Sony DCRTRV950 MiniDV Digital Camcorder Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)great camcorder. the 3CCDs really make a difference in video quality in my opinion. unfortunately, you pay for this quality!
pros:
- as expected from a 3CCD camcorder, the trv-950 delivers excellent video quality - colors are reproduced accurately.
- 1 megapixel still capability.
- miniDV media is widely supported.
- 12X optical zoom!
- steady shot optical stabilization system works well.
- ability to record mpeg videos directly to memory stick.
- progressive shutter system.
- offers color bars and zebra striping.
- the 3.5" LCD screen is great.
- built-in flash for stills.
- built-in mic does a good job picking up sound from the target, not the operator.
- great connectivity options: firewire, USB, S-video, headphone, mic input, etc.
- buttons along the left side and back of the camera body control essential camera functions (manual settings for focus, white balance, audio level, shutter speed, and special lighting situations) so you won't need to dive into menus for these commonly used capabilities.
- side-mounted cassette means you can change tapes while the camcorder is mounted on a tripod.
- low motor noise.
- intelligent accessory shoe - very useful if you use the appropriate accessories.
- allows a great deal of manual control.
cons:
- no built in video light but you can get a video light for less about fifty bucks.
- you could do better on the still photo department. for example, sony's trv80 and trv70 have 2 megapixel capability while panasonic's pv-dv953 delivers 3 megapixel stills.
- as with most sony products, you pay a premium, pushing up the price.
- don't expect miracles from 1 megapixel stills.
- not as compact as i would like. dimensions are 4"H x 3-3/4"W x 8"D, weighing 2.4 lbs.
- the included 8MB memory stick is unacceptable. be prepared to shell out more money for at least a 32MB or bigger memory stick.
- does not have a NightShot mode (although i'm not a big fan of this feature).
- MPEG movies saved to Memory Stick are much darker than the same scene recorded to a miniDV tape.
- noticeable shutter lag for still captures.
- bluetooth communication requires optional purchases = more $$.
- touchscreen menu system is not intuitive.
this is great camcorder if you are looking for a 3CCD system. it sits atop sony's prosumer line. the competition is catching up though so make sure you also consider the panasonic pv-dv953. peace.

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Near the top of Sony's line of MiniDV camcorders stands the DCR-TRV950, the successor to the wildly popular TRV900. Packed with features such as the CCDs, 12x optical zoom, pop-up flash, manual and automatic controls, and a large 3.5-inch LCD screen, aspiring moviemakers find a true performance camcorder at an agreeable price.
Lens The lens boasts three separate CCD sensors, with each one dedicated to capturing a certain hue of the image. That means sharper imaging, 530 lines of resolution, with colors that are true to life. The SteadyShot function stabilizes the picture and reduces camera shake. The TRV950's optical zoom magnifies up to 12 times, which is enough for most purposes. Turn on the digital zoom, which electronically magnifies the optical image, and reach up to 150x.
Digital Stills Digital stills can be stored on a Memory Stick that works independently from the DV tape system. The camera performs with 1-megapixel resolution, making it capable of sharp images that are up to 1,152 x 864 pixels in size. When you need more light for your photos there is a built-in flash unit that can pop up. The camera can also shoot in MPEG movie mode, storing 320 x 240 videos onto the memory stick.
Inputs and Outputs The TRV950 is equipped with the standard DV IEEE 1394 port (also known as FireWire) for a super-fast, lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines. The USB connection is used to transfer digital photos and MPEG movies, while the innovative wireless Bluetooth capability adds network connectivity. The traditional S-video and RCA connections are also provided for direct viewing on a television or VHS dubbing.
The DCR-TRV950 comes with one 8 MB Memory Stick. Memory Sticks are reusable, but if you tend to take a lot of digital images, then you'll want a bigger card.
MiniDV Format MiniDV digital technology delivers clear, sharp video with over 500 lines of horizontal resolution--far superior to the 240 lines of resolution offered by 8mm camcorders. You'll also get minimal color noise interference for a more stable picture.
You'll also get excellent sound quality, recorded in either 12-bit or 16-bit audio recording modes.

16-bit audio includes on set of stereo audio tracks to produce CD-quality sound.
12-bit audio utilizes two sets of audio tracks so you can easily add background music or commentary into your videos while maintaining the existing soundtrack.

This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of two full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.

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JVC GZ-HM550 High Definition Camcorder Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had this camcorder for about a week now and so far I am pretty happy with it. The one thing that really strikes me as odd is selling a HD camcorder, but not including a HDMI cable in the bundle...? Playback of the footage recorded on a full HD tv via RCA or even component cables isn't going to result in good picture quality. My mini-HDMI cable should be delivered in the next day or so and then I'll be able to really evaluate the video. So far the video looks much better on my computer monitor than it does on my 52" 1080P LCD TV.
Also, the camcorder ships with the video quality set to XP, instead of the highest quality UXP. When setting quality to UXP it gives a warning that UXP video files can only be written to Blu-Ray, which of course makes sense. However, the bundled software will automatically downgrade the UXP video files to XP quality if you want to write to DVD, and then you'll still have the higher quality UXP for future use. Seems odd to not record in the highest quality as you can always downgrade the footage, but you'll never upconvert to true full HD quality if recording at lower quality.
So far, I am not impressed with the photo quality of still images, but I haven't played around with the settings much yet. The handful of stills that I've taken have turned out grainy and dark. In dedicated image mode, you can take 9MP stills, while when taking snapshots in video mode you are limited to 5MP. So far I think all of my stills were taken in video mode.
The camera has some great features that I've not yet played with nor am I sure I ever will. The time lapse is a great feature, but unless there's a spectacular sunset or something I'm not sure I'll have much use for it. Same for the auto record feature, interesting to have, but what are the practical applications? I suppose I could set it up and see how often my dog moves around during the day when we're not home. One thing with both of these modes is that the LCD must remain open, if you close the LCD, the camera shuts off completely.
The battery that comes with the unit doesn't last very long - roughly 45 minutes. the built in memory can hold about 2.5 hours worth of video at UXP quality so the battery is by far the limiting factor in your usage. If the video via HDMI turns out to be as good as I hope, I'll be investing in a higher capacity battery and a stand alone charger. Out of the box, the battery only charges when the power cord is plugged into the camcorder itself.
The software included is very easy to use and has some neat organization methods of displaying video files in a calendar layout by month, day and hour which it makes it easy to locate your files.
The software has options for converting the video to a number of different media and file types. You can write the files to Blu-Ray, DVD and AVCHD disc (DVD media). It also has the ability to convert video for upload to You Tube, iTunes and can also convert to .wmv for use on computers and upload to other sites, such as Facebook. The conversion process lets you choose the video size you want and at least on my PC was pretty quick to process.
I'll try to update this review after I am able to test the video via HDMI and use more of the features.
UPDATE 3/24/2010: Recorded a school concert last night and the battery lasted for 1.5 hours of nearly constant recording. This was much better than the capacity I noticed earlier when recording 5 or 10 minute segments spread out over a couple of days.
UPDATE 3/28/2010: Video quality via a Category 2, mini-HDMI cable is much better than via the cables included with the camcorder. My TV indicates a full 1920x1080 video resolution although it doesn't indicate if it is 1080i or 1080p. The box indicates that the camcorder has full 1080p output, but I can't verify that for sure.
I've had a chance to take some more still images both in video and in the dedicated photo mode. Given the right lighting images in both modes are usable. Images taken in dedicated photo mode are of higher quality, which is to be expected since they are 9MP images instead of the ~5MP images you get in video mode.
All in all, I'm more satisfied with camcorder now then I was when I initially posted this review. I'd rate it at 4 1/2 stars if possible.

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The Everio GZ-HM550BUS is an elegant Full HD memory Everio with dual memory of 32GB internal Flash memory/SD card featuring 10.62M Back-illuminated CMOS, Real 9.3 Megapixel Stills with no interpolation, recording up to 3520x2640 digital still images. Pick up your JVC Everio GZ-HM550BUS Flash Memory Camcorder today!

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