriate.

'til then, and thank you!

Heidi

Heidi Willoughby · September 8th, 2002, 06:39 AM

Hello,

So, as some of you may know, I'm about to send my GL2 back to the service center to have the color (color calibration, manual white balance, and Custom Presets) checked out. I seem to be having problems with the color in natural light (indoors and outdoors).

My question is, do you think it would be helpful to send them a tape too?

If I do send them a test tape, what should I include? Should I shoot something with the auto white balance and then with a manual white balance? Is the manual white balance comparison necessary? Anything else?

At first I though sending a tape would be a nice idea, now I'm not sure.

I'm wondering/thinking that they will probably only check the color against their color bars and an oscilliscope. Also, if I send a tape, how will they know the REAL color of my house? (It's red, but the camera sees it as brown).

Any tips/suggestions would be great.

Thanks!

-Heidi

Michael Connor · January 27th, 2004, 08:24 PM

Wll this thread continued has taken me over 3 hours to read. And around 2 Yeasr after it was posted.....What did happen Heidi!???!!!

Rob Zeigler · January 27th, 2004, 10:34 PM

Michael,

I'm sorry I can't tell you what happened (as I don't know either), but I find your post to be quite funny. : )

It's almost as if you spent three hours reading a great novel, and you got all the way to the end. Just as you were about to reach that magnificent plot revelation...it turns out the last page was never written!

Oops...hehe. : ) Let's hope someone has an answer as I found myself reading a lot of this "novel" also...

Michael Connor · January 28th, 2004, 08:12 AM

lol. I was waiting all of the way through for someone to say something really stupid, and wind heidi up, i felt a heaviness that needed to be broken, and a bit pride! But they were questions that needed to be asked in order to establish the answer to a tricky problem and i think its great the way people kept making efforts all the way through. I suspect some peoples responses were removed and thats why the thread broke down. None the less, im intrigued, and admire her stamina, emailed her personally to see what the outcome was. Ive a friend who sung the praises of the vdx2000 but i bought an xm2 to rebel against sonys prices and stingy zoom, so i kinda got cought up in the 'best camera' hookline, which really doesnt help get better pictures, but all the technical stuff does! Was some great stuff there. I learnt a fair bit there, and feel more knowlegeable about the cameras functions. The XM2 is fab. Hopefully posted soon will be a 'homemade' idea that rocks... but i have to see if it works before i post it, in the 'homemade accesories' thread.

August 26th, 2002, 02:03 PM	#46
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Jeff, Why should she endure the absurd hassle to repair a -brand new camera-?! If you "...bought a car that got 2 miles per gallon" you wouldn't repair it, you'd take it back and demand a new one. Heidi: "But what's the chance that if I return this camera (and get another GL2) I won't have other/different problems? This is my fear..." If the source of your dissatisfaction is intrinsic to the design, then you will discover the truth. "Fearing" getting a camera with another problem? Uh, doesn't that strike you as just a bit silly? Simple solution: take/send it back. Good luck, again, Heidi. I've said all I can constructively say on the subject. I hope you find a satisfactory video camera solution before you lose enthusiasm for whatever you were originally going to shoot. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

August 26th, 2002, 02:06 PM	#47
Heidi Willoughby Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 42	Peter, Jeff Peter: Thank you very much. I'm also wondering, how do things look in the viewfinder to you compared to the actual shot? My viewfinder appears warmer than the "real thing" and the actual shot on tape. BTW, I agree about the yellow and orange, that's where I'm having trouble too! "Out of the box" (no white balance) the picture appears to almost have a blue/grey cast to me. Jeff: Thank you for your quick answer. I feel like your idea may be a good solution, since this way, a real person will look at the camera, I won't just be buying another random on off the shelf. Your idea of including a tape is a good one, too. Any idea of what kind of wait time to expect? Hopefully yours, -H

August 26th, 2002, 10:29 PM	#49
Steve McDonald Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Eugene, Oregon Posts: 366	Actually, the one time I sent a camcorder to a Canon-operated repair center, they did good work and even replaced an entire lens without any charge or argument about how it got damaged. But, when I sent another unit off to two different Canon-authorized, but independent repair shops, the service was non-existent, the first 3 of 4 times I had to ship it out of town to them. The camera section was completely dead, but one shop had it twice and sent it back unfixed, pronouncing that it worked perfectly. The second shop did the same the first time and only after I had an intense phone conversation with the repairman, did I get him to notice that although the VTR worked fine, the camera was dead. He then replaced about 80 capacitors and other parts and it worked again. This took 5 months and I spent $150. on shipping and insurance. The shops collected money from the extended warranty company, for each of the 4 times. Imagine how angry and frustrated anyone would be, if they had to pay for all this themselves, as well as losing the use of their main camera that long. The extended warranty I now have on an ailing Sony camcorder is accepted by a local repair shop and I will be able to breathe down their necks, if they don't get it fixed just right. I'd recommend that any purchase of an extended warranty be preceded by a survey of local repair shops. Make sure that they will honor it and take responsibility for either fixing equipment themselves or shipping it to a manufacturer's service center at no expense to you. __________________ Steve McDonald

August 27th, 2002, 09:24 AM	#51
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	You can shift the color saturation of the viewfinder. It's in the display setup menu. Simply adjust it to match what you see on a monitor. Hope this helps, __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

September 3rd, 2002, 10:50 AM	#54
Joshua Wachs Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 95	So... what was the final outcome? -- Schwa, who was out of town for a week.

August 26th, 2002, 04:41 PM	#48
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I would think 2 to 3 weeks depending on how you ship it and weekends and all. In your letter give them day and evening phone numbers and you might even want to provide them with a link to the GL2 threads here. It might provide them with a little incentive. As always, keep us posted. Jeff

August 27th, 2002, 03:52 AM	#50
Peter Butler Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 61	Yeah Heidi I've noticed that as well, the viewfinder is a lot richer in colour, reds are very rich. You get a lot truer picture from the flip out screen. Actually can you adjust the viewfinder, I think you can adjust the brightness but what about colour? I'd check the instuctions but I'm at work at the moment. Peter B

August 27th, 2002, 09:41 AM	#52
Peter Butler Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 61	Cheers Chris I thougt you'd probably be able to. Peter B

August 27th, 2002, 10:00 PM	#53
Blake Haber Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 34	Hi. I sort of hate to say this for the third time in three weeks on this same thread, but I feel compelled to! Proof that Heidi's GL-2 is broken is that when she does a manual adjust of the WB and the WB icon keeps flashing slowly rather than doing a solid lock, she gets NO ADJUSTMENT OF THE WB! On a properly operating unit (like mine, for example), there will be DEFINITE and even RADICAL change in the WB when you press that button but the icon keeps flashing. In other words, her WB function is clearly busted. And that is a bad thing! Does this make sense? Your unit is not functioning properly and MUST BE RETURNED. Good luck! b

September 3rd, 2002, 07:56 PM	#55
Heidi Willoughby Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 42	Hello everyone, I'm currently in the midst of writing a letter to the Canon service people. Despite some opinions here, I've decided to send my GL2 back to Canon and have them check it. Once I get a little further with the letter (this weekend), I may send another post to make sure that I've mentioned everything I should (in the letter) and asked for everything appropriate. 'til then, and thank you! Heidi

September 8th, 2002, 06:39 AM	#56
Heidi Willoughby Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 42	Sending my GL2 to service center Hello, So, as some of you may know, I'm about to send my GL2 back to the service center to have the color (color calibration, manual white balance, and Custom Presets) checked out. I seem to be having problems with the color in natural light (indoors and outdoors). My question is, do you think it would be helpful to send them a tape too? If I do send them a test tape, what should I include? Should I shoot something with the auto white balance and then with a manual white balance? Is the manual white balance comparison necessary? Anything else? At first I though sending a tape would be a nice idea, now I'm not sure. I'm wondering/thinking that they will probably only check the color against their color bars and an oscilliscope. Also, if I send a tape, how will they know the REAL color of my house? (It's red, but the camera sees it as brown). Any tips/suggestions would be great. Thanks! -Heidi

January 27th, 2004, 08:24 PM	#57
Michael Connor Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Durham, England Posts: 138	Wll this thread continued has taken me over 3 hours to read. And around 2 Yeasr after it was posted.....What did happen Heidi!???!!! __________________ StMichael

January 27th, 2004, 10:34 PM	#58
Rob Zeigler Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 87	Michael, I'm sorry I can't tell you what happened (as I don't know either), but I find your post to be quite funny. : ) It's almost as if you spent three hours reading a great novel, and you got all the way to the end. Just as you were about to reach that magnificent plot revelation...it turns out the last page was never written! Oops...hehe. : ) Let's hope someone has an answer as I found myself reading a lot of this "novel" also... __________________ Rob Zeigler http://www.robzeigler.com

January 28th, 2004, 08:12 AM	#59
Michael Connor Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Durham, England Posts: 138	lol. I was waiting all of the way through for someone to say something really stupid, and wind heidi up, i felt a heaviness that needed to be broken, and a bit pride! But they were questions that needed to be asked in order to establish the answer to a tricky problem and i think its great the way people kept making efforts all the way through. I suspect some peoples responses were removed and thats why the thread broke down. None the less, im intrigued, and admire her stamina, emailed her personally to see what the outcome was. Ive a friend who sung the praises of the vdx2000 but i bought an xm2 to rebel against sonys prices and stingy zoom, so i kinda got cought up in the 'best camera' hookline, which really doesnt help get better pictures, but all the technical stuff does! Was some great stuff there. I learnt a fair bit there, and feel more knowlegeable about the cameras functions. The XM2 is fab. Hopefully posted soon will be a 'homemade' idea that rocks... but i have to see if it works before i post it, in the 'homemade accesories' thread. __________________ StMichael