I just got an XL-H1 last week, put in a tape shot about 30 seconds and rewound so I could see it play in the viewer. I'm in the middle of a major grad school assignment so I have less than no time. Last night I set it up to shoot some more and try to get to know it. In the process of experimenting, I saw a thin blue vertical line appear left of center, at first I thought it was some type of guide or frame, but realized it probably wasn't. I also shot some photos to the flash to see if I would see it there. Later I put everything up in final cut, the pictures were perfect (no vertical blue line), all the video shots had the line.

I had used a brand new Sony ($12 HD) tape. The blue line doesn't move, wiggle, or change in anyway, it also does not quite make it to the bottom of the screen.. it ends with a series of blue dots. This was all at midnight last night, today I am at work and panicking.. is this consistent with a dirty head? I have cleaned the sony I have a few times, but don't recall it looking quite like this.

As the photos appear clean, I'm guessing that the CCDs are fine, and the problem is either in the video circuit or the heads. I contacted the seller this morning (Moderator note: non-sponsor name removed) and they told me they would exchange it if cleaning the head didn't solve the problem (pwehhh!.. BTW I like these guys).

Also, as a side note, I got the Canon wide angle lens for it.. It is amazing.. I highly recommend it. I really doubt rather the 20X lens will spend much time on the camera (whenever I get it fixed). This is the best camera I have owned, so I am panicking (I also own a Sony HVR-A1U.. which is a gem, but doesn't return pictures like this).

Any advise is HIGHLY appreciated.

Thanks all!

Brian

This doesn't sound consistent with dirty heads. It sounds more like something in the DIGIC circuit. Somehow this line is getting intoduced and recorded to tape. If this were a tape head issue you would be seeing a lot of missing frames and a lot of blue flashes.

Good Luck!

From what I can gather, it seems that you have only used one tape. Is that correct? If it were me, I would definitely try another tape before you assume it is a hardware issue with the camera.