vintage RCA VHS video camera

[97tbird]

what can I do with it ?
My wife has one which we found when we were unpacking.
The battery probably can be re-charged (Has AC charger)...have not checked operation yet...

Is it worth anything? (if it works) - should we just throw it away?

I am almost sure it's exactly this model show here, but comes with a HARD case and everything is in pretty good shape:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Other-Camera-RCA...=item19d1db1d02

 

[dishdude]

No one is really collecting these now, but you never know.

 

[PandaBear]

I'd say put it on ebay / craigslist for those who want to replace their worn out / bad unit or use it as a VCR. Don't think about collectible unless it is a top of the line professional grade model.

 

[Dave Hess]

Donate it to the Smithsonian museum.

 

[GumbyJarvis]

Haha, I have a few "Race Car" VHS Rewinders I found a few days ago, still work too!

 

[exranger06]

IF it's not worth anything, I would bring it to Best Buy for recycling instead of throwing it in the trash.

 

[97tbird]

oh yeah - i didn't really mean throw it in trash.
We have a nearby consignment center where they accept and recycle electronics which we usually use for stuff like this..

Thanks for the replies. I think we will get rid of it.

 

[The_Jeff]

There are more of these around, mostly because people paid $1000 reagan era dollars on the things and have sentimental value. The video they shoot is dreadful trash, and you can probably find a "VHS effect" in your favorite video editing software if you ever want to go back.

They have little dynamic range, the NTSC VHS colors all bleed all over, and whatever calibration it had from the factory's drifted for the worse as all the capacitors dry out.

I would shoot a short clip of you "accidentally" smashing it somehow and putting that clip on youtube, or in this thread.

there are also lots of orphaned film cameras out there that cost a bunch of money new. People hold onto them under the principle of "it's not a mistake until I throw it away". A 1910 Kodak Autographic camera looks like a million bucks until you put it on ebay and get ten.

 

[ankaka]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Donate it to the Smithsonian museum.



I think so.

 

[mpvue]

I remember on vacation trips in the '80's you'd see guys w/ all the video equipment, and a case over their shoulder, looked like they were carrying a whole VCR with them.
amazing how fast technology advances.

 

[kkreit01]

I recently sold my Sony 8mm for a decent price on ebay. I was surprised! IIRC, it went for around $60 or more. VHS may be more difficult to sell.

 

[artificialist]

The Blair Witch project used an old piece of video equipment to make the movie seem more real.

Know anyone that likes to make independent films?

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
I remember on vacation trips in the '80's you'd see guys w/ all the video equipment, and a case over their shoulder, looked like they were carrying a whole VCR with them.
amazing how fast technology advances.


They stood in the back and the aisles at my school things! Where are those tapes now?

Funny how the three piece ones came with a little charger/TV tuner because you might want to go for a picnic and tape soap operas in the bush. And everything hooked up with proprietary umbilical cords.

Back in the late 1970s Electronic News Gathering (ENG) was the hot thing with "Eyewitness news" and they just went from film which had to be developed (film at 11!) to 3/4" U-Matic VCRs. You then had a cameraman and a usually-burly VCR/battery hauling/sound guy. A TV industry urban legend is of a camera guy who was excited to cross the street and dragged his VCR guy unwittingly into graffic.