Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DCRTRV19 MiniDV Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and Remote

the trv19 is the lowest priced camcorder in the trv19/22/33 family. still, this is a camcorder that has a very nice feature set.

pros:
- compact design, light weight.
- larger size CCD should provides better low-light performance.
- miniDV media is widely supported.
- great connectivity options: firewire, USB, S-video, headphone, mic input, etc.
- carl zeiss lens.
- intelligent accessory shoe.
- steady shot and night shot.
- progressive shutter system.
- supports exif 2.2.

cons:
- it would have been nice to get a bigger 3.5" LCD.
- you can only record stills at 640 x 480 on tape; memory stick not supported!
- no pop-up flash for taking stills and no built in video light but you can get a flash/video combo light for less than a hundred bucks.
- black and white viewfinder.
- as with most sony products, you pay a premium, pushing up the price.

if you're looking for a camcorder and still capability is not important, this camcorder should be on your short list. if you want still capability, skip this camcorder and consider the trv33, pc-105, or the panasonic gs70 (top pick for me).

i myself have a dedicated digital camera to complement my camcorder but i still want still capability of at least 1 megapixel. you just never know when you might need to take a still picture and you've left your digital camera back in the car/hotel room/house. capturing still pics on DV tape just does not cut it unless all you want to do is post it on the web. if you want to print out your picture, you'll be disappointed.

all in all, the trv19 is a nice camcorder. just don't expect it to do what it wasn't designed to. cheers.

This review is more on justifying the higher price. Most professional reviews I read loved this line of camcorders and many Amazon reviews seemed to agree.

Shortly after my son was born we realized that a camcorder was needed along with our trusty Nikon 4500 to capture the moments. I knew nothing about camcorders. I found that my wish to use the camcorder with a pc complicated the decision. After a month of researching I decided on the Sony DCRTRV19. After reading all the online opinions to get me here, I figured I owed one myself.

Here's what I wanted in a camcorder:
1. Digital media for better archiving and future projects.
2. Great image quality but not professional.
3. Did not need still pictures or memory slots to capture them.
4. Did not need ability to archive old analog tapes.
5. I wanted good low light video quality.
6. I initially didn't want to spend more than $500.
7. Later I realized size was important.

I initially found the Sony DCRTRV250 on Amazon that met all but the last criteria. I found the DCRTRV250's didn't use the miniDV format, but the Digital8 increasing it's bulk. Initially I felt I could live with the size and I would transfer everything to my pc anyways. I'd also save some money.

I decided to look into some miniDV cameras at around the same price as the Sony DCRTRV250. I got excited about the Samsung SDC27, JVC GRD30, Panasonic PVDV53, and Sharp VLZ3U. In Consumer Reports and other references, I read that either their video quality was only good (Sony was very good) and/or their low light video quality was poor.

While reading the reviews on the miniDV camcorders, I learned a lot about transferring video to a pc. I almost got fed up and got a Hi8 camera and a stack of tapes. There were many "this software sucks" complaints. Here's what I learned on the video to pc process:

1. Most the camcorders I looked at allow for video transfer via USB. Transfers via USB however are slower and result in poorer video quality on your pc.
2. Transfer via Firewire is the way to go for speed and higher video quality.
3. You need to have or get a Firewire card for your desktop or laptop.
4. You need software that recognizes your camcorder. If your operating system regularly retrieves automatic updates, this shouldn't be a problem. Most people had this issue related to video transfers, not still images.
5. Most video editing software bundled in with the camcorder is worthless.
6. I figured that my videos will take up lots of computer memory.

So you can see what a can of worms you open by wanting to transfer your camcorder videos to a pc. For me I will need a Firewire, Firewire card, video editing software, dvd burner and bigger or external hard drive. For some reason the iMac kept popping in my head.

I nearly went back to the bulky DCRTRV250. In the end I concluded that with a smaller camcorder, I'll more likely bring it along to random events and capture more of my son growing up. This justified spending a little more on the smaller Sony DCRTRV19. One more factor I like is that fewer people will notice me filming.

I was looking for a MiniDV camcorder that was small, easy to hold, with the best image and sound quality I could afford. I didn't want still picture recording, MPEG recording, a memory stick, or any of that other stuff that a digital still camera does better, and which just jacks up the camcorder's price.

After trying low-end JVC, Panasonic, Sharp, and Sony models, I settled on the Sony TRV19: it has the best image quality by far of all the low-end MiniDV cameras, and meets my other criteria as well. Only thing that's less than stellar is the sound: the stereo separation is good, but I hear camera motor noise occasionally on playback. This is endemic to low-end cameras, and no worse in the Sony than others I've tried, so I'm OK with it. This model has a hotshoe for an external mic, so I have an out if I need it.

I've shot about 6 hours so far, all handheld, and I'm very happy with this model.

Extremely well done - top to bottom.

NOTE for Macintosh Users: Cannot interface via USB. But no worries, a FireWire cable makes the camcorder totally Mac-compatible. Must get a "4-to-6-pin Thin FireWire cable" and use the iLink DV interface on camcorder. After you have this $8 cable, everything is pretty easy. An hour later we were editing video clips in iMovie. (The included USB cable is useless for Macintosh.)

I'm not an aspiring director. I don't want to edit my films, or make stunning documentaries, and I have a digital camera so I don't care if my camcorder takes still pictures. All I want to do is take it with me on vacation and get some good video to rememeber my trips by. This Sony is great for this type of thing. There aren't many bells and whistles, but it takes good pictures indoors and out (unlike the Cannon that I returned which shot grainy pictures indoors.) Its really small so you don't have to leave it behind. It fits easily in a fanny pack with your map and guide book. If you are looking to be the next big Hollywood director, go shell out some more cash for a different camera, but if you just want good home movies, this is your best bet.