Fair enough. I'm on the road right so I can check this moment, but is there another "standby" switch I don't know about with the excepton of the LOCK switch on the top left on the handle?

Yeah, it's part of the recordbutton that's NOT on the handle. It's a Standby/Lock-switch which you can turn.
Located at the back of the camera - near the tapecompartment.

The 2nd switch wasn't engaged, but after fiddling with it for a few mins it finally turned on...if it happens again, I might have to get it looked at.

Thanks guys for all your help!

Yah, must have been the switch.

Disaster Strikes! My poor A1...
 

Okay, so I was on a shoot and some construction crew was cutting some pavement about 30 ft. away all of a sudden the "concrete dust cloud" started to blow right into my camera. I covered it up with this tarp thing i had but it was by no means airtight. The dust kept blowing over it for about 10 or 15 minutes but the camera kept working fine. Then about 30 mins later when i went to check some of the footage i turned the cam to vcr mode and when i tried to turn it back to record mode it wouldn't turn on. The cam works fine in vcr mode but none of the recording modes work (no lights turn on or anything). I'm guessing the dust did something but am not sure why it only stopped working once i turned it off the first time. Has anybody ever had anything like this happen? I'm hoping i'm just being a dunce and there is some button i've flipped or something that is screwing it up but i know this is wishful thinking...

Havent flicked your standby switch to lock by any chance?

Take it to your local panel shop or mechanical workshop and give it a good blast all round with the compressed air nozzle.

Still sounds like the standby switch - which I discovered by hitting accidentally - and now use all the time

Trish

stand by switch. i've been caught in the rain at least 4 times, ungodly humid conditions and major dust/ sand. the a1 is a beast.

Yeah, if it plays in VCR mode, that's the standby switch. But that kind of dust is not a good thing. Might be a good idea to send the camera in to the Canon service place and have it cleaned.

lol, k it was my standby switch! OMG i'm starting to have serious questions about my videography abilities.....

Cal..I think we have all been there.
It happened to me on a shoot with the Gl2 years ago.
I had no idea what it was and started pressing and flipping everything I could to turn the damn thing back on. It's actually a handy tool once the stress of discovering it subsides.

Ya, same thing with my GL2 a few years back at a wedding... Freaked me out, luckily I just started moving every switch, which there weren’t a lot of on the GL2. :)

I just got my XH-A1 Last night, and I am glad I ran into this thread seeing as though this camera is all new to me. It’s just one of those silly things, which can feel disastrous.

Help! XH A1 Will Not Power ON in Record Mode
 

I was using my camera the other day with no problems, on record and playback. However, when I took it out of the case again, it will only let me turn the dial to the playback and power on. If I turn to the record side, it will not power on, and the little gray button will not come out and release.

Has anyone had this issue? If so, how did you fix it. I will call CANON if I must, but I hate being on hold forever.

I did the very same thing - I bet the thumb button is set to LOCK.....

You Are Right!!!!!!!!!! Thanks!

Merged several separate threads together which discuss this topic.

Help me plzz!! Important
 

Hi all,
First: Help!!!!!
I'm actually on a holiday trip , I've been recording with my cam for 2 days until now. I just wanting to power it on in A mode. The screens kept black , both LCD and the Viewfinder. It will come on in vcr mode and play back the tape but you can't watch the movie when you press play nothing happens.MH turned it of and an a few more time and suddendly the screen reappeared in A mode. I wanted to get out the cassete which wasn't also anymore possible. Switched back to vcr and got it finally out. At the moment the recording mods aren't working A, TV ,AV none of them, the HDV logo and the green led are illuminated but nothing else black LCD and viewfinder.In this state you can pull the eject button for the cassette an open it but the cassette remains in the cam and isn't coming out.
Powered it off again an ON in A got back the LCD screen I tried to record something, the red dot appears on the screen but the timecode isn't running anymore.If you press END search it doesn't work either the camera remains and does nothing.
And yes the button is in standby position.
Right now I'm rertying to get it work and the LCD screen redisappeared...
Help
Many Thanks
L.G

Little update of the problem.
I have now found a solution for the Black LCD in A,tv,.. mode .
I have to get the cam in vcr position and then quickly turn the weel over to A mode without a stop now I have again the image on my LCD but still can't record or eject the cassette . I think that this is defenitely not a manipulation error.The camera doesn't even as filled an entire DV in it's life it's brand new.
What do you guys think about it?
thx for help
L.G

No one who can help me?or at minimum say that this isn't a manipulation error?
Thnx
L.G

I am having a difficult time understanding the nature of your problem, but my advice is to contact Canon Europa immediately and send it in to their service center for repair. That is your single best course of action.

Lock button is jammed
 

On the wheel of my A1, the playback position work fine, but I get no power on any record option, looks like the lock button do not depress on any of those recording positions.
I am in San Diego and shooting tomorrow....any idea what it is?

Yes, on the button you press for record at the back of the camera, you will see two options. One is lock and the other is standby. It probably slipped to "lock" by mistake, change it to "standby".

Many thanks, you are a Master and you saved my life. It works!

Canon xh a1 won't turn on
 

Hmm I lent my canon xh a1 to my friend, and it works on the dials that let you watch what you have recorded, but it won't start up when I put it on the A dial or the M, or AV I'm not sure why anyone know? Basically any dial that lets me record doesn't let the camera start up

Try switching the STANDBY/LOCK switch from Lock to Standby position.

Yep--that'll do it. Almost everybody new to a Canon camera has flipped that switch accidentally.

aha thanks guys!

this one should really be a sticky - it would save the heart palpitations it invokes when it happens to it seems almost everybody once

been there
trish

Happened to me at 3 in the morning during a 48 hour film festival. We had shot all of the footage we needed and we were about to start editing when I realized the A1 wouldn't turn on. After going 30 hours without much sleep I was completely lost. I think I tried just about everything and then pretty much broke down. I thought we were completely screwed until I realized the obvious. Total n00b moment.

It bit me, almost fatally, when I went with a flm critic to shoot an interview for an on line site with Billy Bob Thornton and Virginia Madsen. We got there an hour early, got our spot, set up some lights, and waited. While waiting we decided to do a couple of shots of the critic by himself talking about the event. Did that. No problem. It was all hand held, so I sat the camera down on the floor, stood around talking awhile, finally picked up the camera and--it wouldn't come on. PANIC!

But, just about everything that can go wrong has happend to me over the years and I figued it was something I had done. When it came on for playback mode, I knew there was some switch someplace that had moved. Then I found it. It took me maybe about 2 minutes, but it seemed like 2 hours. Definitely a heart-stopper.

bill-

i've read your posting about that red carpet interview on another site. in your very fine description of the "dos & don'ts" of such an event, i don't recall u discussing THAT moment of panic. it is heartening to know seasoned pros like yourself can still work around the edges of doubt. congrats for being so up front.

be well

rob

Wait until you hit that switch in the middle of recording... that really bites it. You lose a good 20-25 sec. I wish someone at Canon would have made this a little more difficult to switch, or inoperable while the camera was recording.

Rob, you know what the difference is between an amateur and a professional, don't you? When a pro screws up he catches it in time, and the client never knows.

bill-

i always thought a pro was not paid to try but to accomplish

by the way, your comment made me smile. thanks :)

be well

rob

Was it Videonics that had the following on their web site? "The difference between an amateur and a pro is the amateur shows you ALL his photos/video."

The Standby/Lock lever is an artifact of the handi-cam form factor. It was NOT used on the XL1, or the H8 L1/L2 series, But was on the GL1/2 from which the XH more or less evolved. Newer consumer models (e.g, HV-20) are too small for the lever.

I suspect it is there and works the way it does because more people wanted it than do not want it.

I think it's there because nobody ever got around to saying, "Take the damn thing off--nobody uses it."

I use it all the time ;) Flip it with my thumb when I don't need the cam active. Never use the wheel except when switching modes.

A1 Failure!
 

We were shooting a wedding yesterday, and I had my A1 on my new Indicam, doing tracking shots, and following the bridal party duing their entrance. Just before the bride starte her entrabce, the A1 shut down. I mean DEAD...nothing. Luckilly we had three other cameras rolling.
I ran over to my case and grabbed another battery. Nothing. Tried two more batteries and still nothing. I then shot the rest of the ceremony with my H1.
later in the reception, just for the hell of it, I tried the A1 and bingo, it worked. This morning, I tried it with all 9 of my different Canon batteries, and it worked with all of them.
Any ideas???
Bruce S. Yarock
www.yarock.com

Hope I don't insult your intelligence here, but the only thing I can think of is that perhaps you had your standby/lock switch inadvertently set to lock.

cheers, d.