Camera failure

[Brian Babarik]

I shoot many weddings with the FX1 and have had no problems with it until now. I took the camera outside in about 80% humidity and 95 degree weather conditions. I shot for about fifteen minutes and then took the camera inside an air-conditioned church. I shot inside and out for about the next half an hour. After this shooting session I switched to a new tape and shot the ceremony and then shot all the footage after the ceremony and before the reception on the one tape. Timecode ran normally and there were no error messages. As the introductions of the reception started I switched tapes and shot the rest of the evening.

 

Here are my issues:

 

1. The next day I went to shoot a test tape to import into my computer. I had trouble with error message C:31:23. It told me to eject and reinsert the tape. After doing this four or five times the camera accepted the tape. I shot five minutes, cut, and shot another minute. When I cut the timecode was lost and zeroed out as I began rolling again. I could see parts of the image as I fast-forwarded or rewound in VCR mode but the tape would not play normally. The camera is now not accepting tapes but grinds every time one is inserted or ejected.

 

2. The tape I shot with for the ceremony and before the reception is not viewable in any camera. I believe there is still footage on the tape as the tape I shot with during the reception is still useable with no problems. When the ceremony tape is inserted into any player is reads that the tape must immediatly be ejected. This is very important for me to get resolved and I would greatly appreciate any advice on the next questions.

 

Questions:

 

1. Has anyone encountered a problem like this before? If so is there any preventative maintenance?

 

2. Are there any kits or can I find a tape recovery system? If I were to find a kit to rethread the magnetic stock onto a new casset might that help me upload the tape information? Has anyone had this issue and what was the solution?

[Bob Hayes]

It may be a tape slack problem. Inset you finger into the take up spool and see if you can tighen slack. If it aint this I don't have a clue.

[Michael Collier]

Its a mini-dv camera. I havent had slack problems per say with those (such small tape transport mechanisms) most problems arrise from tape movement. when you hear grinding sounds thats your warning buzzer.

 

about saving your tape. This is what confuses me, with a mini-DV deck, camera or clamshell, I have never seen a message telling you to eject immediately. Most will just show a blue screen, or at best some block noise (this is if you recorded in DV, in HDV it would just be blue.) You can check by carefully depressing the switch on the side to pull the cover up, and look at the tape. If its pinched it could be fixed, i assume, but if the information never recorded to begin with then there is nothing to save. To save it, there are companies that offer tape restoration services, though I don't know any specific one, or if your problem is fixable by their methods.

 

My question is how old are the tapes? Fresh out of the box or re-use tapes from 3 years ago?

 

If you recorded DV you may have better chances, a dropout could affect at most one frame, and likley only one block. In HDV a dropout could blank several frames, and perhaps long enough to get to the next pinch.

[Brian Babarik]

My question is how old are the tapes? Fresh out of the box or re-use tapes from 3 years ago?

 

The tapes are brand new out of the box. Panasonic master quality mini-DV. These are the only tapes used on this camera.

 

On the shoot day there was no indication that there was a problem (no grinding noises, timecode drop-out, etc.). The tape I shot after the one I cannot view is fine and I can watch it. I just don't know. I will keep tryng to find places to save the tape if possible. Thanks.

[George T. Griswold Jr.]

The tapes are brand new out of the box. Panasonic master quality mini-DV. These are the only tapes used on this camera.

 

On the shoot day there was no indication that there was a problem (no grinding noises, timecode drop-out, etc.). The tape I shot after the one I cannot view is fine and I can watch it. I just don't know. I will keep tryng to find places to save the tape if possible. Thanks.

 

 

I would dry out the camera and tapes. Otherwise you may have trashed your gear.