xL1s quick shut down after four hours at DVinfo.net

Daniel Paquin · January 24th, 2007, 06:40 PM

Hello,

I am the owner of a Canon xL1s and have been very please with this camera. However, lately I've notice that when filming after four hours, the camera does a very quick, very short (fraction of second) shutdown.

I am filming directly to a hard drive of a DVD recorder throught the Firewire port. This interruption is not long enough for the DVD recorder to show a no DV signal. At one time, I tought that it was a short electrical shortage, but now I do know that this is not the case. It just occur every four hours.

This has caused me some problems where the video is then missing a few frames, is there a camera setup that I can modify which would eliminate this to happend?

Regards !

Daniel

Dan Keaton · January 25th, 2007, 12:50 PM

I assume that you are on battery power.

If so, what is the battery indicator doing? Is the battery almost exhausted?

If you have shot for four hours, you must have changed tapes. Change the battery at the same time.

Try a test using the power supply.

Daniel Paquin · January 25th, 2007, 02:31 PM

Thank you Dan for your quick reply.

I should have been more specific.

What is really concerning me is that I am not on using battery power. I am using the electrical.

Also, I am not using DV tape, I am filming directly on the hard disk of the DVD recorder through a Firewire entry.

The only function that I used from the camera are the zoom and the focus (which I set right at the beginning automatic to manual).

I am filming 2-3 day long shows, over 30 hours, I could be recording 16 to 18 hours on the DVD recorder. The camera must always be turn on, and I have to be ready to shoot in all time. At the end I use the standby to shot down the camera.

Thanks.

Daniel

Dan Keaton · January 25th, 2007, 03:40 PM

Have you seen the camera actually power down at approximately 4 hours, or do you just see a problem in the DVD at 4 hours?

Daniel Paquin · January 25th, 2007, 07:24 PM

Hello Dan,

I've seen the camera doing a quick shut down resulting in a lost a frame on the DVD. It is quick enough not to lose the DV signal on DVD recorder and long enough that when you look at the DVD there is a black.

I am positive that it is the camera because, this happened even when I was not filming. I saw a quick black on my monitor which is hooked up to the output of the DVD recorder.

I've seen the light on the camera shutting down.

Thanks again for trying to help out.

P.S.: A quick solution that I can see would be for me to force a standby every 3 hours. I will try this over the week-end. However, my preferences would be to avoid this.

Dan Keaton · January 25th, 2007, 07:41 PM

I am about to run out of ideas.

Are you using the standard viewfinder?

I do not know why the camera would shutdown, but only shutdown partially and then continue normal operations.

Is the temperature and humidity normal where you are shooting?

I suggest you call Canon to see if they have any ideas.

Daniel Paquin · February 3rd, 2007, 06:02 AM

Thanks again Dan.

Last week-end I did 20 hours of shooting and the shutdown occured again. The temperature in the arena was the best I had so far. I did forced a shutdown using the standby button after three hours and only got worse. I then had two quick shutdown within 30 minutes.

I've never changed the internal battery and had the camera for three years now, could that be it ?

I never turn off the camera, I always use the standby button, could that be it also ?

--------------
Are you using the standard viewfinder? No, I am always viewing on a 13" monitor

Is the temperature and humidity normal where you are shooting? I am shooting in an arena, once turned on, I never shut down the camera. Of all the equipment that I have with me only the camera does a quick shut down.

I suggest you call Canon to see if they have any ideas. I am just not sure where to call.

Dan Keaton · February 3rd, 2007, 06:28 AM

Dear Daniel,

The internal battery is cheap, and easy to replace. It is available at most places that sell watch batteries.

I do not think that the internal battery is the problem, but you can easily replace it to eliminate it as the possible cause of your problem.

You say that you never turn off your camera, you only use "standby". I am not sure what you mean by this. It is perfectly acceptable to use standby while you are on a shoot. However, at the end of the shoot, turn off the camera using the mode dial.

If you have only used "standby" even between shoots, I recommend that you replace your internal battery. Either case, I would change it.

The problem may be in your power supply/battery charger.

Do you have a set of good batteries? If not you can purchase some from www.power101.com.

I recommend that you run a test using battery power. A good battery, such as the Canon BP-945, the BP-950g or BP-970g, should power the camera for hours. If you need a new battery, consider www.power101.com. Their batteries are not as good as an original Canon BP-970g, but are good.

Your power supply may be causing a power glitch. This may be an internal problem, or a problem with the AC current feeding the power supply (the mains). Running battery power eliminates the possibility of problems with the power supply and/or mains.

Canon has a service center in New Jersey. I do not know if there is one in Canada. Your Canon manaul should have the service number.

Personally, I would try the above recommendations before sending in the camera for service. If you do need to send the camera in for service, I would first discuss it with Canon.

Daniel Paquin · February 3rd, 2007, 08:09 AM

Thanks again Dan !

I am only amaze on the speed your answers are coming.

"You say that you never turn off... However, at the end of the shoot, turn off the camera using the mode dial. This is exactly it, I never used the mode dial to turn off the camera." As you recommended, given the circumstances, I will change the internal battery. In the future, I will use the mode dial to turn off the camera. At maximum, I need to keep the camera setup for three days.

"The problem may be in your power supply/battery charger." I was also thinking as this being the cause of the problem. I also own a GL2 which has the same unit, I will use this one the next time. Once, I've used my GL2 power supply I will see if I need to order a new one or not.

Do you have a set of good batteries? Yes, I currently own six BP945 batteries. I also use the Manfrotto LANC to control the camera zoom. I will have to do some test to verify how long the battery last using this unit. I think that it should not be too bad since I am not filming on tape.

I will sure do all of this before sending the camera for service.

Daniel

January 24th, 2007, 06:40 PM	#1
Daniel Paquin Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Québec, Canada Posts: 179	xL1s quick shut down after four hours Hello, I am the owner of a Canon xL1s and have been very please with this camera. However, lately I've notice that when filming after four hours, the camera does a very quick, very short (fraction of second) shutdown. I am filming directly to a hard drive of a DVD recorder throught the Firewire port. This interruption is not long enough for the DVD recorder to show a no DV signal. At one time, I tought that it was a short electrical shortage, but now I do know that this is not the case. It just occur every four hours. This has caused me some problems where the video is then missing a few frames, is there a camera setup that I can modify which would eliminate this to happend? Regards ! Daniel

January 25th, 2007, 12:50 PM	#2
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	I assume that you are on battery power. If so, what is the battery indicator doing? Is the battery almost exhausted? If you have shot for four hours, you must have changed tapes. Change the battery at the same time. Try a test using the power supply. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

January 25th, 2007, 03:40 PM	#4
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Have you seen the camera actually power down at approximately 4 hours, or do you just see a problem in the DVD at 4 hours? __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

January 25th, 2007, 07:41 PM	#6
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	I am about to run out of ideas. Are you using the standard viewfinder? I do not know why the camera would shutdown, but only shutdown partially and then continue normal operations. Is the temperature and humidity normal where you are shooting? I suggest you call Canon to see if they have any ideas. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

February 3rd, 2007, 06:28 AM	#8
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Daniel, The internal battery is cheap, and easy to replace. It is available at most places that sell watch batteries. I do not think that the internal battery is the problem, but you can easily replace it to eliminate it as the possible cause of your problem. You say that you never turn off your camera, you only use "standby". I am not sure what you mean by this. It is perfectly acceptable to use standby while you are on a shoot. However, at the end of the shoot, turn off the camera using the mode dial. If you have only used "standby" even between shoots, I recommend that you replace your internal battery. Either case, I would change it. The problem may be in your power supply/battery charger. Do you have a set of good batteries? If not you can purchase some from www.power101.com. I recommend that you run a test using battery power. A good battery, such as the Canon BP-945, the BP-950g or BP-970g, should power the camera for hours. If you need a new battery, consider www.power101.com. Their batteries are not as good as an original Canon BP-970g, but are good. Your power supply may be causing a power glitch. This may be an internal problem, or a problem with the AC current feeding the power supply (the mains). Running battery power eliminates the possibility of problems with the power supply and/or mains. Canon has a service center in New Jersey. I do not know if there is one in Canada. Your Canon manaul should have the service number. Personally, I would try the above recommendations before sending in the camera for service. If you do need to send the camera in for service, I would first discuss it with Canon. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

January 25th, 2007, 02:31 PM	#3
Daniel Paquin Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Québec, Canada Posts: 179	Thank you Dan for your quick reply. I should have been more specific. What is really concerning me is that I am not on using battery power. I am using the electrical. Also, I am not using DV tape, I am filming directly on the hard disk of the DVD recorder through a Firewire entry. The only function that I used from the camera are the zoom and the focus (which I set right at the beginning automatic to manual). I am filming 2-3 day long shows, over 30 hours, I could be recording 16 to 18 hours on the DVD recorder. The camera must always be turn on, and I have to be ready to shoot in all time. At the end I use the standby to shot down the camera. Thanks. Daniel

January 25th, 2007, 07:24 PM	#5
Daniel Paquin Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Québec, Canada Posts: 179	Hello Dan, I've seen the camera doing a quick shut down resulting in a lost a frame on the DVD. It is quick enough not to lose the DV signal on DVD recorder and long enough that when you look at the DVD there is a black. I am positive that it is the camera because, this happened even when I was not filming. I saw a quick black on my monitor which is hooked up to the output of the DVD recorder. I've seen the light on the camera shutting down. Thanks again for trying to help out. P.S.: A quick solution that I can see would be for me to force a standby every 3 hours. I will try this over the week-end. However, my preferences would be to avoid this.

February 3rd, 2007, 06:02 AM	#7
Daniel Paquin Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Québec, Canada Posts: 179	Thanks again Dan. Last week-end I did 20 hours of shooting and the shutdown occured again. The temperature in the arena was the best I had so far. I did forced a shutdown using the standby button after three hours and only got worse. I then had two quick shutdown within 30 minutes. I've never changed the internal battery and had the camera for three years now, could that be it ? I never turn off the camera, I always use the standby button, could that be it also ? -------------- Are you using the standard viewfinder? No, I am always viewing on a 13" monitor Is the temperature and humidity normal where you are shooting? I am shooting in an arena, once turned on, I never shut down the camera. Of all the equipment that I have with me only the camera does a quick shut down. I suggest you call Canon to see if they have any ideas. I am just not sure where to call.

February 3rd, 2007, 08:09 AM	#9
Daniel Paquin Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Québec, Canada Posts: 179	Thanks again Dan ! I am only amaze on the speed your answers are coming. "You say that you never turn off... However, at the end of the shoot, turn off the camera using the mode dial. This is exactly it, I never used the mode dial to turn off the camera." As you recommended, given the circumstances, I will change the internal battery. In the future, I will use the mode dial to turn off the camera. At maximum, I need to keep the camera setup for three days. "The problem may be in your power supply/battery charger." I was also thinking as this being the cause of the problem. I also own a GL2 which has the same unit, I will use this one the next time. Once, I've used my GL2 power supply I will see if I need to order a new one or not. Do you have a set of good batteries? Yes, I currently own six BP945 batteries. I also use the Manfrotto LANC to control the camera zoom. I will have to do some test to verify how long the battery last using this unit. I think that it should not be too bad since I am not filming on tape. I will sure do all of this before sending the camera for service. Daniel