Customer Reviews

Sony DCRTRV103 Handycam Digital Camcorder

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I connect this camcorder to my PC via its firewire port. Not only can I edit the footage I shoot on my PC, but the analog-in feature allows me to tape TV shows and copy VHS tapes to my computer hard drive. The quality of the camera is very high, and the 2.5" LCD is plenty big. I have purchased the NPF950 battery, which allows 12 hours of continuous operation. This is a very well thought out product.

Ive used a number of camcorders in the past,VHS,VHS-C,8mm,Hi-8,Mini DV,and now Digital-8. At first I thought it was a joke,recording onto the old 8mm format in digital, but once I used the camera and saw the flawless picture and incredible sound I was proved wrong.It looks like a regular 8mm camera but it's silver,that seems to be the digital camera color.I feel the most impressive feature on this camera is the night shot mode, you can see and film in total darkness. Also with most digital models being so small you can't get a very big zoom, but since this one is 8mm size the optical zoom is 20x. And of course since it's a Sony it is packed with unmatched looks and great specials modes. I have no reservations for the DCRTRV103 its a top of the line camera with top of the line features at a reasonable price.

We purchased this camcorder after doing research for severalweeks. We bought it with scuba diving in mind as eventually we willbuy the expensive underwater housing.

I can only say that I have been extremely happy with my purchase. One of the first events I captured was my girlfriends little sisters HS graduation. The picture quality and sound play back especially during music performances was great.

We did but a 8 hour battery which added a little weight but runs for seems like forever. We also bought the telephoto lens for those really far away shots.

I normally turn off the digital zoom unless I have an extremely steady hand or have it on a tripod. As you get into the higher zooms if the camera is shaking the pictures gets unusable. Put it on a tripod and at full digital zoom it almost looks as good as optical zoom.

I've used it to capture pictures and then pass this to my computer and have been very happy with the special effects as well.

Robert

I love this camcorder. Picture quality is exceptional and it's easy to use. The downside is the fact that accessories are so expensive _ and some, like the s-cable, are needed to transfer images to VHS tape.

A great digital camcorder at a good price. The only difference between this one and the more expensive 310 is the size of the viewing screen. No big deal since we'll be playing back mostly though our TV anyway. The nightvision recording is pretty cool - you can record with absolutely no light available.

This camcorder is great EXCEPTED for 1 thing the video capture card for your PC. No where does sony or anyone else tell you that I got a Quote of $400.00 for this card?????? Nothing like finding this out before you buy, huh...WHY so much? I WAS going to buy this BUT not now or not until the price of the card Drops Significantly....

Sony® came up with a winner with the Digital 8 format. I have heard of problems importing the data into the Sony Vaio laptop but I have had no problem importing into the Vaio work station. Also, Windows 2000 will support the IEEE-1394 firewire as a native application which means you will be able to bypass the Sony application for video capture and import directly into windows applications such as Adobe® Premiere and internet video conference. This camcorder is the basis for all my current work in snow country (next week I will use it on the ski slopes- and Feb 19th I will be using it to record sled dog races in Redstone Colorado for internet distribution by converting the AVI files to MPEG-2 on my website thebroadscreen). The photo shot capability is not really necessary because this camera does an excellent job of capturing every single frame in full motion and transferring every single frame to the computer for manipulation and production. A real winner for a camera and it plays all your old 8 tapes as well. IEEE1394 will also standardize on several high capacity hardware items this year including the LACIE DVD ram recorder/player due out at the end of this month which will record over 2gb per side of disk at 545.00 MSRP. and IEEE1394 capture cards are now available at 135.00 street price. The digital revolution has arrived!

I have had this camera for about 3 months, and I am very satisfied with the quality of the camera itself (not surprising from Sony), and the quality of the results. Considering the resolution (500 lines, compared to 240~260 for VHS & 400 for S-VHS, both of which are analog), I don't really see any great advantage to going with DV technology, except that a full digital camera is a bit lighter and the fact that you can record up to 2 hours on a DV tape, compared to 1 hour on either 8mm or Hi8 tape. I use both tapes, by the way, and there is no readily noticeable difference in quality. As far as the weight, since I do a lot of handheld recording, I find that I like this one better because a lighter camera is more difficult to keep steady. The recording sound quality is very good also, as well as being able to record in darkness! The ONLY, and I mean ONLY thing about this camera that bothers me is the fact that more of the on-camera controls are not duplicated on the remote control, such as fades, backlight, etc. I do a lot of active videography, and even though I have a very steady hand, it's very hard not to jiggle the camera when trying to turn on a fade or the backlight or one of the picture processing modes. Other than that, I would highly recommend this camera to anyone.

The Sony DCR-TRV103 is a great camera for engineering consulting work. I've used for recording video through the video in port from a crack microscope fitted auxiliary camera, looking at minute structural details on a walkway on a 170 ft. tall elevated water tank (from the ground), as a recorder for an underwater camera for well video inspections, and for many other "normal" uses. The 360X digital zoom is fantastic, however, it must be used in a tripod to keep the video usable. I use it with a video Snappy to pull stills off of the tape. The built in "Still" feature is useful for catching a shot for a steady section on the tape. Great camera. I would be interested in hearing how others use the camera with the FireWire transfer feature.

Originally I wanted a DV model camcorder but I couldn't find one that I really liked that was under $1000. I had looked at the Sony Digital 8 format and thought it was a great idea so I bought this model. I has the features I wanted; DV firewire in/out, S-video in/out, rca a/v in/out, it's stereo, and has a built in 2.5" lcd monitor. The separation on the stereo audio is quite good considering how the left/right mic pickups are in the same chasis. I have yet to hear scanner motor noise in the audio either and it has an external stereo mic input if you want to get a higher quality mic. I used it on an overcast day in the country to get some footage of the dark clouds and the audio was beautiful. The tapes I've tried using are regular 8mm tapes and it came with a Hi-8 tape and to be honest I have yet to see a difference in the video quality (although years from now there may be more dropouts).

If you want manual white balance, you'll have to pay more, but for what this camcorder cost's, it's amazing. Highly recommended!