Color LCD viewfinder

Stuart Brontman · August 26th, 2003, 10:02 AM

HELP!

I'm about to sell my XL-1, but have some missing pixel areas in the viewfinder. They look like 2-3 small white areas in the lower right area of the viewfinder screen. At most, they cover 3-4% of the entire viewfinder, but they are noticable. These are not in the CCDs - just the viewfinder. They're probably caused by sun exposure when I first got the XL-1.

Years ago when I bought the camera, Joe Bogacz of Canon told me they would replace defective viewfinders for no charge. I just never got around to it... the missing pixels didn't really bother me.

Does anyone know if Canon will still fix this problem? I've tried to contact Joe and others at Canon, but I can't get any return of my calls. The buyer of the camera is waiting, since I promised him I would get it fixed before shipping it to him.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Stuart

Jeff Donald · August 26th, 2003, 12:38 PM

I doubt they will fix it under warranty, but they might. Send it in and see what they say. Usually a certain number of dead pixels in the LCD are considered within manufacturing tolerance. Dead pixels in the CCD are usually covered with no problem if within the warranty period. I would just send it to Canon service with an explanation of the events and see what they say. Good luck.

Chris Powell · September 13th, 2003, 05:28 PM

The XL1 viewfinder looks too bright and whites out detail when viewing either new or recorded footage. The camera still plays back to TV etc without any noticeable anomalies.

The camera got damp when caught in a sudden storm a while back but after a spell in the airing cupboard all worked perfectly and nothing seemed amiss for the next month or more.

Ideas anyone?

Jeff Donald · September 13th, 2003, 06:00 PM

Have you tried adjusting the brightness control, on the bottom of VF, behind the cover. I don't have my camera in front of me to double check the location. You'll see it.

Don Palomaki · September 13th, 2003, 06:01 PM

You can adjust the brightness of the viewfinder display if that is the issue. See page 67 of the NTSC manual.

Chris Powell · September 14th, 2003, 08:46 AM

Hi
The brightness is at its limit and, although it has improved it a little, the detail seen is not enough to allow manual focusing.

I've had the camera in use this afternoon - greens lean heavily toward yellow and I am pretty sure the picture worsened as time went by.

Red kites flying against a blue sky should have been easy but it could all have been white cloud fo all i could see of it.

Any further thoughts gratefully recieved.

Jeff Donald · September 14th, 2003, 09:44 AM

The brightness is the only user adjustable control for the view finder. It sounds like it is time to send it back to Canon for service. Corrosion from getting it wet may have finally set in and caused your problems.

Chris Powell · September 14th, 2003, 10:27 AM

Many thanks for the suggestions.

Canon will now be my next step.
Cheers

Veance Serance · September 14th, 2003, 04:56 PM

Hi everyone. I'm new here and new to the XL1S. I've searched this forum for an answer to my problem but didn't find any solutions so I think my camera may be broken. It's brand new.

The problem is, in any mode except easy mode I'm getting a verticle red line through the viewfinder and it also appears on the tape when I make a video clip. However the line doesn't stay there all the time. It's only there when the background is white or light colored. Has anyone heard of this before and if so is there a solution to it.

Thanks for any suggestions, tips, and replies.

Sincerely,

Veance

Jeff Donald · September 14th, 2003, 05:31 PM

Can you post a picture of a scene with the red liine?

Veance Serance · September 14th, 2003, 07:06 PM

You can view a couple of screenshots at http://www.msjanitorial.com/redline.htm

Veance Serance · September 14th, 2003, 07:31 PM

I guess I should add that this only occures when the camera is set to 16:9 mode. Very peculiar. Sorry for the ommision.

Jeff Donald · September 14th, 2003, 07:36 PM

Is the camera brand new? Have you tried another tape? I know many videographers that routinely run a cleaning tape in brand new cameras. They maintain that debris accumulates on the heads during shipping and storage. If your camera is new I would suggest using a cleaning tape (follow the instructions on the tape exactly as printed, do not deviate) and see if that helps. If not I would return the camera for service under warranty with still of the problem and the tape. It could be a problem with tape path alignment.

Veance Serance · September 14th, 2003, 08:46 PM

Thanks for your replies Jeff, however I don't think it's a tape problem because I can see this line in the viewfinder itself whether or not a tape is present in the camera.

Yes it's a brand new camera too. Sigh.... I guess I'll have to send it in unless someone else has a solution. I'm thinking now that maybe it has something to do with white balance since it started occuring when I was fiddling around with the white balance settings.

Many thanks for taking the time to answer my question.

Veance

Jeff Donald · September 15th, 2003, 06:59 AM

If it's in the camera, there are no user adjustable settings that would cause or remove the anomaly that you see.

August 26th, 2003, 10:02 AM	#121
Stuart Brontman Contributor Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 228	Bad pixels in viewfinder HELP! I'm about to sell my XL-1, but have some missing pixel areas in the viewfinder. They look like 2-3 small white areas in the lower right area of the viewfinder screen. At most, they cover 3-4% of the entire viewfinder, but they are noticable. These are not in the CCDs - just the viewfinder. They're probably caused by sun exposure when I first got the XL-1. Years ago when I bought the camera, Joe Bogacz of Canon told me they would replace defective viewfinders for no charge. I just never got around to it... the missing pixels didn't really bother me. Does anyone know if Canon will still fix this problem? I've tried to contact Joe and others at Canon, but I can't get any return of my calls. The buyer of the camera is waiting, since I promised him I would get it fixed before shipping it to him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Stuart

August 26th, 2003, 12:38 PM	#122
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I doubt they will fix it under warranty, but they might. Send it in and see what they say. Usually a certain number of dead pixels in the LCD are considered within manufacturing tolerance. Dead pixels in the CCD are usually covered with no problem if within the warranty period. I would just send it to Canon service with an explanation of the events and see what they say. Good luck. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

September 13th, 2003, 05:28 PM	#123
Chris Powell Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Mid-Wales, Uk Posts: 40	foggy viewfinder The XL1 viewfinder looks too bright and whites out detail when viewing either new or recorded footage. The camera still plays back to TV etc without any noticeable anomalies. The camera got damp when caught in a sudden storm a while back but after a spell in the airing cupboard all worked perfectly and nothing seemed amiss for the next month or more. Ideas anyone? __________________ The red kite feeder

September 13th, 2003, 06:00 PM	#124
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Have you tried adjusting the brightness control, on the bottom of VF, behind the cover. I don't have my camera in front of me to double check the location. You'll see it. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

September 13th, 2003, 06:01 PM	#125
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,488	You can adjust the brightness of the viewfinder display if that is the issue. See page 67 of the NTSC manual. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

September 14th, 2003, 08:46 AM	#126
Chris Powell Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Mid-Wales, Uk Posts: 40	foggy viewfinder Hi The brightness is at its limit and, although it has improved it a little, the detail seen is not enough to allow manual focusing. I've had the camera in use this afternoon - greens lean heavily toward yellow and I am pretty sure the picture worsened as time went by. Red kites flying against a blue sky should have been easy but it could all have been white cloud fo all i could see of it. Any further thoughts gratefully recieved. __________________ The red kite feeder

September 14th, 2003, 09:44 AM	#127
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	The brightness is the only user adjustable control for the view finder. It sounds like it is time to send it back to Canon for service. Corrosion from getting it wet may have finally set in and caused your problems. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

September 14th, 2003, 10:27 AM	#128
Chris Powell Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Mid-Wales, Uk Posts: 40	foggy viewfinder Many thanks for the suggestions. Canon will now be my next step. Cheers __________________ The red kite feeder

September 14th, 2003, 04:56 PM	#129
Veance Serance New Boot Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 5	Red line on viewfinder and in video Hi everyone. I'm new here and new to the XL1S. I've searched this forum for an answer to my problem but didn't find any solutions so I think my camera may be broken. It's brand new. The problem is, in any mode except easy mode I'm getting a verticle red line through the viewfinder and it also appears on the tape when I make a video clip. However the line doesn't stay there all the time. It's only there when the background is white or light colored. Has anyone heard of this before and if so is there a solution to it. Thanks for any suggestions, tips, and replies. Sincerely, Veance

September 14th, 2003, 05:31 PM	#130
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Can you post a picture of a scene with the red liine? __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

September 14th, 2003, 07:06 PM	#131
Veance Serance New Boot Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 5	You can view a couple of screenshots at http://www.msjanitorial.com/redline.htm

September 14th, 2003, 07:31 PM	#132
Veance Serance New Boot Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 5	I guess I should add that this only occures when the camera is set to 16:9 mode. Very peculiar. Sorry for the ommision.

September 14th, 2003, 07:36 PM	#133
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Is the camera brand new? Have you tried another tape? I know many videographers that routinely run a cleaning tape in brand new cameras. They maintain that debris accumulates on the heads during shipping and storage. If your camera is new I would suggest using a cleaning tape (follow the instructions on the tape exactly as printed, do not deviate) and see if that helps. If not I would return the camera for service under warranty with still of the problem and the tape. It could be a problem with tape path alignment. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

September 14th, 2003, 08:46 PM	#134
Veance Serance New Boot Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 5	Thanks for your replies Jeff, however I don't think it's a tape problem because I can see this line in the viewfinder itself whether or not a tape is present in the camera. Yes it's a brand new camera too. Sigh.... I guess I'll have to send it in unless someone else has a solution. I'm thinking now that maybe it has something to do with white balance since it started occuring when I was fiddling around with the white balance settings. Many thanks for taking the time to answer my question. Veance

September 15th, 2003, 06:59 AM	#135
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	If it's in the camera, there are no user adjustable settings that would cause or remove the anomaly that you see. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors