Guestbook

John's Guestbook

Thank you for visiting John's page. This is an archive of my guestbook. If you wish to leave a comment about my page, please visit the User Forum.

This is the first entry in the guest book. It is very lonely. Perhaps you can make a contribution to keep it company?
John
Fremont, CA USA - Tuesday, March 09, 1999 at 15:38:46 (PST)

you seem to be a cool guy, your faq about trv 900 is a precious thing. we«ll keep in touch, I hope samir
samir akika
Paris, France - Wednesday, March 10, 1999 at 07:01:14 (PST)

John, Thanks for the precious info about the TRV-900. I'm about to purchase one soon. I've sold everything that wasn't nailed down to raise the funds. I'm going to match it up to a Steadicam JR. I let you know how it turns out. Again, thanks for your exhaustive research. A truly fascinating and helpul site.
Michael Kaplan
Cincinnati, OH USA - Wednesday, March 10, 1999 at 10:12:35 (PST)

really appreciate your comments ont he trv900. i recently purchased a trv9 (mainly price did not have the extra grand) i am quite pleased with it but some day i will have a trv900 thanks again for you time and effert about the trv900 arv
arvine j. kindinger
bucyrus, oh USA - Saturday, March 13, 1999 at 14:35:06 (PST)

I found your website looking up fluxgate magnetometers. Appreciated the information, and enjoyed browsing your site. Thanks, John
John Cadwell
Kennewick, Wa USA - Monday, March 15, 1999 at 14:22:53 (PST)

I own, and was writing a research paper on MiniDisks ( for Sharp against Sony ). Found ur debate quite perceptive ( might quote you on some things ). Well thanks & have a good one.
Zues
Austin, TX USA - Tuesday, March 30, 1999 at 12:00:51 (PST)

If u like music check out my mp3 site (up on email). Your URL thingy doesn't work. bye.
Zues (again)
USA - Tuesday, March 30, 1999 at 12:02:56 (PST)

I gave up raytracing several years ago after being frustrated by lack of memory and CPU speed. I have a new machine now and think that its capable of what I want to accomplish, so I'm going to try it again. I also want to see if I can get my 13 year old son into rendering. Who knows? He might even get interested and find a use for the math and geometry he gets in school.
John Waidner
Carmel, IN USA - Monday, April 12, 1999 at 13:48:38 (PDT)

Great site I have a Sony900 and like it very much. I use it to DV edit with a Spark+ card and to make stills for my web page. If it is ok I will link to you from my mall.
John McAuliffe
W. Hempstead, NY USA - Wednesday, April 14, 1999 at 06:44:41 (PDT)

Hi John- I am receiving the 900 Monday direct from mail order firm. will be using it on first job Saturday. the main reasons for buying were the comments from the contributors to this and the 900 forum- big step from SVHS?Hi8 at present I intend to edit with existing Fast Board Thanks for your page - of immense interest and value. Brian
brian hobbs
naples, fl USA - Thursday, April 15, 1999 at 18:58:27 (PDT)

Wall, I think you've sold another 900 for Sony. I'm using a TR-81 right now, bought used and bolted to a used SteadiCam JR. All I need to do is figure out how to get a good price on the 900 while using my Sony Preferred card ... Thanks for the great info!
Chip Gallo
Harpers Ferry, WV USA - Sunday, May 02, 1999 at 11:34:33 (PDT)

I ended up here tracking down links for 3D terrain generation for a game I am working on. Lots of good info! And some great photos!
Brad Myers
Weston, MA USA - Wednesday, May 05, 1999 at 06:50:28 (PDT)

Found your site whilst looking for an equation to generate fractal landscapes - cant remember any myself. Visited several times before, when pointed to the stonking Gforge, although I never had time to learn how to use such a complicated piece of software (and POV has let me down - poor UI these days). If anyone knows any reasonable equations for generating landscapes, feel free to e-mail me, its for a JAVA program. Mostly just to show that JAVA is capable of doing pretty graphics, fast!
Adam Martrin
Cambridge/London, N/A UK - Thursday, June 10, 1999 at 17:24:41 (PDT)

I'm looking for a viceo camera to use with my SNAPPY. You're site is outstanding. You have not only the BOG PICTURE but the audio tests as well. Well done!
Steve Purnell
Honolulu, HI USA - Monday, June 28, 1999 at 17:25:13 (PDT)

Thanks for your excellent "cookbook" on the TRV900; i find it very interesting and informative . Felicitations!!!
jc gouillaud
France - Monday, July 05, 1999 at 08:58:09 (PDT)

Interesting site!
Ken
Hoffman Estates, IL USA - Thursday, July 08, 1999 at 15:12:31 (PDT)

Great site, and invaluable amount of very useful infos. The only unanswered question left, is: why shouldn't I buy a trv900 ? ;-) Thanks.
A.Raffaele Ciriello
Milan, ITALY, USA - Saturday, July 10, 1999 at 14:55:10 (PDT)

Hello John.....you have a very nice web site....I was interested in what kind of classical guitar you have? do you play professionally?
Kip Sheldon
Benicia, CA USA - Wednesday, August 11, 1999 at 02:39:22 (PDT)

I have a rather inexpensive guitar I got secondhand, although I really like the tone. I'm a completely amateur player.
John
USA - Wednesday, August 11, 1999 at 13:34:55 (PDT)

Hhi John, Nice helpful site, I have a TRV9 with only one chip. Will be expanding my resources to Include a CannonXL1 in the near future, I think. Good Luck
Bill Boyle
Reston, VA USA - Thursday, August 12, 1999 at 16:27:38 (PDT)

Absolutely excellent. I love your site. Your info was very influential in my purchase of the TRV-900. I find myself coming back every couple of days for more info. OUTSTANDING!
Brian Wilder
Indianapolis, IN USA - Friday, August 20, 1999 at 16:14:51 (PDT)

a very interesting site as i own adigital camcorder
john lamb
birmingham, england - Sunday, August 22, 1999 at 11:46:30 (PDT)

John, Add me to the list of those whose decision to buy a TRV900 was largely influenced by the excellent info on your site. BTW, my mother’s maiden name is Beale and I have give our new son that as a middle name. Any kin to the Beales of southern Virginia?
John Jones
Alexandria, VA USA - Thursday, August 26, 1999 at 11:14:26 (PDT)

I'm looking for a good dv in/out camera and was given a tip on the trv900. Seems that the tip was good - you have done great work on revealing what this item is good for. You're in my favourites now. Thanks.
Morten Rokke
Lillehammer, Norway - Thursday, September 02, 1999 at 16:25:14 (PDT)

great site love your art work..
bobxlt
renton , wa. USA - Thursday, September 02, 1999 at 19:31:28 (PDT)

Great Site! I enjoy the downloads. I've download DEM2POV. And spent the first part of this week playing with it. There's a bug in it. You proble know already. Its in the sub section. Part of the fun was tring to find the problem and fix it. If ya want it just e-mail me. Again Great Site!
Elie
joplin, mo USA - Thursday, September 09, 1999 at 16:58:07 (PDT)

very informative page on the trv900. i learned alot! thanks
sy tran
sacramento, ca USA - Saturday, September 18, 1999 at 18:23:24 (PDT)

John, Your MiniDV cameras comparison was very helpful in me making my decision. I love the way you analyzed each camera. Thanks for your help!! Ken
Ken Rutkowski
San Francisco, CA USA - Monday, September 20, 1999 at 21:30:09 (PDT)

Hi my name is John Beale also. Weird shit. I saw your page and got a good laugh. Later man, John Beale
John Beale
Madison, WI USA - Friday, October 22, 1999 at 10:33:31 (PDT)

John, What a great resource for those with a TRV900. I do have a question. Any recommendations on hardware and software to edit the digital audio and video from the TRV900?
Jim Hamilton
Ann Arbor, MI USA - Tuesday, October 26, 1999 at 10:45:21 (PDT)

Get a site at 50megs.com then you'd have room for your music aswell - which will be a treat if its as good as the art work
nessa
USA - Wednesday, October 27, 1999 at 13:10:41 (PDT)

It isn't. But thanks for the 50megs.com tip; I'll see if I can't come up with something worthwhile. Most of the stuff I've recorded has enough mistakes to be annoying. Only when I'm really motivated do I manage to get a "clean" take. But it's fun to think people might want to listen to my stuff...
John
USA - Wednesday, October 27, 1999 at 13:46:03 (PDT)

i think this web page is pretty shit
jade short
katoomba, nsw australia - Thursday, October 28, 1999 at 16:43:37 (PDT)

John, you are a VERY great guy!! Thanks for the wonderful collection of very useful information on the Sony TRV900 & related matters. I have instantly learned many things in just one place. I am new to the TRV900E which I just bought but I have been playing around with digital photography for over 3 years. If you plan to get into it, let me know, I can help. I am using the NIKON Coolpix 950, an absolute beauty. Keep up the good work !!!
Steve MF LAI
Singapore - Saturday, October 30, 1999 at 06:00:55 (PDT)

Excellent info. I started with Terraform and was "attracted" to the rest of the site. Just excellent.
Acacio Cruz
Lisbon, LX Portugal - Tuesday, November 02, 1999 at 07:26:08 (PST)

Very nice site. I found your site as the result of a search for information on Fluxgat Magnetometers. Thanks for the info.
John McDonald
Yuma, AZ USA - Friday, November 05, 1999 at 09:07:28 (PST)

Great site, John! (Your new-to-Internet cousin in Iowa.)
Bronwen Stimpert
USA - Monday, November 22, 1999 at 09:56:31 (PST)

Dear John, Just to let yuo know how much I enjoyed and learned from your web site, the best of its kind! I am thinking of getting a panasonic 3ccd like the AG30E but I am really disappointed with the Panosonic official site. It contains less info than a cheap promotion leaflet. Panasonic can learn a thiong or two from Sony. I would like to know if the new PD950 has analog in and what is the measured difference in resolution between TRV900 and AG30 as the ccd pixel in the former is about 20% more. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing it with us.
Dr. Samuel Lin
Hong Kong - Tuesday, November 23, 1999 at 04:23:16 (PST)

Thank you for all the work you did on the DV camera research and comparison studies, and for the time and effort you put into posting it for the benefit of others. I appreciate your generous spirit. {M}
Marya Legrand
Redwood Valley, CA USA - Saturday, November 27, 1999 at 12:53:03 (PST)

Hey there, John. This has no relevance to photography per se (or anything else, for that matter), but I enlarged the photo of the ship and realized it is the Kriti Amethyst, a ship that I have been aboard on numerous occasions. More to the point, thanks for the information on your site; it is most helpful for someone trying to decide which way to go regarding digital video. Frank Isaac, Stanford MFA '89
Frank Isaac
Victoria, TX USA - Wednesday, December 01, 1999 at 12:36:40 (PST)

Amazing! Only today I put a deposit down on a 900 and thought I would do some research. And the result is I stumbled upon a goldmine! Thank you, John. This info will be real useful. About to launch projects in the entertainment biz. My one concern was choosing between the single CCD cameras vs the three CCD's! Good to see the pictured comparisons! No doubt am I pleased to have chosen the 900 over the others by SONY. I'll keep you updated on my progress. Thanks again.
Florenciani
New York, NY USA - Friday, December 03, 1999 at 01:01:30 (PST)

Exellent site!! I am in the market to buy a video camera and I have just made up my made up my mind, The TRV90O is exactly what I need. Thankyou for all of your research you have saved me alot of time and money.. I will send you some images of Sydney Harbour as soon as I get the camera.
Philippa
sydney, nsw Australia - Saturday, December 04, 1999 at 01:09:18 (PST)

Great site!!!:)
Antonio Giacomin
Trieste, Italy - Tuesday, December 07, 1999 at 09:30:34 (PST)

Fabulous site! Why didn't you create one for the TRV-10? It would have made my life easier and I could save $500, but NO you have spoiled me and the rest of the world. Fantastic job, Keep it up.
Fred Dial
Glenview, IL USA - Monday, December 13, 1999 at 10:14:50 (PST)

As many others here, I originally came for the Sony 900 info (even though I have a DCR TRV-510!) and am browsing the rest with interest!
Peter Godwin
Evanston, IL USA - Tuesday, December 14, 1999 at 02:40:59 (PST)

John-You've done a great job at making us (we?) engineers look like real people. With a degree is physics, how did you get so grounded in reality??? Seriously tho..you have done a wonderful job in collating and presenting information on the TRV-900 and Videograpy in general. Thank-you for your efforts. Best Regards, M.C.A., MSAE, USC -'78; MSIS, GGU - '87
Mark C. Augustine
Citrus Heights, CA USA - Wednesday, December 15, 1999 at 22:27:58 (PST)

Great side by side comparison of the 2 DV cams
Kyle
AL USA - Sunday, December 19, 1999 at 15:37:44 (PST)

Thank you, thank you, thank you. There really is a God! You really made my decision on what DV to buy quite painless. Man, you sure did some real exhaustive work on your part. Anyway, I just thought I'd tell you that my TRV900 just got delivered this morning and I'm glad to say that it's performed really well so far. The first attempt to upload some quick short video clips to my VAIO PC proved to be effortless and quite fun. My boy just couldn't stop from rolling on the floor laughing at the video clip of himself, hehehe. Hey, I don't know what or where currently is the best deal for the TRV900 right now but I want to let you know that I ordered mine from this outfit in Florida (I didn't even have to pay any tax!). They sold it to me for $1789! Their website address is http://www.video-direct.com . I was gonna buy it from beststopdigital.com but I read a lot of negative things about them these past few days. Whew! Anyway, thanks again for all the useful information you provided on your website. I can hardly wait to get back on my photo/video hobby again! later, ed
Ed Subijano
Hayward, Ca USA - Saturday, December 25, 1999 at 01:02:29 (PST)

Hey, John, I am talking, even as I type, with my sister, who thought our brilliant cousin had a website that could help me figure out my installation problem with my digital camera. Now, while I firmly believe you could install this better than I, I will simply sign your guestbook and wish you a Happy New Year.
Jane Stimpert White
Stockton, IL USA - Monday, December 27, 1999 at 17:49:57 (PST)

Actually I was wondering for a flash light for my TRV900E sony vedio camera, if any one know the site where I can get then please send me the site address, I'll be thankful also obliged.
M Ali Musa
Quetta, BOL Pakistan - Tuesday, December 28, 1999 at 04:15:36 (PST)

When I came to buy a better vedio camera with the option of still amage capturing, then I selected the TRV900E, when the pack I received there was no cassette in side then I contacted the local dealer and asked about the cassette and when he told me the price of that then I realised that I have purchased some thing special still I'm working on and it's amazing. Please visit my album http://mamcg.homepage.com/album.html then I'll be thankful to you..
M. Ali Musa
Quetta, BOL Pakistan - Thursday, December 30, 1999 at 17:24:55 (PST)

I know what you mean about going from engineering to a broader discipline and then going back again in terms of employment. But my switch (from engineering to philosophy) was even more in the direction of breadth. Now I'm a computer programmer trying to find a happy medium between arts/humanities and science/technology. It looks like you've already found a golden mean for yourself. Best of luck!
Michael Tonderum
Omaha, NE USA - Tuesday, January 04, 2000 at 07:28:27 (PST)

Oddly enough, I have the same name. Sounds like a strange thing to do but I surfed up your web site out of pure fascination for people with the same name as me. All the best. JB.
John Beale
Reading, UK - Wednesday, January 05, 2000 at 12:09:07 (PST)

Really enjoyed the pics John, and appreciate all your info you have researched. I'm looking to get into DV here shortly and you answered many questions for me. Many thanks.
Jesse
Redlands , CA USA - Saturday, January 08, 2000 at 22:32:12 (PST)

Hey! John, it was nice chatting with you at Lake Elizabeth this afternoon while Steven and I walked by and noticed that you were using the GL1 to take photos of our favorite friends there - the ducks. Thanks for giving us your web site. Great images and info. on the GL1. We bought one in late Nov. 99 too and enjoyed making video and images with it immensely. Your info. is very detail with good data analysis. I've found a place with a great price for the DV tapes for the GL1, it's only $8.99 a piece and if you buy more than a dozen, the price is dropped to $7.00 each. Go to Vanns.com where these guys also have the best price for GL1. Check their web site and call their 800 number. They are the supplier behind many GL1s that are auctioned on eBay.
Shirley Lin Chiang
Fremont, ca USA - Sunday, January 16, 2000 at 23:39:24 (PST)

it is so funny to see other people with my name. thanks.
John Beale
royal palm beach, fl USA - Tuesday, January 18, 2000 at 15:23:16 (PST)

Thanks John for interesting information on camcorders ! I am going to be a first time buyer soon, and it is not easy to decide on what to choose. It is also confusing that there are different names in the US and in Europe on the camera models. Thanks again.
Krister Jakobsson
Gavle, Sweden - Thursday, January 27, 2000 at 06:48:36 (PST)

John great effort been reading your pages & visitors pages felt i would like to say hi to them all I bought the 900 to entertain me while touring europe raelly was a challange When we got home&Tried the search edit and conseqently all other features of the memory nothing.The speed stick saved the stills, i am unable to retrieve the stills saved on tape Since this discovery i took the camera to sony in Freemont 2 week later it came back they could find nothing wrong Next i end up with an expert in Florida after several phone calls they told me the chip in my cassets were probally damaged with exray machine in Amstedam I fork out $26 more to prove them right!!!Guess what the trv900 is still dumb and has lost its memory Has anyone had this problem.The air port people assured me the machine would not damage the camera dge2060@micron.net jan282000
graham evans
santa cruz, ca USA - Friday, January 28, 2000 at 22:26:07 (PST)

I rather doubt the x-ray machine did anything. More likely the electrical contacts on the cassette case, the camera, or both, are dirty. I can't speak from experience as I have never used a tape with memory; the features weren't worth the price. For stills I use a flash card which is much faster to transfer to the PC anyway (using flash card reader).
John
USA - Sunday, January 30, 2000 at 12:07:44 (PST)

Very nice side - really - i will certainly come back!
Jan
USA - Thursday, February 03, 2000 at 08:02:14 (PST)

Greetings from Rochdale, England. Thank you John for all the hard work you must have done in setting up your excellent web site. I have found it an invaluable source of information. Best wishes. Frank
Frank Woolrych
- Friday, February 11, 2000 at 09:34:41 (PST)

youv'e sold me on the 900. where can I get one at the best price??
Lee Wilson
tyler, tx USA - Monday, February 21, 2000 at 14:55:01 (PST)

I address this in the TRV900 FAQ. The first paragraph has links to several possibilities. Prices are always changing though so you'll have to shop around. (If you've found a really excellent deal that seems to good to be true, please read the second paragraph, too.)
John
USA - Monday, February 21, 2000 at 18:40:05 (PST)

MANY THANKS for an excellent website on the Sony TRV900 miniDV camcorder. Your work is thorough and conscientious and you are a wealth of information. I also appreciate your saying when you don't know something rather than bluff it. Above all I appreciate your professional manner and approach in helping us all enjoy our digital toy.
Tom K
Philadelphia, PA USA - Monday, March 13, 2000 at 05:11:04 (PST)

Hi Beale, While I was planning to buy a DV camcorder, I came across your web page. I found more and more useful information. It is really a wonderful site. Keep it up. My best wishes.
Christhu Raj
Santa Clara, CA USA - Wednesday, March 29, 2000 at 22:46:07 (PST)

Your site is very nice!
Alice
Rome, Italy - Monday, April 10, 2000 at 00:03:43 (PDT)

Saw the name. Thought I'd check it out.
Jim Beale
USA - Friday, May 05, 2000 at 22:35:47 (PDT)

Very, Very informative site. Really help me deciding between the 900 and GL1. I opted for 900 though. Keep up the good work.
Talwinder Sangotra
USA - Monday, May 22, 2000 at 10:27:17 (PDT)

I'm tossing up between a digital still or dv. Like the 900 (and your site!) but the dollars are getting pretty big. What is the list price in the US? Do you have a similar site for the DSCF505E or DSCS70 still cameras? Any comments on the relative merits of either and comparison to a dv such at the 900? Cheers from downunder.
Ralph Davies
Dunedin, New Zealand - Tuesday, May 30, 2000 at 14:31:43 (PDT)

The TRV900 list price is around $2300