How can I digitize my Mini DV tapes?

Question

I video taped a few things a few years back with an old Mini DV camera, and I still have my Mini DV tapes, but I still do not have the camera (as the camera wasn't mine).

Answer 1

MiniDV IS digital.  You can get specialised equipment to read the tapes but they're very expensive - it would be much cheaper to get a used MiniDV camcorder.  You'd also need a firewire card in your PC if you haven't already got one - they're about £12 / $20.  You could get the tapes copied commercially, but my guess is that the camcorder option is the most cost effective.

Answer 2

try your best to get the same camera back and import the tapes into a computer via firewire.

using different cameras to import stuff shot on something else can cause many problems that are likely to result in grief if not handled correctly. tapes being chewed up is a common problem. also, many cameras run at slightly different speeds (even tho they are not supposed to) so say if you shot some stuff on a sony cam and imported on a canon it is possible for the tape not to work or worse be destroyed. also, make sure the heads are cleaned on the playback unit before starting our import.

hopefully you will have stored the tapes well and you should be ok if you follow this advice. good luck and i hope it works for ya!

ps - tip for the day; when starting to record something, put the lens cap on and hit record for at least 10 seconds before you start to shoot stuff. that way you won't miss anything when you shoot! putting stuff in the computer at the start of a tape needs a few seconds before it will actually import.