Serious Issues with TASCAM CA XLR2D C for Canon R5 C

[Ferenc_M]

We, our university, bought TASCAM CA-XLR2D-C for Canon R5 C. It does not work. The adapter does not get power from the camera and also does not work with batteries. When connected to the camera, the yellow light with the camera symbol lights up for a short time, but then turns off after a few seconds. The camera displays the error message below: "Currently, the accessory cannot be used"

 Tried everything firmware update, reboot, etc, but no results. 

Unfortunately, all this happens at the beginning of a shoot in a foreign country. What to do?

[shadowsports]

I don't think waiting until the end.of your warranty is wise.  If the issue is with your tascam, I don't think Canon is going to take their camera back if there is nothing wrong with it. I'd seek relief from Tascam directly.  I would not recommend backing yourself into a corner.  

[MrDeity]

I'm having the same problem. And this is with my second unit, which I had to wait 10 months to get because they didn't have enough stock. Both units worked fine for one shoot(!!!). Then, without changing anything about the setup. Without tearing down the camera or removing the unit, I started the camera up, the power light on the unit went on for a moment, and then I got the message, "Currently, the accessory cannot be used." So, Tascam, clearly doesn't know what the problem is and hasn't fixed it. They're just giving people another defective unit. It's absolutely outrageous! I would never have bought the R5c if I'd known it didn't have a reliable XLR option for audio. Shame on both Canon and Tascam. Guess it's time to move back to Sony. And yes, I have the latest firmware on the R5c.

[Delarageaz]

i'm 100% with you on this, it's making me very frustrated, now i'm scared cause my second unit still works but next time it breaks it'll be out of warranty and i'm not successful in my job enough to purchase a 600€ accessory every year to keep shooting movies with sound !

it's so frustrating that at this point i'm considering getting myself a second hand C100 mk 2 cause it's all i can afford and i need built in XLR audio so much i'll be giving up on 4K120, full frame and 8K Raw to get that 🙄

[MH1234]

This happened to me. The unit was sent back to Tascam for repair, I got it back and it happened again straight away. Both times it happened when I plugged in a 2nd XLR cable....

[andytheslash]

I bought my R5c and Tascam unit brand new in Oct 2022. Have been shooting video and recording audio flawlessly since then. Today, on a shoot, I have begun to experience these same issues. After reading other peoples' experience, it does not make me excited to go into further troubleshooting. What a joke.

[jimepstein]

After maybe 8 or 9 calls to Canon and Tascam, a couple of product repair fails, and maybe a dozen hours wasted, I eventually gave up. Infuriating that they still sell this defective product. After about a year of using an external recorder, I recently bought the "RODE Wireless PRO 2-Person Clip-On Wireless Microphone System/Recorder with Lavaliers" which has a 1/8 inch output and seems like it'll deliver what I need. Good luck!

[Texcorpus]

Welcome to the club of upset users.  Your story is very much like mine.  I received both the R5c and Tascam around Feb-Mar of 2022 and everything was fine until that December on a shoot.  Luckily, I had a Zoom recorder on hand after troubleshooting failed.  I didn't use the Tascam for 3-4 months, but now I'm back to using it again.  I've updated both the R5c and Tascam firmware and honestly, I don't know how much that helped or not I think it's more in the setup procedure.  Now I use the Tascam battery pack to power the unit instead of using the R5c and I make sure the Tascam is attached to the R5c and powered on before I turn on the R5c.  I haven't had any problems since.

[shadowsports]

@Texcoepus,

Appreciate that you are keeping this dialog current.  I'm afraid that Tascam has an issue with this device.  It's an approved device by the OEM (Canon) but they don't have any control or responsibility what Tascam is producing.  I think holding Tascam's feet to the fire is what's appropriate.  However, we all have our limits of what we want or should endure.  I'd be less enthusiastic if my device had gone back for repair or replacement and it only worked once or didn't work when it came back.  People do eventually move on.  Especially if the gear results in loss of revenue.  I hope that people will be taken care of by Tascam if they choose to pursue that avenue.