Sony Handycam® DCR-TRV19 Mini DV Camcorder

Pros: Great if you just want to record! Small size
Cons: No still shot capture onto memory stick

My first digital camcorder (had many analog ones!), im pretty much very impressed with it. Great, handy size, and looks very funky as well as being professional. I think this is one of the first Sony models to feature a touch screen, and thats much ...

Pros: Easy to use and good picture quality - as long as it works.
Cons: Useless warranty combined with questionable quality.

At first I was very pleased with this camcorder. The picture quality is great and it is extremely easy to use. The night vision is a cool feature, but not really anything I used to record movies. After six months or so the camcorder started acting up. ...

Pros: Very light and handy, easy to use, firewire capability
Cons: Touch screen requires cleaning from being touched, black and white view finder

I bought this camcorder a year ago to replace my Sharp Viewcam VL-SD20U Mini DV Digital Camcorder. After reading many reviews of the other camcorders that were available in the stores, I settled on this model. First off: I do not care for a video ...

Pros: You can use it for almost 10 months before it goes bad.
Cons: Terrible tech support.

I bought this camera (DCR-TRV19) and used it for almost 10 months very carefully. Last Christmas, I wanted to get some shots and only thing I could see in the viewfinder was a black screen. I tried LCD screen, it was also black. When I started recording, it records nothing but total black visually. However, the audio recording was OK. I called Sony tech support and they told me that I had 90-day parts and labor warranty, and 1 year warranty for just the parts. They also told me that I had to pay for the labor which was a flat rate of $269. I don't think it is fair to pay $269 repair fee for a $500 camera, even after using it for just 10 month. Instead of repairing it, I'll pay that much money to buy a new camera. But it won't be Sony for sure. Never Sony. Please check if you have 12 month parts and labor warranty when buying expensive equipment like a camera. Sony cameras don't have this. So stay away from them.

Pros: Durability questionable. Sony service is terrible.
Cons: Seems to be an ok camcorder.

I bought this unit in november 03'. Almost right away it started making a loud noise in the 'works' that is picked up on the tape. Sony service is the worst on the planet. First you have to deal with a 'smart' computer voice system that can't recognize a word you are saying. Then you have to deal with an off-shore customer support human being that can't understand a word you are saying. Then you get to pay a flat rate of $250 for repairs - half the price of a new unit.