Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DCRTRV8 Handycam Digital Camcorder

I feel compelled to comment on the Canon vs Sonycomparison. I've used both and find the TRV8's picture as good orbetter than the Optura and Elura. The audio for the Canon models was horrible, the Sony is good, not perfect. As far as value, the Sony gets the nod. I love the size--the light weight will make you use the camera all the time. The only drawback is that some of the controls are a little too small for my large hands.

This camera easily connects to a computer via Firewire. This is very cool. I connect to my Mac and I can control the camera functions on screen, capture clips, edit and output back to tape or as a digital file on my hard drive. Granted, the Canon cameras can do this too--the Sony makes it easier since capture and device control is approved in Premiere and Final Cut Pro---the two major editing software programs.

Having just emerged from camcorder-purchasing hell, I will share my thoughts with my pals as Amazon. I may keep this one because it is a good compromise and has the best sound I've found, but I may take it back. Here's why: 1. Picture--not nearly as good as the Canon Elura, similarly priced, or even quite as good as the Canon Ultura, $300 less. The colors aren't as saturated, and the image isn't as natural (The Canons, however, have sound pickup problems, severe in the Elura, which make them unacceptable. What does Canon think? We don't want to hear the tapes we're recording?). 2. The battery charges inside the camcorder, a particularly dim idea since you can't charge and record at the same time. External battery charger is an extra $150 accessory. 3. How can a camcorder at the turn of the millenium not come supplied with an S-video cable? This one doesn't have one.4. The still photos aren't as good in quality as either of the Canons (with or without progressive scan) or nearly as good as the high-end JVC model (with progressive scan). 5. The digital image stabilization, crucial to non-annoying video playback, is better than any JVC, but not close to as good as the optical stabilization in the Canons (the only ones which do it optically).6. The zoom is only a measly 10:1 optically, the equivalent of high-end JVCs, but not as good as Canon's 12:1 and 16:1 optical zooms. And don't let anyone fool you about a zillion:one digital zoom. The quality of the picture deteriorates so rapidly that it's virtually useless. Frankly, our 5-year-old Ricoh 8mm has better, warmer microphone pickup--and hence audio playback--than any of the digitals I've tested, and its picture quality isn't that bad. I think I've just talked myself into saving a thousand dollars or so. Maybe in a year, the digital crop will be more promising.

Sony outdid themselves with this camera. It has all the digital effects you need in a cam corder with the ability to take still shots at a touch of the button. The dv tape is small and easy to carry around. It holds both the digital pictures and the video on the same film. This makes it easy to record in both modes when at an affair. The result is a video record with 5 second sound bites when still shots are used. Comes with a good grouping of transfer methods from firewire to svideo to infra red. Movies can be quickly loaded onto computer and easy to edit.

I bought this for distributing family videos. Since this camera contains a IEEE 1394 adapter, it's very simple to transfer video to a computer. It has lived up to it's promises.

Great camera with large LCD screen. Takes great pictures
in bright light. Not bad in low light with slow shutter.

Problems
No shutter speed control above 1/30.
No pass through of RCA/Svid to IEEE 1394 for capture use.
No line level audio input while taping.
Focus controls right next to microphone.
Zoom control fragile.
Camera forgets last mode when shut off.
No histogram of exposure.