digital camera nightmare

TerryinMD · May 16, 2002

Yes... very true.

Still have to attach something to something with a cable. So, it's a matter of choice and what the device supports.

OBTW, does anyone have a good cable mangement system for their PC's at home? If the cables were spagetti, I could feed the family for a week. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif/w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

Terry

beenthere · May 16, 2002

Sorry to hear about your Best Buy dealings. I learned several years ago that Best Buy was the "Worst" for me. I won't set foot in any of their stores, no matter how desparate I need something. After several experiences like yours, I made a firm decision, and I stay away.
They have the 'bait and switch' routine down to a science, that will duck any of the 'bait and switch' laws enacted. I often wonder why they spend so much time training their employees to be so clever at deception. Guess it pays, or they wouldn't do it.

MikePA · May 16, 2002

OBTW, does anyone have a good cable mangement system for their PC's at home? If the cables were spagetti, I could feed the family for a week

You and me both!! /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif The best I've been able to do is label each end of all cables so I know what they're for. I got tired of tracing them back to either the source or destination in an effort to know what I was unplugging.

frank_f15 · May 16, 2002

do beleive ROY is correct, go back to best buy, and demand a new camera, after all if u are taking the same product, there should be no problem. someone should be able to help u. i would not stand for a quick fix. u paid good money and u should get what u pay for.

cowboydoc · May 17, 2002

Yep mine does the same thing Mike. It has the memory stick. I ordered one of those converters yesterday so we'll see how that works.

Paul,
I think the model I got is the Sony DCR-TRV740.

Anonymous Poster · May 17, 2002

I agree… using the memory stick/adaptor will conserve batteries, eliminate hookup of multiple cables/spaghetti around the computer… and in most cases… the downloads are much faster… under a few seconds per picture…

I’d also recommend taking a look at this photo management/do-all program… ACDSee… one of the fastest programs I have used for photos, lots of features, cheap, and basically idiot proof… /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Acquire, View, Browse & Manage...Extremely Fast

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.acdsystems.com/English/Products/ImagingProducts/Featured1/index.htm?LAN=English>ACDSee Website & Free Trial Download…</A>

rmorgan · May 17, 2002

Richard--

Your situation's been bugging me, and while having a memory stick reader is probably a good idea, that's not the point. You flat-out didn't get what you paid for. BB/Sony is essentially accusing you of lying about what was in the box--for what, to get an extra copy of a CD that is no stinking good without the camera, and which you could copy in five minutes if you had a need for a second? That's ridiculous. Somebody on the assembly line obviously made a mistake packing the box, and you obviously are entitled to the CD. If the CD's "worth" $120, then you were cheated out of that amount. Any discussion of "restocking fees" is absurd. Iowa's attorney general has a good consumer protection website, including .pdf consumer complaint forms. Whatever else you do, you should do a complaint--but you might also get somebody there to make a quick phone call to Best Buy. Also, if there is a BBB in the neighborhood, they should do the same for you. Finally, if you put it on a credit card, the credit card company will hold payment on the charge until the complaint is resolved. Here's a link to the Iowa AG's consumer protection website.
http://www.state.ia.us/government/ag/consumer.html

rf33 · May 17, 2002

JMIII I have used ACDSee before, and I liked it, but I really found Irfanview (free) to be more user friendly, and quite a bit faster. I admit I have not tried ACDSee in about a year, but I was wondering if you had tried Irfanview, and if you had, why you liked ACDSee better.

rf33 · May 17, 2002

One of the better solutions I have seen for small scale cable management are small velcro straps which you use to bundle your wires together. I bought some at Circuit City, and they come in packs of around 6, all different colors. I think they are made by Belkin. You just bundle your wires up, wrap the strap around them, and then the velcro holds it together. A nicer solution than cable ties, since they are real easy to get apart and put back together if you need to. These will not make everything perfect, but they can help turn your spagetti into something a little more manageable. They are in fact made by Belkin, <A target="_blank" HREF=http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Product_Id=21185>here</A> is a link to them on the Belkin web site.

cowboydoc · May 17, 2002

Thanks John. Will that work in lieu of the Sony software? Sony said I had to have that software to make it work.

rmorgan,
I agree wholeheartedly with you and wish I had the time or the energy to fight this right now. We had a series of bad events last month and I'm pretty wore out right now. Any other time I probably would have fought them. My problem is I needed the camera right away as I use it to send x-rays to the radiologist and my other Sony Mavica just keeps making a buzzing sound when you put in the disc and says disc error. Thanks for the advice though.

RoyJackson · May 17, 2002

"my other Sony Mavica just keeps making a buzzing sound when you put in the disc and says disc error"

Doc, I've got a Sony camera too. I've heard the same noise and it is normally due to:
A) An improperly formated diskette (don't ever believe "pre-formatted" when you buy 'em that way!). Use the FORMAT Tool built into the camera and try again.
B) The "write protect" window blocked.
C) Just a bad diskette..try another one.

As far as your new camera...
A file is a file is a file. Most cameras output .jpg, .jpeg, .bmp or .tif formats. Your cam is video, I believe, so it should be outputing .mpg, .mpeg, .avi, .mov or some such movie file format.

Sony's proprietory software shouldn't be required to view or edit these files. One free download (<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.irfanview.com>click here for Irfanview</A>) can be used to view and do some minor editing.

When I bought my Sony, I installed the software long enough to look at it, then I un-installed it.

You will have to download the files from your camera to your computer...via cable or adapter, I suppose. And you did get that with your camera, correct?

So, download the files to your hard drive (just know where you put them) and see what you get.

I do hope you return your camera to Bestbuy, though...I think they screwed you.

MikePA · May 17, 2002

Richard, just to verify...you need to send still pictures, right, and not movies?

Also, what model Mavica do you have that is not working? I ask because I was concerned that the resolution of the still pictures from your new video camera might not be as good as the resolution from your Mavica.

Anonymous Poster · May 17, 2002

… Will that work in lieu of the Sony software? Sony said I had to have that software to make it work….

Richard,

You will need the Sony CD for the camera’s USB driver if using WinME, Win98SE, W2K on the computer.

If you are using WinXP… it will automatically recognize the Sony Camera when plugged into the USB port.

You will need the Sony CD for the mpeg movie management software…think it’s called “ImageMaker”…? But you would also have to “cable” the camera to the computer to use all these features.

If you only wanted to use “stills” and the memory stick… then you can use a third party memory stick/usb computer adaptor and any other 3rd party software you wish. (you wouldn’t need the Sony CD)

Your Sony camera has a zillion bells and whistles… hope you have lots of time to learn them… /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

How are you sending pictures of X-rays with this Sony camera? Are you mainly using this Sony camera as a super duper “still” camera…? Or are you also using the “movie” mode for other things?

Good luck Richard… /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Anonymous Poster · May 17, 2002

New Sony camcorder still shots highest res is 1152 x 864 with 1 Megapixels capture vs… 640 x 480 older Mavica (I believe Richard has?)

Why couldn’t he just scan the x-rays for the highest “transfer” no-loss resolution and email the images instead of taking a “snapshot”… seems like a lot of extra work for the same end result… (and perhaps a poorer image…a picture of a picture…?)

cowboydoc · May 17, 2002

Yes they are stills Mike.

John,
I'm using the camera in B&W mode and as a still camera. Basically what I do is take a pic of the x-ray on my viewbox and if I need immediate confirmation of something. I have a friend who is a radiologist and I just email him the pic and he gives me a second opinion right away and then I send him the original films or run them over. I doubt I'll ever figure out all the bells and whistles on the thing, LOL. The lady that brokers my horses has wanted me to get a digital camcorder so I can send her video of the different horses and she can either do still shots from that or use the video to show them. This is all really new to me and I'm trying to learn as I go with all of it. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Anonymous Poster · May 17, 2002

...take a pic of the x-ray on my viewbox...

Wouldn't you miss the subtle details of the x-ray that way?

I would think... you'd get a clearer and more finely detailed picture by scanning the x-ray and emailing instead... also the scan takes but 30 seconds or less and it's essentially almost 1st generation resolution...

cowboydoc · May 17, 2002

John,
I can't scan as they have to be on the viewbox to take the pic.

Harv · May 17, 2002

I can't scan as they have to be on the viewbox to take the pic

Sounds like what you want is a flatbed scanner with a transparency adapter (overhead light source), if such a scanner would be big enough. Been a while since I've shopped for such things, but many scanners offer that option.

And, no, you can't just use a desk lamp, light fixture, etc. Get the real thing.

MikePA · May 17, 2002

Why couldn’t he just scan the x-rays for the highest “transfer” no-loss resolution and email the images instead of taking a “snapshot”…
It depends how big the X-ray film is. I assume we're talking about something like 8.5" x 11" film, doc, versus something like a tooth x-ray? A scanned picture would produce a file that would be huge, more than likely much too big to email.