OT: Sony Camcorder Mechanical Problems

birdcat wrote on 9/2/2005, 12:11 PM
Hi Kids -

I have a Sony Handcam DCR-HC40 (yeah I know it's not a VX2100 but it's all I could afford). Bought it about nine months ago and has had about twenty hours of actual video recording time.

A couple of weeks ago it started complaining about having dirty heads and gave me a message (and a code which I don't remember - sorry - I was on the road at the time) about having the heads cleaned. I purchased an official Sony dry head cleaning tape and followed the instructions in the box. I am now getting dirty head messages about every 30-40 minutes of recording - I use the cleaning tape and then use the camera but this has happened three times in the past couple of weeks. When I capture the video I did get, quite a bit is "jumpy" or has drop-outs or pixelation and if I capture using the program that came with Vegas 6 it is (sometimes) unusable. If I use my Roxio DVD Creator 7.0 capture (to MPEG2) it captures the images OK but has some jumpiness or fast motion to it.

I called Sony and they wanted 40% of what I paid for the camera in the first place to repair it - When I complained they dropped that to about 20% - Still a hefty amount for a camera with so little use. Also, I tend to baby the camera (because I know I cannot afford another right now).

Anyone else with similar experieces or suggestions on how to keep this from happening again?

Thanks

Bruce

Comments

RalphM wrote on 9/2/2005, 1:29 PM
The symptoms sound like what occurred on one of my VX2000's. As I recall, that was a head problem that acted like a dirty head.

Assuming that you take reasonable care of the camera, there is nothing special you can do to prevent this. If Sony will repair it for 20% of the purchase price, I'd pack it up and send it in.
winrockpost wrote on 9/2/2005, 1:31 PM
Same batch of tapes ? If so try a different tape.
But,
Most likely tensioner is messed up , heads out of alignment probably have to send it in.
craftech wrote on 9/3/2005, 4:52 AM
What kind of tapes are you using? Sony tapes?
If you are using Panasonic tapes, for example, you might want to try a Panasonic tape head cleaner as a last resort before sending in for repair.

John
birdcat wrote on 9/6/2005, 6:14 AM
I've been using JVC tapes (always new - never reuse anything). I will be sending the camera in soon - Just po's me as this is such a new unit (about 20 hours of recording time on it). Will make me think twice about another Sony unit in the future.
B.Verlik wrote on 9/6/2005, 11:35 AM
Not that this will affect your opinion. I know how I feel when I'm in the same boat. But generally, Sony is pretty reliable when it comes to the mechanical aspect. But somebody has to get the rare 'Lemon'.
An aside from this: I own a Sony VHS VCR, and it does seem funny that when I push the eject button, quite often, other brand tapes fly out of that thing like a cartoon of a toaster shooting the toast up in the air. But Sony brand tapes gently come out the door. Not all off-brand tapes fly out, but quite a few do.
craftech wrote on 9/8/2005, 10:04 PM
The Sony cameras that say Made In Japan are good. The other non-Japanese made Sony consumer cams are often not. Sony VCR's have always been poorly made according to Consumer Reports. and Amazon.com User Reviews.
Panasonics and Sharps were the best. Now none of them are any good if you can even find one that isn't combined with a DVD player.

John