Great camera for serious people
Written: Jun 13 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
|
|
| Battery Life: |
 |
|
| Movie Quality: |
|
|
|
Pros: Good size Sony quality large 3.5" screen
Cons: Cheap on accessories small battery fixed prices in stores
The Bottom Line: Serious about making and taking movies this is the one to get.
Go to a store where you can compare camcorders side by side and you will see.
|
|
|
| komondor's Full Review: Sony DCR-TRV38 Mini DV Digital Camcorder |
I just received my Sony TRV38it is my second MiniDV camcorder.
I will not repeat what others have written about as far as specifications go.
I will add a few things though. As one reviewer pointed out the viewfinder telescopes out if you are using a larger battery. But they didn’t mention that there is an adjustment under the viewfinder to adjust the focus if you don't have perfect vision and don't want to use your glasses against the viewfinder! I find this very handy as I use it!
The touch screen is very nice as when you torch the screen to change a setting you can see the change right away without having to look someplace else!
You can also use the spot functions far as exposure picking a spot on the screen to set the exposure on.
The equivalent on an SLR camera is to zoom to the darker or lighter spot then depress the shutter halfway down and then zoom back out and take your picture.
Needless to say for those special occasions the Sony way is easier.
Reading the manual is time consuming 210 PAGES. That is just the English version. The manual is not in 4 languages as is so common nowadays!
I was surprised to find that the camcorder did not include a stand alone battery charger. This is something you will need as you will be buying a second battery and you don't want to use a $900.00 camera as a battery charger!
The 10X zoom is really about as far as you can go and hold the camera steady so don't be mislead by cameras that have a higher zoom unless you try them out.
I am suing Windows XP pro for my C and I was surprised to find I could use the camera as a tethered by the firewire cable camera. In that I could record straight to my hard drive from the camera without using the tape. I know it says you can use the USB but USB cannot stream at full speed.
I did not install the Sony software as XP come with a basic move package and I have Adobe premier for more serious stuff!
While the camera does have a touch screen Sony only includes a stylus with the TRV39? A stylus costs 5 cents I don't know why they cheaped out?
The camera comes with a neck strap however it seems that where it connect would interfere with the ease of use as it sits just above the start stop button going down and across the battery.
I am not sure why everyone harps on the bottom loading feature. The tapes will record for 60 or 90 minutes. How long of an event do people tape I usually do stuff where I start and stop after maybe 5-10 minutes.
On my very old camcorder I used a tripod most of the time due to it's size but since I had my first MiniDV I have not even used a tripod and don't know why everyone mentions it!
The use of the manual focus is a nice feature but there is a small button on the left side of the camera if you are holding it in your right hand it is awkward to hit the button with your left hand and then adjust the focus.
The door with all of the connections S video, firewire, USB
And microphone are on the right side where you hold the camera. The door kind of flops around if you have a cable connected when you are holding it.
I will comment on the pricing for the Sony. It seems most stores best Buy etc.. Sell the camera for $899.00 online prices are all around from the high sixes to the 899 price and many places will not have the item in stock if you don't buy high priced accessories. Some places thou are reasonable and you can save money by shopping wisely.
You will need a 30MM filter to protect that nice Zeiss lens
* bucks. A second battery 70 bucks or more depending on size.
and a stand alone battery charger I paid 70 bucks for a universal charger with a car adapter. This was a little high but not too much a FM-50 battery was 60 bucks and I purchased a 6 pack of tapes at Costco for 27.00 with a 10 dollar instant rebate.
I would advise against the extended warranties as most people don't use them.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 729.00
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
komondor
|
|
Location: Parker, co usa
Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I work in the Computer Industry
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.