Pros: Video Quality
Touchscreen controls
Versatility
Cons: Touchscreen jiggles cam while recording
Bluetooth questionable
Mode switch confusing
The Bottom Line: An excellent camera useful for 5-6 years. Best choice to create DVD's. This is the best DVCam available today at consumer level for any price.
dmcclelland's Full Review: Sony Handycam DCR-TRV80 Mini DV Camcorder
I wanted a DV Cam/DigiCam combo to replace a digital camera and an old analog VHS camcorder. The TRV80 exceeded my expectations because it is as good at capturing stills as my DigiCam and way better at motion video than my old VHS shoulder boulder. Plus I have found other, unexpected uses (read on).
The Video image quality is simply the best of any consumer-level camera anyone I know has seen. I have managed to adjust image balance in a video editor without much noise or artifacts. It has some effects and editing capabilities built in, which I find clunky compared to post edit in software. I have used the night shot and super night shot: they work but I have yet to include a shot in a composition- its fun to show kids night creatures in the back yard.
If you consider getting a standalone charger, I would recommend spending the money on another battery instead. I got the largest battery they have and it lasts about 7 hours- I always have enough to last until I put it away and hook it up to recharge, even when using the flash a lot.
My favorite feature is the touch-screen, which controls almost every feature in the camera. The best application is spot-focus, you simply touch the screen where you want to focus on. The stylus, which snaps into the hand-strap, is a good way to get a precise selection. You can also do light balance the same way. It is best practice to use the spot focus and light balance before recording since touching the screen can jiggle the camera.
The image quality of the still is not going to beat a 4MP Kodak or Sony DigiCam, but I won't carry one of them in addition to the DVCam so I wouldn’t get the picture anyway. The mode switch between DV and Still Cam is confusing because there are 2 separate buttons for recording DV and Stills and they both function a little differently in each mode. When I switch from DV mode to take a high-res still I often press the record button instead of the still button by mistake because I forget to move my finder. This records lo-res mpeg video to the memory stick. Pressing the still camera button while in DV mode captures a lo-res still. The high-res image quality is pretty decent, a little noisy in low light. There is a typical delay from trigger depress, esp. if the camera decides it needs to charge and deploy the retractable built-in flash. The optical zoom is superb in both modes (video/still) while the digital zoom is unusable (shaky, pixilated). Transferring stills to PC uses software included with camera, it will not use Windows ME digital camera transfer software, which is actually much better at auto naming files and remembering folders.
I have found a couple of unexpected uses for the cam, such as a web cam (that can do extreme close-ups using the remote control), and I use it to convert out-of-print vinyl records to 16-bit digital WAV files that I can clean up and convert to MP3. I can also convert DV to Web-ready MPEG in camera, and transfer it from the memory stick to the computer.
The Bluetooth feature is supposed to allow wireless transmission of stills and mpegs to cell phones or other enabled devices- maybe someday I will find this useful. It also has a web browser and email client. I wish it had support for WIFI and Internet network protocols instead because maybe I could then use it as a standalone wireless USB web cam server or slave camera.
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