Sony CCD-TR818 Hi8mm Camcorder

by Sony

Product Details

Product Manual [1.67mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005LDXN
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,146 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1999

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars camera should sell for (more)!, November 27, 2001

By 

Thomas Graf (Tualatin, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony CCD-TR818 Hi8mm Camcorder (Electronics)

Wow. What a buy for the price. This camera has most all the options of a way more expensive camera, but it for only (this price). People complain about it not having an LCD, I do not like those, they result in shaky photography (not with this puppy though and its Image Stabilization, which is great.) and it drains the battery. So I didn't care about that. If you really want an LCD, you can move up to the next level, which is 50 dollars more. But in the process you lose the Image Stabilization, so really this camera is the better buy. It come with great features. First off, the battery lasts for a long time, you can get 90 minutes of footage which it, even with auto-focus and zooming in and out. Its great. And its easy to recharge, in fact the camera tells you how many minutes left until a full charge. Also, it tells you the minutes of camera battery you have left, instead of one of those battery meters, which can be misleading. It comes with cool features, one where it outlines the subjects in the picture, and makes it turn into a cartoon. You can make black and white movies, and even record in 16:9 mode. It comes with a titler, so you can label you movies. You can chooose the location, size, and color of the title, and it has capibility to write in 22 lanuages...which was handy on my trip to Mexico. The NightShot OLux was too cool, even when it is pitch black, the thing can record and see everything. It has 20x optical zoom, and 460x digital. I don't like digital, it just enlarges the pixels to zoom, so the 20x optical is all you need. It inlcudes 5 types of faders, which are all neat. The camera can record any play my old 8mm tapes. For the price, this is a wonder. If you are looking for any eaasy camera to use, chucked with all the options, get the Sony CCD-TR818. Make sure before you use it to turn of "auto-date" which automatically puts the date on the first 10 seconds of a shot. It can be easily turned off in the user-friendly menu system.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A super easy entry into the world of video moviemaking, July 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sony CCD-TR818 Hi8mm Camcorder (Electronics)

After wanting a videocam for a couple of years, I finally took the plunge with this one. My choice has proven itself over and over again to have been right on target. I was shooting videos within 10 minutes of getting home with the TR818, with only brief reference to the manual (on how to open the door to put the tape in.) I am a true video novice, but everything else --insertion of battery, actual recording, activation of the cool Nightshot infrared capability, switch from record mode to playback-- was achieved intuitively. This is my first videocam, and I LOVE it. The icing on the cake is that pictures play back crisply on a 27" screen TV. Beautiful. I am sorry now I waited so long to buy a recorder, because with cameras like the TR818 out there, no one has any reason to be intimidated by the technology any longer.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good; 5 stars!, June 25, 2001

By 

S. Montgomery (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony CCD-TR818 Hi8mm Camcorder (Electronics)

This camcorder is wonderful! I tried one to film a small movie for my sons softball team and found myself making several movies. I love the viewfinder and the many picture effects (Mosaic, Solarization, Monotone, etc.). And you can insert custom titles in 22 different languages. The Lithium-Ion battery lasts forever and recharges. This model comes with Sony's Nightshot which makes it able to shot movies in total darkness. This really is a great camera.