LGR - Canon RC-250 XapShot: 1988 Video Floppy Disk Camera

Wow, I only vaguely knew about this format. Sorry you had bad luck getting it to work properly, but I guess that's part of the fun with this old stuff. Great work as always! I really enjoy learning about old technology (specifically consumer cameras and video camcorders) that I no idea existed, so this was great!

Mac84

Didn’t think a camera review would make me hungry but that sandwich...! Wonder if anyone used those disks for data. Great vid Clint

ColdRFusion

That escalated quickly :)

Bastien Nocera

Thanks a lot!

LGR

Those pictures look like surveillance camera stills.

I love these camera videos. I do want a Mavica FD7 but now I might get one of these instead

This was a wonderful video. I love the retro camera videos you do.

This is awesome Clint. I love this kind of hardware from the 80s and 90s that awkwardly tried to use existing analog technology to do what we all take for granted now in our very digital age. They couldn’t quite get past the limitations of analog, but damned if the engineering isn’t spectacular.

Joon Choi

excellent

That'd be interesting to see, especially if it featured a similarly small lens but that could be swapped like a DSLR. Heck I still hope we get more swappable lenses on smartphones eventually.

LGR

Thanks, David! Always exciting to share something that even other tech-savvy folks may not know well :)

LGR

I wish there were some modern micro-4/3 style cameras with those binocular ergonomics. They remind me of the format of the old cheap camera I had as a kid with "110 format" film.

JennaKay

9:48 Clint, did your soul get trapped in that camera? Blink twice if yes.

Tim J

Really cool! I didn't know these existed! I knew about the original analog Sony Mavicas, but I didn't realize it was a standard that other brands adopted as well. Too bad about getting them working, though. Although, the image looks surprisingly similar to my Sony Mavica FD7 since it also used the exact same kind of sensor. I feel for you on getting this stuff working, though!

The 8-Bit Guy

I am now measuring all old electronics using the sandwich scale

LGR

Finally more early retro digital cameras!!!!

TempleTurkey

sandwich for scale lul

Kenny Ketner

Ah it's all good! Hoping you get a working example as well, really is the luck of the draw

LGR

Very glad to hear it, thank you :)

LGR

That disk loading sound in particular, ahhhh. What a great little noise.

LGR

Haha, thanks. It ended up being more along the lines of aggravated stubbornness here but it paid off

LGR

Local street art! It's about three stories tall, quite eye catching

LGR

One of my favorite thrift finds! Lovely looking machine

LGR

Well it's not writing digital data to a file system, so not exactly. You can erase the tracks using the record head, but this is recording analog video more akin to film. Just like with tape, degradation is part of it!

LGR

Oh, that Trinitron......*drools*

Evangeline Domenech

I’d love to get an old camera like this, something about taking photos of time period appropriate stuff with them is just great

Zachary Outen

Those VF disks intrigued me since I had seen them while reading about floppy disks on Wikipedia. Cool to see them in action.

Devon the Rogue Supreme

Is it possible to reformat or degauss or whatever the disks to prevent later exposures from getting corrupted from overwriting old data?

Jeffrey

Managed to find some info. I forgot how wired early 90's electronics can be. Should be doable though. Type: Lead-acid cells Nominal voltage: 8 V Nominal capacity 200 mAh Operating temperature range: -5°C - +40°C Dimensions: 1" x 13/16" x 2" (26 x 20 x 50 mm) Weight: 2.4 ozs (68 g)

Kadah

It might be possible to make a replacement battery for it. If ya send me exact dimensions of it and any specs from the labels, I can give it a try.

Kadah

I admire your dedication for getting those photos off the camera.

Steve Lovelace

I suggest LGR Foods if you liked that shot.

Steve Lovelace

That is amazingly retro and yeah, the sounds that thing makes are just... you don't hear those sounds anymore other than from old technology like that. It's fascinating.

Alyxx the Rat

Considering the time period this is a surprisingly impressive bit of kit! Got to love that late 80's tech!!!

Mat Cooper

7:47 I want one of them only because of the design and color, mhmmm!.

Ezydenias

60mm of a 45mm Camera? That ain't that bad, actually I would prefer it to some of the smartphone cameras today, like who wants to see all the lens deformed crap?

Ezydenias

Wow, props on the sandwich shot. You made that sandwich look delicious, in fact the lettuce was so perfect for a moment I thought you had some sort of fake stage sandwich laying around. If that was all done with lighting, then you have a great a setup. Well done sir.

Chris Munch

As a serious (yet not too serious) photographer, I want to tell you how much I love these sorts of videos from you. They’re absolutely among my favorites. My family started using a series of Epson digital cameras around 1997, when that sort of thing was still unheard of in my rural area. My father got them through his computer sales/repair business, and used them briefly before selling them down the line. I’ve got a lot of nostalgia for that lo-fi photography.

Steve Skafte

Very nice! I'm glad you got one to work. I went down basically all the same roads you did with trying to get mine working, in fact I feel kinda bad: I've been watching all the RC-250s showing up on ebay for the last 2 years or so and buying up all the cheap ones. So we probably were competing against each other on ebay, bidding them up. Sorry about that! I'm glad you finally got some that work, though.

Foone Turing

How is it that so many of these retro devices have a more futuristic look than current ones? Maybe it's that my view of what "futuristic" is might be skewed by 80's and 90's cinema.

Pablo Rodriguez

He has a separate channel for that.

Vlaphor

But what about the sandwich?

avfusion

What a fascinating device.

Bryndal Dwyre

They were so close to the digital edge, I’m surprised these didn’t become more mainstream in their day. That still video player is a BEAST!

Jeremy

What was the Simpsons/Futurama thing??

Randall Strye

LGR, master of crafting incredibly photogenic sandwhiches

Zeromaster

wowsers, still frame cameras went totally under my radar... I've never heard of them. What an expensive way for creating picture slideshows

Terry Lee

Omg those 2" floppy disks are adorable