RIP camcorder

My Canon MV550i video camera died a sudden (and presumably painless) death the other week.

No warning, no goodbye, just nothing when I turned it on to film a relative’s soccer presentation. Doh!

So I packed it up and sent it back to Canon with the good faith it could be repaired. It was out of warranty, of course, so I would have to pay in any event, but I was prepared to let it go if it ended up being a write-off. What’s with these electronics manufacturers? They wait until their products are a day our of warranty then, donk, they die a sudden death.

Anyway, I spoke with someone at Canon camera repairs and he kindly explained the quotation process. One they he did not mention is the $50 “quote fee” which basically means it costs $50 for canon to assess the damage and quote the repair even if you don’t go ahead and get the job done. Want your damaged camera back? $50 thank you very much.

Another predictable outcome was that the cost to repair the camera is about what it will cost me to buy a new one. Get my old camera repaired or get a new one with newer technology and features? A bit of a no brainer there.

So, I’m happy for Canon to keep my dead camcorder which will save me at least $50 and I’m back in the market for a new one.

While I’m miffed at Canon, in fairness to it, I have been offered an entry-level camcorder (newer features than the MV550i) at a discounted price as a form of compensation. I guess Canon doesn’t even see the value in getting the old one repaired. I commend the company for the offer and will make a decision next week, though I have a mind to spend my money elsewhere.

Can anyone recommend an entry-level MiniDV camcorder that works well with Linux?

The moral of the story is never over spend on electronics equipment that is destined to fail out of warranty!

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IANAE! (I am not an epidemiologist)

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