Sony Handycam CCD-TRV98 Hi8 camcorder

[guypenclip]

I actually do my videos with a camera like this.

[luvlokz]

i have one but dont have a battery? how much is it worth now? sony handycam vision 220x digital zoom??

[vwestlife]

@luvlokz Which model?

[luvlokz]

@vwestlife Nevermind. did some research.. Thank you 

[JordanLeechArt]

Found my dads old one of this today! Cannot wait to use it!

[MrJosephCC]

how do you transfer/edit the hi8 tapes on a computer?

[vwestlife]

@MrJosephCC I used a Digital8 camcorder with Hi8 playback and FireWire output, but a USB video capture device such as "EasyCap" is the cheapest solution.

[MrJosephCC]

@vwestlife

thanks

[a280281]

what does this record onto mini DV????

[vwestlife]

@a280281 No, it is Hi8.

[ToTheRandom01]

I got one last year from my grandpa i use it 24/7

[rayjr62]

Nice presentation. I bought mine new in May, 2001 for just under 500 dollars before I went on a lengthy summer trip to the Pacific Northwest. The video I shot came out great. I still have the camcorder and it still works like a charm. One of the best (if not the best) consumer electronics purchases I ever made.

[XxpainecakexX]

@vwestlife ok thanks but how can i fix this?

[vwestlife]

@XxpainecakexX You can't.

[XxpainecakexX]

i have a problem: when i try to record it starts recording but the screen is black

if you have an answer please message me at mendozabye@gmail.com and thank you

and yes i did take of that thing in the front if you ask im not that dumb ;)

[vwestlife]

@XxpainecakexX Don't give out your e-mail address publicly -- that's just asking for spam. Does it show the video image through the LCD panel or viewfinder? If those are black as well, then your camcorder probably has a dead image sensor.

[FASCISTCLUB2011]

How would you hook this up to a PC?

[vwestlife]

@FASCISTCLUB2011 Read through the comments, I've already described it.

[bakonfreek]

there is a thrift store downtown from my place, do you think I may be able to find a camcorder in my thrift store?

[vwestlife]

@vfxmoviefreak Any USB video capture device will work.

[vwestlife]

@vfxmoviefreak Mono (or monaural) is one channel of audio, as opposed to stereo, which is two channels (left and right).

[vwestlife]

@vfxmoviefreak It will record and play in Video8 mode on a standard 8mm tape and in Hi8 mode on a Hi8 tape. Digital8 recordings cannot be played on this model because it is only analog. Also, Video8/Hi8 recordings made in stereo will only be heard in mono on this model.

[vwestlife]

@vfxmoviefreak I don't use a USB video capture device so I can't help you there.

[vwestlife]

@vfxmoviefreak Like I said before, "You need an analog video capture device, either a PCI card or a USB dongle."

[stephendijoseph]

does it have usb or firewire out?

[vwestlife]

@stephendijoseph No.

[vwestlife]

@vfxmoviefreak No, only digital camcorders can use FireWire, and this is analog.

[vwestlife]

@vfxmoviefreak Hi8 tapes are still widely available

[Andr3zzantonio]

This camera has a friend, I have a Hi8 Samsung Scl-907of 2004, to this day I still use, Good video.

[takeasied]

i got the same cam its not expensive night shot it got a lot but can you tel me how to get what i film on my pc to load up to YouTube.its a good working cam you can see its still record on tape so i don't know how to put it on the pc i can watch on tv but don't know how to film and put a game review online can you help??

[vwestlife]

@takeasied You need an analog video capture device, either a PCI card or a USB dongle.

[Ru95M]

is it possible to connect a microphone to use for the sound on that camera?

[vwestlife]

@Ru95M No.

[sonyhandycam520]

Hi There does your Handycam have the early nightshot which let you have manual control and quasi x-ray effect on certin types of clothing.

[vwestlife]

@sonyhandycam520 No, the early NightShot system was only used in camcorders built before August 1998, and this is a 2001 model. But any version of NightShot can "see through" some types and colors of materials.

[binnybom]

how did u get the tape vid to pc??? i got the same cam but i cant figure how to hook it up.

[vwestlife]

@binnybom You need an analog video capture device, or in this case, a Digital8 camcorder which plays analog Hi8 tapes and streams the output to the computer digitally via FireWire.

[Refyooz1]

@vwestlife can you direct me to the website i can find one of those?

[vwestlife]

@Refyooz1 There are many to choose from. Just search eBay, Amazon(.)com, or whatever your favorite electronics vendor is for a USB video capture device.

[VinylReelToReel]

I never understood why Sony never equipped their cameras with software that would transform the black/green image that you get from NightShot into a black/white image. The green just doesn't look right.

[vwestlife]

@VinylReelToReel The night vision goggles and cameras used by the military produce a monochrome green image, so I guess Sony was trying to imitate that look.

[VinylReelToReel]

@vwestlife I did a little research, and it turns out that Sony and the military use green for a reason: "the human eye can differentiate more shades of green than any other color, allowing for greater differentiation of objects in the picture". So, that explains it all...

[aly369]

I still have a CCD-TRV550E from 1994. It was a Video8 Camcorder with just steady shot, nothing else.

[thecooldude9999]

a white c64 breadbox? strange.

[linuxlove4004]

I need to get me one of these Sony Handycams.

[marocanas]

me to i have this camera from 2001 , but i m asking can this camera recorde a hd video ??

i mean record some video to use it in after effect , then bay a usb tv and convert the video from the camera to the pc but in hd resolution and 60 fps ??

[vwestlife]

@marocanas You can certainly upscale the video to "HD" resolution, but that is pretty much pointless because this camcorder's image sensor has only 200k effective pixels (0.2 megapixels), which is rather low even for a standard definition camcorder. So upscaling the video to a higher resolution is just a waste of time, because it won't make the video look any sharper or clearer.

[thelasthallow]

i wonder if it would be possible to take one of these old cameras with night vision and make a set of NVG's with the LCD from the side of the camera

[ClactonRadio]

Good camera and a very good price your lucky there.

[IBMThinkPadR51]

Is it possible to connect a Hi8 camcorder to a PC via S-video? I have a Samsung VP-W80 and the only way I can get video off the tape is plug it in to a DVD Recorder using AV, burn it to a disc, and then put the disc in my PC.

[vwestlife]

@IBMThinkPadR51 Yes, if you get a video capture card, you can transfer the video through S-video and audio connections. But for this video, I used a Digital8 camcorder, which can play back analog Hi8 video and stream it through FireWire into the computer, and then edited it with iMovie on my Mac.

[lmull3]

green hot water heater! imagine that.

lol @ Windows 98 derping. my favorite error has always been "Limewire has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down" :P. gets a giggle out of me every time.

[giammyzanna]

Really good image quality for a non-xr hi8 camera. The Laser link seems interesting, do you have a sony tv to demonstrate it?

[vwestlife]

@giammyzanna Maybe some high-end Sony TVs of the time had Laser Link built in, but I think the Laser Link receiver attachment could be used with any brand of TV (or VCR), not just Sony. But with a Sony TV, I know you could set it up so that enabling Laser Link on the camcorder would automatically turn on the TV and select the corresponding A/V input.

[giammyzanna]

@vwestlife It would be great to find a laser link receiver on ebay!

[gmcnewlook]

its crazy, sony makes a model with a mini projector in the LCD cover 

[clubcar98]

I would love to see the Laser Link in operation, I know there is nothing to it, but I just think that it is a pretty cool idea!

Id say you got a pretty good deal, as it seems to work fine!

[TehMG]

These old cameras were awesome.

What I miss the most about them is the viewfinders. They were nice and big. The viewfinders on newer cameras SUCK, and many don't even have one. Unless you go into the high end prosumer cameras you won't find a decent viewfinder.

A lot of people tend to dislike viewfinders, but I find a good viewfinder very handy. Especially for outdoor filming, the sun washes out LCDs and you can't tell if your exposure is correct.

[NJRoadfan]

Top of the line for 2001? Its amazing how quickly Sony stripped down the Hi-8 models after Digital 8 came out. No stereo, no XR... how annoying. About the battery, Sony retroactively applied the "L" designation to the original InfoLithium batteries as the NP-F330 that came with my CCD-TRV65 doesn't have the letter printed on it. Made things fun when we had to order a replacement battery.

[wilkes85]

Wow, just thinking of what those things went for 10 years ago, you got an incredible deal.

[Trance88]

Awesome analog camera. Hard to believe this camera is 10 years old already.

[uxwbill]

Good deal and a cool find...it seems to work and the battery must have come partially back to life at least. Looked a little overexposed at first, but OK later on. I did see a little foldover at the bottom...due to the import process?

Is that halogen lamp actually replaceable? LaserLink seems like a cool theory. I wonder how well it actually worked...

[vwestlife]

@uxwbill My fluorescent lighting is almost too bright for this camera -- even though all that lighting is just barely enough to produce good quality video on my modern Canon flash memory camcorder. Such is progress! The overscan noise at the bottom of the image is normal when capturing analog video. It is not visible on a TV set, because the camera records more of the frame than what the CRT can display. The 3-watt halogen bulb is indeed replaceable: it is Sony part number XB-3D.

[2Old4Toys]

Dang it! That's a steal!

[allboutk]

I had one similar to this, some new crews used a similar model

[ThePhoneUpdate]

Nice! I have a Sony CCD-78E camera that I actually used to make a good few of my YouTube videos! The original battery still holds it's full charge! I've switched over to a combination of Sony Bloggie HD and JVC MiniDV camcorders now though.

[DrCassette]

Now this certainly was a very good deal!

The combination of Hi8 and mono sound is rather odd. Seems like this even though it records a nice image was a rather cheap model.

When I first read the video description I thought the camcorder had a 3 1/2 inch image sensor! :D

[Dell0304]

Nice camcorder. My Sony Webbie HD MHS-CM1's light is no where near that bright...still handy though.

[kb1nyd]

Seems to work well, not bad for the price! Night shot might be fun to play with. Love the boom box you have above the desk, sweet!