Excellent Video From Sony DCR TRV38
Written: Oct 03 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
|
|
| Battery Life: |
 |
|
| Movie Quality: |
|
|
|
Pros: Ease of use, large LCD panel, very good to excellent video quality and output options.
Cons: Wind noise. The tape loading mechanism exposes internal parts and makes them susceptible to dust.
The Bottom Line: Given its price, video quality, output options and ease of use it is an excellent choice if you want to create and transfer your home movies to CDs and DVDs.
|
|
|
| nchowdhury's Full Review: Sony DCR-TRV38 Mini DV Digital Camcorder |
My decision to buy a SONY MINI DV camcorder was primarily influenced by two factors: 1) SONY's long history of producing excellent camcorders and 2) with MINI DV I could burn home videos on CDs and DVDs.
This is my first camcorder. I did not have any prior experience with any camcorder. So, I needed some help in terms of selecting the right model that would meet my expectations within my budget. Our local SONY store manager was very helpful. He let me bring three different models home for try outs, of course, one at a time for a few days. I tried three models; DCR-TRV38, DCR-PC105 and DCR-TRV70. I recorded videos on all three of them in different light conditions in both indoors and outdoors. The video image quality from all three models were identical. The videos were very good to excellent in all lighting conditions with vibrant colour and great details. In low light, there were no noticeable video noise. However, the colour seemed slightly subdued in low light conditions. This can be corrected using a video light. In terms of still image capability, DCR-TRV38 and DCR-PC105 both can take 1 Mega Pixel size pictures on the other hand DCR-TRV70 can take 2 Mega Pixel size pictures. However, DCR-TRV70 is priced considerably higher than the other two models and I was not too interested in using my camcorder for the purpose of taking still images. Because, a moderately priced digital camera can take better quality still pictures than any one of these camcorders. I excluded DCR-TRV70 and further concentrated on the comparison between DCR-TRV38 and DCR-PC105.
DCR-PC105 is very small with a very cute design. It was very difficult to choose between this model and DCR-TRV38. They both were well built. However, because of its size it was difficult to hold the DCR-PC105 with one hand. I needed both hands to hold and operate it. It was a bit awkward to operate the record button and zoom switch of the DCR-PC105 with one hand. People with smaller hands or children might be able to handle it better. On the other hand, it is relatively easy to hold and operate DCR-TRV38 with one hand. DCR-TRV38 has a 3.5 in LCD panel which is quite comfortable and less stressful on my eyes. I decided to keep the DCR-TRV38. I bought an extra 7 hr. battery for extending the recording time before needing a charge.
There are fewer buttons on the DCR-TRV38. The LCD panel has touch menus to do most of the operations. The menus are very intuitive and can be mastered in practically after a very few operations. The LCD panel is very bright and precise. DCR-TRV38 has a manual focus ring if you need it. One of the strong points of DCR-TRV38 is its output options. It provides four options for transferring your videos; coaxial, svideo, usb and fireware. I have been using the camcorder for several months with flawless operations. I have transferred several video segments to my computer using a PYRO fireware card and used Pinnacle Studio 8 to create home movies and burned them on CDs (as video cds) and on DVDs. The resolution of the DVD video images are, however, far greater than that of the VCDs.
My main complaint is the wind noise recorded by the camcorder. Even in moderate wind, the noise sounds thunderous. I found from some sources that this is due to the Automatic Gain Control of the sound system. I am, however, searching for a solution to minimize the wind noise. If you transfer your video to a computer you can decrease the sound level with your software or dub a different sound on it.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 775
Recommended for: Home and Families - Keep Memories of Family Vacations
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
nchowdhury
|
|
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.