Ok, This Really Upsetting Me!

[Mike Teutsch]

Jeff,

You just said it was a brand new camera, and in the first post you said it had five hours on it. If it is new, I would send it in for service and get a good cleaning.

If it is older and not under warranty and you think it has only five hours and you know that it was keep clean and no tapes were switched etc.., then clean it up and I mean clean it really well. Then, go buy a Sony Premium MiniDV tape, blue packageing and try using it. Like I said, I think Canon cameras like Sony tapes. If that does not work, I'll pay you for the tape and you send the camera to Canon for service.

Mike

[Jeff Mayne]

The camera was new when I bought it a month ago... I have run about 5 - 60 minute tapes through it myself. I used the Sony Premium tapes in my last camera and it killed my heads. Out of the 5 hours of tape I have about a minute of dropped frames. Also why can I use this thing all day long with PERFECT tape, and again in the morning with no problems then have 30 seconds of bad footage? Also the manual states not to use the Sony wet brand of cleaning tapes, is this the same lubricant or tape that you would ue to record on?

[Jeff Mayne]

Are these the tapes you are referring too? Any one else have any input? I don't really want to switch to Sony tapes if do not have too... PLEASE!
http://cgi.ebay.com/20-Sony-Mini-DV-...QQcmdZViewItem

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Jeff Mayne

Are these the tapes you are referring too? Any one else have any input? I don't really want to switch to Sony tapes if do not have too... PLEASE!
http://cgi.ebay.com/20-Sony-Mini-DV-...QQcmdZViewItem

Jeff,

How is the world can you say that Sony tapes killed your cameras heads? Well, don't switch if you feel that way but since it is really new, I would send it for service then.

Best of luck and have fun---Mike

P.S.: Yes, those are the tapes! :)

M

[Jeff Mayne]

Canon stated when I sent my last camera in that the Sony tapes were the reason that my camera heads were gummed up and that I should not use a "Wet" type of tape to record on. I am not meaning to disagree with you I really appreciate the feedback I am just at witts end as to why a brand new camera would do this. I am on the phone with Canon right now and all they can tell me is to send it in!

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Jeff Mayne

Canon stated when I sent my last camera in that the Sony tapes were the reason that my camera heads were gummed up and that I should not use a "Wet" type of tape to record on. I am not meaning to disagree with you I really appreciate the feedback I am just at witts end as to why a brand new camera would do this. I am on the phone with Canon right now and all they can tell me is to send it in!

Jeff,

I certainly would send it in and see what they say.

I must be the luckiest guy around. Two XL1s's , an XL2, and now an XLH1 and never a problem using the Sony tapes! :) Knock on wood. Honestly, I think their statement if pure hog wash, and it just leads to false rumors flying around.

Best of luck to you.

Mike

[Jeff Mayne]

I can only tell you what Canon told me with my old XL1 when I sent it in twice, and today when I called the tech told me not to use any "WET" type of tapes as it "Gums up the heads and makes them collect dirt easier becasue the lubricant is "WET". I am glad the tapes work in your camcorder, and I am sending it in free of charge to be fixed. If I try your suggestion and go against what Canon is telling me how long should I run the cleaning tape in my camera before running the Sony tape and if I have only experienced this problem a couple of times how many hours of Sony tapes must I run through to see if it is going to effect mine? Is any one else using Sony tapes without problems? MAybe Canon is just full of &^&$^&!!!

Thanks for the input Mike!

[Mike Teutsch]

I don't expect you to go against Canon of course, but what they said is pure bull. Sony probably sells more tapes than anyone in the world. If what they said was true, there would be multi-millions of "destroyed" cameras out there. That is simply not true. Neither lubricant, wet or dry is bad, it is just not good to mix them. By the way, the reason for not mixing them is that they can put gummy deposits on the heads, which means that the dry lubes are leaving particles of their lube on the heads and in the tape transport mechanism!

I hope that your camera comes back in perfect working order and never gives you a bit of trouble from then on. It's a great camera, enjoy it!

Best of luck-----Mike

[Adrian J. Hare]

Jeff , I understand your frustration. Its hard to sit for hours and then action starts like right now and when you press (record) you lose half of the hunt. Everyday the camera is getting worst for me and at a bad time as I still have 4 weeks...

[Jeff Mayne]

It is completely frustrating; now I have used the camera (with the panasonic tapes) the last three days and have not had one issue! I just wish more people would chime in. I know that there are thousands of viewers on this site, and this post has been viewed over 400 times and I have three maybe four different people responding! Am I the only one with this problem, or do people not wish to participate in this forum? Just curious! Again, I do wish to thank those whom have taken the time to try to answer my questions!

Jeff

[Richard Alvarez]

Jeff, I understand your frustration. A quick search will yield LONG threads debating the merits of one tape brand over another... the merits of NOT switching lube types vs switching often. I suspect that most people aren't chiming in for the reason that you will just get conflicting views.

For instance. When an xl1 we were using 'banded' and 'pixilated' on a shoot, even AFTER running a tape head cleaner, we sent it back to Canon. Canon tech asked me SPECIFICALLY if I was using Sony tapes, and said SPECIFICALLY not to use them.

So I can concur that I recieved the same message directly from Canon's lips. When I told them we were NOT using Sony, they said, "Well, a 'wet' tape... we don't recommed a 'wet' lubricant, and that's what Sony uses. Use a 'dry lube' tape.

Does this conflict with what others are posting? Sure it does.

I use Pannasonic only on my XL2. I intend to stick with Pannasonic. I also clean the heads right before an important shoot.

That's my style, and I'm sticking to it.

[Jeff Mayne]

Thanks for the response, I am not looking for a great tape debate, only ideas on what be causing my camera to malfunction as new as it is and only a very small percentage of times when I first hit the record button. This never occurs during the middle of a clip (like good footage, bad footage, followed by good footage) only from the beginning to the end or a short part, but the (I guess they call them dropped frames) always appear right after I hit the record button. I have read and read and read and read search result after search result and everybody has their opinions but no concrete evidence why a majority of Canon Cameras have technical issues and many complaints of dropped frames, pixelation, no recording and so on. Like I said, this is why I sold my XL1 and now trying a XL1S (Brand New) and it is doing the same darn thing! I am ready to sell it and move on to Sony and sacrafice the smaller zoom...

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Jeff Mayne

... now trying a XL1S (Brand New)

I think this is the primary problem here... there's no such thing as a "brand new" XL1S these days. Production ceased on that camcorder about four years ago. What you have in hand is most likely a refurb, maybe even used and not refurbed. At the very best, if it is in fact "new old stock" which has been sitting around unsold for years until you came along and bought it, that too is most likely the root of the problem.

Understand that it cannot be "brand new" because they haven't been made in several years. So whether you have a used camera, a refurb, or new old stock, it doesn't really matter. Each one of those situations has its own particular set of problems. Even if you actually have new old stock, that ain't good. You've bought a camcorder that's been sitting around unused since 2004, which is just asking for trouble.

Anything as old as a Canon XL1S should be sent in to Canon service first thing before using it... and as has been pointed out in this thread previously, you'll want to run a head cleaning cassette first thing before ever putting a tape in and recording with it.

On something that's practically antique status such as this camcorder, I'd say the only viable, practical thing to do with it is to get it into Canon service right away. They can make these problems go away and turn an XL1S into a usable camcorder again.

I am ready to sell it and move on to Sony...

The days of the XL1S have long since passed by. I think you should seriously consider moving into anything, Canon, Sony or whatever, that was made less than two years ago. New would be even better. Hope this helps,

[Jeff Mayne]

Chris, this is not a used or a refurbished unit, but a 1 person owner who bought several for his outdoor production company and never used this one, I was the first to take it out of the box! So even though it was "made several years ago", it in essence has never been used and therefore is Brand New! I do not see how something that was mad 4 years ago can be considered "Antique Status" and I assure you that there are thousands of these cameras still in use today. Not everyone has the luxury of buying a new camera every couple of years and this camera still serves its purpose. I appreciate all whom have contributed to this post and I will send it in to be looked at...

[Jeff Mayne]

Ok, issue solved! I just got off of the phone with a Video repair company who has been involved in the industry for 14 years. They took a look at my camera and said that the problem I was having had nothing to do with the heads and that running a tape cleaner did more damage to my heads than it did good. All I had to do (and Chris you were right) was since the camera sat in the closet for an extended length of time was to stick a tape in and rewind and fast forward a tape five or six times to break everything in and as of today when I picked it up it seemed to work. I am going to take it out tomorrow and film all day and Thursday as well so time will tell. She said that switching tapes to the Sony brand will have no effect on my camera as the heads are not bad, dirty, and so on.