Near the top of Sony's line of MiniDV camcorders stands the DCR-TRV950, the successor to the wildly popular TRV900. Packed with features such as the CCDs, 12x optical zoom, pop-up flash, manual and automatic controls, and a large 3.5-inch LCD screen, aspiring moviemakers find a true performance camcorder at an agreeable price.

Lens
The lens boasts three separate CCD sensors, with each one dedicated to capturing a certain hue of the image. That means sharper imaging, 530 lines of resolution, with colors that are true to life. The SteadyShot function stabilizes the picture and reduces camera shake. The TRV950's optical zoom magnifies up to 12 times, which is enough for most purposes. Turn on the digital zoom, which electronically magnifies the optical image, and reach up to 150x.

Digital Stills
Digital stills can be stored on a Memory Stick that works independently from the DV tape system. The camera performs with 1-megapixel resolution, making it capable of sharp images that are up to 1,152 x 864 pixels in size. When you need more light for your photos there is a built-in flash unit that can pop up. The camera can also shoot in MPEG movie mode, storing 320 x 240 videos onto the memory stick.

Inputs and Outputs
The TRV950 is equipped with the standard DV IEEE 1394 port (also known as FireWire) for a super-fast, lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines. The USB connection is used to transfer digital photos and MPEG movies, while the innovative wireless Bluetooth capability adds network connectivity. The traditional S-video and RCA connections are also provided for direct viewing on a television or VHS dubbing.

The DCR-TRV950 comes with one 8 MB Memory Stick. Memory Sticks are reusable, but if you tend to take a lot of digital images, then you'll want a bigger card.

MiniDV Format
MiniDV digital technology delivers clear, sharp video with over 500 lines of horizontal resolution--far superior to the 240 lines of resolution offered by 8mm camcorders. You'll also get minimal color noise interference for a more stable picture.

You'll also get excellent sound quality, recorded in either 12-bit or 16-bit audio recording modes.

• 16-bit audio includes on set of stereo audio tracks to produce CD-quality sound.
• 12-bit audio utilizes two sets of audio tracks so you can easily add background music or commentary into your videos while maintaining the existing soundtrack.

This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of two full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.