Customer Reviews

Sony DCRTRV33 MiniDV 1megapixel Camcorder with 2.5" LCD, Color Viewfinder & Memory Stick capabilities

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I would like to give my opinion and view on Sony TRV33 model. I know how important a review of a product

is. After a month of research on camcorders, I had two options Canon ZR70MC or a Sony TRV33. Both of these

models had their own good and bad points. But ultimately I bought the TRV33 because of the following

reasons which I think clearly surpassed Canon.

Pros:
1. Clear, crisp and detailed video.
2. Best Image quality when compared to Canon.
3. Excellent low-light performance when compared to Canon.
4. Mind blowing Nightshot in total darkness, though in Greenish tint.
5. Carl Zeiss Lens definitely has proved its name and quality.
6. Image quality when downloaded on PC using a USB 2.0 was "excellent" both indoors and outdoors.
7. The 1.0 MB still pictures are OK but not fair, best for sending an email.

Cons:
1. 10x Optical, but I did not get a chance to use beyond 10x. Technically anything beyond 15x Optical

would produce shaky video unless on a tripod.

... If price is a constraint, I would request my readers to also check the TRV22, but

purchase with a long term perspective and image quality and optics matter a lot when deciding on a

camcorder. Sony truly shines in that aspect.

Good camcorder hunting !

I've owned a number of Sony digicams (most recently the PC110) and decided to upgrade for some new features like analog pass-through (hook a VCR up to the camcorder to capture directly to your computer). I first tried the TRV70, but returned it and got this one instead. The 70 is a very different camera...considerably larger and with much better stills, but more expensive. I decided to go with the 33 because I wanted something smaller. The digital stills from most camcorders aren't going to be anywhere as good as from a halfway decent digital camera, so not a reason to pay a lot more. I got the same size LCD touch screen (a nice new feature!) and one thing I like about this model over the 70 is that the zoom is not so fast! The 70 has the same kind of zoom control, but it's very touchy and it's very hard to do a gradual zoom. The 33 allows much better control. Well, unless you have a need to do really fast zooms. I prefer to have one that does not. I find this is particularly important if you want other people to use the camera...anytime I gave someone the 110 to use, they had problems with that touchy zoom! This is an issue on a lot of Sony camcorders, I really wish they would correct it across the board.

Image quality is good and I personally don't have problems with motor noise, it's pretty typical for camcorders this size. The 10x zoom is decent, I looked at the Canons that were 20X zooms, but their image quality was not as good. The touch screen is great for features like spot focus and metering. I find it a lot easier to use than the myriad of buttons all over the camera that most models use.

Another new feature is the ability to quickly check the battery life on the camera without powering it up. I've sometimes thought it was charged when it was not and missed being able to film as a result, so this will be a lifesaver! The Sonys are great about telling you how much time is left on the battery and the tape.

Overall, an excellent camera I would highly recommend.

I read all of the reviews here and went through exhaustive research before I purchased the TRV33.

First, the infamous buzzing noise. This had me very nervous since it appeared to be the one constant complaint in these reviews. Yes - when you operate the camera there is camera noise. There also has been camera operating noise on every other camcorder I have owned over 15 years. It is no different from any other camcorder. As far as recording noise goes, if your footage is in a dead silent environment, then yes, the noise is slightly audible. Not annoying, not a "loud buzzing", just slight mechanical noise. If there is any amount of background noise in your footage, the "buzzing" is not noticeable at all. As a matter of fact, I edit footage in Final Cut Express on a Mac, and the noise in so slight that it doesn't even register on the audio meter.

Having said that, I will let you know that the features are fantastic, the camera is easy to use (I shot footage and transferred to my Mac through Firewire without even reading the directions) and the video footage is great. The LCD Touch Screen is fantastic as well.

The only negative thing I noticed so far is that when the footage was captured to the Mac it seemed to lose some of its clarity. When I hooked it up to my TV via composite video and played directly from the camera it rivaled DVD quality. But when I captured it to the Mac it seemed to be more jaggy and the colors we darker. I haven't burned a DVD yet to see how the final product looks, and there may be some settings I can change as well - but other than that this is one fantastic camera!

If you are reading this review and are shopping for a MiniDV camcorder you are in the learning mode for shopping. Isn't Amazon.com a great place to learn about electronics such as this. I will be happy to share my experience with this camcorder so far. This review is all about money and how I decided finally that with consumer level electronics you do usually get what you pay for. The camcorder that we origionally purchases when we were ready to buy a MiniDv camcorder was by Sharp. It was about half the cost of the Canon and Sony models that were being sold by its side. I took notice that there were often large rebates for Sharp camcorders that hammered the price down to a very low price that was just too good to pass up. Due to numerous unfortunate issues with this camera our memories that were recorded were trashed due to what I can say was just poor build quality. So the rule is don't buy a KIA and expect it to provide you with the memorable experience of a Honda/Toyota etc. Right???

Here is the good stuff. This camera is worth every dime that Sony is asking for it. After reading some reviews the only negative thing that you may read is that you can hear the motor working when recording or playing back a tape. I say that but you really would have to be listening for this to hear it. My DVD player makes more noise than this unit. So some folks really need to get a grip. More sound insulation in the area that houses the motor for the camcorder would cure this but there is really no room for anything else to be stuffed in there. This in NO WAY means that this noise is at all recorded on your tape. Anything that Sony makes in Japan seems to keep with the origional high standards that this company is known for. This camera is made in Japan and everything from the quality of construction to the quality of the images that you will see on the TV screen will just amaze you. The colors are just perfect and the sound is more than what I expected from a compact recorder. Enjoy the TRV33 if it is the final choice that you make in this search for a good camcorder. If it is a bit high for your budget then check out the TRV19 and the TRV22. The TRV19 may be the best buy that I have seen in the MiniDV world yet.

All in all this camera is compact, efficient and it is ergonimically perfect when it is held in your hand. After you purchase the Camcorder register it with Sony online. After you have done so they will most likely send you a 20% off coupon in your email to buy upgrades for the new product that you have purchased. WIth this cupon go ahead and upgrade the battery for the camcorder to at least the FM50. The FM30 that is included is just not sufficient to be the main battery. It will be a nice backup for you in a pinch but should not be relied on. The FM50 should have been standard issue IMO. Happy shopping!

First of all I would like to comment on the "buzzing sound". I, too, noticed a slight, low-humming noise when I first filmed with my DCRTRV-33. And naturally I was concerned that this sound would transfer to the recording--Not so, not so at all. The "buzzing noise" is simply just the camera operating. When I played back film onto my Sony Wega trinitron, the first time, I placed my ear next to my speakers straining to see if I could hear the "buzzing noise". And alas the answer is--No. I could not hear anyting of the sort; nor any type of audio disturbance whatsoever.

Now as for the camera, I could not beleive the visual clarity and crispness when I played footage back on my Sony Wega. I can honestly say the clarity is better than most cable channels! And only a few notches below DVD movie quality. Additionally, this camera is ultra light, easy to hold, very user-freindly, comes with a bunch of great accessories, and wow! is the zoom on this camera awesome. I am able to zoom in on objects almost a quarter of a mile away and film them as if they were only a few feet away.

The camera functions are controlled by an ultra-cool easy-to-use touch lcd screen, I've yet to use the still picture function, and overall as far as user-freindliness, get this: My 76 year old father-in-law took the camera from us, plugged the rca jacks into the camera, then plugged them into his vcr and recorded all our digital tapes onto vhs! And the clarity, again, even on vhs,is absolutley remarkable--And, again, no "buzzing sound" could be detected anywhere on the vhs tapes.

Yes this is an expensive camera, but it is an investment. All our memories will forever be indellibly captured on top-of-the-line digital quality film. And if you own other Sony products as I do--VAIO desktop, and Wega television--the way these products interface with each other makes using them a delight. It's as if they are all simply smaller parts of a larger video audio interfacing operating system whole. In short: Sony Rocks!

Yeah Sony cost a little more, but--for the most part--you still get what you pay for.

One of the major considerations for me in buying a camcorder was the size. My family has owned several camcorders and they've been bulky enough that after a few months when the "new electronics" glow has worn off, nobody wants to lug it around on vacations, to amusement parks, camping, etc. It's just too much of a hassle.

I've purchased a DCRTRV33 and LOVE this thing! The PC interface through firewire (IEEE 1394) is flawless--I just plugged it in and it worked beautifully with Pinnacle Studio 8. It's packed with features, has a great picture and sound.

I've read other comments about the noisy motor and it's true that the motor is a little louder than I thought it would be. However, after indoor recording in quiet rooms for testing, I haven't been able to hear the motor during playback on my computer or TV. I think it's a negligible problem that wouldn't deter me from a purchase of this otherwise amazing piece of technology.

I've owned the camera for awhile now, and the audio is crystal clear. The still images are great for 5X7 and 8X10 sized reprints. The video is also above average. The backlight and Nightshot options are great and come in handy. I believe the professional review was right on concerning this camera, and really beleive it was a great purchase at a little over $600.

I've owned and used a Canon E-08 for years and the video was great, 8mm was an obvious step up over VHS-C and the Mini-DV format is a huge step forward over 8mm.

Someone else was complaining about the tapes being an hour long, but an hour of video on a day trip will ussually be fine, and if you're worried about it carry a couple with you, I bought a 4 pack of JVC 60 minute tapes for $19.95 on sale.

Come on transferring video to VHS is simple, and doesn't require a computer, and simple editing is a snap. But if you have a computer with a DVD writer the resulting DVD's are great.

Maybe I'm lucky, no problems at all and I love the all in one feature of this camera.

This camera's great, see also the 35 model. It's the one my university is buying. But be careful about all the extra costs and requirements, such as the miniDV tapes and hard drive space and video editing software and computer.

"A MiniDV tape offers a digital recording time of 2 full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD."

The tapes are only an hour long each, and can add up in cost quickly, but that's still about 20 times what a CD holds. One hour of raw uncompressed video takes up about 13 gigs of space on a hard drive. DVDs hold about 4.7 gigs, CDs about 700 MB.

So if you have a lot of video footage (like many hours) that you need to store and use, then your options are A) buy a lot of miniDV tapes. B) buy a DVD burner and many blank DVDs. C) buy one or more very large hard drives.
In all likelihood you'll have to do all three, because you need the hard drive to edit the video (plus software), and the DVD burner if you want to share or play the edited video in a DVD player.

You may be surprised when you add up the costs. For me, I'm using video for research, and it is cheaper and more convenient to just get a large external hard drive rather than dozens of tapes.

After months of research we chose the TRV27 but it had been replaced by the TRV33. We bought the TRV33 sight unseen Sears great price and return policy made the decision easier. This thing is great. It is as small as my Canon G2 and a third the size of my old Sony Hi-8. It's very easy to use, and very intuitive. While my brother can just point and shoot, it still allows me to do spot focusing and spot metering which if you've never used these features on a camera, you will now--it's that easy. Low light features are great--while the infrared feature is a little creepy, the slow-shutter feature lets you take cool MTV-style videos in low light with great color quality.

GOOD: features, compact size, outdoor image quality, ease of use. Little flip-cover is cool too.
BAD: lack of windscreen, LCD is very difficult to see in bright light, and the software isn't great. I didn't bother with the still photo feature, same reason why I don't make movies with my G2. Overall, this is a terrific camera and a good value, esp, if the price drops below $650 or so. Only caveat: the wind noise is really awful when filming outdoors. I have to go find a microphone to attach now.

I gave it 5 stars in my previous review; now i'm changing it to 4 because in the past week i received a brand new Sony NP-QM90 Info-Lithium M Series Battery and noticed that longer lasting batteries than the one the camera comes with are too big/bulky and heavy... it makes the camera frame kind of flimsy when moving it horizontally; this is probably because the hand strap is fixed to the frame by two metal parts located in the sides of the cassette compartment... very inconvenient... i'm affraid it'll break appart one of these days... i'll have to go back to the older short-lasting battery when walking around... longer lasting batteries cand be used with a tripod or something i guess... All in all... its a great camera...