How often should I clean the heads on the A1s?
- Thread starter jthabel
- Start date
Allan Black
Veteran
Hi, we run XH-A1 and A1s cameras.
For a start you should use the same brand cleaner tape as the brand of DV tape you record with.
After 50yrs using mag tape in pro studios, I run my Panasonic cleaner tape before every days shooting. I run it for about 10secs and have no trouble with tape drop outs. The instructions say you can run them right through twice then discard them. This offsets complaints by folk who baulk at paying for a tape they can only run once. But I only run my cleaner tapes right through once then throw them out, I don't want to deposit any crud back on the tape heads and guides.
Here's some more tips, dust and micro grit are the cause of DV tape dropouts so before you pop open the transport to load a tape, run a damp cleaning cloth/rag over the top of your A1s to clean off all the dust. The vibration of the tpt popping open will cause that dust and micro grit to fly up and down into the tpt. Always change tapes in a dust free environment, if you have just a few minutes recording time left on a tape, change it before you go outside.
After loading a new tape, spool it in for 10secs then back to the start before you record. This aligns it on the A1s tape guides, start recording about 10secs in, to avoid the actual start area of the tape. However pro outfits (when they used tape) record 15-30 secs of color bars and 1Kh tone at the head of tapes, so in post the playback can be lined up exactly for color correction and audio level .. it's good to do this with the XH-A1 cams, that's a handy feature from Canon.
When you load a tape, make sure it completes loading and lacing up in the tpt, don't close the lid too early, you'll jam the tape. This typically happens when you're in a hurry so if you do this, throw the tape away, you've damaged it and it'll just give you more trouble.
Some folk having 'trouble' using 90min tapes are advised on forums to use 60mins because 90min tapes are too thin. That's not correct otherwise the manufacturers would have stopped making them years ago, because of repeated complaints.
90min tapes are 2 microns thinner than 60min and a properly lined up transport to factory specifications won't have any trouble. Another old furphy is the recommendation by some folk to 'blank' your DV tape by putting the lens cap on and recording right to the end before you start shooting. Don't do that because soon as you start shooting, you're erasing the 'blanking' .. that's common sense.
When I start a recording, I first say the date/day/time/location and ALL the camera settings on the cam mic. All these settings are a reference to study in post, and learn what looks and sounds best to you. If it's early morning, it really wakes you up too
We record continuous time code right to the end of the tape so in post, scenes are easy to find. Logging the days shoot at night by timecode 00:00:00:00, is important later in post.
As a rule we only use tapes once then archive it, but if you keep your camera's heads clean and the tpt dust free, you should get 5 or 6 uses from a tape before it becomes a worry. On an important shoot, use new tapes. We use Panasonic 90min tapes because we can record more on them on location.
Don't use LP speed, it's a gimmick on all DVtape cameras to keep up with the other manufacturers, started by Sony about 1970. LP speed can cause other playback problems.
Never leave DV tapes lying around out of their plastic cases, they'll pick up dust which will get in the tpt and cause tape dropouts.
Store your mag tape library in resealable airtight plastic fridge containers with some fresh sachets of Silicagel to soak up the humidity. Keep them in a dark, temperature stable cupboard. HTH.
btw, in 2010 Panasonic discontinued importing their cleaner tapes to Australia, DV tape production is slowly decreasing as solid state cams take over.
Keep an eye on stocks in your area.
Cheers.
For a start you should use the same brand cleaner tape as the brand of DV tape you record with.
After 50yrs using mag tape in pro studios, I run my Panasonic cleaner tape before every days shooting. I run it for about 10secs and have no trouble with tape drop outs. The instructions say you can run them right through twice then discard them. This offsets complaints by folk who baulk at paying for a tape they can only run once. But I only run my cleaner tapes right through once then throw them out, I don't want to deposit any crud back on the tape heads and guides.
Here's some more tips, dust and micro grit are the cause of DV tape dropouts so before you pop open the transport to load a tape, run a damp cleaning cloth/rag over the top of your A1s to clean off all the dust. The vibration of the tpt popping open will cause that dust and micro grit to fly up and down into the tpt. Always change tapes in a dust free environment, if you have just a few minutes recording time left on a tape, change it before you go outside.
After loading a new tape, spool it in for 10secs then back to the start before you record. This aligns it on the A1s tape guides, start recording about 10secs in, to avoid the actual start area of the tape. However pro outfits (when they used tape) record 15-30 secs of color bars and 1Kh tone at the head of tapes, so in post the playback can be lined up exactly for color correction and audio level .. it's good to do this with the XH-A1 cams, that's a handy feature from Canon.
When you load a tape, make sure it completes loading and lacing up in the tpt, don't close the lid too early, you'll jam the tape. This typically happens when you're in a hurry so if you do this, throw the tape away, you've damaged it and it'll just give you more trouble.
Some folk having 'trouble' using 90min tapes are advised on forums to use 60mins because 90min tapes are too thin. That's not correct otherwise the manufacturers would have stopped making them years ago, because of repeated complaints.
90min tapes are 2 microns thinner than 60min and a properly lined up transport to factory specifications won't have any trouble. Another old furphy is the recommendation by some folk to 'blank' your DV tape by putting the lens cap on and recording right to the end before you start shooting. Don't do that because soon as you start shooting, you're erasing the 'blanking' .. that's common sense.
When I start a recording, I first say the date/day/time/location and ALL the camera settings on the cam mic. All these settings are a reference to study in post, and learn what looks and sounds best to you. If it's early morning, it really wakes you up too
We record continuous time code right to the end of the tape so in post, scenes are easy to find. Logging the days shoot at night by timecode 00:00:00:00, is important later in post.
As a rule we only use tapes once then archive it, but if you keep your camera's heads clean and the tpt dust free, you should get 5 or 6 uses from a tape before it becomes a worry. On an important shoot, use new tapes. We use Panasonic 90min tapes because we can record more on them on location.
Don't use LP speed, it's a gimmick on all DVtape cameras to keep up with the other manufacturers, started by Sony about 1970. LP speed can cause other playback problems.
Never leave DV tapes lying around out of their plastic cases, they'll pick up dust which will get in the tpt and cause tape dropouts.
Store your mag tape library in resealable airtight plastic fridge containers with some fresh sachets of Silicagel to soak up the humidity. Keep them in a dark, temperature stable cupboard. HTH.
btw, in 2010 Panasonic discontinued importing their cleaner tapes to Australia, DV tape production is slowly decreasing as solid state cams take over.
Keep an eye on stocks in your area.
Cheers.
Last edited:
Allan Black
Veteran
One of the huge advantages for us on the A1 S model is the audio limiter. We shoot loud aircraft and the limiter in circuit stops our operators from worrying about recording distortion. Of course 'too loud' will overload the audio circuit, you need to get some experience with the limiter.
The limiter is also good for interviews, you get an audio level from the talent and it never stays the same over a 5min take, so we set the level a tad high and the talent always settles down as the take progresses. Never use a camera mounted mic for interviews, it'll be too far away from the voices and probably sound too unintelligable.
On the A1S, we assign the 'Image Stabilizer' to Custom Key 1 (manual P74), so we don't have to go into the menu to turn it on and off. And the 'VCR Stop' is assigned to Custom Key 2, P72. When the A1 or any video camera is mounted on a tripod, do not use the image stabiliser, it defeats the stabilisation of the tripod when you pan or tilt. Most camera manuals recommend this.
Another thing, P100 Zoom Indicator 14, we changed the readout to 'numbers' so we can preset the framing for a shot. eg: at the car races, preframe the shot on a turn or corner and note the zoom indicator number. Then P35, we preset the zoom so we can zoom there and frame quickly in a fast car race. The zoom speed needs adjusting to your liking.
When you shoot outdoors, a graduated ND filter will drop the sky down 2 stops and brighten up details on the ground. The grad part of that filter is very hard to see inside the A1S lens hood, so we mark the outer rim of the filter with a white marker, so we can see and adjust it without removing the hood.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/10458-REG/B_W_65063819_72mm_Graduated_Neutral_Density.html
Some folk learn to shoot looking in the viewfinder with both eyes open. I started to do this, because when you're shooting airshows, car races etc. you can see what's coming into frame. It takes practice, don't start at some important shoot.
HTH Cheers.
The limiter is also good for interviews, you get an audio level from the talent and it never stays the same over a 5min take, so we set the level a tad high and the talent always settles down as the take progresses. Never use a camera mounted mic for interviews, it'll be too far away from the voices and probably sound too unintelligable.
On the A1S, we assign the 'Image Stabilizer' to Custom Key 1 (manual P74), so we don't have to go into the menu to turn it on and off. And the 'VCR Stop' is assigned to Custom Key 2, P72. When the A1 or any video camera is mounted on a tripod, do not use the image stabiliser, it defeats the stabilisation of the tripod when you pan or tilt. Most camera manuals recommend this.
Another thing, P100 Zoom Indicator 14, we changed the readout to 'numbers' so we can preset the framing for a shot. eg: at the car races, preframe the shot on a turn or corner and note the zoom indicator number. Then P35, we preset the zoom so we can zoom there and frame quickly in a fast car race. The zoom speed needs adjusting to your liking.
When you shoot outdoors, a graduated ND filter will drop the sky down 2 stops and brighten up details on the ground. The grad part of that filter is very hard to see inside the A1S lens hood, so we mark the outer rim of the filter with a white marker, so we can see and adjust it without removing the hood.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/10458-REG/B_W_65063819_72mm_Graduated_Neutral_Density.html
Some folk learn to shoot looking in the viewfinder with both eyes open. I started to do this, because when you're shooting airshows, car races etc. you can see what's coming into frame. It takes practice, don't start at some important shoot.
HTH Cheers.
Last edited:
Allan Black
Veteran
We bought Canon WD-H72 wide angle convertors and mount the lens before starting out and find we rarely take it off. They come up in the BnH Used Dept occasionally, but right now they're on a great discount ..
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/464579-REG/Canon_1724B001_WD_H72_72mm_0_8x_Wide.html
When the WD-H72 is not installed, we put B+W 72mm UV filters on the cams to protect their lens.
The carry case we decided on is the Pelican 1510 with TSA combination locks for air travel. Check that your carrier will accept that rig for carry-on,
with avgas prices going up, some luggage weights have come down. Bright color cases will attract unwanted attention .. buy Black.
Cutting the PnP foam takes careful planning, lotsa time and patience. More foam is available if you muck it up, but buy Pelican.
There are more than 5 grades available and the elcheap stuff will crumble into tiny bits and get in your gear. With heat it becomes sticky and you can't even vacuum it out.
http://www.casesbypelican.com/foam.htm
We positioned the camera closest to the 1510 hinges so when the case is standing upright, the weight is at the bottom.
Working outdoors a lot around dusty airfields, we covered all the A1/S controls and open areas with low tack Cling brand black adhesive tape to keep the dust out. We have large white plastic garbage bags to throw over the cams on the tripods, when we're having a break on location, watching out for hot days around 30C.
I personally like the white grid marker showing on the display P100, I've learnt to 'look through it' when shooting, it helps with 2/3s composition when framing and levelling the horizon.
The Lanc controller we use is the Manfrotto 523PROi, < (note the i, it has improved firmware) and it took plenty of practice to be able to work fast on shoots .. and we make sure we connect it to the cam before powering it up or risk shorting it out. Using a Lanc means you stand back from the A1 and use the LCD, so for outdoor work I made a stiff cardboard hood to shield the LCD from the sunlight. And you can turn the LCD brightness up a bit in the menu.
Fully charged, the Canon BP970 battery lasts us all day and then some. Storing the cams away for any length of time, we leave the battery installed, so the internal lithium battery keeps charged and retains the custom presets.
It's a good idea to write a list of all the gear needed on locations and keep it in the camera case so you don't forget anything. Prepare everything, clean heads etc, the night before.
I see where some folk say using your A1s to upload footage to your computer will put too much wear on your A1 tape heads. Well you'll upgrade your camera, long before you get anywhere near to wearing out your heads. But there are some advantages in using a Canon HV camera to upload your tapes,
if you shoot a lot, you could pick up a HV20-30-40 from ebay.
jthabel, these tips won't suit everyone but as a new owner you might find them helpful. Have fun
Cheers.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/464579-REG/Canon_1724B001_WD_H72_72mm_0_8x_Wide.html
When the WD-H72 is not installed, we put B+W 72mm UV filters on the cams to protect their lens.
The carry case we decided on is the Pelican 1510 with TSA combination locks for air travel. Check that your carrier will accept that rig for carry-on,
with avgas prices going up, some luggage weights have come down. Bright color cases will attract unwanted attention .. buy Black.
Cutting the PnP foam takes careful planning, lotsa time and patience. More foam is available if you muck it up, but buy Pelican.
There are more than 5 grades available and the elcheap stuff will crumble into tiny bits and get in your gear. With heat it becomes sticky and you can't even vacuum it out.
http://www.casesbypelican.com/foam.htm
We positioned the camera closest to the 1510 hinges so when the case is standing upright, the weight is at the bottom.
Working outdoors a lot around dusty airfields, we covered all the A1/S controls and open areas with low tack Cling brand black adhesive tape to keep the dust out. We have large white plastic garbage bags to throw over the cams on the tripods, when we're having a break on location, watching out for hot days around 30C.
I personally like the white grid marker showing on the display P100, I've learnt to 'look through it' when shooting, it helps with 2/3s composition when framing and levelling the horizon.
The Lanc controller we use is the Manfrotto 523PROi, < (note the i, it has improved firmware) and it took plenty of practice to be able to work fast on shoots .. and we make sure we connect it to the cam before powering it up or risk shorting it out. Using a Lanc means you stand back from the A1 and use the LCD, so for outdoor work I made a stiff cardboard hood to shield the LCD from the sunlight. And you can turn the LCD brightness up a bit in the menu.
Fully charged, the Canon BP970 battery lasts us all day and then some. Storing the cams away for any length of time, we leave the battery installed, so the internal lithium battery keeps charged and retains the custom presets.
It's a good idea to write a list of all the gear needed on locations and keep it in the camera case so you don't forget anything. Prepare everything, clean heads etc, the night before.
I see where some folk say using your A1s to upload footage to your computer will put too much wear on your A1 tape heads. Well you'll upgrade your camera, long before you get anywhere near to wearing out your heads. But there are some advantages in using a Canon HV camera to upload your tapes,
if you shoot a lot, you could pick up a HV20-30-40 from ebay.
jthabel, these tips won't suit everyone but as a new owner you might find them helpful. Have fun
Cheers.
Last edited:
Allan Black
Veteran
Another handy tip. For the A1 custom presets, I wrote a list of them on a small piece of paper and taped it to the back end of the cam battery,
so when they were new, to learn them it was easy to pop the battery lid to see the list.
On the A1S with each preset selected, its name appears on the LCD.
Cheers.
so when they were new, to learn them it was easy to pop the battery lid to see the list.
On the A1S with each preset selected, its name appears on the LCD.
Cheers.