Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony CCD-TR818 Hi8mm Camcorder

Wow. What a buy for the price. This camera has most all the options of a way more expensive camera, but it for only (this price). People complain about it not having an LCD, I do not like those, they result in shaky photography (not with this puppy though and its Image Stabilization, which is great.) and it drains the battery. So I didn't care about that. If you really want an LCD, you can move up to the next level, which is 50 dollars more. But in the process you lose the Image Stabilization, so really this camera is the better buy. It come with great features. First off, the battery lasts for a long time, you can get 90 minutes of footage which it, even with auto-focus and zooming in and out. Its great. And its easy to recharge, in fact the camera tells you how many minutes left until a full charge. Also, it tells you the minutes of camera battery you have left, instead of one of those battery meters, which can be misleading. It comes with cool features, one where it outlines the subjects in the picture, and makes it turn into a cartoon. You can make black and white movies, and even record in 16:9 mode. It comes with a titler, so you can label you movies. You can chooose the location, size, and color of the title, and it has capibility to write in 22 lanuages...which was handy on my trip to Mexico. The NightShot OLux was too cool, even when it is pitch black, the thing can record and see everything. It has 20x optical zoom, and 460x digital. I don't like digital, it just enlarges the pixels to zoom, so the 20x optical is all you need. It inlcudes 5 types of faders, which are all neat. The camera can record any play my old 8mm tapes. For the price, this is a wonder. If you are looking for any eaasy camera to use, chucked with all the options, get the Sony CCD-TR818. Make sure before you use it to turn of "auto-date" which automatically puts the date on the first 10 seconds of a shot. It can be easily turned off in the user-friendly menu system.

After wanting a videocam for a couple of years, I finally took the plunge with this one. My choice has proven itself over and over again to have been right on target. I was shooting videos within 10 minutes of getting home with the TR818, with only brief reference to the manual (on how to open the door to put the tape in.) I am a true video novice, but everything else --insertion of battery, actual recording, activation of the cool Nightshot infrared capability, switch from record mode to playback-- was achieved intuitively. This is my first videocam, and I LOVE it. The icing on the cake is that pictures play back crisply on a 27" screen TV. Beautiful. I am sorry now I waited so long to buy a recorder, because with cameras like the TR818 out there, no one has any reason to be intimidated by the technology any longer.

This camcorder is wonderful! I tried one to film a small movie for my sons softball team and found myself making several movies. I love the viewfinder and the many picture effects (Mosaic, Solarization, Monotone, etc.). And you can insert custom titles in 22 different languages. The Lithium-Ion battery lasts forever and recharges. This model comes with Sony's Nightshot which makes it able to shot movies in total darkness. This really is a great camera.

I finally bought the Sony 818 the other day after looking around for a camcorder for some time.

I decided on the 818 over the Cannon ES60 because the 818 comes with more features like night shot, steady shot, and a fantastic feature that tells you how many minutes of battery life you have left.

The camera was a piece of cake to learn to operate. It was very self explanitory and the bit of the manual I did read seemed very helpful.

The 818 does lack some features which may be important to some people. For one, it does not have a side mounted viewfinder like the next model up. It also does not have a built in light. However, the viewfinder is color (the next model up is not although it does have a side mounted viewfinder) and you can purcahse a light and mount seperately from Sony for about 100 Canadian Dollars. If you are going up to the next level specifically for the light don't bother! Buy it seperately and buy the 818.

The quality of the footage on my 26 inch TV does not seem the best. The audio is alright but does pick up "white noise" like most camcorders.

The 818 is the lowest model of Camcorder sony makes. The third lowest, which is about 300 Canadian Dollars more, is exactly the same as the 818 except for the built in light, and the side mounted colour viewfinder (which the more expensive model has If these features don't excite you go for the 818! You get the same camera the same quality, the same lense, the same everything except these features.

I suggest the 818 to most people but if you are very concerned by "white noise" and a slightly fuzzy picture then go to a digital or otherwise much higher model.

this has all you need for a good video, although not as fancy as a digital camcorder. plenty of special effects. a great ease of use. and you can even edit your videos as well. this is a must-buy.