Our trusty old Mini DV camcorder has finally given up the ghost for good. We've known for a while that it's time to upgrade, but like any good procrastinator, I've put off looking for a new one. And besides, a lot of the websites I've looked at are actually full of praise for the Mini DV format and lament its decreasing popularity.I thought it would be a good idea to download all my tapes onto the computer in case anything ever happened to them. Pretty much all of the 15 or so tapes are of juniordwarf's life up to now, and I'd be shattered if we lost them.
So a couple of weeks ago I started the transfer. The first tape was fine. The second tape played back very jerky. So did the third and the fourth tapes. This was not a good sign. Tape 16 (the 'in progress' tape) played back fine. I was confused.
The eject mechanism of the camera jammed.
Harsh words were spoken.
Fearing that some of my tapes were damaged, I put out a desperate call to borrow someone's Mini DV camcorder to confirm whether the problem with the tapes or the camera (or both). Fortunately one of our friends had such a camcorder and was kind enough to lend it to us.
Tape 2 downloaded just fine. As did tape 3 and tape 4.
Enormous relief that the tapes were fine and we now have the footage in editable format.
Now to find a new camcorder . . .
. . . and to download the rest of the tapes.
and the actual story of the photo of the day
Juniordwarf was fascinated by the whole download process. He loved seeing himself as a baby on the computer screen.
These photos didn't come out very well (the phone flash is seriously bright and I don't think it works well in close up situations - I'm still figuring out how it all works, but have committed to doing this Project 365 thing on the phone, so shoddy photos are part of the charm of it all . . . or so I tell myself). Even so, I just love how they capture his interest in watching himself.
Hey barb, have you downloaded some of the iphone camera aps from the ap store? they have soem great effects.
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