horizontal banding in noise

Don Palomaki · April 20th, 2007, 04:33 AM

What kind of battery are you using? Some batteries may produce more heat than others.

How was the camcorder supported? Anything unusual to limit air flow around the base?

Kris Bird · April 20th, 2007, 05:07 AM

Thanks so much Lloyd, that's exactly what I needed! The bottom of my unit 'does' get warm, and the banding noise is epileptic strobing at 18-36db (when the camera is fully heated up) .. note that if I have the camera on -3db for ~20 mins, then switch to 18+db, I get the banding strobing effect .. it's 'not' caused by running high gain for prolonged periods, it seems to be heat. The banding becomes visible all the way down to -3 (although it's faint).

I'll post footage for reference, just in case someone else has the same frustrating search for answers. I'm certain now that it's faulty. I was delayed in capturing footage as the cam won't communicate with windows 2003- I've now checked that the banding interference 'is' indeed recorded to tape.

Thanks for the help narrowing it down Don, but the cam was in normal conditions, hand-held or on a tripod, battery was the standard one that it came with ... This is in Scotland, so ambient temperatures are pretty low, including footage outdoors at night (with gain tested between -3 and +12).

Sorry to everyone if this wasn't explained clearly, but got there in the end.

Doug Graham · April 20th, 2007, 06:38 AM

"the cam won't communicate with windows 2003"

I'm not familiar with that version of Windows.

Kris Bird · April 20th, 2007, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug Graham

"the cam won't communicate with windows 2003"

I'm not familiar with that version of Windows.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/

Kurt Hentschlager · April 23rd, 2007, 02:16 AM

"I've noticed a phenominon that affects all levels of gain, that is linked to how long the cam has been on, and that is 'extremely' visible at 36db, and becomes more subtle as you go down."

Same with my camera, definite horizontal banding effect, that diminishes as gain is reduced. Thought it was a normal tradeoff but clearly makes everything above 6db unusable other than for "special effects". its visibe with the camera on power supply or battery, so don't think it has to do with heat, its there anyway the moment I switch on the camera.

Kris Bird · April 23rd, 2007, 07:44 AM

Kurt, very interesting ... I'm currently arranging to return my cam, as Lloyd's message convinced me that it was a defect .. I figured that it's so obvious (at 12db+) that people must have noticed it, if it were normal ...

now I'm confused ;)

Agreed, it makes 12db unusable .. 12db on my XL2s was fine- bit noisy, but certainly didnt 'band'... I can handle the noise no problem, but the banding sticks out for me like a sore thumb

Don Palomaki · April 23rd, 2007, 08:04 AM

Quote:

"the cam won't communicate with windows 2003"

No surprise. Not all versions of Windows have equal driver support, and from what I've seen, server versions often may not have the same level AV driver support as desktop/workstation versions. All this is market driven no doubt.

Kurt Hentschlager · April 23rd, 2007, 10:45 AM

Kris, affirmative, will do the same and bring it in, in 3 weeks , once back from a tour. Please post an update if your cam gets fixed in the meanwhile, very curious if Canon knows of the problem, there are probably a few more "noise bands" out there.

Kurt Hentschlager · July 1st, 2007, 06:44 PM

Hi Kris,

was wondering whether you got your camera fixed in the meanwhile, respectively what Canon's comment was reagrding the banding issue?
I still haven't had time to send mine in.

thanks

Kurt

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kris Bird

Kurt, very interesting ... I'm currently arranging to return my cam, as Lloyd's message convinced me that it was a defect .. I figured that it's so obvious (at 12db+) that people must have noticed it, if it were normal ...

now I'm confused ;)

Agreed, it makes 12db unusable .. 12db on my XL2s was fine- bit noisy, but certainly didnt 'band'... I can handle the noise no problem, but the banding sticks out for me like a sore thumb

Daniel Browning · July 2nd, 2007, 09:07 AM

I shot a big, early fireworks show on June 30th. I used -3db and had the camera on for about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Towards the end, I could *easily* see the epileptic inducing strobing bands, which was very annoying. The noise did seem higher than usual as well.

April 20th, 2007, 04:33 AM	#16
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	What kind of battery are you using? Some batteries may produce more heat than others. How was the camcorder supported? Anything unusual to limit air flow around the base? __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

April 20th, 2007, 06:38 AM	#18
Doug Graham Video Bear Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Stafford, VA, USA Posts: 45	"the cam won't communicate with windows 2003" I'm not familiar with that version of Windows. __________________ Regards, Doug Graham

April 20th, 2007, 05:07 AM	#17
Kris Bird Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: UK Posts: 173	Thanks so much Lloyd, that's exactly what I needed! The bottom of my unit 'does' get warm, and the banding noise is epileptic strobing at 18-36db (when the camera is fully heated up) .. note that if I have the camera on -3db for ~20 mins, then switch to 18+db, I get the banding strobing effect .. it's 'not' caused by running high gain for prolonged periods, it seems to be heat. The banding becomes visible all the way down to -3 (although it's faint). I'll post footage for reference, just in case someone else has the same frustrating search for answers. I'm certain now that it's faulty. I was delayed in capturing footage as the cam won't communicate with windows 2003- I've now checked that the banding interference 'is' indeed recorded to tape. Thanks for the help narrowing it down Don, but the cam was in normal conditions, hand-held or on a tripod, battery was the standard one that it came with ... This is in Scotland, so ambient temperatures are pretty low, including footage outdoors at night (with gain tested between -3 and +12). Sorry to everyone if this wasn't explained clearly, but got there in the end.

April 23rd, 2007, 02:16 AM	#20
Kurt Hentschlager Tourist Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Jersey City, NJ Posts: 4	"I've noticed a phenominon that affects all levels of gain, that is linked to how long the cam has been on, and that is 'extremely' visible at 36db, and becomes more subtle as you go down." Same with my camera, definite horizontal banding effect, that diminishes as gain is reduced. Thought it was a normal tradeoff but clearly makes everything above 6db unusable other than for "special effects". its visibe with the camera on power supply or battery, so don't think it has to do with heat, its there anyway the moment I switch on the camera.

April 23rd, 2007, 07:44 AM	#21
Kris Bird Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: UK Posts: 173	Kurt, very interesting ... I'm currently arranging to return my cam, as Lloyd's message convinced me that it was a defect .. I figured that it's so obvious (at 12db+) that people must have noticed it, if it were normal ... now I'm confused ;) Agreed, it makes 12db unusable .. 12db on my XL2s was fine- bit noisy, but certainly didnt 'band'... I can handle the noise no problem, but the banding sticks out for me like a sore thumb

April 23rd, 2007, 10:45 AM	#23
Kurt Hentschlager Tourist Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Jersey City, NJ Posts: 4	Kris, affirmative, will do the same and bring it in, in 3 weeks , once back from a tour. Please post an update if your cam gets fixed in the meanwhile, very curious if Canon knows of the problem, there are probably a few more "noise bands" out there.

July 2nd, 2007, 09:07 AM	#25
Daniel Browning Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 949	I shot a big, early fireworks show on June 30th. I used -3db and had the camera on for about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Towards the end, I could easily see the epileptic inducing strobing bands, which was very annoying. The noise did seem higher than usual as well.