Odd Sony Camcorder Problem

This is a TRV310 Digital 8 unit, about 7 years old. Recently, I noticed a strange image problem. In record mode, indoors the colors are dull in good light and the image is very dark in low light conditions. Outdoors in bright shade or sun, everything appears way overexposed. This is the case whether observing in the LCD, the b/w viewfinder or playback of the recorded image. Note, playback of old recordings before the problem arose is fine. All other functions appear normal. Even more interesting is that I can intermittently get the proper image restored in record mode by physically pressing on parts of the camcorder case. Unfortunately, I can't get that to work consistently or for any extended period of time. It's like there is a loose connection or something inside. Obviously, it may just be time to get a new camcorder but I'm wondering how difficult/costly it would be to fix. TIA for any suggestions.

Reply to
iws
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Anytime u can restore function to a device by pushing, pulling, tapping or otherwise manipulating the device's case, the problem is most likely going to be bad solder joints, loose connections as u said or, in the case of mechanical controls (potentiometers, switches, etc.), dirty contacts. Depending on the complexity level of disassembly, location of the fault, and the shop, this can be either very cheap or very costly to have a shop fix. Most often, a competent shop will do it for their normal flat fee -- depending on the shop, the flat fee can be pretty high, though.

Reply to
Ray L. Volts

It's likely there's a bad connection somewhere, probably to do with the iris control circuit or servo. Could be trivial to fix, but that doesn't necessarily mean cheap!

Dave

Reply to
Dave D

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