[Marina]

Hi Nancy,

I’ve had several Canon XL1’s and now have an XL2 – Have experienced problems after servicing the camera at the center when they have taken it upon themselves to re-calibrate it – rendering it incompatible with any other “deck.” At that point there is not much you can do. You have to re-master any tapes shot with the incompatible camera, ie., place your original tape in the camera which shot it and dub to another standardized camera or deck. Then you will have a tape that is universally acceptable. The first time this happened to me I had shot over 30 tapes on location, returned and began logging only to discover what appeared to be video noise, or possibly stretch as well as sound problems. Do not dispair, however, once you remaster your tape, you’ll be fine.

I have several decks (clam shells, etc.) but have switched to using a Canon Z85 (you can try the newer Z90 model as well) – It retails for about $400 which is substantially less than a 60i deck. Of course, for the 24p tapes, you might want to buy Sony’s new compact HD deck which takes regular mini-dv’s, the new hi-def mini dv’s or dvcam tapes.

Another thing to be aware of is the difference between wet and dry tape emulsion. Never switch tape brands. Once you start using one brand of tape, stay with it, or you’ll end up with residue which can cause all sorts of problems.

Hope this helps a little.

cirina

Cirina Catania
Director/Producer
Firebird Worldwide, LLC