Camera Gave Up After 90+ Hours

A

Adamblaster

Member
Please help me. I'm in Chicago filming a documentary and I've gone through over 90 Panasonic Pro Quality tapes, as well as some others nthat I started with (about 10 total).
Now I'm getting the flashing "Red X" icon, which I think is a head clog. I bought the extended Mack warranty with my DVX100a which includes one cleaning per year. My questions are:
1 - Is it normal to have a head clog already?...I'm not working in a particularly humid or dusty environment.
2- Did I do any serious damage to my camera by using consumer TDK and Sony tapes for a week before my first shipment of Panasonic tapes arrived?
3- Do any of you have any experience with Mack's cleaning service?...positive/negative?
4- Any random lens cleaning tips would be appreciated as well. I bought one of those lens cleaner pens. Do those do the job alright?

Thanks in advance and keep up the wonderful DVX community forever!

-adamblaster
 
By using Sony tapes (wet lube), then switching to Panasonic tapes (dry lube), you can get some nasty crud on your heads resulting from the mixing of the lubes. Get a head cleaning tape and use it according to the instructions, then keep using the Panasonic tapes. Anytime you switch brands of tape, you'll want to clean the heads first (but I'd recommend just sticking with Panasonic MQ tapes from here on out).
 
if you clean the heads like this does it shorten the life of the camera? or is the life of the camera basically forever with maintenence?
 
1. it is normal if you have been switching tapes. Some say that it isn't a problem, but more often than not, those that have switched tape brands are the ones complaining that the camera has crapped out on the heads.
2. Se #1
3.Yes, and I have found their service to be piss poor. Sure they'll clean it for you, but they will take their sweet time about it. I had an old camera with a mac warranty. I sent it in for cleaning and it took 6 weeks to get it back. Completely unacceptable.
4. there is a good lens cleaning instruction that I think Barry set up on this site. Check the articles section or do a search on "head cleaning".
 
Am I better off using a head cleaner instead then?

Am I better off using a head cleaner instead then?

I have a maxell mini-DV head cleaner. Should I use that and save myself the headache with Mack? Any tips on using those head cleaners so I don't do damage?
-thanks
 
head cleaning

head cleaning

I bought two dvx100a's last May. We used both to shoot about 40 hours total on tour with Gallagher. We used the mq tapes recommended by Panasonic with no other types of tapes. After 40 hours use on one camera, the screen went blue and would not play anything. It went back to Abelcinetech and they sent it out to be cleaned. The first question asked by the service company was "what type of tape did you use?".
Long story short.... got it back, the same thing happened twice more within another 30 hours of use. (On one camera only). Panasonic finally had to replace the heads and basically redid the entire guts of the camera.
The Panasonic guys, at Panasonic here in L.A. recommended a cleaning tape about every 20 hours of use and anytime that you were shooting anywhere that is dusty or dirty. And this is from Jim, the guy in charge of repairs for Panasonic.
I personally have found a great service company that will work on anything and give it a thourough cleaning for about $50. Well worth it.
 
maverickprods said:
The Panasonic guys, at Panasonic here in L.A. recommended a cleaning tape about every 20 hours of use and anytime that you were shooting anywhere that is dusty or dirty. And this is from Jim, the guy in charge of repairs for Panasonic.
I personally have found a great service company that will work on anything and give it a thourough cleaning for about $50. Well worth it.
Click to expand...

:beer: Great feedback, thanks. What service company do you use in LA?..I'm going to be moving to Burbank in May.

Also, it's starting to sound like the cleaning tapes aren't so bad after all as long as used very rarely. FYI - I'm using the Panasonic AY-DVM63PQ tape stock. Is there any REAL advantage in using the MQ ones instead?
 
From Barry's head cleaning sticky -
"*It doesn’t take much of a particle to lodge in the tape heads and cause problems. *Fortunately, most head problems are easily fixed with a gentle cleaning. *Never use cleaning tapes—they’re abrasive and can rub debris into the recording head."

That last part is alarming to me. I think I may just pay the $100 or so this first time. I feel very insecure about using the cleaning tape.
 
When I bought my camera I used one of those Panasonic DVM60 tapes and then started using solely the MQ tapes. When the camera reached 18 hours of use, the I started getting that Red X. I cleaned the head and since then I haven't had any problems so far.
I don't know if it affects mixing tapes from same brand, but I am sticking to the MQ's.
 
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