problems with Canon
 

I'm not super experienced with lots of cameras, but hear me out. my brother owns a canon zr-50, and a JVC gy-dv500 (i know, huge difference). We have had sooo many problems with the zr-50, right now the biggest one is I can't seem to go a half hour without it wanting me to "REMOVE TAPE". that annoying beeping sound is driving me insane! For a school project we rented a canon GL2 from our school, because the JVC is in the repair shop. Well, i don't know if I just have bad luck, or if Canons really suck because I'm having loads of problems with both Canons. The GL2 has eaten 3 of our tapes, and the zr-50 is just pissing me off to the point where i want to chuck it out the window!

so i guess my question is = Are all Canons tape loading mechanisms this bad? And if not, am I doing something wrong? I have a deadline approaching quickly and I really need to figure something out.

missing the JVC badly,
TOM

Using a camcorder that has been used by numerous people who don't own said camcorder, usually means it could use some maintenance. Get a tape head cleaner and run through the camcorders, (both Canons) following manufacturer's instructions. I've owned two Canons (GL1 and currently an XL2) and can vouch for the quality of their equipment, when properly maintained. Hope this helps.

Dan

"when properly maintained"
 

Thomas, school and other institutional equipment are not very good indicators of a brand's reliability. My Canon tape drives chug long just fine, after thousands of hours.

I have 7 Canon cameras, video and still. Never had a problem with a single one, that wasn't my fault (like switching tapes and not cleaning the heads).

thx for the replies, I bought a cleaner tape and i hope it does the trick!

Check out the camcorderinfo.com Canon Forums...alot of users are having problems with the ZR series cameras. Though i had 2 and they worked flawlessly.

The ZR series is at the bottom of the camcorder food chain. The 50 model is now three generations old. If this particular camcorder has never been sent in to Canon service even once for a professional cleaning, then it's just asking for trouble. A head cleaning cassette is only a temporary fix. These are consumer items... it might be time to get a new one, and if you do, be sure to send it in for a professional cleaning at least once per year.

yeah, i know it's a cheap camera. I've found that if I wind the tape tightly before i put the cassette in, it doesn't give me the "remove tape" error. It usually only gives me trouble on playback, like if I rewind. The highspeed rewind usually messes it up, so I just use the slower rewind.

for instance, it was recording fine when i was doing the school project, then some of the girls wanted to see what the shot looked like. So, I tried to rewind it, but "remove tape" error flashed it's ugly head. So I guess as long as I don't rewind too often, i'll be ok. I think I've mastered this thing. =)

My facility (educational) runs 4 Canon XL-1s, 4 GL-2 and 2 GL-1's.

Thay are lent to students 7 days a week 10 months of the year.

I can too can vouch for their build quality and tape handling reliability.

In 6 years we have never had a tape stick or munch in these cameras. The GL-1's are now 5 years old and never needed new heads or anything.

However the heads are cleaned every month, and the units religiously returned to Canon for a full service annually. Tapes are fast forwarded and rewound (in camera) before shooting (if I have any say) and we *never* employ LP mode.

With proof of maintainence, the cameras hold their value remarkably well. I traded our 4 original XL1's (4 years old) for the XL-1's two years ago and recieved almost 50% of the original XL1 price for them!

Not bad methinks.

Lee