Yet Another GL2 Horror Story

Steve Olds · September 12th, 2005, 07:41 AM

I would bet a six pack of beer that Canon reads this site. If they don't they should! Maybe someone from Canon will respond to these problems on DVinfo net some day . I'am sure that Chris Hurd has told the Canon people to check the site out when he has worked some shows with some factory reps. Good luck...Steve

Tague Hurley · September 12th, 2005, 01:02 PM

Im positive Canon, at least the people at the Irvine Service Center read this site. As I mentioned in my "horror story" the manager refered to postings I had made during my still ongoing fiasco. I think seeing the numbers this site pulls in helped put pressure on Canon to resolve my case in a quicker fashion than they had originally planned. I agree though it would be nice to hear Canon's take on this board.

Nathaniel McInnes · September 12th, 2005, 01:48 PM

i no this is stupid and everything but where were you using it? It sould like electromagnetic interferiance.

Greg Boston · September 12th, 2005, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tague Hurley

Im positive Canon, at least the people at the Irvine Service Center read this site. As I mentioned in my "horror story" the manager refered to postings I had made during my still ongoing fiasco. I think seeing the numbers this site pulls in helped put pressure on Canon to resolve my case in a quicker fashion than they had originally planned. I agree though it would be nice to hear Canon's take on this board.

Canon has a policy I'm told, that prohibits employees from posting here in representation of the company. That doesn't mean they don't read this stuff though.;-) So you won't be reading Canon's 'take' on any issues posted to this forum.

=gb=

Jay Gladwell · September 12th, 2005, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Johnston

If any of you have information on contacting Canon U.S.A. or the company CEO, please post. I will take charge as soon as I can aquire information.

Tom, I provided the info you asked for, and asked if you contacted them. Did you?

Jay

September 18th, 2005, 09:06 PM

Hello All!

I, yes I, must be by far the unluckiest GL2 owner that has ever walked the planet. Besides Phil, I was one of the first to report this problem to Canon (or so they tell me). Well, I won't get into it here. Check out this thread... there's video of it and all:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...light=Buerhaus

Basically, they replaced two cameras with the shut-down issue. For almost 7 months things were great! Then this started happening (audio problem):

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...light=Buerhaus

After sending the cameras back to me and slapping me with a $500 repair bill, after pulling them out of the box there was still the audio problem. They 'rigorously' test these things only to find 'factory spec'. I test it for 10 seconds and can duplicate the problem... video of which can also be found in that thread.

GUESS WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEKEND! One of the replacement cameras started shutting down mysteriously on me!

If these things weren't so expensive, they would have turned into footballs and I John Elway throwing downfield to no receivers.

It's obvious Canon simply does not care about these issues as it sounds like the GL2 is on its way out the door. They tell EVERYONE that 'this is new to us' and treat us like we're morons... basically playing stupid. The only way around this in my mind is a refund of any repair charges shelled out and maybe even a class action lawsuit. To be treated like this is wrong... flat out wrong.

I'm ready to throw in the towel... either Canon gets out the next generation cameras or off to Sony I go.

Dave Ferdinand · September 21st, 2005, 01:14 PM

This is really bizarre. I had my camera now for almost a year and never had any sort of problems, cassette error or random shutdown being the most famous.

It's like there was a certain batch of cameras that had the problems but Canon, instead of removing them from the market when the consumers sent them for repair, keeps them around.

I've had a cheapo JVC $600 camera for almost five years now and never had any sort of problems... just not acceptable on a $2.5k camera.

Collin Waldroff · October 3rd, 2005, 04:52 PM

I wouldn't be surprised if dealers aren't just swapping cameras either in some situations. Maybe this was happening to Tom. Remember they're on the hook for return shipping and costs too. Just a thought.

I've used my GL2 for the last 6 months, no problems yet either. Here's hoping.

Spike Spiegel · October 3rd, 2005, 06:49 PM

not to insult the canon gl2, but damn i love my vx2000. I bought it used , the person i bought it from had it for 2 years atleast, he babied it as he is a pro camera man. After i received it, i filmed an episode of a series in India, in quite possibly the most humid and hot place (as well as populated) in India. The primary was a canon gl1, that thing suffered tape errors like nobody's business. my camera being used, and never serviced it soldiered on through the shoots. it even stood up well against 300 degree + shots near tandoors (ovens). It sucks spending so much money on these things and not being able to spend time with them. I hope you contact the people in charge and let them know your problem.

Travis Auclair · October 11th, 2005, 01:32 PM

Add another one to the long list of people experiencing the same problem with the GL2. I am having the same power off problem as everyone. I had it in service for the problem and just got it back a couple of days ago. Needless to say, it has the same problem. I just found thread today after looking to see if anyone else has been experiencing this problem. Just to add, I have also experienced the ever popular "remove casette" promt as well as one more. When hooking the camera up to a computer (mac G5) along with my external hard drive, the computer won't recognize the hard drive. I will keep an eye on this ever growing list of responses to see if anything else comes up.

Never had a problem with a GL1 or an XL1

Joa Harrison · October 30th, 2005, 12:15 PM

It's this kind of info that we need... keep it up. i'm looking to buy a camera and now I'm seriously considering a VX2000 not because of the camera so much as because of the serious issues with Canon's customer service.

Joa

David Ennis · October 30th, 2005, 03:45 PM

The GL2 is shaping up as a classic case study in quality management. A potentially brilliant product plagued by defects in design and manufacturing.

The zoom rocker is clearly a bad design, just not robust enough to stand up to normal aging and wear. The transport is frail. I suspect that it has several failure modes, some mechanical and some in the controlling electronics.

The electronic failure modes in the transport and the auto shutoff problem could very well be caused by Electrostatic Discharge damage to semiconductor devices (i.e., assembly workers zapping them with accumulated static electricity in handling) if Canon manufacturing doesn't manage ESD issues properly. Finished camcorders can function normally during in-house testing with injured components that have latent defects which will manifest themselves over time. An even more common site of latent defects is the circuit board that the other components are mounted on. The cummulative effects of aging, thermal cycling and vibration expose things such as hairline cracks in the copper traces, and random micro "whiskers" of copper or solder trapped under the soldermask that lay between tracks just microinches shy of shorting them out. I spent a lot of years in the circuit board industry fighting those things. Troubleshooting these things in a complex finished product is a nightmare. High quality houses have learned to avoid them by doing some hard work up front.

Joa Harrison · October 30th, 2005, 03:52 PM

Does the GL1 have these issues?

Joa

Steve Olds · October 30th, 2005, 06:11 PM

It would be nice to have a live chat site in DV info net where from time to time a rep. from mfgs. would be invited to be online and chat about problems or anything that was new or old related to the DV world. Crazy thought I know!

Steve

Rus May · October 31st, 2005, 01:59 PM

At one point I was selling my GL2 kit, but then decided to keep it since I now have the time and resources to do so. I hope my GL2 doesn't start acting up on me.

September 12th, 2005, 01:02 PM	#17
Tague Hurley Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: La Jolla, CA Posts: 33	Im positive Canon, at least the people at the Irvine Service Center read this site. As I mentioned in my "horror story" the manager refered to postings I had made during my still ongoing fiasco. I think seeing the numbers this site pulls in helped put pressure on Canon to resolve my case in a quicker fashion than they had originally planned. I agree though it would be nice to hear Canon's take on this board. __________________ x______________

September 21st, 2005, 01:14 PM	#22
Dave Ferdinand Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 359	This is really bizarre. I had my camera now for almost a year and never had any sort of problems, cassette error or random shutdown being the most famous. It's like there was a certain batch of cameras that had the problems but Canon, instead of removing them from the market when the consumers sent them for repair, keeps them around. I've had a cheapo JVC $600 camera for almost five years now and never had any sort of problems... just not acceptable on a $2.5k camera. __________________ Do or do not, there is no try.

October 11th, 2005, 01:32 PM	#25
Travis Auclair Tourist Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1	Yet another GL2 Lemon Add another one to the long list of people experiencing the same problem with the GL2. I am having the same power off problem as everyone. I had it in service for the problem and just got it back a couple of days ago. Needless to say, it has the same problem. I just found thread today after looking to see if anyone else has been experiencing this problem. Just to add, I have also experienced the ever popular "remove casette" promt as well as one more. When hooking the camera up to a computer (mac G5) along with my external hard drive, the computer won't recognize the hard drive. I will keep an eye on this ever growing list of responses to see if anything else comes up. Never had a problem with a GL1 or an XL1

October 30th, 2005, 03:45 PM	#27
David Ennis Fred Retread Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Hartford, CT Posts: 1,227	The GL2 is shaping up as a classic case study in quality management. A potentially brilliant product plagued by defects in design and manufacturing. The zoom rocker is clearly a bad design, just not robust enough to stand up to normal aging and wear. The transport is frail. I suspect that it has several failure modes, some mechanical and some in the controlling electronics. The electronic failure modes in the transport and the auto shutoff problem could very well be caused by Electrostatic Discharge damage to semiconductor devices (i.e., assembly workers zapping them with accumulated static electricity in handling) if Canon manufacturing doesn't manage ESD issues properly. Finished camcorders can function normally during in-house testing with injured components that have latent defects which will manifest themselves over time. An even more common site of latent defects is the circuit board that the other components are mounted on. The cummulative effects of aging, thermal cycling and vibration expose things such as hairline cracks in the copper traces, and random micro "whiskers" of copper or solder trapped under the soldermask that lay between tracks just microinches shy of shorting them out. I spent a lot of years in the circuit board industry fighting those things. Troubleshooting these things in a complex finished product is a nightmare. High quality houses have learned to avoid them by doing some hard work up front. __________________ "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence..." - Calvin Coolidge "My brain is wired to want to know how other things are wired." - Me Last edited by David Ennis; October 30th, 2005 at 08:29 PM.

October 31st, 2005, 01:59 PM	#30
Rus May Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: New York City Posts: 29	At one point I was selling my GL2 kit, but then decided to keep it since I now have the time and resources to do so. I hope my GL2 doesn't start acting up on me. __________________ Canon GL2 - Canon WD58 - Sony 1.7X - Varizoom Stealth

September 12th, 2005, 07:41 AM	#16
Steve Olds Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Rolla, Mo Posts: 116	I would bet a six pack of beer that Canon reads this site. If they don't they should! Maybe someone from Canon will respond to these problems on DVinfo net some day . I'am sure that Chris Hurd has told the Canon people to check the site out when he has worked some shows with some factory reps. Good luck...Steve

September 12th, 2005, 01:48 PM	#18
Nathaniel McInnes Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Taffs well, Wales Posts: 190	i no this is stupid and everything but where were you using it? It sould like electromagnetic interferiance.

September 18th, 2005, 09:06 PM	#21
Guest Posts: n/a	Hello All! I, yes I, must be by far the unluckiest GL2 owner that has ever walked the planet. Besides Phil, I was one of the first to report this problem to Canon (or so they tell me). Well, I won't get into it here. Check out this thread... there's video of it and all: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...light=Buerhaus Basically, they replaced two cameras with the shut-down issue. For almost 7 months things were great! Then this started happening (audio problem): http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...light=Buerhaus After sending the cameras back to me and slapping me with a $500 repair bill, after pulling them out of the box there was still the audio problem. They 'rigorously' test these things only to find 'factory spec'. I test it for 10 seconds and can duplicate the problem... video of which can also be found in that thread. GUESS WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEKEND! One of the replacement cameras started shutting down mysteriously on me! If these things weren't so expensive, they would have turned into footballs and I John Elway throwing downfield to no receivers. It's obvious Canon simply does not care about these issues as it sounds like the GL2 is on its way out the door. They tell EVERYONE that 'this is new to us' and treat us like we're morons... basically playing stupid. The only way around this in my mind is a refund of any repair charges shelled out and maybe even a class action lawsuit. To be treated like this is wrong... flat out wrong. I'm ready to throw in the towel... either Canon gets out the next generation cameras or off to Sony I go.

October 3rd, 2005, 04:52 PM	#23
Collin Waldroff New Boot Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 5	I wouldn't be surprised if dealers aren't just swapping cameras either in some situations. Maybe this was happening to Tom. Remember they're on the hook for return shipping and costs too. Just a thought. I've used my GL2 for the last 6 months, no problems yet either. Here's hoping.

October 3rd, 2005, 06:49 PM	#24
Spike Spiegel Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 429	not to insult the canon gl2, but damn i love my vx2000. I bought it used , the person i bought it from had it for 2 years atleast, he babied it as he is a pro camera man. After i received it, i filmed an episode of a series in India, in quite possibly the most humid and hot place (as well as populated) in India. The primary was a canon gl1, that thing suffered tape errors like nobody's business. my camera being used, and never serviced it soldiered on through the shoots. it even stood up well against 300 degree + shots near tandoors (ovens). It sucks spending so much money on these things and not being able to spend time with them. I hope you contact the people in charge and let them know your problem.

October 30th, 2005, 12:15 PM	#26
Joa Harrison Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 31	It's this kind of info that we need... keep it up. i'm looking to buy a camera and now I'm seriously considering a VX2000 not because of the camera so much as because of the serious issues with Canon's customer service. Joa

October 30th, 2005, 03:52 PM	#28
Joa Harrison Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 31	Does the GL1 have these issues? Joa

October 30th, 2005, 06:11 PM	#29
Steve Olds Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Rolla, Mo Posts: 116	It would be nice to have a live chat site in DV info net where from time to time a rep. from mfgs. would be invited to be online and chat about problems or anything that was new or old related to the DV world. Crazy thought I know! Steve