My original camera was still almost new and started "eating" tapes and giving unorthodox error messages.
After talking to the Chicago repair center I decided that the camera was so new I should ask the people I got it from to replace it. They did and I got the new one in today...
The problem is that the zoom control has no "Ease in-ease out" and just slows down a little and then abruptly stops rendering it virtually unuseable .
I wouldn't have noticed this so much if my original camera hadn't worked elegantly (with regard to the finesse of the zoom control).
The question is.... has anyone else dealt with this and is it something that can be "tuned up" through a repair?

Anyone?

OK... so EVERYONE has had some problem with this...
I'm ready to build the two pot version of Jarred's home made zoom controller... BUT I spoke to someone at Prozoom today and he said that even the controllers won't work smoothly with a camera that has no ramping from the toggle switch and he also suggested that I send it in for warranty repair. I have some shooting to do next week then I'll be able to do without it for a couple of weeks... (Digital Megastore refused to replace it)

I'd like to hear what your other cam was? Most minidv cams have a relatively sudden start and stop to the zoom... that is why Adam Wilt suggested making a string loop that's fixed to the zoom... so that you can try to smooth the start and stop by keeping it manual and feathering your actions.

The other cam was a DVX 100. I guess I just got lucky with the zoom control but unlucky with the transport. Last night I made the Zoom Controller two knob version and it works! But like Pro Zoom said... even his unit won't taper off or ramp up if the camera is jerky. The controller works a lot smoother than the rocker arm though. I will be sending the camera off to the Chicago repair center as soon as I can spare it.

Check out the DIY version of the zoom controller here

http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/Gizmo/