Used to be, a camera or camcorder would last for years and years. I remember how much I liked my first camcorder. It held a full sized video cassette. Well, one day it quit working and we took it to a local place to get fixed. They couldn’t fix it. No parts available.
Obsolete.
So, we got a little camcorder that used digital tape. A miniDV. This was back in 2002. It was a nice little camera and I was happy with it. Then last year, I got one of the miniDVD camcorders. A Sony Handycam. I like it. I use disks that can be recorded on both front and back. And I record in high quality, which gives me twenty minutes a side. Twenty minutes short of the high quality on the digital tape camcorder. They both have their uses.
The only way to get the video off of the tape is to go through the camcorder. The miniDVD, well, if I finalize the disk, I can run it just about anywhere. Another plus for the DVD.
But I like having choices.
A couple of weeks ago, before the big crash, I decided to download the video from the old digital tapes, dating back to 2002, when we got the camera. There was a problem, the picture was wacky and I got the message to “use a cleaning tape”. Cleaning tape? What the hell is a cleaning tape?
I went over to eBay and found one. I ordered it. Then the computer crashed.
So, last night, I use the cleaning cassette and the problem was still there. *sigh* I don’t know if it was because the tape was old or what, but it’s not transferring right. And I’m getting the same message as before.
The internet is a wonderful thing, you know. When I got that message the first time, a couple of weeks ago, I did some research. And it seemed that if the cleaning cassette didn’t work, the only other option was to take the machine to a repair shop. And that it would probably be hundreds of dollars to fix. Wonderful. I shared this all with Brian and I pointed out the problem with the tapes.
I did a search of miniDV tape camcorders. There aren’t too many. The manufacturers have gone the way of recording to disk. I did find one, a Canon Elura 100.I searched for the lowest price and ended up going with B&H Photo, got the kit. Which comes with an extended four year warranty. If this camera dies, I can get it fixed or replaced. Or, like Brian says, in four years there will be a whole new line of camcorders.
I miss my old VHS camcorder.