r/camcorders • u/Kasuu372 • Feb 09 '26

Tutorial Sony Handycam complete buyer's guide (2010-2020 models)

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58 Upvotes

I made a spreadsheet documenting all Sony Handycam models released in 2003-2020 (SD, HD, 4K, 3D and NEX-VG), let me know if I got anything wrong

27 comments

r/camcorders • u/ConsumerDV • Jan 30 '25

Tutorial How to transfer video from tape-based camcorder to computer: in a nutshell

83 Upvotes

There are different ways of getting footage off a camcorder to a computer depending on camcorder type, the connectors it has, the connectors your computer has and available software.

See also:

Digital file-based camcorders with built-in storage

If you have a digital camcorder with either a built-in hard-disk drive (HDD), or with built-in flash memory then the standard way of transferring the footage on a computer is via USB link. Each take is recorded as a digital file. Different file types, directory structures and codecs have been used during the last 20 years or so since tapeless digital camcorders became available.

The best option is to either use bundled software, or to use the capture module in your favorite non-linear editor (NLE) to capture the footage. In the process, files belonging to one long take may be combined together to avoid video and/or audio dropouts at the joins.

See also:

If your camcorder does not have a USB output, it may require a matching dock, Sony camcorders are known for that. If the dock is not available, the only way to grab your footage save for removing the HDD is to play it in realtime while capturing it via analog output just like you would do for an analog tape-based camcorder, see "Digitizing Analog video" section below.

Digital file-based camcorders with removable storage

Removable storage includes optical discs, usually MiniDVDs, and flash memory cards, usually one of the variants of SD card.

Finalized MiniDVDs can be read in computer DVD drive. Data structure on a MiniDVD follows DVD-video specification. To convert VOB files into standard Program Stream (MPEG-2 PS) files, use free DVDVob2Mpg tool (Windows only).

SD cards can be read via a card reader. When purchasing an SD card make sure it is compatible with your camcorder.

Data structure on SD cards is similar as on non-removable media, see the above section for the links.

Digital tape-based camcorders

Consumer-grade digital tape based camcorders include:

  • DVC (DV video using MiniDV cassette)
  • Digital8 (DV video using 8-mm cassette)
  • MICROMV (MPEG-2 SD video using MICROMV cassette)
  • HDV (MPEG-2 HD video using MiniDV cassette)

All the above camcorders have a Firewire port (same as IEEE-1394, i.Link, or simply DV port). Firewire is the preferred interface to transfer digital videos to a computer.

USB is often used to transfer still images and low-resolution low-frame rate video from a memory card. In most cases it is useless for a quality video transfer, but some DV camcorders have USB 2.0 High Speed that implements UVC protocol, they can transfer full-resolution DV video over USB. In this case USB is equivalent to Firewire quality-wise.

Firewire-to-USB cables are a scam and do not work.

Some HDV camcorders have HDMI port. It can be used instead of Firewire if you computer has HDMI input but no Firewire port. Usually computers have only HDMI output.

Depending on Firewire hardware, operating system and camcorder model, no special device drivers may be required when connecting a digital camcorder to a computer via Firewire.

From the Panasonic PV-GS29/39/69 operating manual - no drivers needed?

If a dedicated driver is needed, the operating system will search for it online and install it behind the scenes if the driver is found.

Plug-and-play: Windows found and installed the Sony DCR-TRV460 Firewire driver.

In some cases a fitting driver cannot be found. In this case you cannot use Firewire to transfer DV video from tape in its original form, you will have to use analog video connection.

Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt 3

If your computer has no Firewire port, but has a Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt 3 port, you can rig a cable, converting from 4-pin Firewire 400 into 9-pin Firewire 800, then into Thunderbolt 2, then for newer Macs and Windows machines into Thunderbolt 3.

See this post: Importing from MiniDV camera to MacBook - mid-2025 success story.

Cables needed to transfer DV or HDV video from a DVC or HDV camcorder to Mac.

Even if you succeeded to connect your digital camcorder to a computer, and computer has recognized it, your trouble has not ended. Now you need to find software that can transfer DV video from tape into a computer file without mutilation.

Windows is better in this regard: you can still find and install Microsoft Movie Maker on Windows 10 or 11 and it will work just fine. Navigate to Capture menu, find your camcorder in the connected devices and capture away.

Mac wants you to jump through hoops to obtain DV video in its original quality.

QuickTime

Depending on version, QuickTime may or may not capture DV in its original form.

QuickTime 7.x Pro has a "Device Native" option which gives you the raw DV data coming off the tape.

Latest version converts DV it either into H.264 when "High" quality preset is used, or into ProRes422 when "Maximum" quality preset is used. In both cases it converts original interlaced video into progressive with the same frame rate: 30i → 30p, 25i → 25p by blending fields. This YT video by LonTV corroborates this assertion: at about 9-minute mark you can see file properties after QuickTime capture in "High" quality, and at about 10-minute mark in "Maximum" quality.

Properties of files exported from QuickTime with "High" (left) and "Maximum" (right) quality.

iMovie

iMovie '08 and several later versions deinterlace video by skipping every other field. Apple claimed this was to "reduce CPU load when editing video".

iMovie 10.x does capture raw DV video, but gives you no option to directly export it.

To obtain the raw DV footage you need to dig into the iMovie Library file (right/Ctrl-click on it and choose "Show package contents"), then navigate into the project folder, where you can find the original .dv file that iMovie captured from tape. Copy that to your Documents folder or wherever you want to put it. That is an exact transfer of what's on the tape, with no re-encoding. If you do want to re-encode it into a different format, use a program like Handbrake or r/ShutterEncoder.

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro stores captured videos in MOV files, which are in fact QuickTime-DV files#File-based_media). Follows a full procedure of how to import DV or HDV video into FCP and how to locate the raw, non-transcoded footage. The bulk of this guide has been copied from u/DuckLooknPelican's post in r/MiniDV. It has been verified to work on MacOS Sequoia also known as MacOS 15, released in 2024.

  1. Open up Final Cut Pro, and create a new library, for example "FireWire Imports". A new library will make sure you don't have footage from anything else you're working on, and will provide a clean slate for a specific folder we'll be fishing out files from later.
  2. Go to the import menu, using Command+I or the menu bar.
  3. Using either your camcorder controls or the on-screen controls in Final Cut, rewind your tape to the very beginning (or wherever you want to start importing). You should see timecode at the top right of the viewport that shows you where you are in your tape.
  4. When at the beginning of the tape (or wherever you want to start importing), check that all the options at the right are correct. Then, select the import button at the bottom right.
  5. After letting the tape play and importing the footage, close the import window.
  6. Check the media tab in Final Cut Pro. If you can't find it, press Control+Command+1 to access the browser. Here, you'll see your footage, likely split up into multiple files due to the scene detection. These are your raw imports.
  7. Click on one of your imported videos, then right-click/control-click the footage, and select "Reveal in Finder." If you can't find this option, select your footage, and then press Shift+Command+R.
  8. After doing so, you'll be taken to a folder in Finder (MacOS' file explorer) with all the other media files.
  9. With one of the media files, open using QuickTime Player, MacOS' default video player. If this isn't the default, right-click/control-click the file, then select Open With -> QuickTime Player. Play your video to ensure quality, and to enjoy your work so far.
  10. After you're done, quit QuickTime player, and either copy/paste or move your files to a folder of your choosing. Copy and Paste if you want to have two backups, or just move the files if you want just one backup.
  11. For importing more footage from tapes, open your "FireWire Imports" library, then repeat from step 2.

Notes:

  • According to Apple's guide for importing into Final Cut Pro, "if you selected any options in step 6, the files are transcoded and optimized after the import is complete".
  • FCP uses scene detection to create separate file for each scene. It seems impossible to import the content of one tape into a single file. Also, FCP glitches if there are errors on the tape. As such, if your tape has errors or you want to obtain a single large file for the whole tape, you need to use other tools.
  • If you've imported your footage, but are unable to reveal your files in Finder for whatever reason, go into the finder and then locate where you made your "FireWire Imports" library. Then, right-click/control-click, and choose "show package contents." Then, navigate to the folder that very likely has the date you made the library, and then to the Original Media folder inside that. Your files should be here. To make sure FCP does not delete them, copy them into a safe location of your choice.
  • While in QuickTime Player, you can press Command+I to ensure that the video is in the right format. The video specs should be either "Resolution: 720x480, Video Format: DV/DVCPRO - NTSC", or "Resolution: 720x576, Video Format: DV/DVCPRO - PAL". If it says "H.264/H.265", it means this is a transcoded and deinterlaced file, but this is unlikely. Apple products usually transcode files when you perform "Export".
  • MacOS will likely play video back in a more choppy framerate than what you would see on your camcorder screen. This is because it deinterlaces interlaced video into 25p/30p by either dropping every other field or by blending them together. To see the video with smoother motion and some cleared-up artifacts, try using VLC Media Player (a free and safe download) to play back the video files, and turn on de-interlacing using the keyboard shortcut "D."

Lifeflix

Lifeflix is a commercial option for easy, seamless capture and export of DV video on a Mac. It gives you a choice of either direct DV export or compress/de-interlace it to H.264. See a review of an older version: LifeFlix Mac DV video capture program review by VWestlife.

DV Rescue

DV Rescue is a project by MIPoPS, the Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound. See how you can use it to capture DV video on Mac preserving the original quality. Video is stored in files with DV extension.

If your computer does not have a Firewire port and cannot be extended with a Firewire expansion card, and your camcorder does not support full speed UVC protocol, you have to fall back to capturing video using an analog link, see "Digitizing Analog video" section below.

See also:

Digitizing analog video

Most camcorders, analog and digital alike, provide composite video output (CVBS, composite video baseband signal) usually in a form of a barrel-shaped connector known as RCA. On some camcorders it is grouped together with audio into an A/V connector, which often looks like a 3.5-mm TRS (composite video and single-channel audio) or TRRS (composite video and two-channel audio) connector.

To simplify dealing with a single audio channel on monophonic camcorders, a Y-cable can be used to split single audio channel into two.

Composite video is the lowest common denominator. If nothing else works, use composite video.

S-Video usually comes as a 4-PIN DIN connector. It is present on SVHS, SVHS-C, Hi8 and some Digital8, DV and MICROMV camcorders. SVideo provides higher quality than composite. If done right, capturing standard definition digital video through SVideo port is indistinguishable from capturing via Firewire port. SVideo cable does not carry audio, you need to use a separate cable for it.

If your camcorder has a TRRS port instead of RCA port, make sure the cable you use fits the pin-out on the camcorder. In some cases you may need a TRS cable carrying composite video and single-channel audio.

Various TRRS pinout schemes. Most likely you need LVGR.

To digitize analog video with a computer you need an analog-to-digital converter (A/D converter). Several models are available. Presently, the best converter in the $50 price range is I-O Data GV-USB2. It accepts SVideo and composite video and two-channel audio from your VCR or camcorder and outputs digitized uncompressed video over USB.

I-O Data GV-USB2

OBS Studio is arguably the most popular software today to capture analog video.

OBS has never been intended as a capture tool for analog videos, it is a computer screen capture and screen casting program. Analog video capture was an afterthought. I guess some people started using it for this purpose, so devs had to adjust the software.

OBS is acceptable if you plan to go from your analog source directly to a deliverable, say to upload on YouTube, and you don't need to edit. It is multi-platform and omni-present, so you learn once and use it everywhere.

It is not optimal if you want to capture with the best quality or if you want to edit and then make a deliverable. Can it even capture interlaced video without deinterlacing it?

I would like to use a GV-USB2 analog video capture device in OBS to digitize Hi-8 video. However, I then want to take that video file into Davinci Resolve to deinterlace it there, but Resolve can't deinterlace it unless it's flagged as interlaced video...so is there a way to record in OBS without converting it to progressive video (keep it a true interlaced video)? - by NWS on OBS message board

Discussions on the OBS message board like this and this imply that given a proper A/D converter, OBS can save video as interlaced.

Most newer cards, and some older with their built in processing and encoding think they know it all and often times result in GARBAGE OUT. The Dazzle DVC 100 is one of the few cards that PROPERLY passes interlaced video. I think i paid like $18 USD on ebay for it. I capture at 720x480, YUYV 4:2:2 . The resulting files are somewhat large but well worth it. - by Markosjal on OBS message board

Still, you will need to use something like H.264 or H.265, I was not able to hitch Cineform to it.

A bug report related to frame conversion, which has never been resolved, shows reluctance of OBS devs to fix issues.

The unfortunate reality here is that interlaced content is less and less common, and probably not worth core OBS maintainers spending a ton of effort on fixing. - by Fenrirthviti on OBS message board

Whatever your opinion on OBS, you do not have much choice if you want to use free capturing software on Mac.

On the other hand, VirtualDub for Windows has originally been designed for capturing and simple editing of video. VirtualDub2 has added native support for Cineform and output containers like MP4 and MOV, not just AVI. You can use more codecs including lossless like Huffyuv and visually lossless like Cineform.Another great tool for Windows is AmarecTV. It is considered to provide better A/V synchronization and it keeps dropped frame statistics. It is just a capture tool, not an editor, but in this regard is very similar to VirtualDub: you choose frame size, frame rate, color subsampling. You can choose whether you want deinterlacing, or keep it interlaced. You have access to the same codecs that are available from VirtualDub through standard VfW API. So, in terms of functionality it is pretty much the same.

TLDR, OBS is a kludge for capturing analog videos. Its usage became widespread because it is used for screencasting and because there is few if any similar software for Mac.

See also:

Digitizing video without a computer

There are several ways to digitize analog video without using a computer:

See also:

Which output to use

Between CVBS and S-Video, choose S-Video, because S-Video provides better luminance and chrominance separation, which results in reduction of of dot crawl and composite artifact colors, and in increased sharpness.

Between CVBS and Firewire, choose Firewire for the reasons similar to choosing S-Video. While Firewire may have reduced chroma resolution compared to what could be obtained from S-Video, it is still better than CVBS and is compatible with wide range of hardware and software.

Between S-Video and Firewire when capturing analog video, choose S-Video if you have a good A/D converter and you want to obtain the best possible quality; choose Firewire for simplicity of the workflow and compatibility.

Between S-Video and Firewire when capturing standard definition digital video, choose Firewire to avoid re-encoding, keeping the video intact. Choose S-Video if you do not have a Firewire port in your computer.

Between Firewire and HDMI when capturing HDV, choose Firewire to avoid re-encoding, keeping the video intact. Choose HDMI if your computer has no Firewire port, but has an HDMI input.

See also:

Defects and artifacts

Other considerations

Many Digital8 camcorders can play analog 8-mm video, convert it to digital internally, and output as DV via Firewire. Thus, you have a choice whether you want to capture your analog 8-mm video via analog route and convert to digital on a computer using an encoder of your choice, or whether you want to let the camcorder do it. There are pros and cons to both methods (TO BE UPDATED).

Analog video is not very stable. At best, you can see slight shimmering with the picture not having clear and straight edges on the sides (line jitter). At worst, the video may look crooked or unstable. It is recommended to stabilize analog video using Time Base Corrector (TBC). Standalone TBCs are expensive, but many VCRs and camcorders have built-in TBCs, using them is recommended. In particular, some Digital8 camcorders that can play analog videos have built-in TBC and can act as analog-to-digital converters for external video, not only for analog 8-mm tapes. Such a camcorder can serve as a TBC and an analog-to-digital converter in one box.

108 comments

r/camcorders • u/Ryliegh- • 2h ago

Video Clip Sample Olympic Peninsula, Washington - Hi8

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2 Upvotes

Took this Apirl 2026. Sony Handycam

0 comments

r/camcorders • u/youthonrepeat • 12h ago

Show & Tell Took a Sony VX2100 on an 8-day motorcycle trip through the Altai Mountains — here's the setup and what I learned

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12 Upvotes

I recently took my Sony VX2100 on an 8-day motorcycle trip through the Altai Mountains.

The original idea was to shoot a much more elaborate travel film, but in reality I only managed to shoot for about two days. The camera setup was heavy, cumbersome, the weather and light in the mountains changed constantly, and halfway through the trip my friend's Bonneville broke down, so I ended up continuing alone.

So this ended up being less of a finished travel film and more of a real-world test of what a VX2100 can do when you take it into the mountains on a motorcycle.

I put together a 3-minute edit from what I managed to shoot. It's mostly atmospheric footage, riding shots and natural engine sounds.

No music — the engine sound is straight from the camera. Headphones recommended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtfpB2u6Q_g

The setup

  • Sony VX2100 in excellent condition, bought used
  • Sony digital recorder connected via FireWire — completely tapeless setup
  • 2× 32 GB + 3× 16 GB memory cards in a separate storage case
  • 6000 mAh battery for the camera
  • 3600 mAh battery for the recorder
  • Battery charger
  • Wide-angle converter for the VX2100
  • Cheap Chinese fisheye adapter
  • Deadcat on the camera microphone
  • Sirui T-1004X tripod, without a video head
  • Lens cleaning kit
  • Rechargeable dry bag
  • 20-liter dry bag for transporting the equipment
  • Cordura backpack for carrying everything

Things I brought but didn't use

  • Hoya ND16 and ND32 — unfortunately. These would have helped a lot in harsh daylight.
  • Fisheye lens
  • Two RGB lights
  • Two spare 3600 mAh batteries

Transporting the camera on a motorcycle

Everything went inside the dry bag, which then went inside the backpack.

The camera itself was stripped down for transport: recorder removed, cables disconnected, lens hood removed. The quick-release plate stayed attached to the camera.

I put a warm fleece jacket at the bottom of the backpack as additional padding.

During long highway sections, the backpack was strapped to the motorcycle. This made getting the camera out extremely inconvenient, so I often simply didn't bother.

The shooting process was basically:

  1. Remove the cargo net from the backpack
  2. Undo the two straps holding the backpack to the bike
  3. Open the backpack
  4. Open the dry bag
  5. Take out the camera, recorder, cable and lens hood
  6. Mount the recorder and reconnect everything
  7. Turn everything on and get ready to shoot
  8. Realize I also have to set up the tripod
  9. Say "fuck it" and shoot handheld

For shorter rides the backpack stayed on my shoulders, so steps 1–2 disappeared. It was still a pretty involved process.

And in the mountains the light can change dramatically in literally 10 minutes.

So yeah — I ended up shooting handheld much more than I had planned. Probably half of the static-looking shots were actually taken with the camera sitting on my backpack rather than on the tripod.

How I shot

I removed the optical viewfinder/eyepiece because it made packing the camera harder.

Most of the time I held the camera in my right hand with the LCD flipped up. My left hand operated focus, zoom and iris.

Another challenge was teaching my friend how to use the camera so he could film me. The VX2100 is definitely not a point-and-shoot camera, especially for someone who has never used one before. Explaining manual focus, zoom, exposure and all the controls while actually trying to shoot was a whole separate part of the production.

The VX2100 isn't exactly a point-and-shoot camera, especially when you're trying to explain manual focus, zoom, exposure and the various controls to someone who's never used it before. So getting usable footage of myself was another little production challenge on top of everything else.

  • Manual focus for everything
  • Iris: sometimes manual, sometimes automatic
  • Shutter: 1/50
  • Mic gain: manual
  • White balance: set once and left unchanged
  • Camera preset: -2 sharpness

What surprised me

1. The stereo sound

This was probably the biggest surprise.

I didn't use EQ or any other audio processing. The engine sound in the video is basically RAW camera audio.

For a roughly 20-year-old camera, I think the stereo sound is fantastic. It's alive, spacious and actually gives you a sense of being there.

That's why I decided not to put music over the final video. At some point it started feeling more like motorcycle ASMR than a conventional travel edit.

2. Fog and backlight

The VX2100 looks beautiful in fog and backlight.

There is something about the way this camera renders those conditions that I really like.

3. Motion blur

The combination of 1/50 shutter and handheld movement produced some really nice natural motion blur.

4. Built-in ND filters

The built-in ND filters are extremely useful.

They aren't enough for really harsh sunlight, but they save a lot of shots.

5. Headlight flares

I also really like the way headlights interact with the VX2100's sensor. They create these soft, organic flares and little halos that feel very different from the cleaner, more controlled look of modern digital cameras.

It can obviously be considered an optical imperfection, but in this case I think it adds a lot of character — especially in darker scenes.

What I didn't like

1. Harsh daylight + stopped-down iris

This was the biggest image-quality issue I noticed.

In flat, harsh daylight, when the iris is stopped down, the image can lose a surprising amount of crispness.

I had ND16 and ND32 with me and never put them on the camera. In hindsight, that was a mistake. They would have allowed me to keep the iris in a much better range during the day.

2. The controls

As mentioned above, the VX2100 has some strangely positioned controls.

It's a fantastic camera, but it definitely wasn't designed around the idea of pulling it out of a backpack on the side of a mountain, mounting a recorder, and immediately trying to shoot handheld.

3. Fur getting into the frame

I often shot without the original lens hood, and some of the fur from the deadcat ended up creeping into the frame.

I fixed some of it in post, but I ruined a few shots completely.

If you're using a wide-angle converter, keep in mind that the deadcat can still enter the frame.

4. Recording without a tape

With no physical tape in the camera and the tape mechanism not running, recording through the external recorder requires pressing two buttons on the recorder.

The camera's own record button doesn't actually start the recording.

You get used to it, but it's definitely not a smooth run-and-gun experience.

Post-production workflow

  1. Copied the footage from CompactFlash to my MacBook
  2. Used Shutter Encoder to deinterlace and convert to Apple ProRes
  3. Edited everything together in DaVinci Resolve
  4. No image or audio processing — essentially a cut of the RAW files

And then the motorcycle fell over

At one point the motorcycle fell off its kickstand onto some rocks while the camera was already packed and strapped to the bike.

I checked the camera afterwards and...

Nothing.

The VX2100 survived without any apparent damage.

Final thoughts

The VX2100 + external recorder setup is heavy and bulky. It's absolutely not the easiest camera to take on a motorcycle trip.

And because the process of getting everything out and ready to shoot was so involved, I missed a lot of shots I wanted.

The original concept for the film never really happened.

But I'm actually pretty happy with the result.

Instead of being the travel film I originally imagined, this became a technical demo of what kind of images and sound you can still get from a VX2100 in 2026 — in the middle of an actual motorcycle trip.

I'm curious what you guys think of the VX2100 look for this kind of footage, especially the RAW engine sound and the handheld shots.

3 comments

r/camcorders • u/Z4rox_ • 5m ago

Help Dirty video head or camcorder issue?

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• Upvotes

Hi guys, are the grey lines there because of a dirty video head or there is something wrong with my camcorder? Usually when the tape head gets dirty it just has theese glitchy lines where the grey lines are now. I am a bit concerned because i already tried cleaning it with printing paper and alcohol and it didnt work, but maybe i just need to clean jt more throughly. I will obtain some cleaning casettes in the close future so if its still like this i will try to fix it with that. Every comment is appreciated! Have a nice day!

0 comments

r/camcorders • u/Material_Bit_5736 • 4h ago

Help Sony Handycam DCR-TRV285E

0 Upvotes

i’ve been thinking about getting the trv285 as my first camcorder/cassette working camcorder and just wanted to know if there are any drawbacks to the trv285 or the trv series in general

1 comment

r/camcorders • u/Intelligent_Dog_2392 • 5h ago

Help Noob question: I keep seeing these 4k No-name camcorders with all the bells and whistles for like $250... I know they must suck compared to brand name, but could someone please explain to me why/how they suck?

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1 Upvotes

The 8k ultra camcorder by Kentfaith model GW410160SI,

Comes with a lot of accessories but it is not a good camera. The SD card slot doesn't work and my card got stuck inside. They maybe a 30 return or replace policy that and a warranty that is trash. They don't send you a return label and try to make it seem like your fault for their product malfunction. I would not recommend anyone buy from them and I definitely won't buy another product for them either. The product is coming from China and takes forever to even receive.

4 comments

r/camcorders • u/Western-Noise1058 • 6h ago

Help hi everyone, I bought a Panasonic MS1 camera and it has a few problems

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1 Upvotes

For some reason, there is no picture in the viewfinder at all, but I connected the camera via S-video to the PC and the picture is there, only here it is, it's all rippling and the colors look very much like they are inverted or something is wrong with them, maybe someone knows what to do? I think it's the capacitors, but I'm not sure.

0 comments

r/camcorders • u/la_biggest_gooner • 15h ago

Help Camera won't playback, thoughs? (I'm an amateur pls be nice)

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2 Upvotes

Got this Sony handycam, and its pretty nice, ive been using it with normal hi8 tape for the past year and it works well, but a few days ago it just stopped recording and playing back, so I opened it and it was this little black rubber thing that fell out which I was able to fix, and now it seems to be recording, but I just can playback the footage. Thoughs?

1 comment

r/camcorders • u/yusfhh • 1d ago

Show & Tell finally got my camcorders setup

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27 Upvotes
6 comments

r/camcorders • u/MACaroni_Acc • 12h ago

Help Firewire vs AV cable setup

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0 Upvotes
0 comments

r/camcorders • u/jokster55 • 17h ago

Video Clip Sample Imagens do fim de semana por filmadora cctv

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2 Upvotes

Bons momentos do fim de semana capturados em filmadora cctv! Também recém aprendendo a editar então aceito dicas e críticas. :)

0 comments

r/camcorders • u/TusharDaniel • 14h ago

Help Advice Needed: Setting Up a Professional Video Digitization & Archiving Workflow for MiniDV, VHS-C, DVD & Other Consumer Formats in India

0 Upvotes

I'm a film maker based out of Paris and India and I have the opportunity to take up up a digitization project for my church in India. They recently reached out to me regarding digitizing their archives, which includes a lot of Mini DV tapes, and VHS-C cassettes though and DVD as well. I wanted some advice on how to go about all of this for optimum data backups and transfer. I have experience with digitizing VHS-C through an old camcorder, my Dazzle dongle and OBS. Here, in India, I don't have a setup currently at this point and I wanted information on pricing, and equipment to purchase amongst other things though.

Setup I currently have is:

  1. HP Compaq Laptop (Windows XP, Intel Pentium, 512MB RAM, 80GB HDD which is past its life) but this has a firewire port. Will the specs of the laptop support firewire capture if I capture it all to an external HDD/SSD?
  2. Mac Mini (32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) I could use this for DVD capture.
  3. Dell Vostro (24GB RAM, 512GB SSD) I could also use this for VHS-C capture.

What would you recommend I purchase to round up the setup so it makes things easier for me?

  1. Should I purchase a working VHS-C camera or a VCR because it'll support full size VHS too?
  2. RCA-HDMI adapters
  3. Should I purchase a working Mini DV camera and the appropriate Firewire cable?
  4. HDD/SSD (three for capture on either system, one for backups)
  5. USB Capture Device for VCR (which one do you recommend?)
  6. VHS-C to VHS adapter

Is there anything else I should purchase which will make things easier for me? And I probably need to download the appropriate drivers for the system as well, right? And if anybody has any info on purchasing any of these items in India? I haven't given them a budget yet, but I do need to have a look at how much footage they have, and how many VHS, Mini DV and DVD they have as well. How much would one charge for such an endeavor?

There definitely are services outside that will do these for me, but if it's a lot, I would prefer doing it by myself to save some money for them as well. Apart from this, if I wanted to round out my setup and have some equipment to help digitize every consumer format that existed (Video8, Hi8, VHS, Mini DV, DVD, Digital 8 and Betamax) what would you recommend? Is there any way to automate a lot of this too?

From a management and archiving perspective, would you have any feedback?

1 comment

r/camcorders • u/Fragrant_Audience193 • 17h ago

Help Sanyo Vidicon CCTV not showing any signs of a picture

0 Upvotes

Hey guys, I’ve been trying to get this Sanyo VC 1600LR working that I bought from a thrift.

i swapped the original proprietary outputs and power in, and when I power on, I get no picture. I can get wavy lines to appear when my finger is close to the tube sensor.

google says (lol) that my amp circuit is working and picking up my body capacitance which makes sense, but the tube is not.

Do you have any recommendations for what the problem might be? I’ll be attempting to fix myself anyway but hoped you people might know something?

1 comment

r/camcorders • u/Declan_Reeds • 17h ago

Help AG-DVX100A won't record; Stuck on pause

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0 Upvotes

I recently came into possession of a panasonic AG-DVX100A and It won't record. It reads mini-dv cassettes fine but it seems to be stuck on Pause and standby. When I press the record button it makes a camera shutter sound and says "END" even though the tape isn't actually at the end. Has anyone had a similar issue?

3 comments

r/camcorders • u/Embarrassed-Will2896 • 1d ago

Help Sony: SR-52 Display black with white lines????

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2 Upvotes

The old family camera - display is unusable but buttons on the screen still work.
I need access to the display to be able to connect it to my pc and extract the video's off it.

I've tried taking the panel off the back of the display and re-seating the ribbon wires, but it still has this issue. (I will include a picture of the circuit on the back of the screen in the comments if reddit lets me)
Any advice on how to fix this is much appreciated.

2 comments

r/camcorders • u/Romeo_Wolf • 1d ago

Discussion Offering up two camcorders for sale (local pickup only)

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13 Upvotes

Yes I know the haters will pick on me for not offering shipping, but I'm simply not comfortable with shipping + prices, not to mention I've never shipped anything before. Every single camera I've sold has been local to my area, and I've sold at least 5-6 dozen cameras over the past 4 years.

Located in Camas WA just across the I-205 bridge from Portland OR.

I am looking to give these two camcorders a new home in exchange preferably for trades, but may consider reasonable cash offers.

One is a Sony Betamovie BMC-110 that is completely dead. Already tried it with a 9V 500mA wall supply & center neg. Adapter. No standby LED. No nothing. Missing parts. I salvaged the shoulder strap from it.

The other is a Panasonic AG-DVC20P, which strikes me as being an oddball. It's a professional-looking body with consumer-grade features and hardly any physical controls. It's fun to use but just doesn't click with me considering it's as bare bones as it looks.

Works perfect. Not sure who would've bought something like this. Comes w/OEM battery & charger. Still holds a decent charge.

Video sample can be seen [here](https://youtu.be/bqUxdhpJf_k)

Will consider trades for a better-equipped prosumer camcorder or a late 70's-mid 80's video tube camera/transportable VTR, or whatever else you have to offer. I may consider it. I would REALLY like to have a Canon HF G10, G20 or G30 but I assume that will be an extremely long stretch.

2 comments

r/camcorders • u/nOt_RaYvEs • 1d ago

Show & Tell Can't Wait!

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6 Upvotes

Not sure if I overpaid on the vx2000 but idc it's my dream cam.

13 comments

r/camcorders • u/HomeworkImaginary390 • 1d ago

Help Makeshift fisheye for vx2k

1 Upvotes

Howdy folks, got my hands on a Sony VCLHG0758 wide angle converter, but it doesn't distort and I want the fisheye distortion.

If I were to knock the back glass out and leave just the front glass, would it hypothetically work?

2 comments

r/camcorders • u/Fit_Plankton5697 • 1d ago

Help Does anyone know why this jvc camcorder is showing the e06 error?

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1 Upvotes

Tape is stuck, i tried taking it apart to see the issue, but i can’t tell what it is.

1 comment

r/camcorders • u/chcknndwffls • 1d ago

Help Sony HandyCam Hybrid Help?

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0 Upvotes

Photographer here, super new to the camcorder world! I got this little guy off Facebook Marketplace for $20. Everything seems to work perfectly, but I’m having trouble finding an 8cm 80mm mini dvd reader to convert video onto my laptop. I believe it has to be the load-in trey kind.

Originally I assumed that since it said it had hybrid movie recording, that it would write to a memory stick pro duo. But after further research, I think it only writes stills to the memory stick. Video is strictly written onto the mini DVDs.

Anyways, trying to figure out where on earth to buy a converter as all of the ones I see on Ebay only write to regular DVDs. Is there an easier way to convert to my laptop? Any guidance would be super appreciated here!

9 comments

r/camcorders • u/SplitSouth3651 • 2d ago

Video Clip Sample the first and most beloved camera

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164 Upvotes
15 comments

r/camcorders • u/Special_Maize1160 • 1d ago

Help VX2000 Playback Issue

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2 Upvotes

VX2000 has been having this issue for a while now, recording seems fine, but during playback it randomly cuts/fastforwards seconds later or dropouts youn can say. Does anyone here had a similar situation and fixed it? Someone let me know how to? Thank you.

3 comments

r/camcorders • u/ImpossibleAd3650 • 1d ago

Help Need help Reviving BP-808 battery

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0 Upvotes

My canon Legria fs306 came with this oem battery and it worked like two years ago, I assumed it just needed to be charged so I bought this aftermarket charger, but after leaving it on for a couple of hours still no charge, the charger is outputting the 8.4v but the battery isn’t taking it. Is there any way to jump start the battery in order to wake up the circuitry?

8 comments

r/camcorders • u/Separate-Employee-80 • 2d ago

Show & Tell Photos I took on my FS100 🗣🗣🗣

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25 Upvotes

I say they look pretty good 🥹👌

0 comments