Dropouts
 

Hi all,
I have had one of my XL1S' for about a year and I'm having dropouts using Sony Premium tapes (I've cleaned the heads only twice in that time because I've read it's not good on the heads). I use it for commercial use and presume it's about ready for a head cleaning/adjustment, but before I do, I wanted to see if you guys could tell me how many minimum/maximum hours it should have before sending it in. Also, where are the hours logged, I can't seem to find it in the menu?
TIA,
Randy

In 4 years, I have one camera that has gone back 3 times and 2 that have never gone back. So... it's kind of hard to say.

One camera was purchased about 2 years ago - the other two (including the one that has been sent in 3 times) were purchased about 4 years ago.

My reason for sending it in was head alignment problems. The tapes gradually got to the point where they would not play in my deck.

Sorry to hear of your trouble, Randy.

Canon video cameras do not feature a run-time hour counter. I've seen various figures slung around here regarding the mean time between maintence and head life for this, and other cameras. But since there is no run-time meter I put no credence in such figures and would not want to repeat and potentially propagate such nonsense.

Since you've cleaned the heads it might be worth trying a diffferent brand of tape. There have been quite a few folks who have reported trouble using Sony tape in Canon cameras. I don't want to propagate this rumor either, but I've seen quite a bit of this issue here over the past couple of years. The Panasonic PQ's would probably be comparable to, or better than, what you're using. It seems that in this case you've nothing to lose, as your next step will be to Canon Service anyway.

Good luck to you, Randy.

Thanks guys,
I think I'll try to clean the heads again. I have a Panasonic dry cleaner but I'm wondering if a wet cleaner would be better/safer. While you're at it, can anyone tell me if Canon charges for head alignment/cleaning during warranty?
Thanks,
Randy
Edit: I was just thinking after posting and thought I should let you know: what I'm calling dropout is an occasional 1 or 2 frame pixelation sometimes with an audio glitch...am I using the right term, dropout, or would dropout only mean, say, several frames of black? Please excuse my ignorance.

I don't believe there are any mini DV wet tape cleaners. Do a search on head cleaning and you find many threads on this topic. Contact Canon Service for information on their pricing. Your use of the word dropout seems accurate.

Thanks guys, I appreciate your time.
Randy