Hi,

Recieved my new XL HI 12 days ago.

Perfect condition all items in box were sealed.

Just beautiful no problems.

Flew to Scottland and noticed a dead pixel in the viewfinder.

Phoned creative video uk who said I should return due to it being under the 28 day warrenty period and that they would replace with a brand new camera from cannon.

Recieved new camera late today. The box had been opened with a sticker seal on box saying ( checked ).
All the internal contents of the box ie body lens etc had been opened with seals removed.

The foam on the mic has been damaged, compressed and will not come back to normal shape.

I told them I was very happy with original camera and maybe just to replace the viewfinder but they insisted I send the whole unit back.

Any advice would be appreciated in where I stand.

Best regards

Mike.

keep the old camera and new viewfinder and send everything else back.

Or send me the new camera and tell them it must have gotten lost in the mail.

I have a FU-1000 I can plug into it.


Bryon<><

On a serious note.

Old camera was returned.

Mike.

Mike out of curiosity I'm wondering if the dead pixel was in the viewfinder or on the block. Changes in altitude can cause dead pixels to crop up, and the lack of a user controllable masking feature becomes a severe problem.

Has anyone else flown with their xl-h1 and noticed similar problems?

Hi Nick,

Definitly in the viewfinder.

Anybody with suggestions on whether I should have recieved my second replacement camera sealed as per factory or not.

Would really appreciate some input.

Mike.

Hi,

Have you spken to your supplier to see if it was checked by them prior to despatch. I don't think there is anything legal wise to say that it should be sent directly to you unopened form the manufacturer.

I would confirm with them that it was they who checked it . Also check to see if there is any use on it Head time ,lace etc. if so then you do not have a new item and a justifiable complaint.

As regards to the mic just get them to replace that item only.

regards

mick

I would raise hell and have them send me another new one, this time unopened EVERYTHING sealed. I've never put up with treatment like that and never intend to.

What you must remember is that here in the Uk aftersales service is a little different to the US. It is upto the supplier to to supply an item suitable for its intended purpose and for the 1st year he is responsible for and arranging for the repair of any manufacturing defects. Therefore it is perfectly reasonable for the supplier to check that items sold by him are in good order before sale.
Please note I am not a supplier. Just giving my take on things

Regards

Mick

Thanks folks.

More input from people in UK would be appreciated.

Mick,

Could you please elaborate on where I can check the points you mentioned on the XL H1. ie:

Head time ,lace etc

Thanks

Mike.

I am not an xl owner now, but with the Sony Z1 you can go into the the menu and check the camera useage. I am sure you can do this with the canon, its probably hidden in the instruction book somewhere. Maybe Chris can help out here.

regards

mick

I don't think there is any way a user can check the hours on an H1. Perhaps CVP opened the box to check the VF before they sent it to you. However if it has arrived damaged and you are not happy you should send it back. I doubt Canon's own warranty would cover a dead LCD pixel, most LCD manufacturers have an allowable amount of dead pixels. As it dosn't effect the recorded image it could be said to not effect the performance of the camcorder. IMHO the H1 LCD is so poor anyway I would get too hung up over a dead pixel, instead I would invest in the FU-1000.

It's not altitude that causes pixels to fail but cosmic radiation. This is worse at altitude especially nearer the poles where the earths magnetic field concentrates the solar wind. Sunspots and flares will also increase the risk, so if at all possible avoid flying on a polar route during a solar storm. I flew back from the USA a couple of years ago with my Digibeta. During the night flight the pilot informed us that if we looked outside we could see a good display of the Northern Lights. Not what you want to hear!! When I checked the camera after the flight I had over 30 dead pixels, the end result a new CCD block at £8,000... ouch!!

Sony now no longer ship cameras on aircraft that use polar routes.

Hi,

Phoned creative video uk who said I should return due to it being under the 28 day warrenty period and that they would replace with a brand new camera from cannon.




What part of Brand New don't people understand?

I deal with ASK-Kamla in Tottenham Court Road here in London. New would be unopened FROM Canon direct. No questions!

I wouldn't even go into the "whys" and "where-fors". I have no experience of "Creative", if they say what you say, an open box and "checked" doesn't stack up for me?

Just as point in case, here in the UK, I for one make my wishes on "bought" products very politely but extremely well known! And I get responses too. PLUS we have very strong Consumer laws to back us up.

They said - "replace with a brand new camera from cannon"? (actually it's Canon!) - well get it!! Get what you paid for! PERIOD!!! This aint no cheapo product.

Grazie

I agree with with Graham, you've paid almost 10.000 dollars for this camera, if it doesn't work, you should get a completely new one, no questions asked.
If this camera really is for the pro market, like they say, you should get a 'pro' treatment too.

I agree with with Graham, you've paid almost 10.000 dollars for this camera, if it doesn't work, you should get a completely new one, no questions asked.
If this camera really is for the pro market, like they say, you should get a 'pro' treatment too.

However to be fair, a single dead pixel in the viewfinder does not equate to a broken camera that doesn't work to spec. Now a dead pixel on the sensor block, that's another matter.

It indeed isn't a serious problem, but I still think after paying 9000 dollar for a camera, you should get it without defects, even if they would be minor.

Maybe Chris can help out here.I'm afraid there's not much I can do, except to confirm that there is no way to check head & drum hours, or number of eject cycles on any Canon camcorder, nor will Canon service provide this information to the camera owner (not a very good policy if you ask me). There should be a little note with every camera about the LCD display or viewfinder, that states something like 99.97% of the pixels are guaranteed to be good, so if there are 2 or 3 bad pixels, that's considered within the fault tolerance of their quality control. 99.97% certainly sounds like a very high standard, until you run into one of those dead pixels.

Hi Guys

More heat, less light.

I had three XL2's, yes three, from Jessops. Fortunately for me they were all brand new. However, I lost an excellent tape which was jammed in the drive because the camera would not come out of standby. What was far worse for me: no bugger seemed to care about my tape.

In my other career I have shot stills jobs where the film was worth more than the camera, so losing a film on a job, either personally - or in the lab, just ain't funny; though in twenty years shooting, I guess the loss of a film is almost inevitable. Experience taught me that cameras can be replaced, creative work often can't be.

With this in mind, I developed the habit of putting film directly into my trousers pocket once it was exposed, so at the end of the shoot I had great bulging pockets. So, when it came to video, imagine my chagrin when I lost my first Mini DV tape on my first commission. I had used the same technique, but somehow tapes were more fugitive than rolls of film. Fortunately for me the project was just a school day trip for my Kid, but I felt so bad that I drove the fifty miles back to site and shot the whole project again the next day- minus the kids; they were included as a cutaway feature from the stills that one of the other parents had taken.

After many years working with quite expensive stills kit, one becomes really blase, throwing cameras and lenses worth thousands into holdalls and bags without much thought as one rushes between shots - it's getting the pictures that counts. If I saw an assistant caressing a camera with undue interest, I more or less knew he was more interested in 'technics' than in images. I would then know what to expect and try to steer him in a more creative direction.

I am sorry to have to admit that I feel the same way about video cameras. Some of the first moving images I ever shot were on a 16mm Eclaire and the camera was so old, had it been a car, it would not have got an MOT. Nevertheless, the series won an award - but not because it was shot on a new, or even up to date, camera.

Rod

Rod I think you make a good point about a trap that I perpetually find myself falling into. Let's be honest the majority of the people reading this forum are, if ever so slightly, gear heads. I mean it comes with the nature of the name of the site. Wouldn't be much to discuss if the only question asked was "can it take a pretty picture?"

I'd probably get kicked off of every other job I work for if someone reads this, (I'm a Camera Utility/Engineer) but you're right at the end of the day who cares what the specs are if you can't get the shot. Of course once I get the whole "screw caressing the camera, get the shot" out of my head, then I'll have to work on the whole "screw the shot, get the story" but that's a whole new ball of wax.

However, I think that your ability to "get the shot" is severly hindered if you don't "know your gear" or even (and sadly in my case) "love your gear" If you're shutter locks up because you jammed it in transport, then you won't ge tthe shot. If you bust a lens, you can't use it on the next shoot (and you know that'll be the lens you reach for). And if you miss something critical because your eye is distracted by a large clump of pixels in the viewfinder, well, how much is that missed shot worth?