Canon XL1s ate my tape, then decided it didn't like it and regurgitated it!

Bob Zimmerman · May 13th, 2002, 10:54 AM

Ok,,since I'm new to this let me ask ,,,I bought some Sony tapes The tape is black,,,the tapes just say Sony Premium. So is this just a cheaper grade of tape? And since I have only used a small amunt of tape since I got my XL-1s it won't hurt to switch to a better grade of tape. Whne looking for tapes I want one that the tape is creamed colored? Thanks

Josh Bass · May 13th, 2002, 11:02 AM

I'm a Houston native, as (I believe) my info says. Anyone out there know a good place to go in Houston for tapes? I think there'e a protape here, but please don't recommend Industrial Audio/Video, as they charge about 10 bucks per tape.

Chris Hurd · May 13th, 2002, 11:24 AM

Yes, ytou need to go to Pro-tape, they will treat you right and besides they help sponsor this site. So when you buy from them, you're helping to support the message boards you're using. Thanks,

Bob Zimmerman · May 13th, 2002, 12:16 PM

Chris I don't see the link to Pro tape,,,,what is it? So is the cream color tape the best?

Josh Bass · May 13th, 2002, 12:48 PM

Didn't someone say they were $2 more per tape? I'm
po'.

Chris Hurd · May 13th, 2002, 12:54 PM

Go to my site at www.dvinfo.net and click on "Sponsors." You'll find them there. Those tapes are worth the extra measly $2 especially when you consider the alternative of having your shots ruined. If you're on a budget, consider which is more expensive: $2 or having to do your shoot all over again. I'd rather spend $2. Hope this helps,

Bob Zimmerman · May 13th, 2002, 01:49 PM

I was looking at some of the tapes at pro tape. The panasonic ay DVM tapes come in like a PQ or MQ,,,is there much of a differnce besides the $6.00? You guys talked about not changing tapes,,,if I just want to do some normal shooting and what to use a DVM63 PQ, then say I'm going to do a wedding and want to use the DVM63 MQ that won't hurt anything will it?

Jeff Pelletier · June 11th, 2002, 08:14 PM

The same thing started happening to me recently. At first it seemed like it was only FUJI mini-dv tapes that my Canon-Xl-1 would reject. One day it actually ate the tape and wouldn't let me eject it - that was scary cause it was on a shoot. I had just purchased about 20 FUJI tapes on sale, and assumed that it was just this brand that wasn't compatible or something. In fact a friend of mine with the same camera had experienced problems with FUJI tapes in the past as well, where it would flash eject for no reason.

Anyway, I went through different brands of tapes, included some that I had successfully recorded on (Panasonic, Sony..) and now they all give me problems.

Most of the work I do doesn't require the use of a DV tape - I record directly to 1/2" decks - so i'm ok for now. The problem is that since I live in Vancouver, it would take 6-8 weeks to send my camera to Canon out east.. ARGH!

Jeff

Dylan Couper · June 11th, 2002, 08:35 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Zimvg304 : Ok,,since I'm new to this let me ask ,,,I bought some Sony tapes The tape is black,,,the tapes just say Sony Premium. So is this just a cheaper grade of tape? And since I have only used a small amunt of tape since I got my XL-1s it won't hurt to switch to a better grade of tape. Whne looking for tapes I want one that the tape is creamed colored? Thanks -->>>

According to the owner of a documentary production company I know, Sony Premium is an excellent tape, great for all around use, with negligable differences between more expensive tapes. It's what he uses in his XL1 (which I bought off him) and XL1s.
Hope this answers your question some.

Jeff Pelletier · June 11th, 2002, 08:46 PM

I'm not sure about the Sony tapes, but I know FUJI are supposed to be higher grade than Panasonic (and cost more). I really don't see how this would be an issue anyway. I mean Mni-DV is a standard, and it's not like Canon makes their own tapes that they recommend..

I think my point was that if FUJI really are high grade then it should have been the brand that killed my camera. I think it's just a problem with the loading mechanism being slightly out of alignment. Each tape could have a certain threshold where one tape would cause slightly more problems in a miss-aligned camera than another but I don't think that the tape could be considered a cause.

Jeff

Frank Granovski · June 12th, 2002, 12:44 AM

Actually, here in Vancouver, I find Fuji miniDV tapes cheaper than Panasonic. Try London Drugs and Superstore. They usually have deals on Fuji tape once a month. Buy them in a 2 or 3 pack.

Jeff Pelletier · June 12th, 2002, 01:41 PM

By far the cheapest place for tapes in Vancouver is the Tape House in Burnaby. In fact they have a sale on right now for Fuji MiniDV at about $7 a piece (as opposed to $12 at London Drugs). Minimum 5 pack though..

Jeff

Jeff Donald · June 14th, 2002, 09:52 PM

Hi,

I don't know about today, but back in the 80's and 90's Panasonic was not a tape manufacture. In fact, Fuji was the company that made all of Panasonics pro grade tapes. Panasonic used to freely admit it and were actually very proud that Fuji tape was in their wrapper. I don't know if that's the case today. Chris, maybe you could ask someone at one of the shows you attend and let us know.

Jeff

Denis Basic · July 19th, 2002, 12:54 PM

Well, :-) I guess I am "welcome to the club". My XL-1s started eating tapes, too. The problem occurs WHEN REWINDING only. I get the sign “remove the cassette” and when I pull out the tape, sometimes it is “regurgitated”, sometimes not. I also noticed that the time indicator is flickering when rewinding. This proved to be a good sign that the tape will be rejected if not even destroyed.

I used to use JVC tapes DVM63ME purchased as a “special deal” for approximately $7.00 a piece. With first 11 tapes I did not have any problems. Very smooth rewinding. Then I purchased two more. The same brand, the same quality. (Followed your advice guys about the same brand, same oil, etc. It made sense to me.) Well, the tape #13 was the “lucky” one. Some beautiful materials from my birthday party (also July 13) were “regurgitated”. However, on a Mac platform I succeeded to recover a lot of stuff though the camera did not want to play the tape anymore, but a Mini DV player in the lab did.

Then I read even more about the tape eating problem on this site. I cleaned the head of the camera with the Sony cleaning tape following your instructions and decided to “convert” to the best. As I read here, I purchased a few Panasonic DVM63MQ tapes to test them. The recording was great, but I was able to see it only once. When rewinding the tape, again the same problem. The tape was first rejected. I clean the head one more time following the instructions on the Sony cleaning tape. Then the tape was regurgitated. I cleaned the head one more time. And again the tape regurgitated. I felt … you know how.

What should I do now? Send the camera to Canon?

Thanks for your advices,

Bill Markel · July 19th, 2002, 10:09 PM

Denis,

I am having the *EXACT* problem as you describe, EVEN AFTER SENDING THE CAMERA TO CANON SERVICE. My only difference is that I am using Fuji tape. I am currently awaiting a shipment of the Panasonic DVM63MQ tapes and a rewinder. I shot a commercial with this camera last week and I've had a difficult time getting the footage into the computer.

Have you, or anyone else who has experienced this problem, had an issue with dropped frames? I have to babysit my capture process because my NLE (FCP3) keeps aborting the capture because of dropped frames or broken TC, even though there are no TC breaks on the tape.

This is not cool.

Bill

May 13th, 2002, 11:02 AM	#17
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	I'm a Houston native, as (I believe) my info says. Anyone out there know a good place to go in Houston for tapes? I think there'e a protape here, but please don't recommend Industrial Audio/Video, as they charge about 10 bucks per tape. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

May 13th, 2002, 11:24 AM	#18
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Yes, ytou need to go to Pro-tape, they will treat you right and besides they help sponsor this site. So when you buy from them, you're helping to support the message boards you're using. Thanks, __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

May 13th, 2002, 12:48 PM	#20
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Didn't someone say they were $2 more per tape? I'm po'. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

May 13th, 2002, 12:54 PM	#21
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Go to my site at www.dvinfo.net and click on "Sponsors." You'll find them there. Those tapes are worth the extra measly $2 especially when you consider the alternative of having your shots ruined. If you're on a budget, consider which is more expensive: $2 or having to do your shoot all over again. I'd rather spend $2. Hope this helps, __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

June 11th, 2002, 08:14 PM	#23
Jeff Pelletier Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 25	XL-1 eating tapes.. The same thing started happening to me recently. At first it seemed like it was only FUJI mini-dv tapes that my Canon-Xl-1 would reject. One day it actually ate the tape and wouldn't let me eject it - that was scary cause it was on a shoot. I had just purchased about 20 FUJI tapes on sale, and assumed that it was just this brand that wasn't compatible or something. In fact a friend of mine with the same camera had experienced problems with FUJI tapes in the past as well, where it would flash eject for no reason. Anyway, I went through different brands of tapes, included some that I had successfully recorded on (Panasonic, Sony..) and now they all give me problems. Most of the work I do doesn't require the use of a DV tape - I record directly to 1/2" decks - so i'm ok for now. The problem is that since I live in Vancouver, it would take 6-8 weeks to send my camera to Canon out east.. ARGH! Jeff

May 13th, 2002, 10:54 AM	#16
Bob Zimmerman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Illinois Posts: 888	Ok,,since I'm new to this let me ask ,,,I bought some Sony tapes The tape is black,,,the tapes just say Sony Premium. So is this just a cheaper grade of tape? And since I have only used a small amunt of tape since I got my XL-1s it won't hurt to switch to a better grade of tape. Whne looking for tapes I want one that the tape is creamed colored? Thanks

May 13th, 2002, 12:16 PM	#19
Bob Zimmerman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Illinois Posts: 888	Chris I don't see the link to Pro tape,,,,what is it? So is the cream color tape the best?

May 13th, 2002, 01:49 PM	#22
Bob Zimmerman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Illinois Posts: 888	I was looking at some of the tapes at pro tape. The panasonic ay DVM tapes come in like a PQ or MQ,,,is there much of a differnce besides the $6.00? You guys talked about not changing tapes,,,if I just want to do some normal shooting and what to use a DVM63 PQ, then say I'm going to do a wedding and want to use the DVM63 MQ that won't hurt anything will it?

June 11th, 2002, 08:35 PM	#24
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	<<<-- Originally posted by Zimvg304 : Ok,,since I'm new to this let me ask ,,,I bought some Sony tapes The tape is black,,,the tapes just say Sony Premium. So is this just a cheaper grade of tape? And since I have only used a small amunt of tape since I got my XL-1s it won't hurt to switch to a better grade of tape. Whne looking for tapes I want one that the tape is creamed colored? Thanks -->>> According to the owner of a documentary production company I know, Sony Premium is an excellent tape, great for all around use, with negligable differences between more expensive tapes. It's what he uses in his XL1 (which I bought off him) and XL1s. Hope this answers your question some.

June 11th, 2002, 08:46 PM	#25
Jeff Pelletier Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 25	Sony Tapes I'm not sure about the Sony tapes, but I know FUJI are supposed to be higher grade than Panasonic (and cost more). I really don't see how this would be an issue anyway. I mean Mni-DV is a standard, and it's not like Canon makes their own tapes that they recommend.. I think my point was that if FUJI really are high grade then it should have been the brand that killed my camera. I think it's just a problem with the loading mechanism being slightly out of alignment. Each tape could have a certain threshold where one tape would cause slightly more problems in a miss-aligned camera than another but I don't think that the tape could be considered a cause. Jeff

June 12th, 2002, 12:44 AM	#26
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Actually, here in Vancouver, I find Fuji miniDV tapes cheaper than Panasonic. Try London Drugs and Superstore. They usually have deals on Fuji tape once a month. Buy them in a 2 or 3 pack.

June 12th, 2002, 01:41 PM	#27
Jeff Pelletier Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 25	MiniDV Tapes in Vancouver By far the cheapest place for tapes in Vancouver is the Tape House in Burnaby. In fact they have a sale on right now for Fuji MiniDV at about $7 a piece (as opposed to $12 at London Drugs). Minimum 5 pack though.. Jeff

June 14th, 2002, 09:52 PM	#28
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Hi, I don't know about today, but back in the 80's and 90's Panasonic was not a tape manufacture. In fact, Fuji was the company that made all of Panasonics pro grade tapes. Panasonic used to freely admit it and were actually very proud that Fuji tape was in their wrapper. I don't know if that's the case today. Chris, maybe you could ask someone at one of the shows you attend and let us know. Jeff

July 19th, 2002, 12:54 PM	#29
Denis Basic Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Seattle, WA USA Posts: 35	eating tapes Well, :-) I guess I am "welcome to the club". My XL-1s started eating tapes, too. The problem occurs WHEN REWINDING only. I get the sign “remove the cassette” and when I pull out the tape, sometimes it is “regurgitated”, sometimes not. I also noticed that the time indicator is flickering when rewinding. This proved to be a good sign that the tape will be rejected if not even destroyed. I used to use JVC tapes DVM63ME purchased as a “special deal” for approximately $7.00 a piece. With first 11 tapes I did not have any problems. Very smooth rewinding. Then I purchased two more. The same brand, the same quality. (Followed your advice guys about the same brand, same oil, etc. It made sense to me.) Well, the tape #13 was the “lucky” one. Some beautiful materials from my birthday party (also July 13) were “regurgitated”. However, on a Mac platform I succeeded to recover a lot of stuff though the camera did not want to play the tape anymore, but a Mini DV player in the lab did. Then I read even more about the tape eating problem on this site. I cleaned the head of the camera with the Sony cleaning tape following your instructions and decided to “convert” to the best. As I read here, I purchased a few Panasonic DVM63MQ tapes to test them. The recording was great, but I was able to see it only once. When rewinding the tape, again the same problem. The tape was first rejected. I clean the head one more time following the instructions on the Sony cleaning tape. Then the tape was regurgitated. I cleaned the head one more time. And again the tape regurgitated. I felt … you know how. What should I do now? Send the camera to Canon? Thanks for your advices, __________________ Denis Basic

July 19th, 2002, 10:09 PM	#30
Bill Markel Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Sicklerville, NJ Posts: 59	DITTO Denis, I am having the EXACT problem as you describe, EVEN AFTER SENDING THE CAMERA TO CANON SERVICE. My only difference is that I am using Fuji tape. I am currently awaiting a shipment of the Panasonic DVM63MQ tapes and a rewinder. I shot a commercial with this camera last week and I've had a difficult time getting the footage into the computer. Have you, or anyone else who has experienced this problem, had an issue with dropped frames? I have to babysit my capture process because my NLE (FCP3) keeps aborting the capture because of dropped frames or broken TC, even though there are no TC breaks on the tape. This is not cool. Bill