Sony CCD-V8AF-E eBay

EBay is one of the largest trading places for new and used camcorders, as well as parts and accessories. They have cameras to suit all budgets, and even a small budget for a blogger such as myself. Due to my poverty-stricken blogging lifestyle, there is no way I can afford a brand new camcorder so I am always looking for something that is broken that I can repair, and most importantly, I can afford. I usually get more enjoyment from opening things up and taking it apart to see how it was designed, hence if something is going for five pounds or ten pounds, then I will usually snap it up.

On this occasion, I managed to acquire the Sony CCD-V8AF-E because it was broken, in right state, and going cheap. I managed to get the complete kit together with the storage case and accessories for around ten pounds, which was a bargain! It is amazing how grimy these cameras can get, because it took an hour just to clean away all the oil, and the years of dust, that had settled on it. After a little servicing and tuning, I was able to get some great clear images.

These earlier cameras were robust, which is why they still exist today. The CP-11 board contains IC701 which is the ICX-021K interline transfer CCD imager integrated circuit (IC) manufactured by the Sony Corporation of Japan. These early imager ICs had a ceramic package, which protected the internal circuitry much better than the plastic packages that later came into use. If you had a modern camcorder, which inexplicably suffered a CCD failure, then you probably understand the importance of this.

This camera also has a built-in Video 8 cassette recorder, so you can play your old Video 8 tapes and feed the audio and video signal to a DVD recorder for recording. This is great for converting Video 8 tapes to DVD.

I had several reasons for buying it. 1. I had seen it in 1985 at my local Sony shop and always wanted to play with it. 2. I had some Video 8 tapes that I wanted to convert to DVD. 3. I wanted to see how well the electronics were designed. 4. It has a cool futuristic looking motorised cassette compartment door, which pops up and down.

With everyone focussed on the latest cameras, and mega-pixel capability, these early CCD cameras usually go cheap, and if you are an electronics hobbyist, then you could have some fun with it. I thought the camera on its own was well worth ten pounds, and the rest was gravy. I also got a rechargeable battery pack that was on its last legs, charger adapter, RF modulator, power supply, and a futuristic looking silver storage case. I figured it would keep me busy, and more importantly, out of trouble for at least a day.

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