Drop outs on Canon XL-2

[JD Marlow]

Hi,

 

I shot an event last weekend with my Canon XL-2 --- I have owned this camera for almost 3 years now and have shot hundreds of hours of video on it. It's been incredibly reliable and I have never had any issues. I have always used the same brand of Panasonic Mini-DV tape and I clean the heads regularly.

 

However on the first 4 minutes of the SECOND tape that I used, there are horrible drop outs every 10 seconds or so. After those first 4 minutes, everything is fine.

 

Is there anything I can do to correct the drop outs on the tape (i.e. playback on different deck other than the camera?) or is this segment of the tape simply ruined, essentially?

 

Thanks!

Edited November 10, 2008 by JD Marlow

[Daniel Sheehy]

There are several possibilities:

 

- It was a faulty tape. Have you looked under the lid at the beginning of the tape? I wonder if the tape might be creased or have a crinkle on one side of the reel.. If the tape reel was poorly wound and one edge got nicked, this could explain the periodic drop outs.

 

- The recording heads (inspite of the fact that you cleaned them) picked up a bit of dust or oxide and then threw it off later. No real way to check this.. you just have to clean the heads again and hope.

 

- The deck playback heads are dirty. But if the drop outs are present in the same places no matter what deck you play it on, then this is probably not the problem.

[JD Marlow]

There are several possibilities:

 

- It was a faulty tape. Have you looked under the lid at the beginning of the tape? I wonder if the tape might be creased or have a crinkle on one side of the reel.. If the tape reel was poorly wound and one edge got nicked, this could explain the periodic drop outs.

 

- The recording heads (inspite of the fact that you cleaned them) picked up a bit of dust or oxide and then threw it off later. No real way to check this.. you just have to clean the heads again and hope.

 

- The deck playback heads are dirty. But if the drop outs are present in the same places no matter what deck you play it on, then this is probably not the problem.

 

Thanks for your answers. I have a feeling it's the tape itself as you described -- the drop outs occur in the same places when I play back.

 

Thank you!