CVS Recycleable Camcorder

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Tim Chen
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CVS Recycleable Camcorder

Post by Tim Chen »

I just got my hands on a camcorder that they sell in CVS Pharmacy for about $20 that you can record an hour of video on and you take it back and they suck the video out with a special computer and give you a DVD of your movie for $7.

It seems like a cruddy business model, when a real camera is only a bit more money.

The cool thing is that a friend of mine hacked this camera with a USB cable and some homemade program that I can use to get the AVI out of this thing. Mark and I are taking it apart tonight to try and make it lighter. It's about the size of a deck of cards and is pretty hefty. But it takes a pretty good looking movie.

Progress reports to follow!
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Re: CVS Recycleable Camcorder

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

Tim Chen wrote:I just got my hands on a camcorder that they sell in CVS Pharmacy for about $20 that you can record an hour of video on and you take it back and they suck the video out with a special computer and give you a DVD of your movie for $7.

It seems like a cruddy business model, when a real camera is only a bit more money.

The cool thing is that a friend of mine hacked this camera with a USB cable and some homemade program that I can use to get the AVI out of this thing. Mark and I are taking it apart tonight to try and make it lighter. It's about the size of a deck of cards and is pretty hefty. But it takes a pretty good looking movie.

Progress reports to follow!

Please post any info on this. I love reading about hacks and hackers!
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Re: CVS Recycleable Camcorder

Post by Tim Chen »

Spaceman Spiff wrote:
Tim Chen wrote:I just got my hands on a camcorder that they sell in CVS Pharmacy for about $20 that you can record an hour of video on and you take it back and they suck the video out with a special computer and give you a DVD of your movie for $7.

It seems like a cruddy business model, when a real camera is only a bit more money.

The cool thing is that a friend of mine hacked this camera with a USB cable and some homemade program that I can use to get the AVI out of this thing. Mark and I are taking it apart tonight to try and make it lighter. It's about the size of a deck of cards and is pretty hefty. But it takes a pretty good looking movie.

Progress reports to follow!

Please post any info on this. I love reading about hacks and hackers!
We've got two of these things now. The hackers have a way to increase the image quality by lowering the compression. It doesn't get all blocky in the videos. The flipside to this is that the memory runs out in less then 5 minutes. The high quality mode seems to lock up the camera sometimes too. They are working on a fix.
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Update!

Post by Tim Chen »

Hey Guys,

Mark and I decided to ditch the CVS Camcorder Project. We decided to pursue an FTC design exclusivly, and this thing just can't fit. We found a little tiny camera for $20 in an Odd Lots store. It's about the size of a pack of Bubble Yum gum!

We're going to put the CVS Cams in their shells and use them to document our flights from the ground.
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Post by Spaceman Spiff »

Tim, can you tell me who makes the new camera you found? I want to get something as small as possible so it's light. Thanks.
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Post by The Mooseheads »

Spaceman Spiff wrote:Tim, can you tell me who makes the new camera you found? I want to get something as small as possible so it's light. Thanks.
I'd be interested in this camera too if it's as small as you say, Tim. Can you give some more info?
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Post by Spaceman Spiff »

The Mooseheads wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote:Tim, can you tell me who makes the new camera you found? I want to get something as small as possible so it's light. Thanks.
I'd be interested in this camera too if it's as small as you say, Tim. Can you give some more info?
What happened to Tim?
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Post by Tim Chen »

Spaceman Spiff wrote:
The Mooseheads wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote:Tim, can you tell me who makes the new camera you found? I want to get something as small as possible so it's light. Thanks.
I'd be interested in this camera too if it's as small as you say, Tim. Can you give some more info?
What happened to Tim?
Still here, dudes! Mark and me are real busy with finals coming up! Sorry!
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Post by Tim Chen »

The Mooseheads wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote:Tim, can you tell me who makes the new camera you found? I want to get something as small as possible so it's light. Thanks.
I'd be interested in this camera too if it's as small as you say, Tim. Can you give some more info?
I have no idea who makes the camera. It has no brand name on the package. It just says it's made in China on the camera itself on a little sticker.

Here's a photo of the camera. I forgot to put something in for scale so you'll have to take my word it fits in a T-12 tube.

It has an internal battery and charges from the USB port. You can't see the connector because it has a cap like a Pen-Drive.

Pretty cool!
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Post by Tim Chen »

Here's a picture of the CVS camera. It's a bit larger and heavier.

We're going to use it for launching pad videos. If the rocket explodes, we won't be losing much.
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Post by Spaceman Spiff »

Tim Chen wrote:
The Mooseheads wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote:Tim, can you tell me who makes the new camera you found? I want to get something as small as possible so it's light. Thanks.
I'd be interested in this camera too if it's as small as you say, Tim. Can you give some more info?
I have no idea who makes the camera. It has no brand name on the package. It just says it's made in China on the camera itself on a little sticker.

Here's a photo of the camera. I forgot to put something in for scale so you'll have to take my word it fits in a T-12 tube.

It has an internal battery and charges from the USB port. You can't see the connector because it has a cap like a Pen-Drive.

Pretty cool!
Tim,

That camera looks ideal. I'm jealous now. I wish I had the same luck as you guys and stumble across a perfect little camera like that. I'd kill to find a camera so small that did video for cheap! You guys have all the luck!
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Post by Drag_Racer408a »

looks pretty sweet. How much memory does that little camera have. You better be getting ready Tim cause my rockets gona own. I have been working lots on it the past couple days. The biggest thing to do on my list is make the launcher.
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Post by Tim Chen »

Drag_Racer408a wrote:looks pretty sweet. How much memory does that little camera have. You better be getting ready Tim cause my rockets gona own. I have been working lots on it the past couple days. The biggest thing to do on my list is make the launcher.
It takes a flash card, so there's no limit on the memory! I have 512Megs in it right now.
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Post by Tim Chen »

Spaceman Spiff wrote:
Tim Chen wrote:
The Mooseheads wrote:
I'd be interested in this camera too if it's as small as you say, Tim. Can you give some more info?
I have no idea who makes the camera. It has no brand name on the package. It just says it's made in China on the camera itself on a little sticker.

Here's a photo of the camera. I forgot to put something in for scale so you'll have to take my word it fits in a T-12 tube.

It has an internal battery and charges from the USB port. You can't see the connector because it has a cap like a Pen-Drive.

Pretty cool!
Tim,

That camera looks ideal. I'm jealous now. I wish I had the same luck as you guys and stumble across a perfect little camera like that. I'd kill to find a camera so small that did video for cheap! You guys have all the luck!
You're making me feel bad, man!

I tell you what... Mark and I went back and bought all of the ones they had left. We got 3 in total. I don't think we need that many. I think we can get by on just one plus a backup in case that one breaks.

If you have PayPal, PM me and I'll sell you one at cost plus a couple bucks for shipping. How's that sound?
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Post by Drag_Racer408a »

Where did you get that litttle camera from Tim? It looks really sweet!
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