Sony TRV950 has dead firewire port :(

So my wonderful Sony DCR-TRV950 3ccd video camera (not HD, but it's a good camera) apparently has a dead firewire port. I cannot get any footage off of my tapes.

It's obviously long out of warranty... #$%^&ing Sony wants $511 to repair it.

Here's my thought: eBay and Craigslist is full of people dumping their SD miniDV video cameras for $100-200. Does it make any sense to pick up a cheap miniDV video camera of some random make (I see a JVC and a Canon in my price range at the moment), and just use it as a little VCR to feed tapes to my computer, or should I suck it up and have the camera repaired? (this would work, right?) Or should I just forget it entirely, write the [originally] $1800 camera off as a loss and put that $500 or so towards a new camera instead of repairing it? (perhaps even HD? I'm currently shooting footage for my personal use and distribute online or DVD at best, so HD is certainly not strictly necessary.) Then I have to find something that works in my housing, of course. (Top Dawg II with lanc)

I haven't used this great camera for a while, and just bought a housing for it (although I could probably re-sell). I took it down for it's maiden voyage and had a great time shooting with it, and now I can't get the footage out to do anything with it, which is incredibly frustrating. I just don't see how I can really afford to get into video at this level (modest though it may currently be) for less at this point.

Any recommendations?

Pull it apart and you may find the tiny ribbon cable going to the port is split.

Our TRV900 did it as well so we got on the net, ordered the part from Speedy Spares in AUS and put it in.

Cost $15.

Good luck

Pull it apart and you may find the tiny ribbon cable going to the port is split.

Our TRV900 did it as well so we got on the net, ordered the part from Speedy Spares in AUS and put it in.

Cost $15.

 

Good luck

Yikes, that's scary. I'm relatively handy, but tearing into a camera that is (otherwise) working perfectly is pretty nerve-wracking. Is it worth the risk?

It's not that hard really, if it was a TV900 I could tell you what to do.

Google it and you may find a schematic on how it is assembled.

Pull it apart and you may find the tiny ribbon cable going to the port is split.

Our TRV900 did it as well so we got on the net, ordered the part from Speedy Spares in AUS and put it in.

Cost $15.

 

Good luck

I bet you wish you did the same thing with your A1.

It's not that hard really, if it was a TV900 I could tell you what to do.

Google it and you may find a schematic on how it is assembled.

Hmm. Thanks for the tip... I'll see if I can turn up a service manual or something online and how tricky it is to get inside that panel. I'm fairly handy, but disassembling delicate electronics can sometimes be a one-way process if there's even one "gotcha"! LOL

Meanwhile, does anyone know if my little idea of picking up a cheap used miniDV cam and just using it as a firewire DVvcr would work?

I do that. I use a 2nd cheaper camcorder for topside shooting and as an editing deck. I also connect it to HDTV's and projectors for highest resolution viewing.

Hmm. Thanks for the tip... I'll see if I can turn up a service manual or something online...

Meanwhile, does anyone know if my little idea of picking up a cheap used miniDV cam and just using it as a firewire DVvcr would work?

Referring back to your original post, there's an HDR-HC5 camera new on eBay for under $579. Should you want to switch to HDV. http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Sony-Handycam-HDR-...p3286.m14.l1318

Outputs both HDV and SD in case you'll need to upgrade your computer also. But with your username I sort of doubt it...LOL. Except for (maybe) scaling to fit a large screen, I think most people would never notice the difference between output from your camera and HDV. Where you'll see the difference is when Blu-Ray burners/players become more widespread when used with HDTV's. I'm guessing next Christmas....

Which TopDawg II housing do you have, the new or old model?

Tthe new one with the LCD back works fine with any HDR series HDV camera. If you have the older one, you may have a little difficulty seeing the viewfinder as the camcorder is shorter than your TRV950. And Sony unfortunately used a fixed viewfinder on the HC5. drbill on Scubaboard uses an HC7 in the older housing, he added a little monitor to solve this problem.

try www.manualparadise.com or www.nodevice.com. Both seem to have service manuals for older Sony cameras.

I've done that also. Any MiniDV tape should play in any MiniDV camcorder. I know Sony->Canon does.

 

Referring back to your original post, there's an HDR-HC5 camera new on eBay for under $579. Should you want to switch to HDV. http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Sony-Handycam-HDR-...p3286.m14.l1318

Outputs both HDV and SD in case you'll need to upgrade your computer also. But with your username I sort of doubt it...LOL. Except for (maybe) scaling to fit a large screen, I think most people would never notice the difference between output from your camera and HDV. Where you'll see the difference is when Blu-Ray burners/players become more widespread when used with HDTV's. I'm guessing next Christmas....

 

Which TopDawg II housing do you have, the new or old model?

 

Tthe new one with the LCD back works fine with any HDR series HDV camera. If you have the older one, you may have a little difficulty seeing the viewfinder as the camcorder is shorter than your TRV950. And Sony unfortunately used a fixed viewfinder on the HC5. drbill on Scubaboard uses an HC7 in the older housing, he added a little monitor to solve this problem.

Thanks for the links, I'll check them out.

If I can't easily fix it, I may just pick up a super-cheap miniDV cam off Craigslist and use it. As I said, the camera is fine, it's just the firewire port that's having issues, apparently. I saw one listed last night for $120, some cheap Panasonic or something, but if pretty much anything will work, that should be all I'll need, and it's a LOT cheaper than upgrading/repairing (professionally) the camera.

My computer is fully capable of handling HD, but at this point I'm trying to spend as little as possible, so I'd rather avoid spending that much at this time. I literally just started dabbling in UW video... got lucky with an inexpensive used housing that works for my camera (I posted a thread here somewhere) took my camera out of the case for the first time in years (I'll attach my pair of unused light cannons for lighting next time), and hopped on a boat. Had some fun shooting, got home, and that's when I found out I couldn't get the footage out of the darned camera! Sony quoted me $511 to repair, and the rest is history.

As for my housing, it's a Top Dawg II, and I do have the video back. It should work with anything with LANC connectors, although I'm a bit nervous to have read that Sony is discontinuing that connector on new cameras? Does the one you mention have it?

I'll go HD eventually, if I stick with UW video and don't give up and go back to still photography. At that time, I'll want something that is at least as good as my current camera, but HD (meaning fairly high end, 3ccd, etc). Not sure where the HC5 falls into the spectrum as I haven't researched HD much since I don't really have the funds to go that way now, and I already had a perfectly good (well, mostly, as it turn out!) SD camera I could play with first for minimal cost.

As for my housing, it's a Top Dawg II, and I do have the video back. It should work with anything with LANC connectors, although I'm a bit nervous to have read that Sony is discontinuing that connector on new cameras? Does the one you mention have it?

At that time, I'll want something that is at least as good as my current camera, but HD (meaning fairly high end, 3ccd, etc).

Not sure where the HC5 falls into the spectrum as I haven't researched HD much since I don't really have the funds to go that way now, and I already had a perfectly good (well, mostly, as it turn out!) SD camera I could play with first for minimal cost.

I somehow missed that line about dr bill... I'll have to compare notes with him next time head out to Catalina and we hang out a bit. Thanks again for the tips!

I bet you wish you did the same thing with your A1.

I did pull the A1 apart peter but when it comes to doing a full mechanical tape alignments you need special gear. I even had the lens assembly apart once on the old TRV 900 to clean behind the lens glass.

If it's like the TRV 900 the front comes off and and the tiny ribbon cable is just behind it.

Anyone got a diagram?

Found the manual at http://www.nodevice.com/manual/sonymans/ma...df/get3212.html

5.95 euros (about $10), but worth it if I can fix it. I hope it's something as simple as a bad ribbon cable, though.

https://www.manualsparadise.com/ShowProduct...model=M28675265 had it also but for $15 minimum for each bit, same price for supplements as the main manual, whereas NoDevice has 24 hour all you can eat access for $10.

Great resource!

If you think about it, having a cheap backup camera as a playdeck is always a good idea to save wear on your main camera's heads.

The thing to avoid is using LP recording when you do that. Sometimes, different cameras playback LP a bit differently and you have dropouts.

Yeh that's it, buy it.... download and send me the link and I'll check it out if you want

email is (wagsy at westnet.com.au)

You will also need a tiny set of jeweler's screwdrivers, cheap at any hardware.

Hopefully you can just pull the front off and not the whole camera apart.