The super-duper-not-going-to-break-the-budget-camera-for-all-purposes.
Written: Jun 21 '03
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Pros: Convert analog to digital.
Great picture.
Very low motor noise.
Cons: Heavy, power hungry, and 8mm can only store 1 hour of digital per tape.
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend this camera for people wanting to get their feet wet with digital video. The features are outstanding and the price incredible.
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| paytonbyrd's Full Review: Sony Handycamâ„¢ DCR-TRV350 Digital-8 Camcorder |
I'm no videophile. Sure, I refuse to use analog cable and have a DVR built into my satelite receiver. I have a computer hooked up to my living room TV because I like to play games and music videos on it. I even have my TV hooked up to my stereo so that all my video sources can be played through it.
But when it comes to knowing the technical ins and outs of video... I'm lost.
So, when I decided to buy a camcorder, I knew I had one requirement: the ability to transfer old 8mm tapes I recorded with my dad's super-cheap Panasonic camcorder to my computer.
This immediately limited my choice of format to an 8mm camcorder. Armed with this knowledge I drudged through Internet review sites and pretty much discovered the only game in town was from Sony--the TRV350 to be exact.
I knew from the net that the going rate was from $459 to $599 depending on the vendor. So off I trotted to Circuit City where I knew I could hold it and look at the video on a decent TV. What I discovered was a camera that had a better picture than practically every other camcorder on their showroom floor. They even let me tape some video and play it back and I was surpised to see ZERO evidence of digital blockiness. It was apparent on some MiniDV cameras, but not this one. Maybe this is why 8mm can only hold one hour of digital, Sony uses a higher quality format.
Unfortunately, Circuit City switched their selling model from commissions to salaried noobs. Needless to say their sticker price of $499 with no discounts nor the ability by a salesman to make a deal would do. I crossed the street to H.H. Gregg and got the camera and a nice Sony leather bag for $479 out the door.
When I got home the first thing I did was tape my daughter playing in our living room. The lighting in there is horrible, and I knew from past experience that the tape would come out quite yellow.
And boy was I surprised! The video is bright and vibrant. The camera does an EXCELLANT job of selected the right shutter speed for the lighting. I first thought this was simply a trick of the wonderful LCD display on the camera, so I quickly took the camera to office where I plugged it into my firewire (IEEE1392, i.Link) port and wa-la: Windows XP already knew about the camera and what to do with it. Windows Movie Maker opened up, I clicked all the default answers on the capture video wizard and watched in amazement as the video played back in real time on my computer as it was being captured.
And that was some beautiful video! There wasn't a single digital pixilation, the colors were vibrant, the lighting clean and the sound free of any motor noise.
In the month that I've owned the camera I've filmed about 10 hours of video of my family and imported it to my PC and burned Super Video CDs of that video that play back at nearly the same visual quality of a DVD on our el-cheapo stand alone DVD player.
The camera comes with a battery that will give you about 45 minutes using the LCD, or 60 minutes through the view finder. It also comes with movie making software (redundant for people with Windows XP, and not as good), a cable for both importing and exporting analog composite signals (hook up your VCR and use the camera to transfer your VHS library to your computer) and a USB cord.
I have not used the USB webcam mode, but if it's half as good as the normal firewire captures then it'll be better than any standalone webcam.
Some features of the camera I haven't touched on yet are the Nightshot (which is the same technology as the military's nightvision goggles), built-in lamp, memory stick capability, still pictures (only with memory stick), on board video mastering (no computer required), stereo mics, mic input, remote control, and the best printed manual for any consumer electronics device you will ever find.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 479
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Epinions.com ID:
paytonbyrd
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Member: Payton Byrd
Location: Clarksville, TN
Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 0 members
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