Put a tape in your camcorder and fast forward it all the way to the end.
Rewind the tape to the beginning. So far so good. If it makes it this far, that is a good sign.
Now, record the tape for 5- 10 minutes using zoom and all the regular functions.
Rewind the tape and play back the recording you just shot. If it is playing back ok, then chances are all is well.
A more involved test of your machine and batteries would be to put a tape in the camcorder and let it play with a battery on it to see how long it will play. This test will show up the bad batteries.
If your batteries take longer than three hours to charge then chances are it is defective or can not be depended on to hold up when you need it. If a battery is two to three years old, no matter you haven't used it much, it can not be depended on to hold a charge.
Most consumers do not use their camcorders very much at all compared to their VCR's and televisions. They sit around much of the time and do nothing. This is not good for machinery or electronics as the rubber parts and certain capacitors begin to degrade. The lubricant in the moving parts does not get moved around and distribute over the surface of the mating parts; this can cause a motor to load or bind up.
If you have the means to do this one final check, take a tape you have recorded and try to play it in another machine. Most people don't have another 8mm camcorder to try it in; but perhaps a friend and you can swap tapes out in each other's machine. This tests whether or not the tape path alignment in your machine has shifted or changed. This may not be noticeable when played back right away on the machine that recorded it; but usually will show up in another machine as bad tracking or being un able to be "tracked". If that is the case, the only solution is to have the tape path realigned to factory specifications.
Keep your camera clean and dust free.
If you observe moisture, dew on the machine
take the battery off and let it warm up to room temperature. Do not attempt
to use it while it has visible moisture or is cold to the touch when brought
in from outside to a warm area. If the machine does start, which by the way it shouldn't, you may cause the tape to wrap itself inextricably around the
video drum.
DV
cassettes are designed to take full advantage of the
DV
format, providing remarkably faithful image reproduction with lifelike color
and detailed edge sharpness, along with the ability to record digital audio
with better than CD-quality stereo sound.
DV
cassettes feature a considerably smoother surface than other tapes, for
improved tape-to-head contact and exceptionally low error rates. Because of
this, it is extremely important to keep the recording heads clean.
DV
cassettes are also engineered for peak performance under the most demanding
conditions. A specially developed back coating and ultra-high precision
cassette mechanism minimize friction and assure the highest degree of tape
stability. In addition, the anti-static cassette shell is tightly enclosed
to protect the tape from dust and airborne contaminants.
We recommend that you record a "test" tape shortly after you purchase your
new Mini DV Camcorder. This tape will now be your standard that you can use
to compare it's performance with.
Before an important shoot or a vacation, get your test tape, as mentioned
above, and put it in the machine and play it. This is a crude alignment
test. If it plays the test tape, it will more than likely be ok and
compatible with other machines. Then do a short record and playback to check
the record functions. Pay attention to sound, color, etc.
If it passes these tests it should be okay.
Testing the "FireWire"
or IEEE 1394 functions ( to put it another way, the camcorder's way to talk
to your computer ) is a little more involved and a bit more technical than I
want to get into here.
I hope this has been helpful, and if you have any questions, feel free to drop us an email or give us a call.
Video Tech Services, Inc.
7908 35th Avenue SW
Seattle WA 98126
1-206-935-6326
Toll Free
1-866-935-6326
Email: Video Tech
Copyright 1999-2008 by VTS all rights reserved.
SMV Webmaster
Tuesday, February 05, 2008 21:28