Sony CCD-V30E

[Djolecam]

Hi, i recently bought this old camcorder, i took my camera to Sony repair centar and they tell me is too expensive to repair no one manufacturing spare parts for this camcorder.
My problem is when i turn on camera i see in viewfinder white picture. Then i remembered to connect video/audio ports from camera to tv. On tv screen i see blue picture and i hear my voice from microphone.
Do you have any solution from me? What to repair?

[Fraser]

Very sorry to report that I have binned at least 10 similar era camcorders recently. They have no value anymore so people do not tend to repair them. Your fault will likely be in the power supply circuits but I doubt you will find someone willing to spend time diagnosing such a fault. I can understand why you might want to do so as a learning experience, but these units really are not worth the effort for most people. Such cameras sell for around £5 in UK charity shops. The service manual is needed for a repair and, if not available for free on the internet, will cost around £25...... 5 times the value of the camera.

Sorry I do not have better news. I only buy such cameras to harvest the optical block and viewfinder. The rest is good only for scrap or SMT desoldering practice.

Fraser

[Djolecam]

Thank you for your quick reply, i will try to buy another camera.

[Fraser]

Please be aware that buying any camera from the 1990's or early 2000's carries the risk of the tap transport being faulty due to degraded rubber parts. If you can possibly afford it, buy a camcorder with a hard disk, CD-R or flash memory storage medium. These will, be more modern and will not suffer the tape transport issues common to older units.

Camcorders have become pretty much obsolete for some people as they use their mobile phones instead. I still have modern camcorders but use them very rarely. I am no videographer ! Mine all use hard disk storage. Panasonic appears a reliable brand for such units but I would avoid JVC.

Fraser