Customer Reviews

Sony DCR-TRV280 Digital8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is easily the best value DIGITAL camcorder out there today, hands down. 'Digital8' is just as good as 'MiniDV' in terms of resolution and picture/audio quality. Why pay more for MiniDV? For under three 'Benjamins', you get reliable digital video and audio quality with over 500 lines of resolution, and a proven medium (Digital8) whose videotapes cost half as much or less than MiniDV tapes. The video quality in low light is also excellent, with a low light switch and feature that works great. And size-wise, the camcorder is not much larger than a MiniDV unit. It is feature-rich and comes with all the accessories you would need, including a charger, battery, lens cap, A/V cable for connection to your TV, a USB cable and software for connection to your PC or Mac. The owner's manual is one of the best i've ever seen, with very intuitive diagrams and easy to operate instructions. And the battery level meter and 'time left' indicator on the LCD view panel is very useful and amazing in it's detail and usefulness. Folks, this is one serious digital camcorder that is available 'for a song'! Great job Sony!!!

UPDATE 1/2006: 'Consumer Reports' listed this camcorder as a 'Best Buy', and mentioned that Sony has the best 'repair free' history out of all camcorders! Proof that this is a GREAT bargain! I wrote my original review of this here last year.

As the other reviewers have noted, the TRV 280 is a very good deal as a full-featured Digital8 camcorder. I have to warn prospective buyers not to believe any source you have read that suggests the 280 supports the analog formats (8mm and Hi8). It does not. If you need to import old 8mm or Hi8 tapes to your PC or Mac, get the TRV 480. I learned the hard way. My son is the benefactor of my error--as the happy owner of the TRV 280.

After doing hours of research on the internet (and I do mean hours and even days) EXTENSIVE research, I have found that, for the money ($259 from Amazon w/free shipping & also getting the Amazon Visa Card for an added discount), this is the best deal as far as digital camcorders go available today. It is certainly the cheapest priced digital camcorder I could find brand new, and the best built camcorder, especially when compared to the many mini dv's available (they look like they could break if you look at them the wrong way)! I had a friend who had a mini dv camcorder comment on their delicate nature, and her mini dv camcorder also quit working after only a few months of normal use (think about the same price range as digital 8 now--not more costly mini dv camcorders).

The Sony digital 8 camcorders may be discontinued soon by Sony (at least that is the asumption from what I read), but I have read more positive reviews (at this price range) for the Sony digital 8 camcorders than any of the comparable mini dv camcorders IN THIS PRICE RANGE. I purchased a Samsung (JUNK JUNK-AVOID) mini dv camcorder from Sam's Club prior to purchasing the Sony DCR-TRV280 from amazon.com, and I was more than disappointed in the performance of the Samsung mini dv camcorder. The picture from my old RCA Autoshoot VHS-C camcorder produced a picture much better than the Samsung could. I couldn't believe how horrible the quality was on the Samsung mini dv camcorder! This was difficult to tell in Sam's Club as all of their camcorders are in a very bright area of the store.

Also, I think blank tapes (8mm/high 8) will be available still for several more years, and this Sony digital 8 camcorder suits my purposes quite well. The tapes can be erased and reused many many times with very little loss of quality, if any, when well taken care of. I must state the opposite of most people when asked "should I go for mini dv or digital 8?" I say go with digital 8 if you're a "point and shoot" person like I am. Consumer Reports also states that these digital 8 camcorders are amongest the best buys in digital camcorders available today. You have to remember too, that Sony is a big name with a big reputation of producing great quality electronics.

Oh, another thing, how many digital camcorders can you get hours upon hours of use out of a single charge on one battery? Check out the optional batteries that are available with these digital 8 handycams. The NP-QM91D is the longest lasting (6 to 12 hours on 1 charge!) Also compatible with this digital 8 handycam is the NP-QM71D and NP-FM50. BEWARE of generic batteries, however (I found out the hard way!) Sony makes many of their newer models to detect the generic batteries and cause the camera to shut down and not charge the battery. I just sent back a generic NP-QM91D that was only $37.50 (Sony brand is around $149 new). Just stick with the Sony brand name infoLITHIUM batteries only. I re-ordered and got the NP-FM50 for $44 from amazon.com (Sony brand). It will give 2 to 3 hours recording time, which, when combined with the battery that came with this camcorder, will be about 4 hours of battery time. This should be plenty for most users. The batteries also recharge remarkably fast (except for the first two batteries I mentioned. Those require an optional "fast charge charger" to get them to charge quickly).

By the way, the Samsung mini dv had many complaints of low battery time (40 minutes or less). I think Sony makes the longest lasting batteries, and I have done a lot of research on this! I hope you will take my word for it, and check out this digital 8 handycam yourself!

This is my first Sony Camcorder product. My previous models were Panasonic VHS-C and a Canon MiniDV. The Sony Digital 8 and other MiniDV cameras are DIGITAL format. Sony uses 8mm while the other use 6mm. Digital 8 is Sony's standard and if you have ever seen Beta compared to VHS you would see that Sony standards are excellent. If a salesman tries to tell you the quality of a Digital 8 is like VHS - they are lying or either not informed.

I ended up purchasing a new camcorder since my cats chewed through my Canon Power Cord. The Panasonic did not connect via Firewire (iLink).

So for an early Christmas present I was given this camcorder - I got to pick it out. I chose this one because it feels robust and it feels like quality. Many of the miniDV's on the market feel cheap. The viefinder tilts up unlike most MiniDV's today. So this works well if you need to close the LCD and look through the viewfinder while it is on a tripod. As well, this camera sports controls on the LCD, Nightshot - which is excellent by the way!!!! There are many features I want go into detail on, but they are listed on this page. The only thing I wished it has was a microphone in port so I could use an separate microphone. The built-in mic works great though.

It connects to my Mac Mini with NO problems. I read one post from a reader about how it wouldn't connect to their computer. There are so many possible reasons why it wouldn't work that I will not go into detail. Suffice it to say, when I first got my Canon it would never work on my Windows 98 machine with a Firewire card. However it worked fine on my Apple Powerbook and my former Dell laptop with Windows XP. So sometimes it is just the OS, the technology and grimlens in the system.

Sony is quality and I do feel I received a quality product. I highly recommend it. You will NOT be disappointed. Controls are put in a logical locations and the battery is a simple "snap" to get in - unlike my old Canon.

[...]

I wonder if more buyers had the same issue, maybe I misread the information available, but this camera is NOT compabile with the Hi8 nor 8mm formats. You can use tape with Hi8 and 8mm specs., but you CANNOT PLAYBACK any Hi8 nor 8mm tapes with this Digital8 camcorder. Be careful about it!

After one month of use I have been pleasantly surprised by this camera from Sony. At around $260 I think it's the best value around and the best combination of performance and price that you will find. First you might think that a camera this low priced would not have much in the way of bells and whistles but you'd be wrong. Enhancements and effects life fade in and out, titling, dubbing; effects like stretching, sepia tone, pastels; photo mode, and various recording modes give this camera a lot of bang for your buck.

The camera is quite easy to use, and a comfortable fit and feel at under 2 pounds. it records quite well in low light although not fantastic in the dark, but again for the price it does very well. I didn't buy the optional battery pack since it's about 25% of the cost of the entire camera and for me that would lower the overall price value of the camera. Runs all my VCRs and my 14 year old had it hooked up and recording onto VHS in no time. Great value

I wanted to purchase a digital camcorder to record family events, parties, kid's performaces at school, etc. Until now, I was using 9 year old 8mm Sony TR86 camcorder that at the time of purchase was very basic...no LCD, no stabilization, etc. But at that price (it cost over [...] then) that all what I could afford. And I can tell you for 9 years, this camcorder was servicing me very well but now my son needs that camcorder to record his school's projects.
I decided to purchase miniDV camcorder that would do something very basic that I used to do with my old camcorder and the price would not exceed [...] (I wanted to spend more on Panasonic GS500 but to shell out extra [...] were not in my budget plan) So...I completed my one months homework and found that new moderl of JVC D650 should be a perfect match for me. When I purchased that camera for [...] and brought it home, I could not believe how bad it was shooting videos inside the house. All videos were like they were done at the basement without any source of light and when I compared JVC's video against my 9-year-old Sony, I returned JVC the same day.
Then I came accross the website where it was saying that Digital8 camcorders shoot not worse picture than miniDV and I started my new advanture to find perfect Digital8 camcorder. After only one evening behind the computer, I new for sure that it will be Sony TRV280. So far, I have this camcorder for only two days but I can tell you, it is AWESOME camcorder. It is not as light or small as miniDV camcorder but it shoots excellent video both inside and outside the house. Nigthtime shooting mode is excellent to pick up objects even in the total darkness.
Colors are rich and full. Sound is incredible clear. I used to record in Mono with my old camcorder so 16bit stereo sound recording is a big step up for me. Also Digital8/Hi8 tapes are much cheaper that miniDV ones. I searched e-Bay and found several dozen of selers that offer 10 Sony Digital8 tapes for only $23 including shpping.
The battery is kind of small but this is not a problem as I will buy a larger capacity battery anyway soon.
And one more thing...I only paid [...] for that camcorder.
As a conclusion, I am very happy that I choose this camcorder. Let everyone say that miniDV is a future and than 8mm format is a dinasour but I like my new dinasour. I am higly recommend this camcorder.

My husband and I were looking for a good camcorder that was functional but not too expensive. THIS is it!! For $300 we got a great camcorder that you can also take still shots with. Lots of features and very very easy to use. We have had it about a week, not really used it for lots of videoing, just getting used to it. But the quality of the recordings are great, the light is VERY BRIGHT and it picks up sound good too. We both give it 5 stars. It was just what we were looking for.

We have went through several camcorders trying to find one that was good quality at a low price. This one is awesome! It's easy to use, the battery lasts and even says how many minutes of recording time you have left (we had problems with other camcorders and short battery life). The picture is very crisp and the sound quality is great...I am very impressed and happy with our purchase! Honestly, if anyone were shopping for a camera in this price range, this is the way to go...and I speak from experience after returning 3 others already!

I got this camera for college, because we all know that sometimes a video is worth... well years of laughter. This camera is amazing. The sound quality once you get it on decent speakers is amazing for a camera this expensive. Even more impressive, I plugged the camera into my computer via the Firewire cable (the USB cable is for web cam only, sorry if you don't have a firewire adapter, go buy one) and my computer auto recognized the camera, opened windows movie maker, and asked me if I wanted to import. Needless to say, it was seamless integration. The quality is awesome, the sound is awesome, the videos are hilarious... it is WELL worth the money. And as for Sony going down the drains, I don't know about all of that, but I can tell you this camera is awesome.