Sony DCR-TRV950

The Sony DCR-TRV950 is a 3CCD MiniDV camcorder made by Sony from 2002 to at the earliest April 2004. It succeeded the popular prosumer-grade DCR-TRV900 (1998).

Overview
The DCR-TRV950 has the "camera-in-palm" design, which was common in its era. It has a 3.5" diagonal (8.9cm) LCD that is touch-sensitive with a stylus (it can be operated with fingers as well). It also has a color LCD viewfinder that tilts and telescopes.

Common Features

 * 12x Optical Zoom and 150x Digital Zoom
 * MemoryStick Slot for Still Photos
 * Timecode/battery display on back of LCD (common Sony feature)
 * Automatic and manual focus
 * S-Video, A/V, and IEEE-1394 jacks that can be used as inputs or outputs
 * Review Button
 * Fader, Picture Effects (Negative Art, Sepia, Black & White, Solarize, Slim, Stretch, Mosaic), Digital Effects (Old Movie, Still, Flash, Lumikey, Trail)
 * Can record in 16:9 or 4:3
 * SteadyShot video stabilizer that stays active during 16:9 recording
 * Sony Intelligent Accessory Shoe
 * Tape is inserted from top
 * LANC Jack (requires updated RM-95 unit)
 * 3.5" LCD
 * Color Viewfinder, tilts and telescopes

Distinctive Features

 * 3CCD setup: This is normally reserved for broadcast or movie-grade cameras. Each sensor is one megapixel, which was very high at the time. The fine resolution allows true 16:9 image recording.
 * Built-in Flash
 * Manual Video Controls: By 2002, Sony was only putting manual exposure control and program A.E. on its consumer-level camcorders. This camcorder allows the user to set shutter speed and white balance as well.
 * Bluetooth: This was one of the first, if not the first camcorder to include it.
 * The LCD is touch-sensitive, and the camcorder includes a stylus to operate it.
 * Manual Mic Level Control
 * Custom Preset: Allows the user to set the gain limit, color, sharpness, white balance shift, and AE shift.
 * USB Streaming
 * The "spot light" mode is not part of Program AE. It can be turned on and off separately.
 * Removable Lens Hood

Unknown Features

 * DVCAM Playback (codec only, this unit cannot play back L-size DV tapes)
 * CC Pass-Through: Most Sony DV units have the ability to pass Line 21 closed captioning data (EIA-608-A) from DV to A/V and vice versa, and this one is no exception.
 * PAL Compatibility: The NTSC-based DCR-TRV950 has the ability to play back PAL MiniDV (and presumably DVCAM) tapes. It will output a PAL DV signal through FireWire, but the A/V output will be NTSC-50 (so it would play on a PAL TV in black-and-white without proper conversion). It can also record in PAL from a FireWire stream. To record from a computer, the streaming software must recognize the unit as a PAL camcorder, or the stream will either be converted to NTSC or will not display (or record) correctly. Similarly, the PAL model (DCR-TRV950E) can play back (and presumably record) NTSC tapes.

Series/Family
The DCR-TRV950 has one close relative, the DCR-TRV940. Only two differences exist between the two: the TRV950 has Bluetooth/Internet access capabilities (albeit very primitive) that are not provided on the TRV940, and the TRV940 does not include the stylus.

Battery/Power
The DCR-TRV950 uses Infolithium M series batteries. The standard battery is the NP-FM30, which is 7.2V with 5Wh of energy. The standard charger is the AC-L10A, which will work in almost any Handycam from 1999 to approximately 2006 (some newer cameras also use it). Unlike some earlier Handycams, the charge port is right on the camera body, so the battery is charged on the camera. The camera can be operated as normal with both a battery and a charger.