A brief descriptive video of my Canon A1DigitalA Hi8 Camcorder. I found this locally for real cheap, and I liked it so much that I decided to keep it. I had to have 161 surface mounted capacitors, and 2 fuses replaced, but now it works like brand new. Enjoy this video of a piece of Camcorder History! Filmed with a SONY DCR-TRV9 MiniDV Camcorder.
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Can you show us how to fix one? I have three of these that need to be fixed.
@ozzman9292 Can we see a vid of the LX100 Zach? I have this camera also.
@provid1234 Because older camcorders are better made and have character! Something generation Y today will never know!
hey zac, can you do a video of how to fix this thing? it’s dirt cheap on ebay if broken
looks like a pro dslr ha
I recent spent $2000 on getting my Panasonic AG-DP800H getting all new capacitors but the camera is over 15 years old and brand new condition!
Can we see some new vids Zach with this HV30? Maybe even redo this video but in HD!
Because cameras like this are special and one of a kind with character, not these fly by night digital rubbish!
what can an a1 do that a hv30 or hfs100 can’t. I mean it looks more professional. The interchangeable lens feature is kind of worthless cause there is about a 7 times magnification when u use 35mm lenses. I have an xl1 and the only thing that is better about it is controls and build quality than my hfs100. The hv30 is about on par with low light with an xl1. Soon i will have a canon 7d (have u heard of the 5d mark II video feature) that has an s35 sensor that will destroy both of my cams.
I have a Canon HV30, and it takes excellent HD video. This Canon A1 Digital takes excellent hi-band analog video. They both work great for different purposes.
this cam is like 16 yrs old why doesn’t anyone bother with it. The quality is alright but if you end up spending 500 bucks you can get a canon hv30 (a camera that beats the crap out of the this l2 and the newer xl2). That hv30 even matches newer pro 2k-5k hd cams. Trust me I own the xl1 (which most ppl say beats that old l2 and now I have the hfs100 tapeless avchd with manual gain!)
Your problem could either be in the playback heads or the preamp stages that the PB heads are connected to.
It could also be due to the capacitors in the camera going bad, as mentioned in the video here (cap failure being a common problem with the A1 Digi), I have an A1 myself in the same situation.
There’s a fellow that does specialize in A1/L1 repair (my A1D will be going to him soon for repair), his website is camcorder-repair(dot)com (forgive the plug).
Add &fmt=18 to the end of this url to get HQ.
who did your work on this…I have two that need repaired.
i have one canon A1 Hi8 / 8mm..
it is good and sometime off / on..
not good to my computer
I’ve got the exact same camera you’re showing in the video. I can record video (nice quality) & play the video in another hi8 & it plays fine. Unfortunately when I try to play it in the Canon all I get is a fuzzy screen. I don’t think its an alignment issue since it records fine but what do I know. Any insights as to the cause of the problem?
I have a Canon L-1 hi8 Video camera, same trouble, If I move the view finder it flicker’s also. What did you do to fix it? thank’s.
OK… so my camera got flickering vision in the viewfinder and it does not record video…. Sound is recorded great but no vision…. playback is also fukt up…. I have disasambled the camera and looked at ALL of those caps inside O_o lol ok so now i will replace them… at list some of them …. I’m just a bit scared that i could not put it back together after i finish work ;] echhh lots of work an only one working hand tyll 4th of december ;] CU
I recently took this camcorder with me to Blowing Rock, NC. I had a great time with it, even though it does get quite heavy and cumbersome to carry around too much, it did not bother me though. I recently acquired a Canon LX-100A, which is similar to this model but it has the ability to have interchangeable lenses. I will have to make a video of it soon.
When I first got the camcorder, it was completely dead and when you attempted to connect it to a battery or the AC Adapter, it actually created a burnt smell, which was the leaky electrolyte from the capacitors burning off. 161 capacitors and 2 fuses had to be replaced to bring it back to life again – but it was well worth it, it’s an awesome analog camcorder.
Ok what was the simptoms that camera had, so you you had to replace all of those capacitors? 168? if i understand right
I’ve got the same camera for europe, that’s A2Hi
and will see how will it work 
have one digital videocamera canon A-1 HI8MM..
it is not too good clear pretty video in here computer video
wow way to rub it in man. i hope your happy, im green with envy. the only thing that sucks about these cameras is there is no usb out.
Sorry about the audio/video flicker every-so-often, I think that I had a bad connection to the computer. Enjoy!