Customer Reviews

Sony CCDTRV66 Handycam Hi8 Camcorder

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been greatly impressed since I began using my TRV66. It has a wonderful picture, great effects and features. The night-vision thing is fun too! The titles, dates, image fading, and all the features listed in the description work great and allow you to make a wonderful recording.

This camera is simple to use and is full of some nice features. At this price, you get a lot of camera! Although I have yet to try the total darkness taping, I have taped in some very low light, with good results. My 1 year old daughter never knew that I filmed her as she was taking a nap! If you are looking for a camera that is easy to use and yet comes with some great features, look no further!

I've been using this camcorder for nearly two years. Bought it new in late 1999.

A year later, I noticed that the battery that it came with discharged if left in the camcorder, even if the camera is in the OFF position. I thought it was a battery problem & bought a new one, but same story.

As a camera, the picture is very good. No complaints on the audio pick-up either. Simple & easy connectivity to the TV for viewing or mastering to tape.

Latest problem is that in the OFF position, all the lights come on, & the battery doesn't charge. In the CAMERA position, the VTR lights come on.

I believe the problem lies with the CAMERA-OFF-VTR slider switch in the front, which seems to have been discontinued in later models. A friend with a similar SONY camcorder, using the same switch reported the exact same problems, as did one other user on some e-board.

Bottom line, not recommended as the slider switch seems to be problematic.

In 1992, I bought a Sony CCD FX-510 8mm stereo camcorder. By February 2000, we had worn the old camera out, after working around the world! If you want to keep playing 8mm tapes, you either have to replace your 8mm camcorder, or buy a 8mm deck. The camcorders are cheaper than a deck! I bought the Sony CCD-TRV66 because it could play my stereo 8mm tapes from my old camera. A digital Sony camcorder would do this, but at more $. The best surprise was that playback on the new HI-8 camcorder seemed to deliver higher resolution on the old Video 8 tapes. This might be due to the filtering on the Hi-8 camcorder. The TRV-66 has image stabilization, nightshot, Hi-8 resolution, stereo sound, lots of digital features and a color flip out screen. All of this is still less than I paid in 1992 for the CCD FX-510. After 8 years, Sony kept continuity on operational features; the basic functions of their camcorders is the same. Kudos for great design. I plan to wear out this camera, too!

I love this camcorder. Why? It's easy to use, has excellent picture and sound quality, isn't bulky (even though it's much bigger than the stuff they have out now), and has a lot of features. Yes, to use this camcorder today entails using cassettes as opposed to built-in disc drives, but you wouldn't know the difference in overall quality. Furthermore, it's all too easy to just burn your cassette footage onto DVD anyway. I particularly like the fading feature, as well as all of the goodies such as sepia, black and white, pastel, overlap, bounce, stripe, wipe, solar, slim, wide, etc. Oh, and there's nightshot as well. I'd put my money on this camcorder being superior to many modern-day camcorders. Some of the newer camcorders haven't been perfected, and suffer in such areas as tint, for instance. Finally, the steadyshot feature on this model is truly remarkable, and will prevent poor cameramen from ruining your video if the camcorder should happen to get into their hands. I've had this camcorder for 12 years now, and love it. Sony is a great manufacturer of camcorders.

Had this camera for a couple years now and have never had a problem. Can't ask for any more features. The battery still holds a charge for over 4hrs of use. The image quality is great and the audio pickup(stereo) works fabulously. Only complaint would be the Camera/off/VTR switch, but not for the same reason as the others listed. I just don't like the location of it and it can be a little bit of a hassle getting it to the off position. But I've never had a problem with it not turning the camera off or the light on.

Botton line: Easy, simple to use and connect to a TV or to a computer for emailing video (with the right computer hardware).

I've had this TRV66 for 3 years, but the problem started occuring 1 year after I bought it. It was doing great until the switch started messing up. I found out only after my batteries keep draining even after I switched the camera off. Finally, I noticed that when I turn the camera off by switching it to the "Off" position, the VTR lights come on instead. The only way I could really turn it off was to remove the battery. So, when I want to switch it off, I had to remove the battery every time so that it won't get drained. Looks like it is a common problem from the reviews that I've read. Another annoying problem is when I am recording for a while, it keeps going to stand-by mode automatically. So I had to keep an eye on the viewfinder to make sure it doesn't stop recording. I wonder if Sony could fix this problem.

For the money it is the best value, I does all I need and more, had one for a month and still learning to use all the features. A good starting camara. !!!

I used other camcorder in my life. The one I like the best is Sony CCDTRV66 Handycam Hi8 Camcorder.

Este artefacto es increíblemente poderoso... Las imágenes se ven claras y brillantes; el sonido estereo puede ser ajustado para escucharse cerca o lejos; la opción "infrared" permite filmar en "0 lux"...

Su pantalla LCD permite ver claramente desde distintas posiciones lo que estás filmando. EXCELENTE!