Short and sweet - this is not a product description, but a review of the things I like and don't like about this camcorder.

The TRV17 meets all my needs given the price I wanted to pay.

** Special note: I purchased this camera at my local Sears store who matched the best price I could find on the web. This worked out well as I did not want to take the risk from some of the lesser know retailers on the web but still got the same price. Details are on the Sears website or contact your local Sears store. I wound up paying about $850 for the camera. This included 10% off since there was a delay in getting my camera to the store for pickup.

Things I love:

- easy to use
- takes great video
- long battery life (decent for the size, I also bought longer life battery as a backup)
- good digital pictures
- USB port is a great feature, the cam is recognized as a hard drive when connected to the computer

Thinks I like:

- small size (you can never get too small)
- light weight
- optical zoom is sufficient for most needs
- digital zoom is good although get jaggy at max zoom

Things I don't like

- the nightshot 'beam' reflects off windows and screens. Tried to take a nightshot video of my dog in the backyard, but the beam gets reflected and you can't pick up any picture. Although I'm sure this is true of any nightshot system, I just wanted you all to know.

- no video light or camera flash, have to buy as a separate accessory

In regard to the digital camera function, it works well and I'm very pleased. While it is not a megapixel camera, I have been using Sony's www.imagestation.com for my prints. They have come back great. I'm very impressed with the photos. The following is from an email I received from them:

"reproduced using the latest silver halide printing technology on archival-quality Kodak photographic paper. And you're ordering the same prints that were recently voted "Best Digital Prints" by Yahoo! Internet Life Online Magazine and ranked #1 by the InfoTrends print quality study.*"

When taking digital photos, be sure there is enough light, otherwise it limits what you can do with the prints. When you lighten them in a photo program, they can turn out grainy. I'm looking to purchase a combo video light and flash, I think it is about $150.









Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 850