Entry Level Camera w/ Professional Results
Written: Apr 04 '02 (Updated Apr 10 '02)
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Pros: Lots of features, 3-inch LCD, Carl Zeiss lens, very handheld & more...
Cons: Sub-megapixel pictures, small 4MB memory stick
The Bottom Line: Being one of Sony's entry level DV camcorders, producing professional results, and packing tons of features makes this one a definite winner.
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| NightShift8's Full Review: Sony Handycam DCR-TRV17 Mini DV Digital Camcorder |
In Sony's line up of DV camcorders, the DCR-TRV17 stands at the beginning as the entry level camcorder. Although it is the least expensive camera, it still has tons of useful features, containing most that exist on the more expensive models.
Features:
Wow, this could take up the whole review. If you look at the camcorder itself, all you see are features and buttons. When you flip open the LCD, it reveals even more.
Some of the stand-out features of this camcorder are:
-The 3-inch LCD which is of course a plus being nice and large, but the picture quality is a little lacking.
You can flip the LCD screen in the facing-up position, facing the opposite way, and facing down. Facing it the opposite way lets the person being recorded, see him/herself live. Once you flip the LCD, since you cannot see the live preview anymore, the picture is also displayed in the viewfinder for you.
-Use the color viewfinder when you do not want to waste battery life or on a sunny day. The viewfinder moves up and down to accomodate how you want to hold the camera while looking into it. Looking into it looks like a small TV screen or just like the LCD display. Once you open the flip-out LCD, the picture transfers to the LCD and the viewfinder is shut off. If you flip the LCD screen in another pisition, the color viewfinder will come back on.
Also under the viewfinder is Sony's memory stick slot.
-The camera is compact and perfectly hand-held - Sony really did a good job with this. All the buttons are in just the right place and you don't have to strain to access anything important.
-Super SteadyShot which helps a great deal if you have a shaky hand - it almost eliminates this problem without a tripod. Instead of having a jittery picture, the Super SteadyShot eliminiates little movements, or if they are big enough, makes them into a smooth transition.
-Super NightShot 0 Lux lets you record and see things in complete darkness. It does this by a built in infrared light that is hard to see with the naked eye, but if you do spot it in the dark, it is a very faint dark red. Viewing the nightshot picture on camera results in everything being lit up in green tones. When you turn on the "Super" NightShot with the button, this results in a brighter nightshot, adding more light to the picture. But moving the camera around with "Super" Nightshot on results in a lagged picture. In other words, the picture trails as you move the camera.
-10x Optical/120x digital zoom - the 10x optical zoom is useful. It allows you to get pretty close to an object, but anywhere after the 10x is digital which totally degrades the quality because the rest is digital zoom on the picture, not using optics anymore. This causes the picture to become blurry, washed out and very pixelated as you approach 120x zoom levels.
Other good features include: Carl Zeiss lens, Sony memory stick, InfoLithium battery w/ Stamina, MPEG Movie mode, digital picture capability, color view finder, manual or automatic focus, and probably lots of other things I might have left out.
Usage:
Using this camcorder is pretty easy for a beginner such as myself. There is a switch on the side in which you can select "VCR" to view what is on the DV tape, "OFF(CHG)" - self explanitory, "Camera" which is the main function to use for recording, and "Memory" which you turn to for memory stick, MPEG movie usage and photo mode. All the main and most frequently used buttons are perfectly placed within reach when holding the camera with your hand in the strap. The record button will be right behind your thumb, which is behind the mode switch. The photo button is right on top for access with your forefinger, as well as the zoom control right in front of that. The camera fits in your hand perfectly.
-When in camera mode, just push the record button with your thumb and you will hear a tone (if tones are turned on) and it's recording. Press it again to turn record off and you will also hear a tone to confirm this.
-To view/replay what you have recorded or to see what is on the tape, simply move the switch to VCR. Flip out the LCD to access the VCR controls and press whatever buttons your heart desires just like VCR buttons.
-You may also view the video on a TV with the audio/video port and cables. When one of my friends saw the video produced from this camcorder, he said "This is the video?? ...Wow - I didn't know it would look this good -like professional!"
Photo Mode:
When flipping the dial to "Memory", you may take a digital photo of anything you want. Press the photo button halfway to focus and a beep will confirm this, then all the way down to snap the photo. You will also hear a camera shutter sound which is kinda silly. You can review the pictures by hitting the Index button and "play"ing them back, or hook the camera up to your computer via the USB. Please, don't expect much from the quality of these pictures. They don't come close to being much detailed and/or looking good. With the right amount of light, you may get a decent picture, but nothing compared to what you would get with a megapixel camera.
MPEG Movie Mode:
You can also record small movies onto Sony's memory stick. Again, don't expect anything spectacular regarding quality here either. The movies at "high resolution" are somewhat blurry and washed out, but if you need a quick video for the computer, this will get your point across. You can also transfer these to computer via the USB port.
Menus and Special Effects
To access special effects and camera settings, with it in "camera" mode, you just push a menu button on the left side of the camera, and you can easily scroll down the menus with a cool scroll wheel on the back of the camera. You push the scroll wheel (as a button) to make selections.
The special effects include:
"P Effects": Negative Art, Sepia, B&W, Solarize, Slim, Stretch, Pastel, Mosiac.
"D Effects": Still, Flash, Lumi., Trail, Slow Shtr, Old Movie.
There are way too many other features and settings to explain in this review and it would be pointless to do so since the rest of them are more advanced features.
Battery:
Whether you use the LCD or color viewfinder, with the help of the InfoLithium battery and stamina, you are told on screen how many minutes of camera usage you have left. This is very handy. Also, when the camera is off and on charge, the B&W LCD on top of the camera lets you know how many minutes are currently available if you begin using the camera again. Once the battery is finished charging, the LCD will display something like "=== 120 FULL", whereas the === is a more detailed battery meter, 120 means the minutes available and FULL means the battery is fully charged. The battery lasts a good amount of time ranging from 60-100 minutes depending on battery level and LCD usage.
Charging doesn't take long either. At most, it would take about an hour and a half to charge a weak battery.
In the end...
While this review doesn't tell it all, there are a few other features and points about this camera that I feel aren't as important, but that is what the manual is for.
This is the entry level camera in Sony's line up of DV camcorders and it packs so many features you may never have to even use them all. You will get professional looking results from this camera.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1200
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Epinions.com ID:
NightShift8
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Member: Frank
Location: NY
Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 1 member
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