Sony Memory Stick/Camera Help?
I may have messed up. Bought a Sony DSC-P71 Cybershot camera, mainly because it is a Sony, it has higher resolution than my Mavica, it is smaller than my Mavica, and it was cheap. I just didn't ask enough questions.
I found a manual online and downloaded it. I also found the software online, and I bought a USB cable for it.
The camera seems to run OK on regular AA alkaline batteries, though the instruction manual says to only use NiMH batteries. I don't have the NiMH batteries, but I do have an old charger for NiCads that I think will charge NiMH batteries.
The camera seems to have no built-in memory, but requires a "Memory Stick," which I also don't have. New sticks start around $40.
So, I have some questions.
Can I get a deal on a used memory stick? Maybe someone here has one left over from a broken camera?
Can I charge NiMH batteries, which I assume I can buy anywhere, in my NiCad charger?
Will it hurt anything to use alkine AA batteries? The camera powers up and seems to run OK with them.
Would I be better off to abandon the project, sell the camera on Fleabay, and get a new one?
If I have to spend another $60 or so to get this camera going, I might as well abandon it and start over. I will never buy another with no box and peripherals.
I found a manual online and downloaded it. I also found the software online, and I bought a USB cable for it.
The camera seems to run OK on regular AA alkaline batteries, though the instruction manual says to only use NiMH batteries. I don't have the NiMH batteries, but I do have an old charger for NiCads that I think will charge NiMH batteries.
The camera seems to have no built-in memory, but requires a "Memory Stick," which I also don't have. New sticks start around $40.
So, I have some questions.
Can I get a deal on a used memory stick? Maybe someone here has one left over from a broken camera?
Can I charge NiMH batteries, which I assume I can buy anywhere, in my NiCad charger?
Will it hurt anything to use alkine AA batteries? The camera powers up and seems to run OK with them.
Would I be better off to abandon the project, sell the camera on Fleabay, and get a new one?
If I have to spend another $60 or so to get this camera going, I might as well abandon it and start over. I will never buy another with no box and peripherals.
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quote:Originally posted by nunn
I may have messed up. Bought a Sony DSC-P71 Cybershot camera, mainly because it is a Sony, it has higher resolution than my Mavica, it is smaller than my Mavica, and it was cheap. I just didn't ask enough questions.
I found a manual online and downloaded it. I also found the software online, and I bought a USB cable for it.
The camera seems to run OK on regular AA alkaline batteries, though the instruction manual says to only use NiMH batteries. I don't have the NiMH batteries, but I do have an old charger for NiCads that I think will charge NiMH batteries.
The camera seems to have no built-in memory, but requires a "Memory Stick," which I also don't have. New sticks start around $40.
So, I have some questions.
Can I get a deal on a used memory stick? Maybe someone here has one left over from a broken camera?
Can I charge NiMH batteries, which I assume I can buy anywhere, in my NiCad charger?
Will it hurt anything to use alkine AA batteries? The camera powers up and seems to run OK with them.
Would I be better off to abandon the project, sell the camera on Fleabay, and get a new one?
If I have to spend another $60 or so to get this camera going, I might as well abandon it and start over. I will never buy another with no box and peripherals.
I think you can buy camera memory fairly cheap at buy.com, even wal-mart has it for around $300 -
Can't help ya with the memory stick, but I did find this on charging the batteries:
Can I use an older NiCd battery charger to charge NiMH batteries?
The answer to this question depends on the type of NiCd charger. Depending on the type of NiCd charger you have, the older NiCd charger may undercharge NiMH batteries (most likely), it may overcharge them (less likely), or it may charge NiMH batteries properly (but it's not likely to do so automatically and could take a very long time). Let's take a look at the three cases.
Many of the older NiCd chargers are the simple timed type charger which will charge batteries for a fixed amount of time and then shut off. Unfortunately, since NiCd batteries have a much lower capacity than NiMH batteries, the timer is likely to shut off long before the NiMH batteries are fully charged. This won't harm the batteries, but the NiMH batteries won't be fully charged since the timer will have stopped the charge cycle too soon.
Also common among older NiCd chargers are the so called "overnight" chargers which charge batteries at a low rate as long as the charger is plugged in. This type of charger can fully charge NiMH batteries, but it might take a very long time to do so. It's possible that an old NiCd charger could take as long as 48 hours to fully charge new high capacity NiMH batteries! This type of charger is not likely to damage NiMH batteries unless the batteries are left in the charger for weeks at a time, but it may not be very convenient to use. If you have this type of charger you can get an idea of how long you'll need to charge your batteries by using the calculator found above.
The final possibility is that the older NiCd charger is a rapid charger that will charge NiMH batteries but will not have the necessary circuitry to stop the charge cycle once the NiMH batteries are fully charged. If the NiCd charger is designed to charge batteries in less than two hours it may be this type. In this case the risk is that the older charger will overcharge NiMH batteries. This will be apparent if the batteries get very hot during the charge cycle. (It is normal for NiMH batteries to get warm as they become fully charged, especially in a rapid charger). If the NiMH batteries get too hot to handle and stay that way for more than 20 or 30 minutes, then the NiCd charger is most likely overcharging the NiMH batteries and may shorten their life. You would be most likely to encounter this type of charger if the charger was designed for rapid charging radio control (RC) vehicle batteries. We would recommend that you not use an NiCD rapid charger to charge NiMH batteries.
http://www.greenbatteries.com/bachfa.html#NiCD%20charger%20for%20NiMH%20batteries
and yes, you can use alkaline AA batteries in your camera, but you will probably use them up quickly. Hope this helps[:)]0 -
Wallyworld has the Batteries in AA AAA size for sure~~~
Doubt that you'll find a used memory stick ules maybe someone has a junk camera which is doubtful as my 1st sony camera is still working great..10 yrs old!!0 -
nunn FYI ( I just recalled) they may make adaptors for your camera to use the more common memory cards...
http://photography.search.ebay.com/sony-memory-stick_Memory-Card-Adapters-Readers_W0QQcatrefZC11QQfromZR10QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsabfmtsZ1QQsacatZ43448QQsaobfmtsZinsif0 -
i can help with a few of your questions.....
The camera seems to have no built-in memory, but requires a "Memory Stick," which I also don't have. New sticks start around $40.
Can I get a deal on a used memory stick? Maybe someone here has one left over from a broken camera?
memory sticks start at much lower prices then $40 .i just saw sony sticks in 2 gig (huge) for $40 .if you dont need that much memory you'll get one much cheaper .
Can I charge NiMH batteries, which I assume I can buy anywhere, in my NiCad charger?
i just bought good rechargeable batteries at wally for 12 bucks .i am chargeing them in my old (sony)charger ,seems to work so far .
Will it hurt anything to use alkine AA batteries? The camera powers up and seems to run OK with them.
no ,we use them as a back up all the time .no problems .they just dont last to long.
Would I be better off to abandon the project, sell the camera on Fleabay, and get a new one?
i think you'll be able to put the camera into working order fairly cheap .plus once you do i really think you'll like it .we use ours daily .it easy and takes great pics .
wrench
ps ,wally had a set of 4 batt. with a charger fof 22 bucks .kodak brand ,bought them for my gps ,there working great .0 -
Here are memory sticks and batteries. About halfway down the page.
http://photography.search.ebay.com/Sony-DSC-P71-Cybershot_Digital-Camera-Accessories_W0QQ_trksidZm37QQcatrefZC12QQfromZR40QQsacatZ3327QQsatitleZSonyQ20DSCQ2dP71Q20Cybershot0
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