BetaCam Problem

[Minnesotan]

While shooting recently on our BetaCamSP camera, not sure of the model #, you could see a thin vertical line in the center of the screen. It was more noticeable in dark situations or on like a dark colored T-Shirt. Does anybody know what it is? How do you fix it? The heads were cleaned today and it still was occuring.

[Run&Gun]

Dumb question, but did you switch playback decks and monitors to double check that it wasn't a problem with either of those two things?

If so, then it sounds more like it may be in the chips instead of the deck portion of the camera. Hook up the camera to a color monitor and see if the line is there coming straight out of the camera to a monitor instead of just on tape.

[Minnesotan]

Dumb question, but did you switch playback decks and monitors to double check that it wasn't a problem with either of those two things?

If so, then it sounds more like it may be in the chips instead of the deck portion of the camera. Hook up the camera to a color monitor and see if the line is there coming straight out of the camera to a monitor instead of just on tape.

It was on multiple tapes on different monitors. You can also see it in the viewfinder.

[Lensmith]

Hair in the gate?

Sorry, stupid joke.

Probably before your time.

We newly minted fifty year olds tend to get a little thoughtful for a day or so...then I'm told I'll be normal again.;)

Your problems sounds like nothing I've ever hear of before...which is why it interests me.

If I had to guess at where to check, I'd remove the lens and look at the little glass plate on the camera body which sits right behind the lens mount. It might be cracked or dirty.

[tubecamera-or-bust]

I would try reseating all the cards (power off, battery removed!). Many electronic, and this sounds electronic, issues are sometimes due to the connections between the cards and the mother board in the camera.

It may also be a leaking capacitor if the camera is somewhat old.

[Frank McBride]

I doubt your camera is this old, but in the early days of ccd's, you would get a vertical line in the shot if the light source was in the shot. It sounds like it is happening a lot more often than that, though. I mention it only because the vertical line thing makes it sound like a ccd problem.

FMc

[Dink]

Hair in the gate?

See? SEE? I've been trying to convince these kids that it's ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to remove the lens and shine a flashlight in the camera after every good shot, just to be sure. But NOOOOOooo!

Most of 'em don't even carry cuticle sticks, so they wouldn't be able to get the crap out of there anyway. Just wait, though. They'll be sorry.

[Raiderfan]

At a station I worked at before, I had multiple verticle lines that would appear, mostly with dark backgrounds on my BetaCam BTS (I think it was a 510A). The thing about these lines is they would be magenta, or purplish. Sometimes green. We checked the chips and they weren't loose. We changed the video card and the lines still showed up. I left and don't know what happened, plus they have changed formats now. So I hope they did what I wanted to do, which was put a tape in the camera, record, and chuck it off the roof.

[Minnesotan]

At a station I worked at before, I had multiple verticle lines that would appear, mostly with dark backgrounds on my BetaCam BTS (I think it was a 510A). The thing about these lines is they would be magenta, or purplish. Sometimes green. We checked the chips and they weren't loose. We changed the video card and the lines still showed up. I left and don't know what happened, plus they have changed formats now. So I hope they did what I wanted to do, which was put a tape in the camera, record, and chuck it off the roof.

That's what this is like...Perfectly straight line down the dead center of the screen, very thin and kind of a pinkish-purplish color. They're sending it out to be looked at...

[egon]

At a station I worked at before, I had multiple verticle lines that would appear, mostly with dark backgrounds on my BetaCam BTS (I think it was a 510A).

BTS...doesn't that stand for Boat Tethering System?

[Raiderfan]

"BTS...doesn't that stand for Boat Tethering System?"

I don't get to pick the gear I work with. I just have to make do with what I am handed. But it could work as that too. Sure was heavy enough.

[Lost in Alaska]

"BTS...doesn't that stand for Boat Tethering System?"

I don't get to pick the gear I work with. I just have to make do with what I am handed. But it could work as that too. Sure was heavy enough.

Sounds like the 100 I use daily right now. I do like the idea of hitting record and pitching it off the roof. We have a dumpster not to far away... It gives a new definition to dumpster diving.

[Spacey]

I think one of should make it a point to re-create photogguy's avatar. The one with the camera, smashed under the wheel of a car.

http://www.b-roll.net/forum/member.php?u=3572


sorry for the hijack, but I ran into this with an SX camera (except the lines would osscilate whenever I rewound tape into playback) - Check the heads?

[SeattleShooter]

I have a DVCpro camera and when I turn the gain to 9db I get what I call "Jail bars". They are just as it sounds, faint white vertical lines that look like jail bars. When I go to 18db, and I have to do that sometimes at night, the lines become more dominate.

[Minnesotan]

Just found out that it was some sort of video board, I believe. It'd be about a $5,000 repair. If anybody is really interested in what it the problem is, I could find out more after the weekend...

[Raiderfan]

They just gonna get you a new camera? Or are they actually going to spend 5 grand on a video board?

[Minnesotan]

They just gonna get you a new camera? Or are they actually going to spend 5 grand on a video board?
Sounds like they'll replace it...Not sure what route they're going to go. But $5,000 for a part on a Beta probably isn't worthwhile anymore. We also have some DVC Pro, but we're not convinced yet we want anymore. We may go buy four or so cameras of the same model, same format.

[Run&Gun]

Sounds like the 100 I use daily right now. I do like the idea of hitting record and pitching it off the roof. We have a dumpster not to far away... It gives a new definition to dumpster diving.


Sony UVW-100B? Not too much of a camera now, but ten years ago when it was new it allowed a lot of people to acquire on Betacam SP for a reasonable price. It was my first camera purchase and it looked really good at the time. Blew the Sony 5's away that the station I was freelancing for still had in service back in '97. That camera probably made me 50 times what it cost me before I retired it from everyday service for my D-50WS. I actually used it as a third camera a few times last year on some accident reconstruction jobs for this firm(easy money: three camera shoots, jam the timecode and lock the shots off:D ).