is their a way to get an hours readout for the number of hours the cam was in use?

It depends on the camera, but most models do not have the ability to display hours on, tape threaded etc. Most pro cameras and decks will display that information. what model do you need information on?

Jeff

There is no such feature documented in the service manual for the XL1.

If the concern is tape head condition, it is possible to get a count of tape read errors using the RM-95 adjusting controller. A high error rate can indicate a poor tape or poor condition of the heads.

i was looking at xl-1 or gl1 but i guess my question was answered...i would love to be able to get an hours read out measuring record and drum spin ect... for more specific billing purposes...

It wouldn't surprise me if the next version had a feature like that. Sony and Panasonic have that on some of theirs. The PD150 comes to mind, but I don't think the 2000 has it though.

Jeff

Does anyone know if there is an hour meter (heads, thread, etc.) through a series of button pushes? Perhaps in the service manual? Probably not.

No, there is no meter (at least none owner-accessible).

augh horrible oversight, good question i forgot to ask this...maybe this could be fixed with firmware update like the still cams get...

a counter would great, nice to know when to service your cams when you have multiple cams to keep track of...

for some reason with all the hype i thought this was an xl2 thread...i'm going to re ask this question maybe chris knows...

is a internal hour counter for the tape deck in the xl-1s ? one you could access from outside ?
and does someone know after (approx.) how many hours you need to think about replacing/cleaning the tape deck at the canon service ?

To the best of our knowledge such a counter does not exist, at
least it is not consumer accessable.

Regarding the cleaning most people seem to think it is best to
send the camera every year to Canon for a cleanup if you use
it often, especially if you do so commercially (where you need
your camera to be in tip-top shape).

It's a bit like you need to let your car be checked out every year
as well to make sure it is roadworthy...

i think about renting it out and it's quite hard to calculate the hours on the deck. when someone rents it for 10 days he could use it for 10 hours or even 240 hours.
you know how much is a cleanup at canon ? doesn't need to be an exact number, just a rough idea

I don't know how much it costs, but hopefully someone else will
chime in what that information.

Why not rent the camera with a direct-to-disk recording device?
You should have no trouble paying it off with rentals and you
don't tax the heads at all (if they don't use tape, but you could
of course tape the tape door (hehe) so it can't be opened).

I think a more serious issue is perhaps tape brands etc. If people
are going to be using your camera you have no idea what kind of
tapes go in there. The XL1 line of camera's is pretty susceptible to
head clogging etc., so it might be wise to run cleaning tapes
regularly when renting the camera!

yes those are good points !
need to look how much a easy to use direct-to-disk recording device is. but i bet it's 1000-1500$ (one that also has a good way to get powered - best thing would be 12V or 7.2V external power supply).
yes, tape brand... need to make clear that they must take the panasonic tapes i used before. best is to sell them directly with it ;-)

The problem is that you cannot garantuee they will use Panasonic
in your case, even if you sell the tapes with the camera. They
may have another camera or tape deck that only ever had Sony
for example and thus not wanting to use Panasonic for the same
reasons. And since yours is a rental..... You get the idea!

I believe the price range is between $500 - $1000 for such a
device, but it shouldn't be too much if your doing rentals. Most
people seem to use Focus Enhancements Firestore devices,
we even have a dedicated forum here for that:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=65

Earlier models are available secondhand, so perhaps that would
be an option for you.

Good luck!

Just wondering if there is a way to check the total logged hours on a XL1s.

Sorry for post. I checked the manual and searched this forum.

Thanks

I think you can't, sorry.
Good luck.

I seem to recall canon can do this in service, but it's not a 'user accessable' feature.

Then I quess that's a darn good reason why its not in the manual.

Thanks for taking the time to reply

Sorry but Canon chooses not to reveal this information.

Is there a way to check the hours on an xl1? I am looking at buying one, but he has no clue how many hours on the camera. When i did some shots, the footage was amazing. I would just like to know if there is a way to tell the hours.

Thanks

I have not ever seen this on any consumer accessible menu.

Since the cam is at least 5 years old, you might demand a checkup at a Canon location and inspect the drum and heads. These are frequent candidates for replacement to the tune of up to 900 bucks....

See http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost.php?p=425539&postcount=2

Is there a way using the remote (or other means) to be able to find out how many hours of head use on the XL1?

None of the XL cameras have a customer accessible hours meter. There may be something the factory knows, but it's never been revealed if that's true.

-gb-

OK, thanks....

I just dropped my XL-1 off at canon for the yearly cleaning...they said they can tell me what the hours are. Now with that said, how many hours are considered a lot???

If you can find out how they do it, let us know.

Sorry, no luck.

When I dropped the camera off at canon, I was told that there is an internal meter and that they can provide the hours while it's being serviced (routine cleaning). BUT, when I picked it up there was no hours provided. The girl simply said "oh, they did everything else, but didn't provide the requested hours". SOOOO, I have a feeling that she didn't know what she was talking about when she told that they can provide that information.

Oh well.

Is there a way where I could quickly see how many hours of filming the xL1s has (OPERATION, DRUM RUN, TAPE RUN, THREADING) ?

Thanks.

Daniel

What about a GL2 is this also possible ?

Sorry, not possible with either camera.

Please search for earlier discussions of this topic.

Hello,

I just got a hold of an XL1S and I want to see how many hours are on the heads. This camera has had two owners before me. It's in great conditon I just want see how much use I will have with it. So if there is a way to check the hours on the heads I'd love to know.

Thanks

Ken Stevenson

There is no function available to the owner of an Xl1 ot XL1s to determine the number of hours of use.

I believe that that Canon Service can retrieve this information, but I have no personal knowledge.

I thought as much, thanks for the response. I had planned on sending it in anyway to be checked.

Thanks again

Ken

If you lick the heads...oh wait, that's a 9 volt battery, never mind.

There is no documented (in the service manual) way to read head hours on the XL1, and I suspect on the XL1s.

Head hours would include time spent in record pause, play pause, playback and record mode with tape in the camcorder. Running a cleaning tape adds hours as well, but I do not know at what rate.

In any case, given the differences among tapes, a better indication of head condition might be the output levels read from a standard test tape.

I believe that that Canon Service can retrieve this information...I believe you're right, but I can say with certainty that they will not share this information with a customer.

I have an XL-1 is there a way to check the camera for hour use. If so please explain

I believe the answer is "no". The DVinfo search function can often answer questions like this for you:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost.php?p=425539&postcount=2
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=59957
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=29078
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=85744

count your tapes ... that's as best as i could come up with

Have merged several separate discussions into one big 'ol thread about checking hours on these cameras.

Is there anyway to check the hours of use on the Canon XL1?

Simply can't be done, there is no hours meter.


CS