GL2 hea cleaning/tape FF RW

[Don Greening]

[Dean Mikulla] “1-What is the best head cleaning practice aside from sending the cam in for service? Any recommended head cleaners? “

All head cleaning cassettes work pretty much the same way, so keep one in your camera bag and only use it if absolutely necessary. If you’re out on a job and you get a tiling problem you have to use something but the important thing to remember is to follow the head cleaning tape directions to the letter. Don’t overuse it, because it acts like sandpaper and will ruin the camera heads if used improperly. Keep in mind that the warning you saw will also come up if there’s too much humidity inside the tape compartment. I’d get that warning if my hand was sweating and using the camera handheld.

[Dean Mikulla] “2-I read during my forum search on this subject, that you should fast forward and then rewind your tapes prior to recording. Do I do this on the GL2 or my capture cam and if i do it on the GL2 ,does this put extra wear on the GL2? “

It’s just a preventive maintenance thing. But don’t FF right to the end of the tape and back again. Maybe just 15 or 20 sec of fast forward. It’s just to help throw out any little bits of debris that may or may not end up as a head clog. This will also pre-tension the tape against the recording drum. But don’t do this for every tape using your GL2. Just occasionally. It just depends on how often you use the camera. Normally I do the FF/rewind thing with my capture deck but I don’t fast forward the tapes right to the end with the deck, either. But I pre-tension all the tapes I use. Some people don’t and don’t have issues (so they say). I just know what works for me. No tiling issues here.

Now to the real issue: The GL2 cameras have a rather fragile tape transport system that was shared with other Canons like the XL and the XL1s series of camcorders. You’re very smart not to use your GL2 as a capture deck. Since you’ve only run 9 tapes through yours I’m assuming it’s still under warranty? If the warning issue you had was not because the humidity/condensation sensor was tripped and but in fact was caused by the tape transport itself………send your GL2 in for service. That’s my recommendation. Get it fixed by Canon, the folks who built it and know how to service it.

– Don

[Dean Mikulla]

Great answer, thanks

[Charles Bodie]

Amen to the send it in before the warranty gives out. I have a GL2 that only had about 38 hours on it (a work week) but was in my possession a week or so outside a year before the dreaded “REMOVE THE CASSETTE” warning shut me down the night before a wedding. I went and bought two DVX100A’s after that and had the GL2 sent for a pricey service to replace the tape handler. The way I was handled knowing other people had the same problem pushed me to Panasonic. I’ve been rolling since early 2004 with no problems. I still have and love the GL2 but I’m afraid it’ll crap out in a critical shoot – even though I have a FS-4 , I haven’t played with it enough to go tapeless.