Customer Reviews

Sony DCRTRV530 Digital8 Camcorder with Builtin Digital Still Mode

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Sony's Digital8 cameras have been consitently good for a number of years. This new line (the 30 series) seems to be a step down from their usual high quality.

I bought the TRV530, and for the most part, I am pleased.

First off- the good features: this camera has a very nice, high-rez 3.5" LCD screen, a more sensitive focus ring than previous cameras, and all of the built-in connections are streamlined along the camera's base, freeing up room around the headphone and mic connections near the base of the lens.

Now, the bad. Most of these comments are more aesthetics than anything, so it'll just take a little getting used to.

Sony's new line now uses the InfoLithium M-series batteries, which are about half the size and twice the price of the L-series batteries used on all previous D8 cams. All of the digital, picture, and auto-exposure options are deep within Sony's on-screen menu instead of having easy-access buttons.

This camera is very compact in size and shape, which is very nice and sleek. However, one compromise of the camera's size is that now, the tape loads from the bottom. At first this is kinda cool, but then you realize that if you're using a tripod and need to change tapes, you must pop the camera off the tripod, remove the mounting plate, eject the old tape, pop in a new one, and remount the camera on the tripod, which, in my opinion, is extremely stupid on Sony's part.

Another thing that really annoys me is the Black and White viewfinder. Whereas all of the cameras in the 20 and 10 series had color viewfinders, all of Sony's new cameras have Black & white viewfinders, which makes it impossible to pick out anything colorful when it's too bright to use the LCD screen.

Also- whereas Sony's TRV720 had a huge 4" LCD screen, the largest LCD screen you can get now is the 530's 3.5" screen. (The TRV730, the so-called "replacement" to the 720, only has a 2.5" screen.)

But again, all of the above comments are aesthetics only, and I'm sure that eventually I can get used to these changes. However, one new feature that bothers me a bit is the grain. Sure, all cameras will become grainy in low-light situations because you have to gain up the iris in order to see. But I've been noticing a subtle but distinct graininess even in full sunlight. The cameras in the 20 series had a slight grain to them all the time, but in this camera the grain seems a bit more defined.

All-in-all, it's a good camera with many nice features (like the 1/30th sec shutter speed- great for a more film-like look.) But the problems with grain and the overall stupidity of a Black and White viewfinder knock down my rating for this.

The TRV-20 series was a work of art. The new TRV-30 series seems more like a step in the wrong direction.

Sony, why mess with a good thing?

I purchased this camera a few weeks back. I've had camcorders for nearly 15 years and I can tell you that this camera is definantly worth every penny. The 3.5" screen is so easy to use. It makes every shot a breeze. The 7oox zoom allows you to get close-up that were previously not possible. I use it alot at my daughters musicals,etc.No longer do I have to position myself near the front on the floor. I can go to the back of the gym at the top of the bleachers and do my filming. Having the memory stick feature to be able to take digital pics is just an added bonus that puts this camera over the top. Hats off to SONY for an all round PERFECT camera. No complaints.

I have been using a Sony 8mm camcorder for a number of years. I bought this because my wife wanted a digital camera and I wanted to edit video on my computer.

The digital editing has worked out well and it has been fun, once I got my firewire card to work right. The software that comes with it works adequately. I was disappointed in the video quality in low light situations. It gets very grainy compared to my old 8mm unless you turn on Nightshot, but then everything is a shade of green.

The digital camera piece is also disappointing. The picture quality is very poor, though OK for my wife that prints mostly 2X3 inch pictures for scrapbooks. She went with this size because anything bigger looks bad. I do not like looking at the pictures on screen because of the poor quality.

For the price I don't know that you can get any better and I still enjoy and use it, but the quality wasn't as good as I had hoped.

Buyer beware. The 640 X 480 pixel resolution of the still photos cannot be printed in an acceptable quality. I have been happy with the camcorder functions and the digital media is easy to work with but the poor still quality is a real problem for me.

This was my first video camera that I've ever owned. I really liked the video quality in a lighted area (daylight or lots of indoor lighting). I also liked the sound quality especially with a help of the zoom microphone. Also loved the 3.5" LCD and the high range optical zoom (25X). But was disappointed with the nightshot (even with the IR optional lighting accessory). The Digital still photo quality is less than average, i.e. don't buy this camera if Digital still photography is as important as video recording for you. I was also very disppointed that I was not able to use my Remote Commander to view the Digital still photos (memory). I wish that I would have spent a bit more and bought the DCR-TRV 830.

For me this camera had the perfect mix of features so I picked it up to record my hiking adventures. First off the motor was so loud it was terrible (louder than my gal's voice in some scenes). I took it up Mt Timpanogos and discovered that not only was it too loud, but the 360 degree mic was overpowered by even the smallest breezes, and colors of flowers and plants got totally washed out in bright sunlight (can be corrected by a filter). The B&W viewfinder is useless (I couldn't make out a deer standing in shadow 20 meters away) and the LCD is hard to see in bright sun. It was also way too heavy to carry in a pack all day. In low light conditions it gets very grainy (to be expected, but not to this degree). I returned it and now am trying a DCRTRV17. Same mic and LCD but with a color VF, much smaller and lighter (DVC), a super quiet motor, but only 10x op-zoom.

Really love this camera. Colors and detail are very nice. Using it for DV to computer editing; Putting 12 minutes of footage of my kids in Mpeg2, burning to a CD and sending to relatives. Firewire functionality great. In low light it's grain is there and it hunts a bit in autofocus but with good light it's great. Nice manual focus and sound it better than any other camera of this grade that I've had (3). Sure blows away anything that Canon has under a k. Very pleased so far.

This is an excellent buy. I bought 3 of the TRV 30 series camcorders and found this to be the best just because it has a bigger display LCD3.5" and it is moderately priced. I think the picture quality is much better than the 230 or the 330 which were the other two.
I do agree that the still shots could have been much better to print. But overall, the graininess of pictures is much less than that on the 230 or 330.
I do not know about the higher end ones like 930 etc. But this one is value for money

I already own the extremely small JVC GR-DVP3U and was looking for a good second camera. I needed something larger for more recreational use.. The features that caused me to buy this unit where the Sony name, large LCD and the fact that the digital8 format would allow me to still dubb and play my Hi8 and 8mm tapes. I took for granted that the images would be crystal clear and the capabilities would be as expected in 2002. Howver, I will be returning this camera within my alloted 30 days. The low light capabilities are non-existant. I tried filming in my living room with 3 lights on and the images were worse than my old 8mm Viewcam. Outside in bright light if operates fine. Still images are pathetic! This is not Sony's best work. look elsewhere.

This is my fourth camcorder. My first two were JVC, Then when they wore out I ordered a Panasonic and sent it back the next day. This one seems just right although I did order a Vidio light for it. I only use the still shots for e-mail or web as anyone knows you can not get pro prints with small resolution. I have a high resolution digital camera for serious stuff and this is great for fun times.