"Remove cassette" error message
 

I have owned a GL1 for three years and have been very impressed with the picture quality. However, it has not been a reliable camera. While it was still under warranty I experienced a "remove cassette" error message on playback and was unable
play back the tape. The camera went back to Canon for repair and they kept the camera for five weeks to carry out repairs.
Since then it has been back for repair three more times to a local repair shop for the same problem. I have tried different brands of tape, but that has not stopped the problem from returning. The tapes with the error message will play back on different cameras, so it does not appear that tape is the problem.
I am suspecting that this just a bad camera with a fault which is difficult to pin down, so am considering buying a GL2, as I use my camera on my travels and need it to be reliable.
Has anyone experienced this problem? Will the GL2 prove to be more reliable?

Thanks,
Terry

Call me shortsighted . . . ..
 

Terry - . . . Try putting "remove cassette" in the search facility here. I got back 19 threads and the longest one had some 65 responses. the other "feature" is the wayward zoom. Would I buy another XM2? Yup!

Grazie

Terry, welcome aboard. As Graham has already pointed out
there is wealth of information already available on this subject.
There was even one pretty high on the list when you entered
this forum (just a couple of threads down):

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=30534

Hi All,

Having read through all of the threads about this problem (which I am currently affected by), I still have a question: if the camera is not under warranty, how much will it cost to have Canon do the repair?

Just FYI, I'm in the US and will be sending it to the NJ center.

Thanks,
Ryan Graham

gl heads
 

The error message you are recieving is indicating that you have dirty heads. Head cleaning is a pretty big problem, and when you switched tapes to try to fix it you actually made it worse. Each brand of tape has a residue to it, these can build up pretty fast. It's recomended that you stick to 1 brand of tapes (I only use sony "premium" tapes) and i havent had a problem with them.

have you tried a head cleaning tape yet?

if that doesnt work you will have to send it to cannon
I think it's a couple hundred bucks to replace, I'm not sure.
ask them

It's definitely not dirty heads. I've only used Sony Excellence tapes. This is a common problem with the Canons that is referenced in the link above. It does not affect playback, only fast-forwarding and rewinding.

Anyone actually sent their camera in for this problem? Just wondering if it is worth it to get it fixed, or if I should just buy another cheapo camera for playback/capturing.

Thanks,
Ryan

I don't think it has to do with mixing tape either... I only used Sony premium tape since the beginning and I started having the "remove cassette" problem happening 3 months ago. First it happened only when I tried to rewind tape. Then, it got worse (about 3 weeks ago) to a point that I can no longer record anything. I tried cleansing tape, no help. It just seem to me that Canon camera is not reliable enough for event capturing such as wedding and concert. Camera breakdown should be the last thing you need to worry on your list.

I don't think it's tape brand either. I think it's random variation in the amount of drag in tape casssette mechanisms coupled with either a generally frail Canon design or specific defect in materials or workmanship that occurs in a small but unacceptably high percentage of units.

I discuss it a bit further in this thread:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/t107226.html

You know I had a Sony analog that I did not take very good care of lots of outdoor hunting fishing use never a problem. It was a $350.00 camera. And the image is still great. Now with a $1700.00 camera I see people with all kinds of problems. I now baby my camera thinking that if I even frown at it it will go on strike or quit. What is the deal?

Just got a reply back from the local canon authorized repair shop, they said there is a problem with my camera cassette mechanism and they gave me 2 options:

CAD 450 to repair it or
CAD 680 to replace it

What is your suggestion? replace or repair?... both have 3 months warranty after and both need to order new parts.

Is that 650 to replace the entire camera, or just the cassette mechanism? Because I've heard quotes of much less than that from Canon's repair center in New Jersey for replacing the mechanism. If that's for replacing the whole camera with a new one, then I guess that's a pretty good deal, though. If not, you might want to consider sending it off to New Jersey or one of the other Canon repair centers.

Keep us updated, though. I'd be interested to see how this turns out!

Ryan Graham

The quote are in Canadian dollar and it only covers the cost of replacing/repairing the cassette mechanism. I wish they will give me a new camera for that price... :0

Yikes! lots of bucks there.
Steve

Tape brand is actually very important, theres hardly a difference in quality between the different brands, but picking one brand and sticking with is the key. I shoot on fuji film tapes and occasionaly when I'm forced to use a different brand I've encountered the "remove tape" message. The problem was solved after head cleaning and returning to fuji brand tapes. After extensive shooting on many 3 ccd camcorders I've realized this problem is more apparent in the canon cameras than sony or panasonic. From experience I believe that the majority of " remove cassete" errors is due to tape residue issues on the heads.

yup its a problem
 

cost me 412$ US to repair the problem direct from the cannon new jersey facility. Explanation on the invoice said 400 labor 12 tax and that was it. However, camera appears to be working again.