Director's Cut Take 2
Written: Feb 22 '04 (Updated Dec 01 '04)
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Pros: Beautiful Hi8 picture quality, loads of neat features
Cons: Onboard mike leaves something to be desired, manual focusing is tough, no accessory shoe.
The Bottom Line: Great camcorder for nearly all applications, go for it unless you absolutely can't live without a digital format.
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| vespanidus's Full Review: Sony Handycam CCD-TRV87 Hi-8 Analog Camcorder |
Most of what follows is from my review of the Sony CCD-TRV67, the first camcorder I owned. I bought the step-up model CCD-TRV87 after just over a year of using the 67. I have altered my review where necessary to explain the features relevant to the CCD-TRV87.
Where do I start? This is a great camcorder for just about all applications. I'll start with picture quality. Hi8 is an analog format but my uncle watched some of my videos and he can't tell the difference between my Hi8 and his supposedly better Digital8 camera. It must be in the optics quality (lens and CCD). Video noise can be kept to a minimum by using high quality tapes (I'd recommend the TDK MP P6-120H8MP or Sony HME) and using the SP speed.
Now for sound quality: The CCD-TRV87 is a hi-fi stereo camcorder. "Hi-Fi" means the sound is recorded together with the video signal, rather than as a seperate strip along the edge of the tape like in VHS-C camcorders. This results in a much greater frequency response and dynamic range. The onboard mikes do well for high-volume, one-sound events such as music concerts, but struggle in low-volume situations or situations where there is background noise. In low-volume situations they pump up the record level until the camcorder's tape
mechanism running sounds like a hive of bees buzzing. In situations where there is background noise they tend to pick up that noise rather than what you want to hear. For example, in an interview conducted outdoors you are more likely to hear trash cans banging next door or a plane flying overhead than the subject's voice. And forget about picking up a single conversation in a noisy place like a cafeteria or meeting hall. For these situations you definitely want to connect an external mike.
Now for features:
20x optical zoom (360x digital zoom sounds impressive but the picture falls apart into unrecognizable pixels around 50x).
Nightshot and Super Nightshot infared recording for low-light situations. Super Nightshot is a feature unique to the CCD-TRV87, and was implemented to get rid of the weird green glow the picture has in regular Nightshot mode. For that it works quite well, but there is a tradeoff. In Super Nightshot the picture becomes choppy and "stop-motion" (looks like when you try to play a video file on a slow computer).
A built-in video light. This works better than Nightshot for many low-light situations-just don't point it at anybody's eyes!
6-mode fader transitions: Fade to black, mosaic fader, stripe, bounce, overlap and wipe. These are cool, but since you have to use them while shooting in the field your options are limited. Better to get a PC digital editing package and add the transitions and other special effects in postproduction.
A titler: You can superimpose text titles on the recorded picture like "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Birthday". Nice for the novice, but again it's more flexible to do this in postproduction.
Program AE (auto-exposure): This is really nice. This allows you to modify the exposure setting for different lighting situations without having to go into the nitty-gritty of full manual exposure.
Back Light Comp button: This is great to have when your subject is standing in front of a window with the sun behind him.
2.5" color LCD screen: Handy for shooting in positions that would be uncomfortable with the viewfinder and for watching tapes when no TV is handy.
Microphone and headphone jacks: These features are all too often lacking on consumer camcorders. They are vital if you are to have any option of improving on the sound quality of the built-in microphones.
Record lamp off: Accessible through the menu, this helps to make you less of a distraction since you don't have that glowing red light at the front anymore.
Automatic video head cleaner: A little round brush that periodically cleans the spinning video head drum. Many VCRs have this as well.
LANC/Control-L jack: This is only useful for editors. It is an editing protocol that allows the camcorder to control or be controlled by another video device. Many Sony camcorders and VCRs use this protocol, as do Canon and some other camcorder brands.
Edit Search: Pressing this button takes you to the end of the last recorded section on the tape.
Super Laser Link Wireless transmitter: If you buy a special receiver from Sony, you can hook up the receiver to your TV, point the camcorder at the receiver, and play tapes on your TV without ever having to hook up the camcorder to the TV. Neat, but gimmicky. Only worth the extra money for the receiver if you're too lazy or "slow" to hook up three color-coded cables.
Still Photo Mode: You can use this camcorder to snap still photos that will be recorded over about 5 seconds' worth of tape, together with the ambient sound. They're not as good as digital still photos, but it's still a handy feature.
Illuminated Display Panel: The information readout panel on the reverse side of the fold-out LCD screen is lighted, which makes it easier to read than the non-illuminated panel of the TRV67.
Audio/video input: The tricolor RCA jacks and the S-video jack are two-way. You can use this camcorder as a Hi8 record deck to dub tapes or record TV. Not that I'm saying this is a great way to use your expensive new camcorder, but you could if you wanted to.
Ease of use: The camcorder is very well designed with the Record button sitting right where the thumb most comfortably falls. The zoom switch can be operated easily with the thumb as well. Many of the feature switches are right on the back where you can access them immediately. Those buttons are Fader, Back Light, Program AE, and Exposure. The only complaint I have is the manual focus, which is operated by a tiny little dial near the front of the camera right next to the switch you use to change into manual focus. The dial is small and requires a lot of spins for big changes in focus, and it is also hard to reach from the normal shooting position without jarring the camera, but since the autofocus on this camera works very well I hardly ever need to use manual anyway.
This camcorder comes with: NP-F330 Infolithium L battery that gives about 2 hours with LCD screen off (You can add other batteries including the NP-F550 which gives about 4 hours); A remote control RMT-708 that operates Play, Stop, Rew/FF, Pause, Slow, Display, Record start/stop, and zoom; a cable for AC operation or battery charging; and a stereo audio/video cable.
BTW, although the camcorder's supplied RMT-708 only has 2 playback effects (still and slow) the camcorder is capable of many more if you have the right remote to activate them. If you can get your hands on a Sony jog/shuttle remote that can operate on the VTR2 command mode, such as the RMT-V5A (supplied with the Sony SLV-R5UC VCR) all the variable-speed and frame-by-frame playback modes will work on this camcorder. This Sony Hi8 camcorder has the CLEANEST still and slow motion of any analog video cassette recorder of any format that I have ever used. The still picture (hitting PAUSE while in PLAY mode) looks like a still photograph on the TV screen.
The few gripes I have about this camcorder are: Its onboard mikes leave something to be desired, the manual focusing is hard to use, and it lacks an accessory shoe on the top for attaching certain accessories such as shotgun microphones and external lights.
The CCD-TRV87 is top-of-the-line in the Sony CCD-TRV_7 series. It's as high-end as analog camcorders go without moving into the prosumer realm.
Check out the web site put up by myself and two of my friends at http://sphs.angeltowns.net/index.html
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300 on Ebay
Recommended for: Trendsetters - Hip and Stylish Gadgets
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Epinions.com ID:
vespanidus
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Member: Andy
Location: Stoughton, WI USA
Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 0 members
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