Broken XL1

Scott Thibodeau · August 10th, 2006, 07:33 PM

Hi folks,

I recently purchased a used XL1 and had it in to have the heads cleaned. The company that was working on it told me that the servo circuit or the servo board was pooched. My fault, I didn't have it checked out before I bought it and should have. Live and learn.

Anyway, the lense is fine and everything else seems ok. The cost to fix it would cost me as much as I spent on it so I was thinking that I would either look for a new body for it or peice it out and sell the lense and anything else that can be sold and try to recover some of my costs. What would you do in this situation? I'm very new to all of this and have just learned my first huge lesson.

Thanks!

Scott

Jacob Ehrichs · August 10th, 2006, 09:02 PM

May I ask what the repair bill is? If it's too high I would likely part it out and look for a newer XL1s or an alternate camera. I have an XL1 and love it, but for double it's cost I wouldn't buy it with so many other newer cameras out there that can be had for the same price and have many of the same or more features than the original.

If it was $800-$1000 for sure I'd part it out, but you'll take quite a loss.

$500 - $800 possibly fix, depending on your situation, budget etc.

<$500 I'd fix it.

Scott Thibodeau · August 10th, 2006, 09:12 PM

I paid $1300 for it and the repair bill would be about that much as well. The part quoted was $800 for a servo board and then labour of around $250. That's in Candian dollars mind you so around $1000 to fix.

Daan Bras · August 10th, 2006, 11:43 PM

Maybe you can find a cheap xl1s body only on ebay, and use your lens with it.

by the way, first post =)

Bob Hart · August 10th, 2006, 11:48 PM

Maybe try around rental or repair places to see if there are any other damaged or insurance write-off XL1s around to get the part from.

Another option might be to get a cheap one-chip miniDV and use that as a recording deck for your XL1 camera body.

Greg Boston · August 11th, 2006, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Thibodeau

Hi folks, I recently purchased a used XL1 and had it in to have the heads cleaned. The company that was working on it told me that the servo circuit or the servo board was pooched. My fault, I didn't have it checked out before I bought it and should have. Live and learn.

Was it working okay before you sent it in? Pay them only for a head cleaning and ask for the camera back. I smell a bill padding here. Sorry, this just sounds fishy based on your description of the transaction. Maybe there are more facts you can post that will change my perception. Send it to Canon for a second opinion before spending that much on it.

-gb-

Jacob Ehrichs · August 11th, 2006, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Boston

Send it to Canon for a second opinion before spending that much on it.

Good advice there. I glossed over that you sent it to someplace other than Canon.

Scott Thibodeau · August 11th, 2006, 09:10 AM

I think I may contact Canon and also bring it into another shop for a second opinion. At least I've got a few friends here who are camera men so they can help out with some guidance. That combined with the good advice here and I'm sure I'll make the right decision. I would certainly love to use this camera but I have a backup that I can use. I'm off for 3 weeks today. (1 week from Vancouver to Calgary and another 2 weeks exploring the Northwest before hitting Burning Man in Nevada) This will be my first shooting experience and I still have my VX 1000 to bring along on this trip. It'll be good.

Greg Boston · August 11th, 2006, 09:18 AM

Scott,

You didn't answer my original question. Did the camera function before you sent it in? If you were having problems and sent it in thinking a head cleaning would repair it, that's one thing. If the camera appeared to be working okay and you sent it in for a 'routine' head cleaning, then I would be suspicious of their 'bad servo board' diagnosis.

-gb-

Scott Thibodeau · September 5th, 2006, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Boston

Scott,

You didn't answer my original question. Did the camera function before you sent it in? If you were having problems and sent it in thinking a head cleaning would repair it, that's one thing. If the camera appeared to be working okay and you sent it in for a 'routine' head cleaning, then I would be suspicious of their 'bad servo board' diagnosis.

-gb-

I had not used the camera before sending it in so I'm assuming it was not functioning. Funny thing is I just got back from a 3 week vacation and I bumped into a fellow on Mount St Helens who had the same issue. He suggested going with a Firestore type of solution and remove tape from the equation. Are there any other products like this that would work with an XL1. I would have no issues in not dealing with tape as I'm going to be shooting and traveling with this camera over the next few years and I doubt I'll find more tapes on the Mosquito Coast in Honduras.

Waldemar Winkler · September 5th, 2006, 06:17 PM

Send it to Canon for repair!

My XL1s I had purchased used a year ago started to have transport issues. First, fast-forward & rewind gave an almost immediate "eject tape" error message. Then, I started to lose both video and audio data while maintaining time code.

Canon quoted me $62.00US (incl. shipping) to fix. The final invoice was for $400.00 US with a credit for anything over the initial quote.

My camera works like a dream come true.

August 10th, 2006, 07:33 PM	#1
Scott Thibodeau Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Posts: 96	Broken XL1 - What would you do? Hi folks, I recently purchased a used XL1 and had it in to have the heads cleaned. The company that was working on it told me that the servo circuit or the servo board was pooched. My fault, I didn't have it checked out before I bought it and should have. Live and learn. Anyway, the lense is fine and everything else seems ok. The cost to fix it would cost me as much as I spent on it so I was thinking that I would either look for a new body for it or peice it out and sell the lense and anything else that can be sold and try to recover some of my costs. What would you do in this situation? I'm very new to all of this and have just learned my first huge lesson. Thanks! Scott

September 5th, 2006, 06:17 PM	#11
Waldemar Winkler Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Durango, Colorado, USA Posts: 711	Send it to Canon for repair! My XL1s I had purchased used a year ago started to have transport issues. First, fast-forward & rewind gave an almost immediate "eject tape" error message. Then, I started to lose both video and audio data while maintaining time code. Canon quoted me $62.00US (incl. shipping) to fix. The final invoice was for $400.00 US with a credit for anything over the initial quote. My camera works like a dream come true. __________________ Waldemar

August 10th, 2006, 09:02 PM	#2
Jacob Ehrichs Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 169	May I ask what the repair bill is? If it's too high I would likely part it out and look for a newer XL1s or an alternate camera. I have an XL1 and love it, but for double it's cost I wouldn't buy it with so many other newer cameras out there that can be had for the same price and have many of the same or more features than the original. If it was $800-$1000 for sure I'd part it out, but you'll take quite a loss. $500 - $800 possibly fix, depending on your situation, budget etc. <$500 I'd fix it.

August 10th, 2006, 09:12 PM	#3
Scott Thibodeau Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Posts: 96	I paid $1300 for it and the repair bill would be about that much as well. The part quoted was $800 for a servo board and then labour of around $250. That's in Candian dollars mind you so around $1000 to fix.

August 10th, 2006, 11:43 PM	#4
Daan Bras Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 42	Maybe you can find a cheap xl1s body only on ebay, and use your lens with it. by the way, first post =)

August 10th, 2006, 11:48 PM	#5
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Maybe try around rental or repair places to see if there are any other damaged or insurance write-off XL1s around to get the part from. Another option might be to get a cheap one-chip miniDV and use that as a recording deck for your XL1 camera body.

August 11th, 2006, 09:10 AM	#8
Scott Thibodeau Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Posts: 96	I think I may contact Canon and also bring it into another shop for a second opinion. At least I've got a few friends here who are camera men so they can help out with some guidance. That combined with the good advice here and I'm sure I'll make the right decision. I would certainly love to use this camera but I have a backup that I can use. I'm off for 3 weeks today. (1 week from Vancouver to Calgary and another 2 weeks exploring the Northwest before hitting Burning Man in Nevada) This will be my first shooting experience and I still have my VX 1000 to bring along on this trip. It'll be good.

August 11th, 2006, 09:18 AM	#9
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	Scott, You didn't answer my original question. Did the camera function before you sent it in? If you were having problems and sent it in thinking a head cleaning would repair it, that's one thing. If the camera appeared to be working okay and you sent it in for a 'routine' head cleaning, then I would be suspicious of their 'bad servo board' diagnosis. -gb-