XL1 won't power on

Steve McCratic · October 22, 2006

After I shot for a while with my XL1, I decided to capture . I connected the firewire and turned on the player, nothing happened. I unhooked the cable, turned it back to camera, still nothing. I'm obviously a beginner with this thing, but has anyone esle had a similar problem. I've tried a different battery, the ac adapter, nothing works. It won't even power up to eject the cassette. Am I overlooking something?

Tim J Durham · October 23, 2006

After I shot for a while with my XL1, I decided to capture . I connected the firewire and turned on the player, nothing happened. I unhooked the cable, turned it back to camera, still nothing. I'm obviously a beginner with this thing, but has anyone esle had a similar problem. I've tried a different battery, the ac adapter, nothing works. It won't even power up to eject the cassette. Am I overlooking something?

Was the computer turned on when you attached the firewire? If so, you've fried the main fuse and now you need to send it in to Canon to get it replaced.

Steve McCratic · October 23, 2006

That was the only guess I had left. I think I was in denial. Any idea how much that might cost?

Tiffany Armour · October 23, 2006

That was the only guess I had left. I think I was in denial. Any idea how much that might cost?

Probably 300-400 $. Best wishes Tiff

Jason Debus · October 23, 2006

So how do you fry the fuse? Is it when you turn on the computer when it's already plugged into the camera?

Kirk Love · October 24, 2006

guys, is it only with Canon camcorders? I have my cable in my firewire port all the time, when I need to caputre I simply connect it to my mini DV camcorder(Samsung) when my computer is turned on and its working properly.

Steve McCratic · October 26, 2006

It's hard to say. I heard that the XL-series may not be hot-swappable. I have a little panasonic miniDV that I plug in and out without a thought. I'll probably use it as a deck when I get the XL1 back. You can be sure that I won't be using the Canon as a player anymore. This brings up another question. Can I expect to lose some quality of the XL1 recordings by using a much lesser camera to capture? Again, I'm new at this. Any input is very much appreciated. Also, I've learned that there is a procedure for resetting an XL1. Remove the battery (with the camera off), next remove the little back-up battery underneath the camera behind the lens (by the handle) turn the camera on for a few minutes with both batteries removed. After a few minutes, turn the camera back off and replace the batteries. This should reset the camera. It may be BS, but that's what a Canon tech told me to do. I don't know if it did anything or not because my camera is still not working and on it's way to the cam-hospital. Jusk for kicks, would someone please post the proper procedure for connecting an XL1 to a PC via the fire-wire. It might come in handy in a pinch or if I stand to lose quality by using an inferior camera as a deck. Again, I feel kinda stoopid...

Tim J Durham · October 26, 2006

Jusk for kicks, would someone please post the proper procedure for connecting an XL1 to a PC via the fire-wire. It might come in handy in a pinch or if I stand to lose quality by using an inferior camera as a deck. Again, I feel kinda stoopid...

You can use an Elura that has firewire. As for attaching the cam to the computer, turn both off. Connect firewire. Turn on computer. Turn on camera. Launch NLE. It's not just Canons, I know it happens with Sony Z1's and the little HVR-10 and 25 decks.

Joe Hoper · November 24, 2006

My PC is always giving me mild electric shocks and there's rarely a time when peripherals don't spark when I plug them in! I'm always causing restarts and buggering up my graphics cards when plugging in my projector. I've noticed sparks plugging in my XL2 via firewire when both are on, but ONLY when using the DC coupler.

Using a battery you should get no earth differences, hence no sparking or shorts, plugging in the cam.

As I say, mine has sparked but caused no problems. Firewire is, by design, plug and play, so there should be no need to power off both machines before connection.