On Mon, 11 Feb 2002 07:13:53 GMT, "Phil Mentz" wrote:

>My Sony CCD-V101 has quit, only giving me an upward pointing small triangle
>in the LCD display, with the camera not responding to any attempts to play,
>rewind, fast forward, record, etc.. I have read where this may due a
>capacitor failure, which can be very expensive to fix. That tempts me to
>look at another camcorder to replace it. On the other hand, this camera
>seems to be held in high regard with a large 1/2" CCD, good lens, and
>overall good performance. That's good to hear, but if the camera keeps
>requiring repairs, this would be a problem. I really have no idea of how
>good the new camcorders are compared to CCD-V101, so am not so sure what to
>do. I also know little about the new DV camcorders, but if I can make use
>of that technology to make good edited S-VHS tapes (we have two Sony SLV-R5
>recorders), then that would be attractive. I don't know about transferring
>DV to S-VHS.

DV transfers nicely to SVHS and Hi-8, though with some loss
if the DV original is higher-resolution (it can be, with the
better cameras...). The Sony TR101 and TR700 Hi-8 cameras
were about the best one-chip Hi-8 "handycam"-form cameras
made, and still look very good compared with DV one-chippers
and even some 3-chippers... It is worth getting an estimate,
and if not too high, maybe repairing one last time...
BTW, for a comparison of some Mini-DV camcorders, see:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/camcorder-comparison.htm and other
referred sites there...