i take lots of pictures on vacations and stuff but i always forget to take any length of video like "home movies" and it just occurred to me- would i take more if i brought an old camcorder and shot to VHS? or super8 or whatever those little ones were? and then digitized it later? - ThreadSky

spindlypete.bsky.social • 60 days ago

i take lots of pictures on vacations and stuff but i always forget to take any length of video like "home movies" and it just occurred to me- would i take more if i brought an old camcorder and shot to VHS? or super8 or whatever those little ones were? and then digitized it later?

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shayrazor.bsky.social•59 days ago

My in-laws brought their camcorder on every family trip, and they have one hundred hours of home movies. My husband and his sisters had a very cute kid talk show. I think you and the lads would get a lot of mileage out of one.

spindlypete.bsky.social•60 days ago

has anyone tried this? does it work? i played with a camcorder a lot as a kid and all my own home movies are shot on one. i wonder if its mere nostalgic and button-having presence would trick my brain into finding movement to record?

wtdore.bsky.social•60 days ago

sometimes it's about finding the tool that you'll actually use.

though it looks like dedicated digital camcorders are cheap now too.

spindlypete.bsky.social•60 days ago

if this works for people our age i bet, like, The Cut or somebody would pay someone to write about it

tendehka.bsky.social•60 days ago

You gotta go a step further back. Full on slide deck, clicky remote and all. Make the whole family sit down.

(tbf it sounds like they would and it'd be a fun time)

jagbsn.bsky.social•60 days ago

I haven't specifically tried this for this purpose, but it seems like it could work. Even digital camcorders feel more tactile and engaging than a phone, with physical buttons and the padded side handle you slip your hand into, as well as the sense of dedicated purpose

spindlypete.bsky.social•60 days ago

right like if i pick up my phone to take a video half the time i'm just gonna forget what i'm doing and check my texts and set it down. can't check my texts on a camcorder

jagbsn.bsky.social•60 days ago

Exactly. There's nothing to distract you when you pick up an actual camera. It just feels much more serious to hold one, so it might spark something in you to try it! Digital cams are just as good for this as older film/video models except you don't have to scour thrift stores for filmstock

spindlypete.bsky.social•59 days ago

i think what i'd want is a quite early generation digital one then that's still quite bulky

jagbsn.bsky.social•59 days ago

I'm sure you could find one! Though maybe not too too early unless you want pixelated images. Or maybe you do, maybe that could be fun!

goatstorm.bsky.social•59 days ago

I’ve been shooting on VHS camcorders and its really fun. The battery packs are old enough that the chemistry is bad in them, but I found a model that I was able to convert to use RC Car batteries. Yeah, putting a physical big clunky tape into a combo TV and seeing your friends faces is delightful

rainsurname.bsky.social•60 days ago

I have transferred Super8 to VHS, Super8 to DVD, & VHS to digital.

You have it done at a telecine transfer place. https://www.moviepreservation.com

rszasz.saxonco.com•59 days ago

You really want to find and use a place that does RF capture now for any videotape.

jakethecattleman.bsky.social•60 days ago

There’s all types of video recording cameras

revrend.bsky.social•59 days ago

My oldest was born before phones did video. I bought a separate video recorder and never used it.

anthrodiva.bsky.social•60 days ago

I have one still, and at least for me the answer was no. It's bulky and cumbersome, the whole process was a little too involved. But you may be into that!

hrobj.bsky.social•59 days ago

MiniDV etc. And this reminds me that I was gifted one for Christmas and need to find it!

rszasz.saxonco.com•59 days ago

If you can find miniDV cameras and tape, you don't have to have it digitized, just transferred and saved

allengarvin.bsky.social•60 days ago

Super8 would be really tough these days: where would you get the film developed? But huge nostalgia factor...which would probably remain fun for 1.31 seconds.

spindlypete.bsky.social•60 days ago

maybe i don't mean super 8... what were the little tiny VHS tapes called, they were just the same as a VHS tape but tiny. they sold them everywhere in like. 2002

rszasz.saxonco.com•59 days ago

Hi8

spindlypete.bsky.social•59 days ago

yes that's what it was!!

cyanescens.bsky.social•59 days ago

IIRC there’s now one place in the US left that develops super 8 film so you have to send it off to them (think they’re in the Midwest somewhere) and of course it’s not a cheap service

spindlypete.bsky.social•59 days ago

i was thinking of Hi8!

cyanescens.bsky.social•59 days ago

Super 8 was already sorta nostalgic retro when I was a teen in the ‘90s, got a camera and a bunch of film cheap at a garage sale but even circa ‘95 the cost to get it developed was enough that I never ended up using it

allengarvin.bsky.social•59 days ago

We made dumb stop motion films in the 70s with action figures.

hatandsuitcase.bsky.social•60 days ago

You would have more videos, but old cameras are a job to use. So you would be not really on vacation.

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