So far, so good
Written: Dec 22 '03 (Updated Jul 19 '04)
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Pros: Easy to use, good price
Cons: No memory stick or tape included
The Bottom Line: If its functionality fits your needs and the price is right get it.
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| martin18's Full Review: Sony Handycamâ„¢ DCR-TRV350 Digital-8 Camcorder |
Also considered Canon zr60. Consumer reports review introduced us to this Sony and we went with their recommendation due to the reliability measures of Sony versus Canon.
Hesitated a little over the fact that it was D8 rather than miniDV. Went w/ this one because we never really want to keep a bunch of tapes around. Goal is to store all recordings on PC. Also, we don't expect to keep it forever...will probably move to DVD camera when price goes down.
Disappointed with the fact that no memory stick or tape was supplied. Our purchase included 20% at the sony online store where we ordered extra battery, external charger and 256MB memory stick
Manual:
Be careful. Manual covers DCR-trv150/trv250/trv350/trv351 and ccd-trv118/trv318/trv418. Do make sure the instructions you read apply to your model.
Making videos:
Simple, set it to camera and push the red button. With the fader options you can make some interesting video. You can get it up and recording pretty quickly for those spur of the moment actions of the kids.
Video capture:
Tried to capture some video onto the PC and it came out very choppy even at the highest quality setting. Working with a relatively slow 433MHz Win98 PC using USB connection. Can't save sound with video when going from tape to PC.
Update: Moved to a XP Pro PC (be extra careful to follow instructions exactly for installing USB driver). I am now able to copy video to PC via USB port. I don't use the Sony provided software for capture because it limits the amount you can download at a single time (something like 9 minutes of video). I use Microsoft's Movie Maker to download to PC. I have not been able to download using the iLink (IEEE 1394) and suspect that the camera's iLink port is not working. I don't have any other iLink equipment to verify this. I get video and SOUND on the downloads. I think you lose sound if you transfer a video to the memory stick from tape, though. We love the quality of the video in all lighting situations.
Still pictures:
Apparently can't take still pictures on tape with the 350.
Waiting for memory stick to try still pictures to memory stick; Still pictures are a snap (no pun intended) with the memory stick. Not high quality, we use a 4.0 Kodak camera for stills.
Battery life:
seems pretty good so far; we've had it off and on for the last couple days trying out different features. Longer life if you don't use the LCD screen. The battery that comes with is short, extra battery ordered probably has 4 times as much life on a single charge.
Night Vision:
Very cool, you can see in the dark. Don't know when I'll need to use it, but it's still cool to me.
Lots of features that will take more than a minute to get to and master.
Overall I do recommend the camera if it fits your video needs. Do spend some time understanding the difference between D8/Hi-8 and miniDV formats.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 474
Recommended for: Home and Families - Keep Memories of Family Vacations
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Epinions.com ID:
martin18
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Reviews written: 3
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