CCD-TRV85 - Sony's little wonder
Feb 24 '00
My wife and I gazed through the 3.5 inch LCD monitor while recording our two beautiful daughters sleeping peacefully. We were checking out the "nightshot" function of our brand new Sony handycam. I zoomed in on each girl and then my wife suddenly asked with disgust "what is that stuff on her arms" Through the viewfinder we could see these eerie dark lines running up and down her arms. This infrared detection was so powerful it picked up the blood vessels beneath my daughters skin.
It was then my wife and I knew we had an incredible technological marvel in our hands. I have used night vision goggles before and they are nothing short of amazing. They do have their limitations though, one of which being they cannot function in the total absence of light. The CCD-TRV85 can make it's own infrared light source so it can see anywhere, anytime.
Don't get me wrong though, the nightshot capability is not the only thing that got us to fall in love with this handycam. The 72x "digital zoom" was a definite bonus as well. Sometimes when we are at events like airshows for example we can not always be right up where the action is. However, just increase the magnification and you can just about count the rivets on the airframe. In digital zoom mode the picture can be a little unusual looking for lack of a better word.
There are a number of other great features like "steady shot" which helps dampen the jitter effect that many people get when recording during exciting moments. You can type in your own titles, modify the picture effects where instead of the standard color shot you can make images appear black and white, solarized, mosaic, pastel, and a many others. You can flip the LCD monitor around so that it faces the people being viewed so they can see what they look like. There are many other functions that I could describe but neither one of us has all day.
The only real bummer about this camera is that it is only two years old and there are cameras out there that have already surpassed it with 330x digital zoom and other little extra's. I guess that is the price of progress. I did get a two hour rechargeable "infolithium" battery that came along with the camera. This battery is great in that it can help the handycam tell you pretty accurately how much time you have left depending on the way it is being used. The drawback to this type of battery is it's cost if you desire to get one with longer life.
Overall my wife and I have once again been impressed by Sony and will most certainly buy another Sony handycam product if this one ever dies.
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Epinions.com ID:
LuzonTS
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Location: asia
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