Red "X" why?

P

Peter Reynolds

Well-known member
Evening All,

Well, I experienced my first "RED X" today. It was displayed on the top left hand corner of the LCD.

Now I vaguely remember people mentioning it before, but for the life of me I can't search for the terms "red" or "x" or "red x". The search engine won't let me.

The footage looked unaffected, so if someone could give me the run-down on why this is happening and how to correct it that would be great. The X was intermittant, and no longer appears when I record. The camera has about 10 hours on it.

Thanks.

Peter

P.S. I was going from inside to outside a few times today. It's cold (around -21) up here in Toronto, so could it be a moisture problem? That would be odd, since I brought it in from the cold, set up lights and shot say 20 minutes later. The "red x" only appeared after about an hour or so of shooting.
 
The red X is there to tell you to clean your heads. It's pretty common for this to happen fairly early with new cameras. I got a red X with 7 hours on the heads and haven't seen it since.
 
Yeah, I had the same problem on my last shooting. It's dirty heads alright. Can I just clean the heads with those head cleaning mini-DV tapes they sell at the store or does the cam need a full service? The thing is, my cam doesn't read the tapes anymore neither.

I know it records but I can't watch what I just shot. Is this only because of dirty reading heads?
 
Cleaning heads - Is a cleaning tape sufficient?

Cleaning heads - Is a cleaning tape sufficient?

Thanks for the advice.

Regarding cleaning. Please confirm that I can use a standard cleaning tape and directions for use.

In the past (Canon Xl1) I've just pressed record for 10 seconds with a cleaning tape inserted. Problem solved.

Thanks.

Peter
 
Guillaume Guite said:
Can I just clean the heads with those head cleaning mini-DV tapes they sell at the store or does the cam need a full service?
Click to expand...

I'd start with using a cleaning tape for about 5 seconds and see if that helps. If the problem persists, I'd take it in for service.

Me said:
Also, can I use any cleaning tape, or does it need to be Panasonic?
Click to expand...

As long as the cleaning tape is a dry tape, you should be okay. I have this one:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...332&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
 
If you're fairly handy, you can follow the directions for head cleaning given in the sticky in this forum section. I didn't have any trouble with the actual procedure, although finding the supplies was a bit of a pain.
 
Guillaume Guite said:
Someone onece told me that cleaning tapes were bad for the heads. Is that true?
Click to expand...

They're abrasive, so they can cause head damage if used too much. That's why you should only use it for about 5 seconds at a time. I've only had to use it once in the 2 1/2 years I've had the camera.
 
There's certainly argument against them. I would argue that five seconds of cleaning tape is better than ruined footage from having dirty heads while recording! But it is better to professionally clean them non-abrasively if possible.
 
with the camera in VTR mode, press play for no more than 10 seconds. return to camera mode and attempt to record. check playback for cleanliness. if dirty, repeat cleaning. do not attempt more than four times in a row.

consult page 83 of the user manual for more information
 
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