I have an older model Sony Digital-8 camcorder video recorder model DCR-TRV510. The camera has a Digital I/O port for the pin end (kind of looks like it would accommodate a headphone pin) of a serial cable (kind of looks like a computer monitor plug in to the monitor, itself) that's supposed to allow for uploading still photos from a built in flash memory (told you it was old) to a computer. The manual says it needs a serial cable to work but doesn't go into any detail on specifications for this cable. The camera was a floor model way back in 2001 that didn't have the needed cable in the package. Stupid me didn't start trying to take pictures with it until much later.
I'm looking for the right cable to upload stills that are stored on the built in flash memory. Here's the one I'm currently looking at:
Does anyone have any experience with this, and, if so, will this cable work? I know I can get a serial to USB converter that will accommodate the "computer" end of the cable, but am not sure about the pin that actually goes into the camera.
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I'm seeing this post kind of late, but that Amazon cable just might work assuming the jack on the camera is also 3.5mm. I'm not sure though if the wiring of the pins is standard, so it's kind of a crap shoot.
And it sounds like you have a newer computer which doesn't have a serial port on it. So you'd have the additional expense of getting a USB to serial adapter. Or maybe you know someone with a computer that has a serial port?
The other challenge is you can't directly read from a serial port unless you have the original Sony software that came with the camera. And that software is probably for Windows 98 and there is a chance it won't work with a more recent Windows version.
Maybe it's easier to just display the photos on the camera's LCD display and then use a regular digital camera to take a photo of it?
The following user(s) said Thank You: ScienceChic, ZHawke
Never really thought of doing it that way, but it's an interesting option, for sure. Will try it and hopefully remember (old fart here, don'tcha know) to post the results.
I'm also trying to upload video from this camera to the computer via iLink cable with USB adapter. I can use it on our older laptop because this firewire technology came with that computer. With my newer one, it doesn't. So, the computer says there's a code 43 error every time I plug in the USB. I'd like to upload to my computer because uploading on the laptop takes it away from my wife who uses it as her primary. Guess I may just have to bite the bullet and look at installing a firewire whatchamacallit on my newer computer.
Well, pineinthegrass, I tried your suggestion and wasn't too happy with the results - not with your suggestion, but with my own inability to get it right. Maybe I should have put more room between the two cameras and zoomed in with my digital in order to frame the photo a little bit better. Oh, well. The photos from the camcorder weren't that good to begin with anyway, so not much lost when push comes to shove. The reason I wanted to see if I could salvage those photos is because I'd like to be able to take advantage of the zoom feature on the camcorder - it's outrageous - for those far away shots other cameras just can't seem to capture.
Anyway, here's a photo of the backside of the camcorder with the I/O port for the pin that cable would be inserted into. The manual doesn't say whether it's a 3.5mm or not. All it says is it's a serial cable.
And, thanks, again, for your help and suggestions. I feel like I'm kinda sorta actually making some progress with this instead of chasing my own tail.
3.5mm is the standard size used for headphones/ear buds for most smart phones and tablets including iPhones and iPads. If you have one of those headphones you can try plugging it into the camcorder just to confirm the 3.5mm size is correct (I'd remove the camcorder battery first just in case).
If it is 3.5mm then that Amazon serial cable probably would work, though I'll put it at about a 70% chance.
Are you sure you can't view photos using the firewire port? It's strange that it would be for video only. Then again I don't know why they would of gone to the expense to add a serial port and cable. Maybe it was because most computers don't support firewire? But downloading photos with a serial port would be so slow (but back then the files were much smaller than today). If photos are supported then the better route might be to get a firewire to USB adapter. But the reviews of the cheap ones on Amazon aren't very good. The Apple ones get the best reviews but cost a lot more. With a firewire to USB connection you might not even need the Sony software to access the photos, but I'm just guessing about that. You can test it on your wife's laptop. If you connect the camcorder to the laptop with a firewire cable, use Widows explorer to see if a new drive opens up where the photos can be found.
I have plugged a headphone jack into this port and it does fit. I haven't tried the firewire to view photos. It works great for video, but I haven't figured out how to look at the photos using it. I also ordered a firewire to USB cable from Staples, and have tried using it on my computer. It doesn't work. Every time I plug it into the computer, I get an error message [Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)]. I've tried uninstalling and re-installing per the directions on the help page I found to no avail.
I'll give the firewire suggestion for viewing the photos another try through Windows Movie Maker and Explorer and see if I can find them that way.
If you open Windows Explorer (click on the icon in the task bar at the bottom of the screen that looks like a folder) you should see your hard drive C: plus maybe a D: which could be another partition on your hard drive or a DVD drive.
When you attach the firewire cable to the laptop, turn on the camcorder and a new drive should show up in Explorer after a few seconds. It will probably E:, F:, or G:. If nothing shows up you may be out of luck (though you could try the Sony software to see if that can find photos). If you see a new drive, click on it and you should see the files and folders inside it. Usually photos are stored in a folder called DCIM, but Sony tends to be nonstandard and it could be different. But you should be able to find the photos folder (where .jpg files are stored). On newer camcorders you could also find a folder for movies, but your model uses a cassette instead so I doubt there is a movies folder.
