Canon ZR300 Mini DV Digital Camcorder - Answered Questions & Fixed issues

Old or worn Audio Tape Head needs replacing, Head Cleaning tapes are not the best for these, they can only be used so many times and they do rub tape carbon into the tape head, best thing to do is get an ear bud cleaner -"Cotton Buds" - and dip it into metho and give the tape head a light rub with it and ear bud, should do it...if still has issue then the tape audio head is had it, but rarely do they breakdown.

There is a fix for this which was posted for either the ZR 200 or 400. They call it the "Fonzie" fix. Just hit the camcorder with your fist on the side where the tape goes in (with the door closed). Hit it lightly once, try inserting the tape. Repeat this process with increasing force each time until this works.

Surprisingly, this worked for me. Obviously, there must be something loose for this type of solution to work. I actually had it working once, then it acted up again. I tried the same solution and it's working again. No problems for several days now.

This is usually caused by an oxidized, misaligned or defective Audio/Video drum. You can try running a cleaning tape through the camera. If this does not solve the problem the camera will need to be serviced by a qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I'm a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I'm semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair cost low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

If this response has been of any help to you, please be sure and give a positive vote for me on FixYa.com .

This is usually caused by an oxidized, misaligned or defective Audio/Video drum. You can try running a cleaning tape through the camera. If this does not solve the problem the camera will need to be serviced by a qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I'm a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I'm semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair cost low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

If this response has been of any help to you, please be sure and give a positive vote for me on FixYa.com .

Any burning software will work what ever brand you chose, I preferre Nero, but windows Vista and 7 have software already built in to recognise most all cameras. So you don't really need anything els unless you chose. Wasn't there software included in the camera? there shouls have been a CD or DVD that came with the camera. You can also check the Canon website for more info and software

Greetings Edward - The message means that your recording or playing directly to/from a SD card and not a DV tape and the file system on that card is damaged and the video cannot be stored on or played back from it.

It might help if you remove the SD card and reinsert but if that doesn't work you would either have to get a new SD card, or if there is data on the card that you need to retrieve, try to repair the card via a PC and some software. The software on the web HERE does a good job of recovery (I have no affiliation).

Good Luck,

Mikeywaf

This is usually caused by a defective component in the tape detection circuitry and can usually be repaired fairly inexpensively. However, it's not a user serviceable problem and will need to be repaired qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I'm a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I'm semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair costs low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

If this response has been of any help to you, please be sure and give a positive vote for me on FixYa.com .

if you still need it, i'd be happy to offer you mine. almost brand new (canon SD memory card sdc-8m).

This is usually caused by an oxidized or defective Audio/Video drum. You can try running a cleaning tape through the camera. If this does not solve the problem the camera will need to be serviced by a qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I'm a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I'm semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair costs low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

If this response has been of any help to you, please be sure and give a positive vote for me on FixYa.com .

Tape mechanism problems can be quite complicated but they can usually be repaired fairly inexpensively. However, it's not a user serviceable problem and will need to be diagnosed by a qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I'm a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I'm semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair costs low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

If this response has been of any help to you, please be sure and give a positive vote for me on FixYa.com .

I know this is going to sound strange. I had the same issue with my ZR300. When you insert a tape and close the mechinism you hear the tape whirl then it pops open and chimes. I found a solution online and thought it was to good to be true. It said to hold the camcorder in your left hand with the right side up (the opposite side of the fold out viewer). You then hit the camcorder , not real hard like slapping something. Open the door and insert the tape and WHAM! It loaded fine. Eight people had tried it according to the review and all eight people had success. I was skeptical but it works! Don't hit it so hard you break it. I did mine twice before it worked but it works everytime now. Trust me just try it and it will work.

This is most likely caused by a damaged or misaligned video drum and can usually be repaired fairly inexpensively. However, it's not a user serviceable problem and will need to be repaired by a qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I'm a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I'm semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair costs low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

If this response has been of any help to you, please be sure and give a positive vote for me on FixYa.com .

FONZIE FIX! It worked for me.

close the tape load door and with your fist, wack it. worked first time for me. the instructions were to wack it harder each time until it closes with the tape. Look up FONZIE FIX.

Different camcorders have different recording formats. Some ar HD, some are 16x9, etc.

A camera that isn't designed for a particular pre-recorded format cannot playback that recording.

Rick

This is usually caused by an oxidized or defective Audio/Video drum. Try running a cleaning tape through the camera. If this does not solve the problem the camera will need to be repaired qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I’m a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I’m semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair costs low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

If this response has been of any help to you, please be sure and give a positive vote for me on FixYa.com .

Had the same problem and took the battery out of the camera to reset. Worked fine after that.

Cleaning Tape did the trick. Thanks!
Andy

this is probably a lens or recording problem you'll need to take it in to a electronics store and see what they can do, My prediction is that the lens is cracked, or fractured in some way, which is only allowing that sliver to come through the good part. it could also bee a recording issue with the software in which case, you'll need to send it to where it came from, and get a new one.

hope this helped- snowsurfer58

the problem could be multiple things:
1. it's switched into card mode... without a cord 2. the card is locked, this can be fixed by retrieving the card from the camera, then pushing the lock switch down away from the word "lock" (the opposite direction of the tiny little arrow) 3. THe card is corrupted, for this there really is no fix, sorry.
hope this helped- snowsurfer58

Hi guys,

Thank you very much for this solution posting. Really it worked. I was about to buy another one instead of fixing the problem. Because you know how the pain is, to send it factory and getting it repaired.

Once again Thank you.