Sony DCRTRV110P Handycam Digital Camcorder

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4 x 4.2 x 8.5 inches ; 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00003XB9Z
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,724 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1999

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The Sony DCR-TRV110P Handycam provides top-of-the-line digital recording with a host of advanced options. Its powerful 360x digital zoom, wide range of special effects, image stabilization, and Sony's unique infrared night recording capabilities make it a great choice for those needing high-end digital camcorder features. Sony's elongated Handycam design fits easily in one hand and is well-balanced. While not the lightest of camcorders, we found the Handycam line to be one of the most ergonomic and easy to use.

The Sony DCR-TRV110P Handycam has a nifty status screen on the outside of the LCD screen module that lets you know how many minutes you've recorded or how far you've played a tape. It also tells you if there's a tape in the camcorder. This screen is backlit for maximum visibility.

The LCD screen swivels 210 degrees, which lets you record above your head or put yourself in the picture. The optical viewfinder is black and white, which is not a realdrawback since we ended up using the LCD screen for most of our shooting. The unit's playback buttons are backlit, making it easier to use the Sony DCR-TRV110P Handycam as a VCR. This video camera also comes with a remote control unit.

The Sony DCR-TRV110P Handycam lets you manually adjust focus and exposure; it also includes seven programmed exposure modes, plus backlight compensation, to help optimize your video under different shooting conditions. The Sony DCR-TRV110P provides three recording modes--normal, hold-down, and five-second--to help you take short, lively video segments. You can also record still photos. The high-powered 360x digital zoom is great for getting closeups and recording faraway events, and a built-in electronic image stabilizer helps prevent camera shake--especially useful when using the zoom or during fast-action events.

We enjoyed Sony's full range of special effects, including the distinctive pastel, slim, and stretch picture modes. The DCR-TRV110P provides widescreen, black-and-white, sepia, negative, and solarized modes. We also liked the range of fade options, which include fade to black, mosaic, monotone, overlap, and a bounce-image effect. The video camera includes digital effects for playback, including still, flash, lumi, slow shutter, old movie, and trail modes. You can even insert a scene in the middle of a recording.

The camcorder includes Sony's exclusive NightShot capability, which lets you shoot video in total darkness. The Handycam emits an invisible infrared beam to light the scene. The resulting video is basically black and white, and lower quality than normal, but being able to get decent images in complete darkness is nonetheless pretty amazing. The DCR-TRV110P comes with a mount for an external standard light.

This camcorder uses the Digital 8 format, which lets you record digital video on a standard Hi8 tape. Digital video gives you extraordinary video quality--up to 500 lines of resolution and CD-quality sound; it's the top-of-the-line format. The digital format allows you to take digital still pictures, just like a digital camera. If you want to download and edit your digital still images and video on a computer, however, you have to purchase a separate video capture card first. You can also use this camcorder to play back analog 8mm and Hi8 tapes--a handy feature if you have previously recorded video in these formats.

Pros:

• Super-powerful zoom
• Still photo capability
• High-quality digital format
• Great selection of special effects
• Image stabilization

Cons:

• Optical viewfinder is black and white

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

320 of 326 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Product - worked marvelously, January 17, 2000

By 

Hans Pang (Palo Alto, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony DCRTRV110P Handycam Digital Camcorder (Electronics)

I bought a Sony DCR-DTV110 in December of 1999 (it is essentially the same as the 110P) and brought it along with me on a trip to China. The Camera survived my two week journey and was able to capture brilliant pictures. Even though the manual stated the camera had an operating temperature above freezing the camera worked perfectly in the sub-freezing temperatures in Beijing. The steadyshot feature noticeably improved picture quality. It makes a great match for a new Apple PowerMac G4 or iMac DV since they both include a firewire interface that lets you digitize video quickly and easily. PC users will need to shell out a couple hundred dollars for a firewire card. Home users that aren't interested in editing but just in capturing quality pictures should be impressed as well. The digital recording makes the picture sharper and the colors look brighter. You can easily hook the camera to your TV with the included RCA cables. Another plus - This camera uses standard 8mm tape, saving you money over buying expensive MiniDV tape. Enjoy!

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for iMac/PowerBook!, February 19, 2000

By 

Andy (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sony DCRTRV110P Handycam Digital Camcorder (Electronics)

I recently purchased the TRV103 (which is nearly identical to the 110) and it is a fantastic camcorder. It also connects easily to iMac and the new PowerBook G3 via FireWire and, with no extra hardware, allows capture and editing. This is the perfect camera for us as we have a newborn and want to share pictures/movies with distant relatives. A great purchase.