Sony Handycam DCR-TRV250 Studio - Camcorder - 540 Kpix - optical zoom: 20 x - Digital8

by Sony

Product Details

• ASIN: B0009M1738
• Item model number: DCR-TRV 250
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,897 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 23, 2005

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This product sucks- do not buy!!!, February 1, 2006

By 

Suzanne M. Alves (Alameda, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony Handycam DCR-TRV250 Studio - Camcorder - 540 Kpix - optical zoom: 20 x - Digital8 (Electronics)

We purchased this product in 8/03 and have hardly used it since then (maybe a total of 10 hours recording time). We brought the camera with us to record the first few moments of our second daughter's life and, wouldn't you know, that's when the camera started failing. We were able on that date to reset it and get a few moments of video. But the next time we turned the camera on, we got the same "error" message and could not reset. The "error" message was mysterious-- the code was not in the booklet that came with the camera (with the other error codes) but I found it online. The code combination revealed and error that we should be able to service, which was supposedly that the battery in the unit was not an Infolithium battery (Sony's patented battery) and should be replaced with the proper battery. Problem was, the Infolithium battery was in the unit and the code came up even with no battery in the unit (running on AC power). I looked online and found that several people had the same problem with their cameras. I contacted Sony and got absolutely nowhere with them after speaking to 6 people and 3 levels of management. They were incredibly evasive, gave conflicting information and ultimately did not care whether I, the customer, remained a satisfied loyal Sony consumer or not. I tried to explain that the issue clearly indicated a defect in the product, not a wear and tear issue, and that Sony is responsible to correct defects (this product, in fact, already had one defect recall out (four years after the problem first was reported) because the LCD screen fails). Sony wants $225 to repair this camera, which you can see is ridiculous in light of the camera's price. All in all, the camera has been a failure and Sony is not a responsible manufacturer.

5.0 out of 5 stars My Best Camcorder, December 24, 2008

By 

J. Sell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony Handycam DCR-TRV250 Studio - Camcorder - 540 Kpix - optical zoom: 20 x - Digital8 (Electronics)

My new camcorder works great, it has been almost impossible to find this model and I did and it is great. Thanks.

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best after all these years. New camcorders pale in comparison, February 17, 2008

By 

Rickii B "The eCritic" (Orlando, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony Handycam DCR-TRV250 Studio - Camcorder - 540 Kpix - optical zoom: 20 x - Digital8 (Electronics)

I have had this camcorder for about 4 years now and I have to say it is the best. I was recently in the market for a new camcorder simply because I wanted to update my video equipment. I decided to look into several different formats and I have to tell you that the quality of the new camcorders are horrible as compared to this.

The New camcorders (Optional Reading)
I have tried several camcorders as I was looking for a light weight smaller camcorder. Let me tell you about my experience. The first camcorder I purchased was a Hitachi Hybrid Camcorder DV-HS500A. This is a combination Hard Disk Drive and DVD camcorder that I got open box at Circuit City. I was very impressed with it for about four hours. When it got dark I noticed that the picture quality is horrible in low light. I tried all settings and I must tell you it was of no avail, so off I went back to Circuit City. I then bought a JVC GRD-850 which was a great
camcorder except I could not download any video to the PC. This is because it had a firewire port however it was disabled. Finally, I tried a Panasonic PV-GS85 but the picture quality was way off and washed out. Not to mention the grainy video in low light. This is when I finally gave up.

The DCR-TRV250
The big thing about this sony camcorder is its many features. The biggest feature is the availablilty of the HI-8 Camcorder tapes. Why is this a feature? because its cheap. Best of all, each tape holds 120 mins of
recording. A MiniDV tape holds 60 mins max, a DVD 30 mins and a Flash drive....well it depends on the Flash Drive. Right now the only thing that holds more time is a Hard Drive Camcorder.

Picture Quality
Pictures quality is live and vibrant and accurately reproduces the true colors of the scene.

Night shooting
Because of the 1/6" single CCD night shots are incredible. Very little grain, if any at all. The best thing is the bright light built into the unit and Night-Shot which gives you night vision.

Still Camera
This is not one of the best features. The camera is < 1MP and records onto the tape, but trust me your better off using a digital camera.

Battery Life
The supplied battery last about 1 hour depending on if your using the LCD or the viewfinder. I recommend the viewfinder. The extended life battery lasts about 4 hours. I tend to use both batteries.

Backlighting
Here is a feature that I like, if the background is brighter than the foreground (ie. the sun is behind you) you can press the backlight button to brighten your face. CAUTION: Do not point the camera directly into the sun, it will damage the CCD Sensor.

Output and Connectivity
The Camera comes with the a S-Video connector to connect to a TV's S-Video port, a A/V Out connector to connect to the RCA Connector, Firewire to connect to the computer and a USB Port as another connection to the computer.

Overall this is a great camcorder however it is not without its caveats.

1. Its Heavy.
2. It does not interface with Vista.
3. Large compared to newer camcorders.
4. No memory stick slot.


The good points.
1. Stable and proven technology
2. Night vision
3. Excellent in low light conditions.
4. Backlighting.
5. Video light.
6. In-expensive tapes and 120 mins in LP Mode.
7. Download videos to PC using most available video software (ex. Windows Movie Maker)
8. Adjustable viewfinder.

A great buy. Pick this up if you can. Many people still search for this camcorder as it is backwards compatible with 8mm tapes.