I've had my GL2 for about two years. Right out of the box the tape transport was very noisey when the tape was loaded or the heads engaged or disengaged. Is this normal with the GL2 or do I have a lemon? Kind of embarrasing when shooting an event and need to change tapes. Otherwise, I couldn't be happier with it.

Kent

Interesting. I guess I have nothing to compare it to, except consumer grade Canons. I mean, it's really relative. I suppose I could say that I would be very uncomfortable changing tapes during a church service, but on a normal day, at a birthday, I wouldn't think that something was "wrong" with it. I wouldn't hear it over the laughter of small children, say.

My final two cents: it doesn't have a soft touch, no. It whines and pops when the compartment opens. It is too loud to change tapes during wedding vows or "moments of silence."

DJ

Mine makes the same noise. I have a CHEAP Sony that makes less noise.

Steve

I havent noticed any excessive noise from mine, even in wuiet situations.

I am convinced that my XM1 became noisier after a service. This is true of both the load/unload cassette whirrs and whines, and also the tape transport noise. The L audio track now has a constant whine at around 1.5kHz.

Same thing with my XM2. Noisy load/unload tape. Exactly the same noise as with a low end Canon MV550i (pal ZR50MC) I had earlier. So I believe it is common for Canon cameras to make some noise during the load/unload tape.

I have an XM2 - very noisy mechanism, indeed. Is not the first time I read this question. The answers are the same, too. :)

I picked up my camera from service last week (not official Canon, but broadcast equipment service) due to famous REMOVE THE CASSETTE message. Paid 89 Euros for repair, and must say that camera makes less noise on power-on and eject operations than before. Also, it seems to me that mechanism runs much smoother than before.