I acquired a 2nd hand canon e250 video camera due to my old one no longer working properly.
This was a second hand one from ebay but I have the following problem with it. Basically all i can do is switch it on. When I press the operate button after loading a cassette (or even when a cassette is not in the holder) the viewfinder shows the word TAPE flashing. The manual states that this is an indication of the protect mode being in place on the tape. This is not the case as all tapes are available for recording over. So none of them have this protect mode in place, I don't need that either.

So none of the functions in the play mode can be used, ie fast forward rewind play or even record in the camera mode.
The motor drive doesn't kick in.
I am wondering if there is anyone out there who has had experience with these cameras and such a problem. It would be nice to get it working as then I can feed the film tapes into the computer to edit.

Any help would be appreciated.
Dave

Hi Dave,

I'm sorry to say this, but your only hope of getting this camcorder to work properly is to take it to an authorized service / repair shop. There is nothing you can do on your own to improve its current state. Unfortunately this is always a major risk when buying a second-hand camcorder from Ebay.

Hi Dave,

I'm sorry to say this, but your only hope of getting this camcorder to work properly is to take it to an authorized service / repair shop. There is nothing you can do on your own to improve its current state. Unfortunately this is always a major risk when buying a second-hand camcorder from Ebay.


thanks for your reply Chris.
Yes, I guess this is the ony option. I managed to borrow a suitable hi8 from a work colleague so at least I am able to now feed those into the computer for later editing.
It has certainly put me off buying on Ebay for such things. Due to the amount I paid it seems hardly worth going through the long winded procedures they have for resolving such things. Guess I'll just put it down to a bad experience. At least there was a decent camera bag with it!
thanks
Dave