CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 09/23/2002
- Updated on: 10/30/2009
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 Commonly used controls populate the back of the camera. |
Buttons and switches 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 delve into menus for these commonly used capabilities.
Keeping the menus straight can be daunting, however. The Menu button calls up advanced camera setup options, including 16:9 aspect-ratio conversion and optical image stabilization. Other buttons give you access to image parameter adjustments such as sharpness, color saturation, and exposure compensation. The image parameter adjustments and menu navigation are accomplished with the help of a typical turn-and-press wheel. But several menus are accessible only via the 3.5-inch LCD touch screen, and still others--the communication functions--require that you use the stylus that's tucked into the camera's hand strap.
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 The TRV950's cassette hatch opens without interference from the hand strap. |
On the upside, the side-mounted cassette hatch is a breeze to use. It folds out the entire right side of the camera to avoid any entanglements with the attached hand strap and leaves the bottom free for tripod mounting. And the status indicators displayed on the viewfinder and LCD are clear and helpful. We had only one rude awakening: upon trying to snap that final perfect pic, we were told we'd already filled up the Memory Stick.
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 Included accessories. |
All we missed was a gain-control dial. You can override the automatic gain control by setting limits at either 6dB or 12dB, but the gain is so noise-free, there seems little reason to limit it. The camera enhances the utility of combining stills and video with the ability to convert any video image into an interlaced 640x480 still image; that made it possible, for example, to grab shots from a sports-event video, convert them to JPEG stills, and e-mail them to the contestants.
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 Here's a video grab converted into a VGA-resolution still. |
This camera joins Sony's line of "network" cameras that use Bluetooth to connect wirelessly to the Internet when within about 32 feet of an Internet-capable Bluetooth receiver. To do so, you'll need a Bluetooth-equipped modem, and likely Sony's preconfigured ISP service to use with it, or a Bluetooth-capable cell phone. Once connected, you can e-mail still images or MPEG movies--but not DV video--or upload your shots to Sony's ImageStation Web site for others to view.
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 Input/output ports. |
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The same applies to the supplied 8MB Memory Stick: if you plan to shoot still photos, which take up about 1MB per shot, plan to purchase more room.
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| You can slip the stylus into its pocket on the handstrap when you're not using it to surf the touch-screen menus. | The Memory Stick slot cleverly integrates into the cassette hatch. |
The stereo microphones positioned on the camera's front face are very sensitive, and reliably reject sounds originating from behind the camera. That means you'll get your subject's voice on the tape, not the voices of everyone else on the beach.
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| The zoom rocker switch operated smoothly and predictably, except on one cool day when it accelerated unevenly. | The microphones sit just below the manual focus ring, so you must be careful not to brush them to avoid recording noise on the soundtrack. |
Camera mechanisms such as the tape transport are very quiet. We heard mild motor noise while zooming during quiet takes, but that's a common problem with compact cameras like this one and its predecessor, the TRV900. To eliminate the noise, we attached an external shotgun microphone to the accessory shoe.
Low light is this camera's Achilles' heel. Under optimal shooting conditions, the TRV950's three chips generate images that rival those shot with a professional camera. But relative to a VX2000, with its larger sensors--1/3-inch compared to the TRV950's 1/4.7-inch--the TRV950 falls several stops short in exposure latitude. The TRV950's three increments of gain, automatically applied to boost light sensitivity, don't improve low-light performance enough. Unlike most Sony camcorders, the TRV950 lacks a NightShot mode, so you'll have to settle for a slower shutter speed (down to 1/4 second) and live with the mild to severe ghosting that accompanies onscreen movements.
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 Don't point the camera directly at the light. |
Footage of well-lit, high-contrast subjects emerges surprisingly free of typical artifacts. However, aiming toward incandescent lights generates a combination of lens flare and banding that the VX2000 does not produce under the same circumstances.
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 Auto white balance produces good results, with the exception of a slight green cast produced under indoor lighting. |
Though quite good, Sony's exposure adjustment to lighting changes still lags behind its superb, swift autofocus, forcing you to pan rather slowly across dissimilarly lit subjects.
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 Still captures saved to Memory Stick produce pleasing one-megapixel images with bright colors; you can also save them to tape, albeit at lower resolution. |
MPEG movies saved to the Memory Stick are not only a lower resolution--320x480--but are also considerably darker than the same scene recorded to DV tape. That generally lower light sensitivity applies to the stills as well, which frequently require augmentation by the camera's onboard flash. There's also some shutter lag for captures, causing some missed or off-center action shots.
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