sony camcorder problem..please help

sam1970

i bought my mini DV sony camcorder from ebay 4 years ago and it was brand new,boxed for £600 (it was selling in currys for £1200) and for 4 years i had no problems what so ever although i did not use it frequently (may be 2-3 times a year). this week and when i tried to use it after 6 months of no use i noticed that half of the lcd screen has gone black so i can only have images in half of the screen..i tried changing all the setting to no avail..then i did a bit of search on the internet and i found on sony website (for asia) that my camcorder had a call out (amongst other camcorders) in 2005 when they found a manufacture's fault with the CCD which presents as a problem with the image on lcd screen but nothing was mentioned about this fault on sony UK website. i phoned sony repairs in uk and they told me that they are aware of the fault and that i need to send them the camcorder to check it out and if it is the ccd problem they will repair it free of charge other wise they will charge me for the inspection, postage and repairs. i have got 2 questions please:

1- could it be a simple thing which i can correct my self? i dont want sony charging me over £50 if it proves that there is no fault with the camcorder.
2- can sony find out that i bought off ebay and then refuse to reair it for free. iam not planning to tell them that as i dont think it should be treated any differently.
by the way the model is DCR-PC120E (the one with bluetooth which i never i used!!)

sorry for the long story..any help will be much appreciated.

dc

It is either the ccd that is at fault or the display circuitry on the lcd.

The former they should repair for free irrispective of where you bought it. The second will cost, however it will not prevent you using the camera,

Try recording something and then play back on a tv.
If the pic is the same as that on the camera lcd, i.e. half missing then the CCD is at fault,and you should send the camera to Sony.

If the piccy is full screen on playback then the lcd is at fault and you can get away with just using the optical viewfider when recording, and sometimes the fault may go away, as damp or poor connection could be the cause.

Good luck.

sam1970

thank you for the reply.. i tried your advice and got the following:
1- i tried old tape ( recorded before the defect appeared) and the picture was normal on both the lcd and tv.

2- i tried newly recorded tape (after the problem started) and it is showing half image (half black) on both lcd and tv.

does that make any sense? what do you think?

Millionaire

sam1970 wrote: »

thank you for the reply.. i tried your advice and got the following:
1- i tried old tape ( recorded before the defect appeared) and the picture was normal on both the lcd and tv.

2- i tried newly recorded tape (after the problem started) and it is showing half image (half black) on both lcd and tv.

does that make any sense? what do you think?

Looks like your CCD is knackered and its not the LCD viewscreen. Have you checked the manual to check if there is any "special feature" that does this by pressing a button or something along those lines?

Otherwise I would send it in.

sam1970

i checked the manual and i went through different settings and cant find any explanation for this..should i bite the bullett and send the camcorder for repair?

johnmc

Send it back.

It certainly sounds like the CCD.

matty2767

i had one of these and the motherboard went wonky. sent it back and had a bit of trouble getting them to find the fault. eventually they did and sent me a bill for £690. the same day i got the bill the team leader from the repairs section rang me and appologised that the bill had been sent and they would be replacing it with the new model. i would send it back, they arent as harsh as they state in their terms and conditions.

sam1970

matty2767 wrote: »

i had one of these and the motherboard went wonky. sent it back and had a bit of trouble getting them to find the fault. eventually they did and sent me a bill for £690. the same day i got the bill the team leader from the repairs section rang me and appologised that the bill had been sent and they would be replacing it with the new model. i would send it back, they arent as harsh as they state in their terms and conditions.

was yours still under warranty...if it is out of waranty i dont think they are under obligation to replace it?

matty2767

yes it was out of warranty by 6 months