sony trv350 inadequate resolution
Written: Mar 10 '03 (Updated Mar 14 '03)
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Pros: many features; firewire, usb, s-vid, a/v jacks
Cons: poor resolution, barely tv quality
The Bottom Line: find better resolution camera...go dig photos? cassettes need to be replaced w/ solid state memory.
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| ceztom's Full Review: Sony Handycamâ„¢ DCR-TRV350 Digital-8 Camcorder |
i am used to the sony dsc-85 4Mpixel digital camera and the sharpness of the still photos...this handycam needs to be zoomed up on people to see any details, but just not the same at gross 460Kpix w/ effective 290Kpix. the wide/telephoto button is hard to get a finger on but if you have a sensitive finger, you can zoom smoothly fast or slow. the photo button next to it to take a still shot (or jumpy mpeg movie...seems worst than my digital camera, which looks ok on a tv, but i think it is supposed to be at the same resolution of 320x240? 15fps) is even harder to press. The power switch is small w/ little locks...must be better way.
The camera is heavy, 1Kg, even with the small provided battery...would hate to add on a larger one, so have to carry two. firewire cable for ilink 4pin not provided; dc adapter for car charging not provided, but usb cable given. manual provided has 250 small pages, but covers differences between 7 different cameras.
the LCD screen, w/ 123Kpix 560x220, is not bright enough, at max setting, in daylight, so the old b/w viewfinder must be used...but that saves some battery power. stereo sound is good except for picking up cam motor noise...will need remote mic or ?. buttons for many controls are hidden under the LCD screen...i would think that they could have placed them on top with the vcr controls instead. The min illumination is 4lux if not using the nightshot which is only good for 10ft without a more powerful infrared source. The super nightshot is great but has extremely slow update so poor video results...might be useful for recording night animals from a 25ft distance. Also, the lens cap pops off too easily.
Could not find the supposedly provided 8MB memory stick, but Circuit City gave me $20 off and I used the 16MB stick from my digital camera.
this is an initial gripe list, using camera for less than a week, and, hey, it was my wife's anniversary attempt to satisfy my craving to do videos every once in a while...I think I will stick with the dig cam mem stick jumpy quality usually to avoid carrying this big camera...who has time for long videos and editing them anyway?
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 489
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Epinions.com ID:
ceztom
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Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 0 members
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