Do all your cameras SYNC up?
 

I posted a message under the XH-A1 thread, but curious if your cams all sync up, or if you have to keep making adjustments in post?

Here is the thread if you want to see what is happening in mine.
Cam out of SYNC? - The Digital Video Information Network

never had a problem syncing my cams in post. Once and done unless of course I've changed tapes. Sony 170s but it worked fine with the DSR series and JVC5000s as well.
Why? do you find you TL keeps going out?

Don

I use the $11.00 Sony Tapes, I know the cameras do not start at the same time but I sync the cams as the father kisses the bride, and to the exact time a flash fires, half way through the wedding the cams are out of sync, to the point that I have to cut the cam2 footage and move it about 6 seconds to get it in sync again.

I always ff the tapes to the end, then rewind before using.

I read in your other thread that you are using 2 different types of cameras. Now while I can't say for sure that might be causing a problem. Tape stock has little bearing on it. Meaning you could be using $2 tape and have or not have the problem. Perhaps it's the deck or camera you're using to load the tapes in with (IMO most likely suspect)
Perhaps if need be you coulld try loading the tapes in with the camera they were shot with just to see if there's any difference as it doesn't sound like you're using a dedicated deck.
Just a thought

I am using 3 cams, 2 XH-A1's and a HV30. Now if the 2 XH-A1's were in sync, I would say that is why, but its 1 of the XH-A1's that is out of sync.

I've now run across both of these threads and after thinking on it a bit I would suspect the "clock" in the XH A1 that doesn't keep sync. I don't know the inner workings of how a camera times everything it does but I'd guess there was a master clock that everything keys off of. If this clock isn't accurate it can send everything askew.

My guess is that you capture the footage from your three cameras from a single camera. As an experiment, you might try to capture the footage from the out of sync camera with the one you shot with to see if there's an improvement in the timing. Six seconds is a big shift out of sync.

I do events where I'll use as many as five cameras at once, and although the total running time for each segment is usually not as long as an average wedding ceremony, the occasional one is and I've never had a sync problem. FYI, the cameras are XH A1, HV30, HV10, ZR900 and Sony TRV-19.

I'd suggest you contact Canon on this to see if they've encountered this before.

Is it possible that one camera is set to "drop frame" timecode while the other is "Non-drop frame" (NDF) ?? I don't know much about the new Canon units, but I believe older cams like Sony PD-170 could be switched

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor

Drop versus non-drop only affects how the timecode is generated. It doesn't change tape speed. If your video was in sync but your TC wasn't, this could be the solution. If the video isn't in sync, it's not TC generation that's doing it.

I just started a test setting up all 3 cameras and recording just a background with some music going on. I did set off the studio strobes 3 times at the begining (no pre flash with studio strobes) and will do this again at 30 minutes and 60 minutes. I also took a picture of the LCD (so you can see the 2 xh a1's together at the beginning, will do so at 30 mins and 60 mins. This will let me see if one is recording faster or slower than the others.

I checked the drop frame, frame rate etc, all is the same.

I will contact canon, the cam I feel is inacurate is the Bcam, this is also the only one that has never been to canon for repairs, so no chance if something was out of spec they would have caught it.

Will post later my results. The more I hear that everyone else has no sync issues the more I want this fixed. I spend HOURS a year fixing sync problems that I dont think I have to.

I will also add that the Acam is the one I record all audio too, and even when using my sony recorder, the audio always syncs perfect so I know the Acam is the one that is correct. It also syncs perfectly with the HV30. I have it narrowed down to witch cam is the problem, its just what the problem is.