Brand: CANON
Category: Camera
Document Type: Manual
Language: EN
Available Languages: EN , ES
Manual for XL H1S / XL H1A
Uploaded: Aug. 10, 2025, 12:25 a.m.
Manual Publish Date: 2008-03-01
Warranty Information
Canon USA provides a one-year limited warranty on parts and labor for the equipment.
Basic Operation
- Powering On/Off: Turn the POWER dial to the desired setting.
- Attaching Accessories: Follow specific instructions for attaching the viewfinder, lens, and battery pack.
- Recording: Load a cassette, select recording modes, and press the START/STOP button.
- Playback: Use the playback buttons to control tape playback.
- Memory Card Operations: Insert, record, and playback images on the memory card.
Troubleshooting and error codes
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| A vertical light bar appears on the screen. | Bright light in a dark scene may cause a vertical light bar (smear) to appear. This is not a malfunction. | Record in Av mode with an aperture value in the range F5.6-F8.0. |
| Viewfinder picture is blurred. | Viewfinder is not adjusted. | Adjust the viewfinder with the dioptric adjustment lever. |
| Audio is not recorded. | The input channel selection switch is not set to the correct position. | Set the INPUT SELECT switch to the correct position. |
| Audio is recorded in a very low level. | Microphone connected to the XLR terminal needs to be powered by the phantom power. | Set the +48V switch to ON. |
| The REC LEVEL switch is set to M, and recording level is set too low. | Adjust the audio level correctly. | |
| Microphone attenuator is turned on. | Set the FRONT MIC ATT. switch or the XLR MIC ATT. Switch to OFF. | |
| Pressing the playback button does not start playback. | Camcorder is turned off, or is not set to VCR/PLAY mode. | Set the camcorder to VCR/PLAY mode. |
| Cassette is not loaded. | Load a cassette. | |
| Tape is running, but image will not appear on the TV screen. | Video heads are dirty. | Clean the video heads. |
| You attempted to play back or dub a copyright protected tape. | Stop playback/dubbing. | |
| The video output cable is not connected correctly. | Verify that the video cable is connected properly. | |
| While playing back a tape recorded in HDV standard there are brief stops in the playback picture. | Video heads are dirty. | Clean the video heads with a dry cleaning cassette. |
| Memory card cannot be inserted. | Memory card was not facing the correct direction. | Turn the memory card over and try inserting it again. |
| Memory card cannot be recorded. | No memory card. | Insert a memory card. |
| Memory card is full. | Replace the memory card or erase images. | |
| Memory card is not initialized. | Initialize the memory card. | |
| The folder and file numbers have reached their maximum value. | Set [FILE NOS.] to [RESET] and insert a new memory card. | |
| Memory card cannot be played back. | The POWER dial or (card/tape) switch are not set to the correct position. | Set the POWER dial to VCR/PLAY and the (card/tape) switch to . |
| Image cannot be erased. | Image is protected. | Cancel the protection. |
| flashes red. | On an SDHC or SD memory card, the write-protect switch is set to the locked position. | Change the position of the write-protect switch on the memory card to unlock it. |
| Card error occurred. | Turn off the camcorder. Remove and reinsert the memory card. Initialize the memory card if flashing persists. |