tbanucci
Well-known member
I have a Canon Optura 300 as a personal, take anywhere camera. It's great for travel and taking video of the kid. My wife used it one night and decided to plug it in to charge it up, only she plugged it in to one of the wrong power adapters. She came into the bedroom and said, "Your camera is smoking. Is it supposed to do that?" 
rogar-Smoke(DBG):
"Hmmm... let's see... no, it's not a common occurance, honey", knowing right away that she had fried the camera.
So here was my dilemma. First, I have been craving to buy a new HD cam like the HV20 for personal use. Secondly, sending in the camera for repairs (not under warranty) would cost upwards of $700. Third, I needed the tape in the Optura for my daughter's birthday coming up in a week. So, my solution was to see if I could get the tape out with a few screws coming out and maybe sell the cam for parts.
Well, 1 screw led to the 50th screw. After 5 screws I could tell that I was not going back. No wonder repairs cost an arm and a leg! And no wonder these cameras cost an assload! The way these things are put together is pretty solid and compact, it amazes me that they even exist.
Anyway, here are my dismantling shots of what the camera looked like after I finally got the tape out. The tape was in the most difficult of all the metal housings to take apart. The reason is that instead of screws for this section, they use bolts.
rogar-Smoke(DBG):"Hmmm... let's see... no, it's not a common occurance, honey", knowing right away that she had fried the camera.
So here was my dilemma. First, I have been craving to buy a new HD cam like the HV20 for personal use. Secondly, sending in the camera for repairs (not under warranty) would cost upwards of $700. Third, I needed the tape in the Optura for my daughter's birthday coming up in a week. So, my solution was to see if I could get the tape out with a few screws coming out and maybe sell the cam for parts.
Well, 1 screw led to the 50th screw. After 5 screws I could tell that I was not going back. No wonder repairs cost an arm and a leg! And no wonder these cameras cost an assload! The way these things are put together is pretty solid and compact, it amazes me that they even exist.
Anyway, here are my dismantling shots of what the camera looked like after I finally got the tape out. The tape was in the most difficult of all the metal housings to take apart. The reason is that instead of screws for this section, they use bolts.
