Sony Handycam® DCR-TRV740 Digital-8 Camcorder

Pros: Price, features, picture quality, picture resolution, inputs, looks
Cons: It is Digital8

The Sony DCR-TRV740 is a Digital8 camcorder with 1-Megapixel CCD that provides up to 1152x864 still resolution, USB interface, 8MB MemoryStick and 2.5” LCD.

Digital8 Advantages

There are several advantages to the...

Pros: Backward compatibility with 8mm and hi8, typical Sony quality
Cons: Bulkiest in new digital camcorders

My family owned one 8mm and one hi8 camcorders, but both were starting to fail after many years of use and abuse. It was time to get a new camcorder. But which one should I get?

In terms of size, MiniDV camcorders are small to tiny. They are...

Pros: Great feel, Lots of options and features!
Cons: Ackward button placement, bad tape door location.

THE STORY:
I bought this camera before I moved into my new home so I can tape it before I messed it up. I also got it to tape a friends wedding. I bought it as a package deal on ebay for over 800 back in June. The package included all sorts of...

Pros: good effects,durable,nice lcd screen,easy to use
Cons: tape input is located in a weird spot

I got this perticular camera about two years ago and I have been using it alot. I have used it to make small movies with friends like snowboarding or skateboarding. It is very easy to use but at the same time has many proffesional features. The effects...

Pros: ease of use, send to friends over net, clear picture and sound, takes still photos!
Cons: can't play straight through VCR

Being a mom you of course want to catch every special moment you kids have. If so, this is the camera to use! It is light weight and easy to focus. It is perfect for a parent with their hands full. With a carrying case (sold separately) it is easy to...

Pros: Compact,light weight and easy to use. Great picture quality
Cons: awkward positioning of some buttons

Unless you are a professional it would be almost impossible to outgrow this camera. It can switch from Camcorder to Digital camera to VCR with the simple flick of a switch which makes it such a versatile product. Images are high quality, the lens...

I bought it for the firewire capabilities and was pleasently surprised when I discovered that I could play, FF, and Rew the camera from my computer in Adobe Premiere (Device Control). Image quality is great, even in not-so-great lighting. The super night shot can film in pitch darkness where the naked eye can not see! Image stabalizer uses a motion sensor which is superior to other brands. A little known feature is the interval and frame recording: For example, you could set the camera to record half a second every 30 seconds. This could be used to speed up sunsets, watch a plant grow over a month, etc.

Sony still makes the best camcorders, but they tend to be a bit heavy. Image stabilization is good along with user friendly features. Instruction manual could be a bit more user friendly as well, but there are loads of options to learn about and takes time.

I thought about this model for some time before the purchase. My main purpose is for coporate presentations, and video capture through fire wire is very important to me. The Sony TRV740 has impressed me even more after the purchase! I compare specs closley with my dream camera the VX2000 and feel that I can get very close quality with the 740. I compared the actual video of the same scene with the 340 and 320 and could see an improvement with the 740. The size, weight, and handle ability are fine. Overall I AM VERY HAPPY WITH THIS ONE!!!

I have recently purchased this camcorder to replace an older Sony Hi-8 camcorder. I used it on my recent Florida vacation and I'm very pleased with my video and photos. Prior to purchasing, I had some difficulty finding out how the digital pictures were saved when running in video mode. Different salespeople and Sony were telling me different things. Now that I own the camcorder, I can tell you from experience what happens to the photos. In video mode you have the option to send either the photo directly to the memory stick (default setting) or you can configure it to send the photo to the video tape where it will leave a pause in the tape. You also have the option of just recording the video and go back and play it in vcr mode and take photos from the video to memory stick. There is a dfference in picture quality between photos taken in video mode and memory mode and photos taken in memory mode are clearer. Overall, I am extreamly pleased with this camcorder.

Great camera, espeically when you still need a camera to review old 8mm (non-digital) video cassattes.

I Finally got the handle on it regarding downloading movies to my G4 MAC 1.25 Dual processor. Reading the manual do not always help It was obviously not upgraded. So friends told me to use a good firewire cable and bada bim bada boum it found the camera immediately. It works and I'm on cloud 9.