GL1 Zoom
 

I believe it is the same problem you fixed, The Rocker feels as if something is stuck in it. It sticks when zooming in. It is very annoying. The zoom still seems to work fine, even variably, but it mechanically sticks. When it first happened, it was stuck quite hard and had to be forced to even move. I'm hoping that continued use will smooth it out.
As for bringing the camcorder over, Romania I am told is beautiful (one of my best friends hails from there). But it is rather far. (from Calgary, Canada).

A! Canada! It must be cold there, right now! :) Maybe the zoom rocker is frozen! :lol

Now, my problem was a bit different. It was nothing mechanical. The zoom rocker did not behave wrong MECHANICALY, like you describe. Maybe something got into there? I gues you've seen the pics I'
ve posted, about disassembling the zoom rocker? It shouldn't be very diferent from the GL1... hopefully! Maybe you'll manage to open the zoom rocker and clean it up.

So yeah.. I am pretty sure that my zoom problem has gone away. Atleast for the time being. It seems to happen a lot more when it is humid out or hot. During the summer I had so many problems with it but now it seems to be working fine.

I may still send it in sometime while my warranty is still valid though. Just to make sure that nothing is wrong internally.

Well thats all for now, take it easy board.

I've just discovered this problem on my XM2. I've had the camera just over 2 years which by the sound of things is when it usually goes wrong.
The thing is I've hardly used the camera but I did use it extensivley in 2003 when I visited the USA. It was a road trip and I travelled some really harsh places with a lot of heat, dust and sweat and I reckon that's where it's gone wrong.

luckily I took out a 3 year warrenty so I think I'm going to let Canon sort this but this site is brilliant so i ccan show it to them before handing it over. Thanks a lot to the guys who have put a lot of thought into finding out why this was happening.

pete B

(this might appear twice as i submitted but got a 'cannot find page'.)

More thanks to Cosmin here as i would not have 'gone in' without his instructions.

I was getting a zoom outward that wouldnt stop.

I did the dismantle and clean....easy...but didnt work.

I opened up again and applied upward pressure with my finger to the copper strips on which the rocker switch sits.

Only did it on the faulty side and so gently there was no visible change to their resting position...i could feel by pressing down on them there was added resistance though.

Put back together and it works....for now anyway.

My pleasure!

If you need to see some more XM2 guts, just ask! :)

Regular readers may recall that I had my XM1 repaired just under two years ago - a complete new tape compartment door assembly was fitted. The zoom control failed again two weeks ago whilst I was in New Zealand. This time as soon as the camera is switched on it zooms automatically to max focal length. As before pressure on the zoom switch towards the centre line of the camera body effects a temporary solution.

I shall try Cosmin's solution before abandoning the camera. There seems to be little point in buying an XM2 as replacement as that suffers from the same design faults.

I suppose that I shall have to switch to Sony despite its shorter f lens - I will achieve some compensation by replacing my Sony 1.7X convertor with a Century 2X convertor.

Oh dear!

The design of the cassette compartment door on the XM1 is totally different to the XM2, so Cosmin's excellent instructions were of little avail. I had to virtually dismantle the camera to get at the rocker switch, only to find that it was a sealed unit. The magic contact cleaner spray had no effect, so I have bought an XM2.

Now I just hope that Canon do not bring out the XM3 too soon!

The switch and its ribbon cable are a separate unit held into the door by two machine screws and a bit of tape, so the complete door unit I was charged for 2 years ago was a complete rip-off, as was the labour charge. If I were to dismantle and re-assemble again it would take less than an hour.

The quality of the switch itself is a disgrace.

XM1 Zoom Button Problem Temporarily Solved
 

I used the following method to solve the zoom problem and it works! My big thanks to all of you!

"A little experimentation shows that this problem, in my camera at least, is due to the Zoom control rocker switch on the cassette compartment door. If this is pushed sideways, towards the main body of the camera, the spontaneous zooming, and continued zooming after the control is released, stop."

As I have to open & close the casette compartment door very frequently to change tape. The door lock is so close to the zoom botton and I might have pulled it sideways (outward direction) to hard during opening, which caused the zoom problem. I also suspect that too much heat may cause the problem. I hope the the above solution will last long.

I have used my XM1 for over 3 years, or trips and children performance. I love it especially low light performance.

Cosmin's zoom rocker procedure completed successfully
 

Wow!! So, I just spent an hour last night replacing the zoom rocker on the GL2. First of all, thank you Cosmin for the posts they helped alot. The other thing is that I'm not a DIY type person - just a little short on the $250 to send the camera in. So, for those of you who feel the same dont despair, the procedure is not that difficult - just have patience and pay attention to what you're doing.

Now for the info you want:

1. Paper cups - you'll need these to place all the screws you'll be removing from the chassis. Label each one to where they go on the camera - it makes it easier when you're reassembling.

2. Be careful not to strip the screws. I had a hell of a time removing the two screws from the rear of the chassis. Also, on the bottom plate there are 3 screws around the tripod connector that do not need to be removed.

3. I'm sorry but I didn't have a digital camera so I had to attach to this post a part of Cosmin's picture to illustrate what I'm talking about (I hope you don't mind!). After removing the door cover I had a hard time inserting the end of the cable from the new zoom rocker. What I ended up having to do is remove the actual metal door mechanism from the side panel cover (connected with five screws). I found that it was easier to connect the cable when the mechanism was completely closed (after it was removed from the side cover.) This exposed the connector slot more so that I could insert the end of the cable.

4. The next thing you want to do after the new zoom cable is inserted in the connector slot is remove the adhesive backing on the cable strip (that’s connected to the rocker)and adhere it the the metal door mechanism. Screw on the rocker AFTER you've done this. Do not attempt to screw the zoom rocker onto the metal door mechanism - it'll make
connecting the new cable strip to the slot more difficult.

5. Last thing, pay attention to how the brown cable strip (going from the side door cover part to the camera) is connected to the main body of the camera. I had to refer to Cosmin’s picture to put it back in the correct way. That's pretty much it. There's really nothing to this $250 dollar job except that $13.95 zoom rocker. Hope this helps.

Part#: DG1-7395-000
U.S.A Phone# direct to parts dept: 1-732-521-7230

Another successful installation following Cosmin's rules
 

Thanks to Cosmin and Salvador I have successfully installed the zoom rocker on my GL2.

First, I cleaned the zoom key assembly following Cosmin's instructions. It didn't help.

So, I ordered the part just as Salvador indicated. The Canon representative in the parts department was a very surprised that I had the part number. I told her about this thread and she said she would look at it.

I followed Cosmin and Salvador's instructions and took my time. I carefully observed the location of each screw. I have no training or experience with electronics.

Salvador's 5 steps are very important, including the paper cups for the screws.

Salvador's fifth step about the brown cable I did a little differently. I simply did not unplug it. I had my son hold the side door cover near the camera body as I worked with the zoom rocker cable.

For the first time in more than a year I now have a working zoom key.

Thank you Cosmin and Salvador.

By the way the cost of the zoom key including three day shipping was about US$21.

John

Never mind