Expert: Alessandro Machi - 10/9/2009

Question
I'm trying to recover the first 40 of 64 on a mini dv tape.  When the battery was changed at 40min. without stopping the camera, the camera reset to 0, and is only viewable from that point on.  Is there a way to go back beyond the reset point to recover the footage?

Answer
Prior to connecting the camera to your computer, rewind your camera tape all way to the beginning of the tape.  Even though your question seems simplistic, it is possible that some people may never realize they never made it back to the beginning of the tape because they have more than one set of zero time code points on the tape, so good for you for noticing.

Just because you changed the battery does not automatically mean the time-code counter has to re-start at zero.  After changing batteries, put the camera in VCR mode and rewind the tape briefly, then hit play, when you have reached the end of your signal and you no longer see an image, you can pause the tape, then while in the pause mode, hit rewind.  If you are in the pause/play mode and hit rewind, most camcorders (but not all),  should inch back in about one half second increments every time you hit the rewind button while the camcorder is in the pause mode. At some point, you should "back in" to the last image you shot.  As soon you see the end of the last image that you shot, if you switch the camera from VCR mode to the camera Pause/Record mode, the camera should have read the last set of time code that was recorded on the tape and the time code numbers should continue on from there.

An additional rule, at the beginning of every tape, always shoot for at least 10 seconds after hitting record for the first time before you actually start recording something of importance to you, and always try to run your camera for a few seconds more than you need before stopping your recording, after a battery change, it is also good to follow this rule as well.

I hope I answered your question.