TRV900 Visitor Archive, Page 2
April 30 - June 28  1999

This is an archive of past entries. To add a new one, return to the current page.

Great site! I've started using internet 'owner's sites' as references for future purchases. Your web site gave me the confidence to buy the '900 and it turned out to be better than I'd expected. When I use the 900 as a still camera, I capture the images as raw 720x480 and use Photoshop (with bicubic interpolation) to increase the vertical height to 540. This gives me very good results without throwing away any detail.
David White <david.white@cubic.com>
San Diego, CA USA - Friday, April 30, 1999 at 10:56:44 (PDT)
I am researching my first camcorder after decades of amateur 35mm photography. Your site is the best intro to digital video I have found. Thank you!!! Unfortunately, I can't afford the TRV900 so I'm considering the TR7000. I have read the specs at the Sony site but I still have questions. Will I be able to easily control depth of field while shooting video with the TR7000? Can I shoot in aperture priority mode or can I create a shallow depth of field with one of the progammable AE modes? How easy is the manual focus? Finally, how is the quality of the digital zoom? I think it goes out to the 35mm equivalent of 850mm, but is it real? Obviously, I need to get my hands on this thing. Thanks again for your service to the web community.
Hap Mullenneaux <hapm@yahoo.com>
Fairfield, IA USA - Saturday, May 01, 1999 at 09:51:50 (PDT)
In fact the TR7000 (and the other Digital 8's) have a 20x optical zoom, from 41 to 820 mm equivalent on a 35mm camera. The digital zoom goes to a ridiculous 360x which is 14760 mm (14.7 meters) in 35mm-equivalent terms. But don't believe the digital zoom is really useful at anything like that range; no different from any other digital zoom, the picture quality simply gets worse until you see only a few pixels (blocks) on the screen at max zoom! I feel digital zooms in general are just a marketing gimmick. There is no "aperture priority" as such but you do get 7 AE modes including "portrait" which maximizes aperture for min. depth of field. For max. depth of field just use manual exposure control, which always uses 1/60 shutter (or 1/100 if "steadyshot" is on) and turn down the exposure for the smallest aperture that gives you enough light.
John Beale
USA - Saturday, May 01, 1999 at 10:39:56 (PDT)
Great (and very informative) site ! Now i've ordered my TRV900E too. ;-) Anyway, I have one question: has anybody who is reading this an idea on what 'steadycam' system to use with the TRV900 ? I found the following ones and I'm not sure which one will work best for me: 1. Cinema Products DV Steadicam (w. Color LCD) http://www.steadicam.com/prohh/frame_hh_hss_dv.htm 2. Cinema Products Steadicam Jr. (w. B/W LCD) http://www.steadicam.com/prohh/ph_hss_jr.htm 3. ABC Handyman 1000 (w. Color LCD) 4. ABC Handyman 100 (without LCD) (additional weights required because of missing LCD ???) 2 & 4 are the cheapest, 1 the most expensive one of these four. Although choice 1 looks really good I fear it's to expensive for me right now. Has anyone worked with any of these ??! Thanks!
Sören Müller <soeren@soeren.de>
Paderborn, Germany - Sunday, May 02, 1999 at 08:41:32 (PDT)
Thanx!!! for the most informative site I have come across on the TRV900, and how it compares to the rest. I was stuck between picking up a TRV9 and TRV900, and you've certainly helped me decide (on the 900... duh!). I'm pretty biased towards picking up the best in the market (even though I'm an absolute amateur in photography); your site is just what I needed to convince me to cough up the extra $1K. prash. p.s. u should really start asking the sony guys for a commission, u know... u seemed to have influenced quite a few people to go their way... :)
Prashant Rawat <icyguy@usa.net>
Twin Cities, MN USA - Sunday, May 02, 1999 at 16:21:20 (PDT)
John, Thanks for posting the resolution test pattern comparisons on your web site. And thanks for such a wonderful site and tons of very useful info. I bought my TRV900 right after spending a hour or so on your site. You asked if anyone had a good source for test charts. Obviously the ARRL chart is useful, but a copy from the Handbook isn't really a *calibrated* test pattern. There are numerous web sites that have test patterns - apparently some people actually collect them!. Test patterns can help measure relative resolution, but like so many other things, have to be used correctly to get an "absolute" number. DisplayMATEs site has instructions on using the patterns. The one at seems very good for testing our favorite (TRV900) toy. Here's some other sites that have downloadable patterns: http://www.landiss.com/pattern.htm http://www.paulandmark.u-net.com/electron/Workshop/Test_Pattern/ (has a number of gif files) http://stevens.com/hats/pics/ (Houston Amateur Television - stairstep, multiburst, even the old "Indian Head" Pattern) http://www.saginaw.simplenet.com/testpatt.htm (has links to test patterns from all over the world) BTW, if you find found a source for "a good one in Postscript," I would love to have it for my use. Jim
Jim <Arco1@aol.com>
StLouis, MO USA - Monday, May 03, 1999 at 10:21:41 (PDT)
Dear John, Thanks for the informative site. I purchased a VHS camcorder 13 years ago and was never very satified with the results. I have been considering the TVR900 for the last couple of weeks and just today ran across your site. I had to excercise a lot of control not to pick up the phone and order one on the spot. What I am not sure about is whether this is more camcorder than I need. I appreciate quality but I am not sure how much I would use it in the camera (still) mode. I want to use it mainly outdoors and especially for shooting skiers (I teach). This question will show my ignorance but how do you view slow motion with this camera? With my old camcorder it was done through the VCR and was very mechanical looking. Do you know of any comparisons between the 900 and Sony's TRV510? Thanks, Michael
Michael Higgins <mhiggins@pic.tacoma.wa.us>
Tacoma, WA USA - Monday, May 03, 1999 at 15:53:51 (PDT)
The TRV900 has a very good slow-motion mode in playback, which runs at 1/3 normal speed and is accessed throught the "slow" button on the remote control. I have a picture of the remote on my webpage here. I think most/all other MiniDV cameras also have good slow-motion. If you are interested in Digital 8 cameras, I have a section on my webpage on those also, look here.
John Beale
USA - Monday, May 03, 1999 at 16:05:40 (PDT)
Superb site and a real help in guiding my decision on a purchase of a TRV 900. Have printed out the entire FAQ section and will clearly be referring to it constantly for tips and tricks. Camera on order...due to arrive this week and can't wait to start using it and putting it through its paces.
Doug Webster <dweb823@aol.com>
Sonoma, CA USA - Tuesday, May 04, 1999 at 08:20:49 (PDT)
Again great site and thanks for the information. I went to a site www.zdnet.com/pcmag/features/digivideo99/392843.html Performance test and noticed that in the outdoor clip test (fast moving objects etc.) the TRV900 was in 6th place out of 10. Does this mean that this camcorder would not be a good choice for taping skiers?
Michael
USA - Tuesday, May 04, 1999 at 09:52:12 (PDT)
I had a look at the PC Mag. ratings. They don't explain what they felt was wrong with the TRV900 specifically. I'll bet they didn't use external ND filters, which can improve quality if it is a bright sunny day. If you shoot ski scenes you definitely want external ND or polarizing filters in addition to the camera's internal ND. I don't know how autofocus stacks up against the other cameras. I see they ranked the TRV900 as #1 on the indoor test, dubbed to VHS: it ranked better than the XL-1 which is a shocker- that camera is twice the price.
John Beale
USA - Tuesday, May 04, 1999 at 10:38:23 (PDT)
Nice job with the test patterns-- they clearly show the difference between one and three chips. I have a sony tr3000 in addition to the trv900 and after a subjective a/b comparasion be tween the two, I found the TRV900 to be about a stop more sensitive and less noisey than the tr3000 (lens wide open, 18db gain, both cameras). Great web site, keep up the good work!
Gary Hauptli <ghauptli@hotmail.com>
Seattle, WA USA - Tuesday, May 04, 1999 at 21:01:34 (PDT)
Your Website is great,I can learn more and know more from your web, thanks John I got the TRV9E at Dec 98 and my friend get TRV900E.we go together and shot the photo,and compare it,woo.... that made me know 3CCD and 1CCD different,then I got TRV900E in March,and TRV9E for video recorder I have taken some photo from TRV900E,TRV9E,DV1,and other digital camera for compare,go my URL http://members.tripod.com/vincent_ysc/index.html If you are interesting
vincent <vincent_ysc@hotmail.com>
Hong Kong - Tuesday, May 04, 1999 at 21:51:45 (PDT)
I have recently bought myself a TRV900 and am facinated by the features it offers. Thank you for writing such an informative site which offers advice not available in the manual. I am especially interested in shooting snowboarding and found your information on filming outside in bright, snowy, yet cold conditions very useful. Many Thanks, Richard
Richard Fisher <Richard.Fisher@PowerTech.co.uk>
Nottingham, UK - Wednesday, May 05, 1999 at 04:11:51 (PDT)
I have read some of the e-mail comments on your site about to sensitivity of the zoom control with the TRV900 Has this been your experience? Is it something that you adjust to after a period of time? I am specifically thinking of zooming in on a person who is coming at you (snow sports) and keeping them in the same relative distance by operating the zoom. I also noticed in your comments that you tend to use your camcorder indoors the majority of the time. Do you feel it is very good machine in outdoor bright light situations filming active subjects? Thanks, Michael
Michael
USA - Wednesday, May 05, 1999 at 10:59:23 (PDT)
Thaks for a great site. You give me all information i needed. so i´m going to buy a sony trv900. My english is not so good, but thank you verymuch. You realy helpt me!!!
steven <zteven@hotmail.com>
sweden - Thursday, May 06, 1999 at 06:45:34 (PDT)
You and others have convinced me to place an order for a 900. I have so far heard very little bad about the camera. The problem is that I have had it on order from an authorised local Sony Centre for about 2 weeks now and I still do not have a delivery date. Are they realy that difficult to acquire in the UK? Does anyone else have a similar experience? Can anyone tell me what the supply situation is? Thanks for all your help
Steve Garratt <steve_garratt@compuserve.com>
Colchester, UK - Friday, May 07, 1999 at 04:40:43 (PDT)
Hi again ! I received my TRV900E 3 days ago - it's so great. The picture quality is excellent and the floppy drive a really nice additional feature. I want to buy a telephoto and a wide-angle lense too, but I've one question concerning these: is there such a nice thing like the in-box lense hood available for these additional lenses ???! I think one should always use the lense hood and it also looks more impressive of course ;-) ... but when I plug an additional wide/tele lense on the TRV900 I'm afraid I can't use the lense hood anymore ...
Sören Müller <soeren@soeren.de>
Paderborn, Germany - Sunday, May 09, 1999 at 04:40:31 (PDT)
John, In a word – Thanks. I was able to make the confident decision to purchase two of the TRV 900 cameras for my digital editing business that I recently started aside from my professional career as a research Physicist here at SSAQ. Sincerely, Robert R Gallegos
Robert R Gallegos <rgallego@ssaq.sitix.com>
Albuquerque, NM USA - Sunday, May 09, 1999 at 10:39:13 (PDT)
OK wizards, here's one for you. When I come back from a shoot I want to capture all those stills that I took on location. The 900 does an excellect job of transferring them to disk, but each disk has the same set of eight file names - the files are different, but the names are the same. Anyway to make the '900 name files sequentially past ....8 or ....9 whatever fits on the disk. Yeah, I know I could use a PC card memory to solve the problem. I'm looking for something I can do with the 8-hours of video and progressive-scan stills I shot last week (probably 400 stills total interleaved among the video.)
arco1 <arco1@aol.com>
St Louis, MO USA - Monday, May 10, 1999 at 12:00:38 (PDT)
John as always the site informative and up to date, I wonder if you have had a cleaning cassette through the TRV 900 and if so can you recomend a brand ? I only have access to Panasonic here and apparently there have been problems with brand mixing, does this apply to Cleaning cassettes as well as Mini DV cassettes?
Woody <woodyperry@aol.com>
Warwick, UK - Tuesday, May 11, 1999 at 09:15:38 (PDT)
I have a Panasonic MiniDV cleaning tape which I have not yet had occasion to use. Brand incompatibility has to do (so I understand) with incompatible lubricants. The purpose of the cleaning tape is to remove residues, including lubricants; I don't think it has any lubricant of its own- probably one reason why you're only supposed to run 10 seconds of it, and only if needed, to avoid unnecessary head wear. In short I think one cleaning tape ought to do as well as another.
John Beale
USA - Tuesday, May 11, 1999 at 11:04:22 (PDT)
Hi John, Last November I first found your Web Page on the TRV900 it's a great site and I keep going back to it for more information. I was looking for a DV Camera at the time and purchase the TRV900 in December. Since then I purchase a SanDisk 20m Flash Card (with PC card) and a SanDisk USB reader. You can fine some of the photo's on my Web Page. Thanks John for the effort for taking your time in sharing your experiences.
Alan <alangib@hunterlink.net.au>
Tanilba Bay, NSW Australia - Tuesday, May 11, 1999 at 18:08:43 (PDT)
I am wanting to buy MotoDv Studio for windows and have been told by DO that Sony's DVMC-DA1 converter will be supported soon. They also do not have the Digital 8 cameras approved. I would like to know if anyone has tried them with the MotoDv and the results they have had. Thnak you for providing your site, I may purchase a 900 instead of the D8 because of the incompatibilites. I have a lot of 8mm tapes and the D8 would fill the bill until the three chips cameras come down in price. -
Bill Aronis <waronis@mccsc.edu>
Bloomington, IN USA - Thursday, May 13, 1999 at 17:25:52 (PDT)
Add me to the list of recent TRV900 purchasers heavily influenced by your wonderfully informative web page! Hope you're still thinking of making that TRV900 "How to..." video. Thanks again! -- Ray
Ray Chan <rchan@aol.com>
Laguna Niguel, CA USA - Friday, May 14, 1999 at 21:58:57 (PDT)
Saw your note and thought I'd give a quick reply, as I too came to movies having been a dedicated 35mm man. There's a lot for you to learn, but you'll LOVE it. Right - DV cams use very short focal length lenses - my longest (before it goes into silly digital degredation) is 51mm. My max apertures changes from f1,6 to f2,8, so in reality the combination that'll give me the greatest differential focus is 51mm @ f2,8. Now think back to your 35mm camera - the d.o.f with a 50mm lens @ 2,8 is pretty feeble; well, it's EXACTLY the same with video, there's no altering the laws of optics. Very few DV cams offer you the choice of what aperture to shoot at - the TRV is one of the very few. Will you be content with a 7000 that only offers you a bunch of programmed modes? Yes, you can choose a "golfer" and know you'll get hi shutter speeds, but what are they, will you be using electronic gain (= picture noise) to compensate for the lack of light? It's all a bit hit and - if not miss - then accept. Will you be happy? I wasn't - it had to be the TRV 900 for the absolute control offered, and for the information given via v/finder screens. As to manual focus, you're right to worry. Do make sure that your chosen cam is easy and intuitive to focus. Again, the 900 has an ace "push-to-autofocus" button that ALL cams should have. In other words you're in manual focus (ie locked) and pushing the button will instantly and automatically refocus for you. Excellent. As to the quality of the digital zooms - forget them. What's happening is this:- the cam comes to the end of the optical zoom and the electronics take over, slowly zooming into the central block of pixels. Very clever, but taken to it's limit (easy peasy for cam designers) you're down to 4x3 pixels filling the screen. 500x zoom they'll shout. But a teeny weeny bit blurry, sir. Remember rhe DV chip is like the most basic of digital and first generation still cameras. Acceptable, but uninspiring for a stills man like you and me. It's ok for movies, but that's about it - please don't delete pixells by zooming into them, ok? The differential focus doesn't change past the max optical focal length by the way. Hope this helps, Hap, and have fun. Keep in touch. tom
tom hardwick <TomH@rdwick.freeserve.co.uk>
Billericay, England - Saturday, May 15, 1999 at 05:19:53 (PDT)
You're right, lens hoods are so important and especially so with the TRV900 which has a tendancy to flare in bright light. The hood supplied with the 900 is the best in the (amateur) business. It fits accurately, it's 4:3 aspect ratio, it's flocked beautifully and it works really well. The only problem is when you come to fit an UV filter to (mechanically) protect the lens. If you do this the hood won't fit to the front of your filter, and the designers have made sure you don't fit it to the front of another filter because it would vignette the image at wide angle. Clever design, Sony. There's a problem here - the TRV really needs a x8ND filter in sunlight, as the built in ND is really too feeble. Now if you fit another ND filter you find you can't use the supplied and most excellent hood, and must go buy another. OR - get a gelatine ND and carefully cut it to fit in behind the hood, so whenever you fit the hood (for going out into the sun) you'll automatically have a x8ND in the optical path. Remember - it's important to stay away from very small apertures with such short focal length lenses as difraction effects will spoil the definition. And this of course is one reason why the 900 stops at f11. And now to auxillary lenses. I face the same problem when I use my 900 with my powerful negative element w/a lens - there's no hood I can fit to shield the element from the sun. Pros use flags that they can move as the shot is taking place, but for filming on the run it's almost impossible to shield the lens. The only tip I can give is to use the best multi-coated converters you can find and keep the front elements spotlessly clean. tom
tom hardwick <TomH@rdwick.freeserve.co.uk>
Billericay, England - Saturday, May 15, 1999 at 11:11:43 (PDT)
Thanks for the info, Tom ! Nevertheless - if anybody has any idea where to get fitting lense hoods I would be glad for any links !
Sören Müller <soeren@soeren.de>
Paderborn, Germany - Sunday, May 16, 1999 at 07:14:35 (PDT)
Thanks to your webpage, John, I no own a TRV900. It was your photo of the red flower (at SF Bay preserve?) that sold me, and your extensive FAQ. Thanks for all the information and links you've provided! mike.
Michael Brna <brna@cisco.com>
Newark, CA USA - Sunday, May 16, 1999 at 21:13:29 (PDT)
I recently purchased the 900 and i really enjoy it. However, I do have one problem that I hope someone out there can answer for me. I have been using the Azden mx-pro wireless mikes with my previous cameras with excellent results. But when I use them with the 900 I get a lot of interference. I would assume that the 900 is emitting some type of rf frequency that is very close to the frequencies of the Azden mikes. So I would like to know if anyone out there is a wireless mike with the 900. If so, what kind will work successfully with the 900? Thanks. Please E-mail me at tomyun@aol.com.
Tom Yungwirth <tomyun@aol.com>
Green Bay, WI USA - Tuesday, May 18, 1999 at 13:40:21 (PDT)
Im a Canon owner but I did enjoy the sight. Thank you for taking the time out to share so much with us. It was a pleasure.
Rick <Bamby66464@aol.com>
USA - Tuesday, May 18, 1999 at 16:14:04 (PDT)
The TRV 900 site is well presented and very helpful. The information is organized and makes sense. It is obvious that a lot of time, energy and thought has gone into producing these pages. The growing lists of equipment addressed should be of interest to a wide range of users and buyers.
George Bellows <leadenwah@aol.com>
USA - Tuesday, May 18, 1999 at 22:17:52 (PDT)
Hi John! First off, I've been visiting your site off and on ever since it first appeared and would just like to extend my gratitude to all the work that's gone into making a wonderfully informative resource for digital video producers. Also I have a question: Recently there's been some discussion on the DV-L list concerning bad audio on the PD-100. Some people have stated that the noise cancelling circuitry on the camera affects even the input from external mikes, leading to ringing sounds at the end of words when shooting interviews. Seeing as how the TRV900 and PD100 are basically cut from the same cloth, I was wondering if this is a problem with this camera also. Have you had any problems with audio? And how about a section devoted to audio tests on your site? Thanks again for a wonderful contribution to the web.
Aral Balkan <aral@bigfoot.com>
Washington, DC USA - Wednesday, May 19, 1999 at 06:37:52 (PDT)
John, I don't know if you are aware of it but camerworld.com now has an aution site.
Michael H
USA - Wednesday, May 19, 1999 at 10:34:50 (PDT)
Oh my arm hurts ... finally I got my "Handyman 1000" today. It's simply fantastic. That's what makes videos really look professional ! It's basically a Steadicam JR but made of metal and comes with a color lcds (that also can be used to whatch TV - nice add-on functionality :-). Although the LCD is a bit difficult to connect to the TRV900E because of it's cinch connector (and you all now what connectors the TRV900 has for a/v). Besides that it's soooo great. It's comes with a dull manual but also includes a nice video that explains the 'trimming' process. It didn't take me more than 15-20 minutes to trim it. I still don't have my wide angle converter (should come next week) but nonetheless it looks great. I chased my dog about 30 minutes - I think I've to train more ... ;-) BUT ... in the introduction video that comes with this thing they showed a VX1000 mounted on it AND IT HAD A WIDE ANGLE CONVERT WITH LENS SHADES MOUNTED ON IT (I want to now where to get this !!!). Here's a picture ... I'll put up some more info and pictures on my own page in the next days -Sören
Sören Müller <soeren@soeren.de>
Paderborn, Germany - Friday, May 21, 1999 at 13:09:59 (PDT)
this is the most important site in my life. thank you. i'm just getting started with editing and i need suggestions and help on getting a medea drive. what's the best way to go?
Harrison Owen <howen@wesleyan.edu>
potomac, md USA - Tuesday, May 25, 1999 at 12:41:22 (PDT)
I recently bought a Promise FastTrack IDE Raid card and two 13 gig 5400 RPM Maxtor hard drives for a 26 gig single volume. A single 5400 rpm drive may or may not work for DV, depending on your system, but used in a RAID 0 (striped) array, the drives run in parallel and the result is plenty fast enough for DV editing (I see 9 MB/sec sustained for large transfers). I think this sort of system is the most cost effective (certainly cheaper than SCSI). Places like pricewatch can direct you to the best prices on both the controller and drives.
John Beale <beale@best.com>
USA - Tuesday, May 25, 1999 at 13:09:09 (PDT)
Dear John Here is a conundrum for you, I have recently purchased an Azden WLX PRO receiver and Transmitter radio mic Lavelier variety, I have tested the mic alone and it works fine but when attached to TRV 900E and TRV9E I get dreadful interference, I have spoken to the makers who say that it may be due to the plug in power, can this power be turned off, from the mic jack ?? In appreciation, Woody.
Woody Perry <woodyperry@aol.com>
Warwick, UK - Wednesday, May 26, 1999 at 02:08:15 (PDT)
AFAIK you can't turn off the plug-in power. The "DC blocking capacitor" I mention in my accessories FAQ would serve the same purpose, if you can find an adaptor plug with a series capacitor built-in. An XLR adaptor with an aux. minijack input might also help.
John Beale <beale@best.com>
USA - Wednesday, May 26, 1999 at 15:58:31 (PDT)
I just bought a 900 and was hoping to get the XLR shoe but found out it wasn't available (unless you own a PD100). Any suggestions as to where to find the shoe?
lynne whelden <whelden666@aol.com>
williamsport, pa USA - Thursday, May 27, 1999 at 10:28:45 (PDT)
Normally for Sony consumer parts you call 800-488-7669 but the PD100 and its accessories are marketed by the "professional" division, so you call 800-538-7550. I called and they said the "XLR assembly" is part # A7094044A and is $181.95 and is backordered, ETA June 3rd. At this price, consider an aftermarket XLR adaptor (about $200) which gives you two channels, volume controls, and other features as I mention here.
John Beale <beale@best.com>
USA - Thursday, May 27, 1999 at 11:25:41 (PDT)
I want to buy a TRV-900, and where in the world can I get the best price... I'll be visitng Los Angeles, Australasia and Japan shortly. Any ideas ? Thanks.
Jean Rossmann <cckkab@hotmail.com>
London, England - Thursday, May 27, 1999 at 11:08:22 (PDT)
I read that the recent best price in Japan works out to US$1880 which is slightly better than what I've heard of elsewhere. Up to you to figure out duty-free limit, warranty issues etc.
John Beale <beale@best.com>
USA - Thursday, May 27, 1999 at 11:32:09 (PDT)
Here in Germany I paid aprox. 2400$ US for the TRV900E. Partly that is because of the additional fee Sony has to pay over here if they make a camcorder that can record, too (= can be used as a 'VCR'). It's idiotic ... like many things in Europe ! ;-)
Sören <soeren@soeren.de>
Germany - Friday, May 28, 1999 at 02:29:04 (PDT)
I Have just bought the TRV900, What a wonderful machine, very pleased with it but still learning
Trevor Baker <Trevorbaker1@compuserve.com>
Fleet, Hants England - Monday, May 31, 1999 at 09:55:56 (PDT)
Great site! I bought a TRV900 in March and have been referring to this site quite a bit (sometimes I find myself anxiously awaiting the next 'tidbit' of info - whatever it is). I do not have a photography background, so am very interested in pointers regarding exposure settings, lenses, etc. I bought the CompactFlash/PC Card adapter combination - works great. I also recently bought the Azden WMS-PRO wireless mics - no problems yet with static, hissing, etc. that others have complained of... Thanks for the great site.
Pete Lindstrom <petelind@mindspring.com>
Malvern, PA USA - Tuesday, June 01, 1999 at 10:12:47 (PDT)
The resolution charts used in comparing DV to Digital-8 and SVHS/VHS is a great resource for those who'd like to see the actual differences between SVHS and VHS decks for editing, etc. btw. a good SVHS VCR is the new Sharp SVHS (they've only got one this year) with DNR (digital noise reduction) and digital Y/C seperation. only other SVHS decks with more features are the JVC 7500/9500s... d =)
David Chien <adorablelibretto@yahoo.com>
CA USA - Wednesday, June 02, 1999 at 11:31:54 (PDT)
I recently bought a TRV900, largely as a result of reading the information available on your site. Until recently, I have been using a Sony Hi8 camera and have been capturing the video through a Pinnacle Systems Miro DC30+ analogue to digital capture card for NLE with Premiere 5.1. One of the attractive features of the TRV900 is the ability to connect my Hi8 analog camera to the TRV900 through the S video ports, and save the captured video as DV. I can then transfer the DV to my computer for NLE through a Pinnacle DV300 Firewire card which I have just purchased. My question is, from a technical point of view, how does the quality of Hi8 video converted to DV through the TRV900 compare to the same video captured and digitized through the DC30+ card? In other words can I scrap the DC30+ card and use the TRV900 for all my analog to digital captures? Please help me with this; the answer may be obvious to you or the users of your site, but I'm stumped. Thanks for your help and your great site. Gerry FitzGerald
Gerry FitzGerald <gerryf@mhs.com>
Toronto, ON Canada - Wednesday, June 02, 1999 at 11:40:45 (PDT)
Many people ask about such quality comparisons. I think you're in the best position to judge yourself though- why not take some sharp video, transfer it to the PC both different ways, and see how it looks? My guess is that the major limitation is in the original Hi8 format and either way it will look pretty much the same, but I'd be interested to hear of your results.
John Beale <beale@best.com>
USA - Wednesday, June 02, 1999 at 15:54:07 (PDT)
I have bought the TRV900E the features are good, but the photo is realy dark and noise (blue),and also the color is dim.even in sunlight. The video from which I make the photo is ok. Do you have an idea what I make wrong? Is something wrong with my TRV900E?
Reinhard Braun <reini@braun.vol.at>
Lustenau, Austria - Thursday, June 03, 1999 at 00:41:20 (PDT)
Have you looked at the FAQ, in particular the section labelled "Why are my JPG files darker on the computer monitor than the TV?" It's in the "still photo" section here.
John Beale <beale@best.com>
USA - Thursday, June 03, 1999 at 16:02:26 (PDT)
Thanks for the extraordinary website, specifications, comparisons etc. Have been running an AudioVisual Ministry for Christ Church, Alexandria, VA and find this website very informative. Please add me to your email list distribution (if you have one). Jay Bartol, jbar@erols.com
Jay Bartol <jbar@erols.com>
Alexandria, VA USA - Monday, June 07, 1999 at 04:28:29 (PDT)
I don't have an email list, but Chris Reijnen set up a TRV900 mailing list which you can add yourself to, just click here for more info.
John Beale
USA - Monday, June 07, 1999 at 17:23:30 (PDT)
Great site! Is there a way to playback images shot in widescreen mode in normal mode with letterbox. My Panasonic 3chip AGE allowed me to view 16:9 on my TV with letterboxing. I cannot find this option in the manual or customer service. thanqs marq
marq morrison <cattlebone@yahoo.com>
orlando, fl USA - Monday, June 07, 1999 at 15:51:02 (PDT)
As I mention in the FAQ here, the TRV900 does not do letterbox on video output. If you need letterbox format from this camera, you will have to use a NLE setup to mask off parts of the frame.
John Beale
USA - Monday, June 07, 1999 at 16:10:25 (PDT)
Extraordinary work! I have had the camera for just a week now. Your site was integral to making an informed decision re. purchasing it, and I have no regrets. Thanks for the great site, and all the hard work that surely went into it. Jeff Fay
jeff fay <jefffay@ix.netcom>
USA - Monday, June 07, 1999 at 17:56:01 (PDT)
I must add another comment. I'd guess it's the alloy body of the TRV900, but the fit and finish is really far superior to my (plastic, hi-8) TRV99. Things really snap together with precision.
jeff fay <jefffay@ix.netcom.com>
CA USA - Wednesday, June 09, 1999 at 03:10:33 (PDT)
I normally do not do this, but I've felt compelled to say that your site is great!. Keep up the fantastic work! I have read somewhere (I've forgotten where) that you can program the TRV900, is this true?, if so, do you have any information on this?
Timothy Tiggest <tiggest@phibred.com>
USA - Wednesday, June 09, 1999 at 09:36:21 (PDT)
There are some settings and factory adjustments which can be made as I mention here. I've never tried it; the service manual is difficult to understand and I don't want to mess up the camera as is apparently possible. If you mean really program, as in change the firmware, I'm pretty sure it isn't possible.
John Beale
USA - Wednesday, June 09, 1999 at 10:01:56 (PDT)
I just recently bought the TRV900, and I'm almost glad i got that instead of the vx1000 because i almost bought that, but the trv900 had so much more options . Im sure the vx1000 picture quality isn't that much better , plus the best part is that these digital tapes dont loose quality, Also , ihave a couple questions. How come when i have the camera in progressive scan it looks horrible , when it isn't on it looks great . Also i heard when its not on progressive scan its also not digital . But that cant be true because it doesn't loose quality. Old movie is cool. The reason i bought this camera is because i want to be a director when im older, and also my best friend , so we make cool movies with the camera. I wouldn't of bought the camera if it wasn't for this site. Thanks!!! Also whats a good capture card for the trv900?
Jameson Cocherell <ajrock@jps.net>
Glendora, CA USA - Wednesday, June 09, 1999 at 14:42:52 (PDT)
I don't know where you are getting that information, but anyway the camera is 100% digital. "looks horrible" is not very specific, but perhaps you mean the video looks jerky in progressive mode, because it is only 15 frames per sec. vs. 60 fields per sec in progressive mode (as I mention in my FAQ under "What else could be improved?"). For firewire capture/DV editing try Pat Leong's page.
John Beale
USA - Wednesday, June 09, 1999 at 15:15:39 (PDT)
Thank for your link my TRV900 photo site, I updated. Welcome to see again. :>
Dacky Chan <dackychan@china.com>
Hong Kong - Friday, June 11, 1999 at 07:32:18 (PDT)
Hi ! Now I finally got my wideangle, too. Regarding a fitting lens hood - the (my :-) wideangle converter has a 67 mounting thread - so wouldn't it be possible to get one of these lense hoods here http://www.bhphotovideo.com/photo/acc/navigation.html or am I missing something ?! I know these are designed for use with photo cameras, but they should work nevertheless !!!? Thanks for any help! -Sören
Sören <soeren@soeren.de>
Germany - Sunday, June 20, 1999 at 07:09:20 (PDT)
My tele converter has no thread, but my wide-angle converter does have a 77 mm thread and you can screw a lens hood onto it. Problem is at 0.5x it's so wide that you need a very wide opening angle hood to prevent vignetting, and such a wide hood doesn't really shade the lens very much. A 0.7x wide lens would be easier.
John Beale
USA - Sunday, June 20, 1999 at 12:54:50 (PDT)
John, Your TRV900 site sold me on the camera. B&H had the best price, $1995, and every accessory in stock. In fact, my first camera had a bad pixel in the LCD screen. B&H flew another one to me, no questions asked. Again, thanks for the info. I will be checking your site for additional tips in the future!!!!
Carter Herrmann <carterh@att.net>
USA - Sunday, June 20, 1999 at 07:25:52 (PDT)
John, my thanks for publishing my HS1 microphone test on your most excellent site. I feel quite honoured to be included, and glad to be of help. Tom.
Tom Hardwick <TomH@rdwick.freeserve.co.uk>
Billericay, England - Monday, June 21, 1999 at 04:55:16 (PDT)
Hi John. Thanks! I just saw the new accessories page a few minutes ago - would have answered my question. :-) ... Now I ordered an adjustable 67 mm shade. I just got a polarizing filter directly from Sony ... geeeh - it doesn't have a mounting thread on the front ! Should a polarizing filter always be mounted on the camera and a wide-angle converter on the filter or can I simply put a bigger filter directly on the wide-angle ? Are there any pros/cons I should consider ? Btw your TRV looks really cool on the photo with all the stuff ...
Sören <soeren@soeren.de>
Germany - Monday, June 21, 1999 at 09:13:09 (PDT)
No background in video, but purchased TRV900 in March. 1. AzdenPro with two lavilier work fine. Got rubber lense hood right away, as couldn't install filters in square plastic one. Sometimes get sharper closeup results with X.5 Kenco converter installed. 2. Panasonic AG-DV2000 digital tape deck controls TRV900 just fine via IEEE-1394 interface, but doesn't allow dubbing and no workaround I tried got around this prohibition. Had to manually dub sound. DV2000 sometimes puts a few black frames in when starting to record, thus restarting time marks, so am recording new tapes to end with A&V inputs shorted to ground. Puts just over 3 hours on a Sony DV180 tape. DV2000 Mic input apparently mono, only signal on tip gets thru. Panasonic doesn't seem to respond to e-mails. TRV900 certainly a fine camcorder, and DV2000 good value. 3. Want to convert 8 & 16mm film to digital video and projection schemes I've tried introduce too many artifacts. Anyone know how to couple TRV900 directly to film being shuttled? A converter lense? I'm not yet ready to disassemble my TRV900. Thanks,Gary..
Gary Hoselton <garyhos@teleport.com>
Portland, OR USA - Monday, June 21, 1999 at 22:18:55 (PDT)
More on TRV900: 4. I started with the 750 battery. Good for 3-4 hours work in field plus pad, and plug in at night in motel room. The battery furnished with the camera is just symbolic. 5. Frames via floppy drive come up fine in Photoshop 5.1 in PC. Are spittin image of what is on TV set, just not enough dots per inch to blow up beyond 4x5" or so. Get best stills in progressive scan mode, but nothing wrong with frames grabbed from anything. 6. The shuttle and jog on Panasonic AD-DV2000 deck, controlling tape in TRV900 via firewire, makes quick work of picking just the right frame for capture to floppy adapter.
Gary Hoselton
USA - Monday, June 21, 1999 at 22:32:08 (PDT)
What do people do about shooting TRV900 in bright sunlight with viewfinder unusable? I'm looking just over the top of the viewfinder rubber and doing OK, but would like to have a pair of wire bails I could lift to view thru or whatever? Have to guess when to switch ND in and out. Gary..
Gary Hoselton, again
USA - Monday, June 21, 1999 at 22:44:54 (PDT)
I've heard lots of different advice about film to video transfer. It seems tricky to get right; I don't have any experience but you might post the question on rec.video or rec.video.desktop newsgroups. On reader mentioned getting a larger eyecup making his Digital 8 camera (not TRV900) viewfinder useable in sunlight, the same might work for TRV900 though. Look here near the middle of the page.
John Beale
USA - Monday, June 21, 1999 at 23:40:07 (PDT)
John, I'm going to take your advice and obtain an ext. mic for my TRV900. My research suggests that the Sony ECM-959C is a very good match for the TRV900- I need a wide frequency response. These are not available in Australia. Are you able to tell me if the 959C is available in USA? If so, from what source, and if possible the price. If the 959 is not available, is there an equivalent? Thanks for any comments about these specific mics. Regards, Trevor
Trevor Brimblecombe <trevorb@senet.com.au>
Adelaide, SA South Australia - Tuesday, June 22, 1999 at 07:50:37 (PDT)
I list several online vendors of mics on my mic page so you might check out their offerings and see if they ship overseas.
John Beale
USA - Tuesday, June 22, 1999 at 09:19:16 (PDT)
John, thanx for leads on film-to-video transfer. Where do I find rec.video.desktop, etc.? On TRV900 viewfinder hood, I wear glasses so can't put my eyeball very close to viewfinder. Keep up your excellent work, Gary..
Gary Hoselton
USA - Thursday, June 24, 1999 at 18:50:29 (PDT)
When using an external microphone I am getting a god awful buzz, with the LCD screen open. When closed it goes away. Is there anyway of losing the buzz with the LCD screen open?? thanqs marq
marq <www.cattlebone@yahoo.com>
orlando, fl USA - Monday, June 28, 1999 at 10:52:15 (PDT)
Which mic are you using? I'd guess either your mic or your mic cable is inadequately shielded (or there's an internal problem with the camera). Try moving the mic cable around and holding your hand against the cable and/or the mic (acts as a capacitive signal divider). If that doesn't change the buzz level, it's an internal problem. I have not heard any complaints like this before.
John Beale
USA - Monday, June 28, 1999 at 11:03:49 (PDT)
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