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General discussion

Sony Video 8 Handycam CCD-FX310

Nov 29, 2004 11:04AM PST

Hi. I have an old sony video camera and recently used it to record my son. When I went to play it back on the television it was in black and white. I tried playing other tapes that I had recorded years ago and they came out black and white also. Does anyone know what the cause of this is? I tried using a videohead cleaner but that did not do anything. Also if I were to find one of those tape converters and just play my tapes back that way do you think that they would be in color? I just wonder if my camera is recording everything in black and white or if maybe it just appears in black and white during playback. I would appreciate any comments anyone has on this issue. Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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Re: Sony Video 8 Handycam CCD-FX310
Nov 29, 2004 8:57PM PST

My Hi8 camera did the same. Horribly expensive brick, but I found I could bounce it to the VCR (onto VHS) then the TV was color again. That was my fix since repair was as much as a new camera.

You may have asked "why?" Or "what's broken?" The answer is that some frequency of an signal in the camera is now too far off for the TV to use. Or you have the camera in some b/w mode. I do not have your camera so its up to you to know that possible setting.

Hope this helps,

Bob

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Re: Sony Video 8 Handycam CCD-FX310
Nov 30, 2004 1:59AM PST

Thanks for the suggestion but I tried it and the video still turned out black and white.

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Re: Sony Video 8 Handycam CCD-FX310
Nov 30, 2004 3:18AM PST

Beware the repair cost, but wallymart has something-8 video cameras for much less than what I was quoted for repair.

Sorry that my trick didn't work for your issue.

Look around the menus for PAL/NTSC output. Could be off?

Bob

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My 1993 Cam wont or close when their a tape inside
Aug 22, 2013 1:28AM PDT

It started when my baby sister was rough with it! Now I just need to find someone who fixes these types of antiquated things!

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The cost is now even higher.
Aug 22, 2013 3:28AM PDT

While it is possible to repair I find repair to cost more than finding a working camcorder of the same model on ebay.
Bob