XL2 Free Run Timecode Problem
 

Hi,

Just wanted to know if anyone has tried running multiple cameras with free run timecode. I tried it with two cameras a few weeks back and set both cameras running via the remote to ensure they were exactly the same, both new cameras with new back up batteries etc but after about 3 hours one camera had either gained or lost 3 seconds. Tried reseting the next day but the same thing happened again. I have since talked to Canon Australia and they spoke to technicians in Japan who said they thought the problem may have been caused when the units were switched off once during the day - seems a bit of a wierd explanation and was wondering if anyone else had been using their cameras in this way??

Cheers

Mark

Ehhh... this is very strange... there should be no reason for the cams to lose sync by three seconds over the course of one shooting day, even if they were powered down.

I would suggest checking and resetting FRTC each time you power back up, or perhaps even several times throughout the day.

3 seconds in 3 hours does seem like a lot. I have seen more like 1 second per hour the couple of times I've checked it. Today, for example, I saw 1 frame drift in 6 minutes which is equivalent to 10 frames per minute or 1 second in 3 hours.

I have no idea what quality crystals are used in these cameras nor the extent of temperature stabilization which is applied but they likely aren't ovenized. High on my wishlist for the XL3 is the ability to accept/generate black burst and output timecode.