Where can I see a video being used by a certain camera?

I need help with my Video Camera!?

• Ok if someone can help me fix this issue or tell me what i need to do your amazing! Ok I have had a video camera for years & only used it one time. After that one time I couldn't use it because it kept sayind DEW in tiny red letters everytime I turned it on, & after like 5 seconds it shut off.. So I just left it alone and never used it for like 2 years lol & today when I took it out to look at it, it worked for some reason so I was happy! So I charged it because the battery was dying. I put in the cassette & it showed me my videos fine, but then I took out the cassette & i put it in again to see the video and now when i try to close the cassette to stay it wont, it keeps opening!!!!! the cassette wont stay & i dont know why! so please how can i fix this DEW problem to stop because it wont let me record, or anything & why is my cassette popping out??? 10 POINTS BEST ANSWER!

• Answer:

  Hi, Fashionista, Ok. DEW means that there's moisture in the camera. This can happen if you leave your camera in a cold place, then take it someplace where it's warm, or humid. (It can also happen if the camera itself got wet, like in the rain, or [seriously] a place like Niagara Falls where there's a lot of moisture, or, of course, if it got dropped into a pool, bathtub, lake, etc...) Let's assume for a second that the camera IS in fact wet inside (you might not notice it, so don't go looking for beads of moisture... it's unlikely that you'll find any...) What you want to do is dry out your camera through chemical means (ideally.) The way to do this is to go out and buy yourself some desiccant. Desiccant is a type of chemical that pulls water out of the air and isolates it. It's usually sold in "bead" form, and it's the stuff you find in those little paper baggies that say "Do Not Eat" on them when you buy electronics. Buy some desiccant, (you might be able to find it at a Target, Lowes, Walmart, or Home Depot, but Amazon.com definitely has it,) and pour about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of it into a plastic zip-top bag (You may have to go Quart size, or even bigger if your video camera doesn't fit into the zip top bag.) Then, put your camera in there. MAKE SURE YOUR CAMERA'S CASSETTE DOOR IS CLOSED WHEN YOU PUT IT IN THERE. You don't want any desiccant to get into the camera; it does its work from outside of the camera, inside the plastic bag. Ok, so now you have your closed video camera with about 1/2 cup of desiccant inside this sealed zip-top bag. Let it sit there for about a week. The desiccant will absorb all of the moisture from the camera, and you should be good to go. REMEMBER: Keep your camera in your house in a heated room. (Not in the unheated attached garage; that's useless! :) ) A warm camera is less likely to suffer from the DEW problem. NOTE: You should do the same with the casette in a different zip-top bag, with one exception: Because the tape has exposed parts that you don't want the desiccant to come in contact with, pour a few tablespoons onto a paper towel, then roll up the paper towel and do a good job of taping it closed. Throw the paper-toweled up desiccant bundle in the zip-top bag with the casette. This way, if there's any moisture in the casette, that will be dried up too. Ok. Now, let's assume that your camera HAS been kept warm, dry, and ISN'T wet at all inside. Bad news: You have a defective camera. (It happens; the sensors short out, and then all you see is "DEW" all day long.) You can bring your camera to be repaired, or, since the camera is more than a few years old, just replace it. Cameras are getting surprisingly cheap, especially since you can get a camera nowadays for about twice the price that it would pay to get your old one repaired. Concerning the door which won't close: Try using a different tape. Some tapes may LOOK like they should work, but don't (due to some physical format issue... it's complicated.) Check to see if anything is in the door which is preventing it from closing. In some instances, there is a physical "hook" which keeps the door closed, and the hook may be retracted and STUCK in its retracted state. If that's the case, you can try messing with it to see if you can dislodge it, or bring it away for service. Again, sometimes the easiest way to fix something is to replace it. I hope some of my suggestions help! - Z