a better test for magnesium is to put a drop of cider vinegar (or acetic acid) on the exposed metal. If it fizzes and changes colour then it's magnesium. If nothing happens then it's aluminium.
Isn't this just the very boring kit lens for sony APS-C cameras from which millions exist and you can get used for 2 digit money? Sometimes even with a stills photography body?
There is an industry standard for hot shoes, the contacts for which are on the Sony proprietary one (the contact pad on the top), Sony, like other manufacturers, adds extra pins for more connectivity for devices like mics.
Dave, just a day or two after watching this video my wife and I watched a movie called Dolphin Tale 2 (2014). Towards the end of the movie the character Hazel (played by Cozi Zuehlsdorff) was documenting the rescue of a baby dolphin with the exact same camera you fixed in this video. Gonna buy that lottery ticket now... Thanks for the awesome video!
You can always tell a Sony product by their insane love of intricate flat flexes. The insides of a Sony Aibo (100, 200, 300, 7 series, no clue on the new thing, probably same as 7) are a wonderland of beautiful flat flexes, literal definition of sparing no expense.
hey mate, i been a sub since you were still in the garage and i watch most of your videos im now 22. I still only understand half of the lingo. yet for some reason I still watch. thanks man
You did a nice repair job. Is it easy to remove the viewfinder of the VG30 and will the cam work properly without it? I want to demount that protruding part because I don't need it and it is interfering with my gimbal. Thank's in advance for your valued reply.
Dave, when I worked at an injection moulding company, we did EMI/EMC plastics - they have additives. Could be that ? They aren't conductive in terms of a multimeter testing.
Nice video. I also don't use the viewfinder of my NEX-VG and this part is also hindering when using a gimbal. Do you think it would be a big problem to remove the viewfinder in a way the later it is possible to mount it again?
The screen wiggle might also be because the closing latch is broken off. Do you still use the VG30? Thinking about getting one for the funsies. Video Quality is sadly pretty bad compared to todays standards
The base plate is known to break on the bottom of those things. There's an aftermarket aluminum mounting plate you can get for 28 bucks that screws to the bottom of it and makes it pretty much Bulletproof when you mount it on a tripod.
I wrote a three sentence rant about how Sony products are garbage, but even that was too much time to spend on one of their crappy products. Great to see you restore a non-functioning piece of old junk back to a plain old piece of junk. Good on ye and keep 'em coming!
add foam to the top bars, to add a cushion that can absorb the force.... it seems like that camera was not designed to be droped, so you need to add what the manufacturer skiped...
Already had a NEX-5T, got the Sony NEX VG30 because it was a 2nd hand bargain, got the RX100 because it's pretty unique, and well, the transition had started. The NX80 had all the stuff I wanted so it made sense.
The Microphone-Head Looks as if it can be removed like a Flash. 11:02 Looks like if you have a connector where the microphone-assembly can slide in. The plastic piece was like a little door on the hole the screen hinge goes in. maybe someone closed the screen too hard and destroyed the hinge of the little "door". But it is only for a better look and wont change the working.
my VG30 is my primary video recorder, but for what I shoot it is the best that I could afford at the time. It still works great for me. I have used the 5 channel mic a few times but as my target is stereo DVDs, I ended up not using it. I also record sound off camera and sync in post-production. (I have a Nikon and a few lenses. I have adapters for the Sony to accept other Sony and Nikon lenses.) I am looking to upgrade and go to 4k. I would like to get a video camera that has interchangeable lenses and a camera that can uses the same interchangeable lenses. I see your primary Sony does not, but your cameras do. Do you have any thoughts?
For a no-fuss primary camera I still prefer the integrated lens camcorder, they are still better than DSLR's IMO. I don't think sony has a new affordable interchageable lens video camera?
@@EEVblog I shoot events that will last up to two hours. (some are longer, but they have intermission, so I stop recording) DSLRs do not do that long. Also they are optimized as cameras and not for 60 fps. (I run on batteries, so I almost always use the view finder. I use the screen only for setting up .)
Believe it or not, I'm using this Camcorder in 2024! 😅 To overcome the loss of Face and object tracking with White Balance Adjustment ... 1 - Tap the White Balance Button on the Body 2 - Tap the Option Option on the Screen 3 - Adjust the Blue/Amber & Green/Magenta Color Bias buttons until you are content! 4 - Press OK 2x With an OSS lens and/or a Gimbal, this old thing works awesome for 1/2 Speed (60fps) Wedding and Music Video jobs! I also almost never use the Viewfinder and am thinking I will remove the thing altogether to enhance my gimbal usage.
Handycams were so popular back in the days before smartphones because it was the only way to record video. Back in those days I was fixing, sony, hitachi, jvc, sanyo...I see WES components is still around..Lol
If it isn't made for vloggers, perhaps it is made for travelers. I don't monitor the sound when I record Panasonic HVX200E. I loop it into a headset. (or it is actually a set of ear protection that had a line in)
If you want to test for magnesium without starting a fire (or burning a bit of your gear) just put a couple drops of plain white vinegar on it, and it'll bubble if it's magnesium. If it's aluminum or an alloy of Al it won't.
Years ago, I doctor presented me with an IBM voice recorder, it used a magnetic band to record on, instead of magnetic tape, a wide band. It was dropped, broke the metal casting. I was into aluminum welding at the time and was anxious to weld the tiny frame. A friend said, that could be magnesium. He said break or a tiny chip and see if it lights of with a match, sure enough, it did. If I would have attempted to weld the part (without lots of shield gas), I would have ended up with a pile of white powder. I ended up machining a small plate to straddle the fracture, drilled and tapped holes for tiny screws and also filled in the voids with epoxy. It was then good as new. Then there was the time I had to repair an anal scope for the same doctor, that's another story for another time. Jim
In few years ago I switched from SONY to another brand cameras. I'am shooting a photography, not video. But the main reason for my migration, was the old style hot shoe. Then SONY reseased a new style of hotshoe and lens mount (the E-mount), they abandoned the A-mount and made their cameras with the worst ergonomics ever. I thing that all flashes will fit in every hotshoe, except the old sony style and will work, but without any fatures than manual mode. I'am not tested that, but for shure new Sony style, nikon, canon and pentax flashes will fit and work.
i aways feel like the video is over exposed and the colors are a bit washed out, i'm not sure if it's the lights, post processing or the camera setting. anyone else feels this way? (it can be my shitty monitor too)
Actually most pro cameras don't have any audio whatsoever, people who care about sound will use separate audio recording gear anyway and sync it with video in software.
@@EEVblog Yeah I guess that's true, but on the other hand it's pretty quick job once you get used to it, it usually takes me less than 1/2 minute to sync it; The key is not to stop and start recording a lot, just keep the gear rolling, and cut in post.
viewfinders, two times people use them, when the light is completly washing out your LCD or when you are pretending to look like a pro and have no idea what to do...
Haha, back when the Canon 400D was a new release I got one on eBay for less than $100, the seller listed it for spare parts because it "Will not turn on". I charged the battery. Bargain.
I don't know what films you watch? I watch 5.1 or even 7.1 surround sound. I have a dirty shutter and scratched sensor. I need a new camera but am unwilling to sacrifice my 5.1 surround sound that this camera does. So I guess your attitude and others mean that all new cameras use stupid mono shotgun mics hmmm? Sorry, I find the sound from the vg30 to be better than what you seem to think is better.
hey i have a question .... can microwaves manipulate time ?... in other wards time crystals were made with microwaves ... can this lead to time travel ?
@@EEVblog and according to Einstein theory of relativity gravity affects time that's why time is slower when you get closer to a black hole ... therefore ( can a crystal of certain type affect time ?) that is when a microwave flips its molecules up and down by its micro "waves"
Tsk Sony & their shabby cameras. Well its OK to blame Samsung when end users break their $2000 phones so I guess you dropping it is Sony's fault too, right????
a better test for magnesium is to put a drop of cider vinegar (or acetic acid) on the exposed metal. If it fizzes and changes colour then it's magnesium. If nothing happens then it's aluminium.
Nice tip, thanks
Simple and effective.. Great trick Bruce! 👍
That mic might have saved that lens!
Tru
Indeed
It must of had a hell of a whack to brake that metal, all though metal castings are famous for their weakness.
Isn't this just the very boring kit lens for sony APS-C cameras from which millions exist and you can get used for 2 digit money? Sometimes even with a stills photography body?
Took one for the team.
"some bits fell out and now it works fine"
this applies to cars and human bodies too.
There is an industry standard for hot shoes, the contacts for which are on the Sony proprietary one (the contact pad on the top), Sony, like other manufacturers, adds extra pins for more connectivity for devices like mics.
Was hoping you were gonna bring out a TIG welder and weld that magnesium back together! :)
Dave, just a day or two after watching this video my wife and I watched a movie called Dolphin Tale 2 (2014). Towards the end of the movie the character Hazel (played by Cozi Zuehlsdorff) was documenting the rescue of a baby dolphin with the exact same camera you fixed in this video. Gonna buy that lottery ticket now... Thanks for the awesome video!
I thought I saw it falling in the last video but I guess the magic of editing made it stay up!
Talking about mailbag video's
where are they! The last one was 2 months ago. I kind of need them, they work as therapy :)
ikr I sent a package that I am waiting to see him open
Yea me to
Yes! They're strangely calming for me. Even if people think it's strange I spend an hour watching an Australian guy open his mail.
the missing mailbag videos is probably related to the office flood a few weeks ago
You can always tell a Sony product by their insane love of intricate flat flexes. The insides of a Sony Aibo (100, 200, 300, 7 series, no clue on the new thing, probably same as 7) are a wonderland of beautiful flat flexes, literal definition of sparing no expense.
hey mate, i been a sub since you were still in the garage and i watch most of your videos im now 22. I still only understand half of the lingo. yet for some reason I still watch. thanks man
Thanks!
So you remember the EEVBLOG spider ?
That's an awesome camera.
It was very state-of-the-art and ahead-of-its-time
You did a nice repair job. Is it easy to remove the viewfinder of the VG30 and will the cam work properly without it? I want to demount that protruding part because I don't need it and it is interfering with my gimbal. Thank's in advance for your valued reply.
Dave, when I worked at an injection moulding company, we did EMI/EMC plastics - they have additives. Could be that ? They aren't conductive in terms of a multimeter testing.
Wouldn't do jack at audio frequencies.
Nice video. I also don't use the viewfinder of my NEX-VG and this part is also hindering when using a gimbal. Do you think it would be a big problem to remove the viewfinder in a way the later it is possible to mount it again?
Sagan was just in the mood to see a repair video.
Excellent and informative video dave. I'm sure most people have learnt something.
So it works, but is still a bit broken?
If a boat goes on a trip and every item is replaced one at a time, is it still the same boat?
Hot and cold shoes, or hot and cold boots?
They may expect you to record the audio separately, so there’s less emphasis on audio quality.
My guess for that microphone would be for capturing surrounding sounds like let's say, in nature, in a stadium, hall, etc.
...or maybe for those enthusiasts shooting a Blair-Witch type budget movie..!
The screen wiggle might also be because the closing latch is broken off. Do you still use the VG30? Thinking about getting one for the funsies. Video Quality is sadly pretty bad compared to todays standards
when will mail bag be? I am getting to excited waiting to see him open the package I sent.
what's the weird red light artefacts around the images in the video camera
A tripod leg lock wasn't tightened or failed, or the tripod was knocked over, and the camera faceplanted?
It could have been worse, you could have said goodbye to the lens if the mic hadn't sacrificed its life lol.
Very true
The base plate is known to break on the bottom of those things. There's an aftermarket aluminum mounting plate you can get for 28 bucks that screws to the bottom of it and makes it pretty much Bulletproof when you mount it on a tripod.
I wonder if signals from those side mics are selectively subtracted from R+L as zoom level is increased?
I don't care I have them switched off
I want to get on a plane, come over, and clean that screen with rubbing alcohol.
You can come and clean mine ....
I'd rather have a dirty screen than a dirty lens!
Very nice repair video.
Those repair videos are awesome!!!
I wrote a three sentence rant about how Sony products are garbage, but even that was too much time to spend on one of their crappy products. Great to see you restore a non-functioning piece of old junk back to a plain old piece of junk. Good on ye and keep 'em coming!
A camera is as good as the person using it
do you sell the vg30 camera screen? If there is, please share the link
My vg30 viewfinder goes black...how to fix it.. ? Help me please....
add foam to the top bars, to add a cushion that can absorb the force.... it seems like that camera was not designed to be droped, so you need to add what the manufacturer skiped...
Weren't you a Canon guy; HFG10 and 20? What prompted the switch to Sony? Just curious.
Already had a NEX-5T, got the Sony NEX VG30 because it was a 2nd hand bargain, got the RX100 because it's pretty unique, and well, the transition had started. The NX80 had all the stuff I wanted so it made sense.
The Microphone-Head Looks as if it can be removed like a Flash. 11:02 Looks like if you have a connector where the microphone-assembly can slide in.
The plastic piece was like a little door on the hole the screen hinge goes in. maybe someone closed the screen too hard and destroyed the hinge of the little "door". But it is only for a better look and wont change the working.
I have never seen any other attachment for it, so I don't think it does.
@@EEVblog ok then they have made it non-removable.
That little bit of rubber is a flap to reduce dust and moisture from ingressing into the camera. A dust bumper.
Scratch/scuff the suspected magnesium part and put a drop of vinegar on it, if it's magnesium it will bubble ever so slightly
Nice video. By the way magnesium can be easily tested using vinegar. Just a little bit on it and you will see the reaction and know it for sure.
my VG30 is my primary video recorder, but for what I shoot it is the best that I could afford at the time. It still works great for me. I have used the 5 channel mic a few times but as my target is stereo DVDs, I ended up not using it. I also record sound off camera and sync in post-production.
(I have a Nikon and a few lenses. I have adapters for the Sony to accept other Sony and Nikon lenses.) I am looking to upgrade and go to 4k. I would like to get a video camera that has interchangeable lenses and a camera that can uses the same interchangeable lenses. I see your primary Sony does not, but your cameras do. Do you have any thoughts?
For a no-fuss primary camera I still prefer the integrated lens camcorder, they are still better than DSLR's IMO. I don't think sony has a new affordable interchageable lens video camera?
@@EEVblog I shoot events that will last up to two hours. (some are longer, but they have intermission, so I stop recording) DSLRs do not do that long. Also they are optimized as cameras and not for 60 fps.
(I run on batteries, so I almost always use the view finder. I use the screen only for setting up .)
IME the viewfinder adds hardly anything to the battery life.
Dave, I assumed you used a shotgun mic and an external audio recorder?
Foolish to use an external audio recorder for a TH-camr.
Believe it or not, I'm using this Camcorder in 2024!
😅
To overcome the loss of Face and object tracking with White Balance Adjustment ...
1 - Tap the White Balance Button on the Body
2 - Tap the Option Option on the Screen
3 - Adjust the Blue/Amber & Green/Magenta Color Bias buttons until you are content!
4 - Press OK 2x
With an OSS lens and/or a Gimbal, this old thing works awesome for 1/2 Speed (60fps) Wedding and Music Video jobs!
I also almost never use the Viewfinder and am thinking I will remove the thing altogether to enhance my gimbal usage.
I thought I saw this camera get a good bump in the video with Sagan.
Handycams were so popular back in the days before smartphones because it was the only way to record video. Back in those days I was fixing, sony, hitachi, jvc, sanyo...I see WES components is still around..Lol
If it isn't made for vloggers, perhaps it is made for travelers. I don't monitor the sound when I record Panasonic HVX200E. I loop it into a headset. (or it is actually a set of ear protection that had a line in)
User error.
1:16 what''s the point of showing some stuff in red on that screen ?
It's called Focus Peaking, it shows that things are in focus. Hugely useful feature, don't buy a camera without it.
Oh nice, they're using TI RC4580 op amps! Top quality.
If you want to test for magnesium without starting a fire (or burning a bit of your gear) just put a couple drops of plain white vinegar on it, and it'll bubble if it's magnesium. If it's aluminum or an alloy of Al it won't.
A Full rebuild of that section would have let you glue everything back together in the right place, and maybe improve it some.
If it breaks loose get some j.b weld, amazing stuff :-)
"If the two-part epoxy breaks loose, get some two-part epoxy." Nice.
TheHue's SciTech
Not quite lol, they have metal particals in the product.
Years ago, I doctor presented me with an IBM voice recorder, it used a magnetic band to record on, instead of magnetic tape, a wide band. It was dropped, broke the metal casting. I was into aluminum welding at the time and was anxious to weld the tiny frame. A friend said, that could be magnesium. He said break or a tiny chip and see if it lights of with a match, sure enough, it did. If I would have attempted to weld the part (without lots of shield gas), I would have ended up with a pile of white powder. I ended up machining a small plate to straddle the fracture, drilled and tapped holes for tiny screws and also filled in the voids with epoxy. It was then good as new.
Then there was the time I had to repair an anal scope for the same doctor, that's another story for another time.
Jim
Now with more directional audio!!!
I got my vg900 for cheap too. Do you recommend any e lens which has autofocus?
All the Sony ones have auto focus I believe.
Love it! Good job Sagan! :-)
That's why you should never put your video camera in your back pocket!
can't you just color balance in post production?
In few years ago I switched from SONY to another brand cameras. I'am shooting a photography, not video. But the main reason for my migration, was the old style hot shoe. Then SONY reseased a new style of hotshoe and lens mount (the E-mount), they abandoned the A-mount and made their cameras with the worst ergonomics ever. I thing that all flashes will fit in every hotshoe, except the old sony style and will work, but without any fatures than manual mode. I'am not tested that, but for shure new Sony style, nikon, canon and pentax flashes will fit and work.
Finaly a interesting video again
No worries! A little JB Weld will fix it right up.
Looks like gravity happened?
No soldering? Bummer.... :)
The magic words are: hot glue.
Dave's over there telling people to start magnesium fires instead of using vinegar. :D
Epoxy (Araldite brand) - My favourite adhesive. None of that 5 minute stuff either.
Dust cover flap, spring loaded!
6:05 Anyone else's brain take a couple of seconds to grasp the perspective when the shot switches to the internals of the mic?
Wow! Eralash tv series in intro!
Somebody trip over the trip-od did they?
Nice word play 😂
I find this very interesting.
i aways feel like the video is over exposed and the colors are a bit washed out, i'm not sure if it's the lights, post processing or the camera setting.
anyone else feels this way? (it can be my shitty monitor too)
The new lab lighting arrangement isn't as good as the previous one.
Nice fix Dave... Looks like a bought one from WHoo Flung Dat... 10/10
Actually most pro cameras don't have any audio whatsoever, people who care about sound will use separate audio recording gear anyway and sync it with video in software.
Not TH-camrs were efficiency in production is key. Only a fool bothers to sync external audio.
@@EEVblog Yeah I guess that's true, but on the other hand it's pretty quick job once you get used to it, it usually takes me less than 1/2 minute to sync it; The key is not to stop and start recording a lot, just keep the gear rolling, and cut in post.
I thought the mike was a cool neat new design
I wanted to watch the repair of the mic assy with the epoxy. That looked hard to repair. Too bad.... Oh well
viewfinders, two times people use them, when the light is completly washing out your LCD or when you are pretending to look like a pro and have no idea what to do...
13:00 it's called extra parts ;)
Dave loves the little, "Nope, it's..." on screen text messages. Lol. "Nope.."
Second hand, no lenses, dirt cheap... Funnily enough I tend to avoid stuff like that on Ebay.
Then you can miss out on bargains.
Haha, back when the Canon 400D was a new release I got one on eBay for less than $100, the seller listed it for spare parts because it "Will not turn on". I charged the battery. Bargain.
Bit of JB Weld and it'll be rest :)
Didn’t know Linus from LTT has been in the lab
I don't know what films you watch? I watch 5.1 or even 7.1 surround sound. I have a dirty shutter and scratched sensor. I need a new camera but am unwilling to sacrifice my 5.1 surround sound that this camera does. So I guess your attitude and others mean that all new cameras use stupid mono shotgun mics hmmm? Sorry, I find the sound from the vg30 to be better than what you seem to think is better.
Do not turn it on, take it apart!
Sony love to use ribbons on everything.
I've never heard an Australian talk in a German accent. Is it even possible?
well now we found out Sony NEX VG30 camera's don't bounce
hey i have a question .... can microwaves manipulate time ?... in other wards time crystals were made with microwaves ... can this lead to time travel ?
@@user-jp1qt8ut3s what do you mean ?
Crystals can detect gravity th-cam.com/video/zILwgQhjC_Q/w-d-xo.html
is eevblog the place to ask this or appliedscience? lol
@@frogz well ... i asked lots of channels and people and no one replied... that made me kinnda sad
=(
@@EEVblog and according to Einstein theory of relativity gravity affects time that's why time is slower when you get closer to a black hole ... therefore ( can a crystal of certain type affect time ?)
that is when a microwave flips its molecules up and down by its micro "waves"
I want that camera for my youtube channel
You aren't supposed to use your camera as a weapon on kids, Dave...
If it was made by Apple it would have stopped working after the first time you dropped it, Sony does know how to make stuff.
Kinda happens when you stop making phones out of plastic and start marking them literally out of glass.
"oops"
Good old Parfix epoxy. :-)
id rather get a real camera so i can have higher quality photos than my phone provides me
loosy goosy flappin around in the breeze
It's a Handycam. Oh no it's a handicap camera.
The handicap is only in the person using it
Stop giving marquess an excuse how he can 'Loose' even more footage... ;)
LOL
why not 3D print new plastic part? look as 15 Min of cad work and no need for epoxy
Because glue works fine. The support post that broke off is on the die cast metal part, not the plastic part.
e novamente, mais um reparo não eletrônico, deveria mudar de ramo e ir pra mecânica.
Guess you were a little tipsily with your feet that day..
i think ive found a Sony Fanboy.....lol
breaks an old camera, makes a video about it, video earns more money to buy a new model.
This video might make $20-$30.
@@EEVblog :( well at the end you save your camera at least. lets give a big thumbs up! hope it helps.
Tsk Sony & their shabby cameras. Well its OK to blame Samsung when end users break their $2000 phones so I guess you dropping it is Sony's fault too, right????
u mad bro?