Pluggin' into a console and timecode for Z1

[Phil Gosselin]

Hi all,

We have two Z1, well my collaborator have them, I just use them from time to time. Anyway, we rented them a few months ago and I guess the people who rented it fooled around with the way the timecode is displayed on the screen because now all there is are 0's. Even when recording the timecode stays at 0 all the time.

I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonnalbe explanation for this but i don't have the manual handy and my collaborator is always too busy to look it up (plus he doesn't use this board :)

Also, it's been a couple of times now that when we shoot at an event that has an audio console we plug one camera in. It always sounds fine until we press record, then it becomes a highly pitched gurgle.

My collaborator suggested yesterday to lower the manual settings to minus 12 dB and then re-adjust manually as the shoot starts. Does that makes any sense to you.

Thanks for the answers.

Phil

[Bob Hart]

Same problem. Camera also took a RF interference hit at exactly the same time as an FX1 at a music gig. It only turned up on the timeline when editing. The PD150 which was roving camera was not affected. Timecode problem emerged after this event.

I have since been told there are idiots who go to these things with a remote to mess with the cameras, so best practice also is to mask off the infra-red receovers on the cameras when not using them as well as deselection in menu in case the deselection does not happen.

It may be my management of TC/user-bits which are selectable on the controls under the LCD and the menu system but I have not been able to get it working since.

When you plug in to a mixer, make sure your inputs are selected for line, gains are at their absolute lowest and manual.

If it is auto and right on the threshold of the limiter, it may test okay on the soundchecks but when the band lights up, the level may become too high.

Your colleague's suggestion of minus 12db? - Yes. Compared to analogue tape, digital reproduces low levels a lot better but does not cope with overloads as well.

A personal preference is also to operate the camera off battery power and not from the mains. I have had audio frequency modulation of power supply with another camera type through being hooked up to the same source as the big amps.

This spoiled the image through harmonics of the 50Hz (PAL) breaking through as noise bands so have come to the thought that if the power gets that dirty, it is best to be avoided.

[Phil Gosselin]

Thanks Bob,


Good heads up on the power thingy there, though we have about 12 long lasting batteries it is highly unlikely we will ever run out of power but I 'll keep your last advice in mind if it happens.

I am not sure if I follow you with the timecode problem. I assumed it was only a settings issue. Again, it is higly unlikely that across the globe another idiot would mess around with a RF remote.

Are you telling me that you were never able to set the TC back the way it was?

Thanks

Phil

[Boyd Ostroff]

Hey Phil. I'll admit that I don't understand any of the timecode options on my Z1 or PDX-10 because I've never felt the need to learn. However, I can tell you that if you accidently press the TC/U-BIT button (last button on the bottom right in the panel under the LCD screen) then the display will turn to all zeros. Just press that button again and things should return to normal.

It's easy to accidently hit that button, and it had me confused for awhile too!

[Phil Gosselin]

well, that sounds simple enough, Thank you wrangler ;)