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Sony DCR-TRV245 Digital8 Camcorder

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Sony DCR-TRV250 Digital8 Camcorder

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Sony DCR-TRV140 Digital8 Camcorder

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Sony DCR-TRV238 Handycam Digital8 Camcorder

Sony

The Sony DCR-TRV238 is an affordable Digital8 camcorder that is packed with features. The Digital8 format is a development of Hi8 and employs the same size tapes which means if you are already using an analogue Hi8 camcorder you can upgrade and still playback your existing tapes. While not as small as DV systems it also offers better value for money in both cameras and tapes. The Sony's TRV238 is small and light enough to use reasonably unobtrusively. At its heart is an 800,000 pixel CCD which offers pin-sharp digital video of around 500 lines, about twice that of VHS. Around 290,000 of these pixels are effective, much of the balance supporting the Super Steady Shot feature. The image stabilisation system, along with automatic setting of virtually every other function makes producing high-quality results simple.
Despite the impressive list of features the DCR-TRV238 is very easy to use, you can simply leave everything set to auto and shoot away, leaving the more esoteric controls for later experimentation. The variable-speed zoom is a joy to use. There's a 25x optical zoom backed by a digital zoom which takes you all the way to 700x. However digital zoom reduces the image quality. There is a setting to limit the digital zoom to 50x, which is advisable.
Among the other features buried in the onscreen menu system are a collection of editing effects, such as a set of faders, which are best left well alone, and the ability to add titles to your recording. There are also some digital filters which can be fun, but have a tendency to make your film look like a 1970s music video. You can apply these filters after recording which means you can experiment later while playing back tapes, you can even zoom during playback too.
The menu system is easy enough to use but has a lot of work to do at times. For example, a separate button to cancel all applied special effects would be handy to save you having to navigate back through the menu again. Other features include Super NightShot, an infrared mode for shooting in darkness and a wonderful time-lapse mode which is great fun. As well as video you can capture still images, over 500 onto a tape. This is handled rather neatly. There's a special photo button which freezes the image on a light push and takes a picture on a more determined one. Each image takes about seven seconds to capture. The image quality on stills is not of the same calibre as a standalone digital camera, but is still a useful additional feature.
Battery life using the supplied battery is good enough for a quick session, about an hour or an hour and a half of continuous use if you avoid the LCD and keep to long shots, but spares, or high-capacity replacement batteries are recommended.
The camcorder can output in analogue S-VHS or composite and in pure digital, both via the iLink (DV Out connection) and USB. The Sony DCR-TRV238 offers an excellent way into the world of digital video with an impressive set of features and a lot of hardware for the money. If you are interested in editing your footage on a PC, you may be better off looking at the DCR-TRV240, which has a similar specification to this model, but also includes DV input.--Miles Berkeley
Sony Handycam DCR-TRV460E - Camcorder - 540 Kpix - optical zoom: 20 x - Digital8

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Sony Handycam DCR-TRV145E - Camcorder - 540 Kpix - optical zoom: 20 x - Digital8

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Sony DCR-TRV340 Digital8 Camcorder

Sony

The Sony DCR-TRV340 is a top of the range Digital8 Camcorder. The Hi8format is a compact and high resolution analogue system and Digital8keeps the same tapes but makes the switch to a digital format. It has the great advantage of being able to play existing Hi8 tapes, thus making a sensible upgrade for analogue camcorder owners who want to switch to digital. Sony's TRV340 is compact and feature-rich camcorder which is cheaper than comparable MiniDV systems. The images produced are rich in colour, well defined and accurate. The main features are a decent 37 mm lens, an excellent stabilisation system and a powerful zoom, offering 25x optical backed by a huge digital zoom taking this to 700x. The digital zoom does degrade the image noticeably so you are best sticking to moderate use. The menu system on the LCD controls a whole host of functions. Some are genuinely useful, some are best avoided and others are just plain fun. The time-lapse photography is a hoot, as well as having some practical application and some of the digital filters are good fun too. You can apply many of the special effects after recording and experiment with them before editing down a tape to another deck or simply play about with them during playback. The Super NightShot mode uses infrared to shoot in complete darkness at up to 10 feet. The menu is a little fiddly and after a while you begin to wish there were even more buttons elsewhere to control things. The exposure mode does have it's own button which is a blessing as this is the one you'll need to access most. Despite all this there are automatic modes for everything, so you needn't touch any setting to get going. It's been designed for those who want to use their camcorders quickly and easily and not have to invest too much time and effort learning the technicalities of videoing, just achieve good results with the minimum of fuss. The camera can input and output video in analogue and has digital video out (referred to as iLink/Firewire and DV Out). It's surprising not to see DV-in on what is otherwise such a well specified camcorder. The edit functions include scene selection so you cut out what you don't want as you transfer a video. It can even act as a digital to analogue converter for your old analogue tapes. The main extra feature of the DCR-TRV340 over the lesser 238 and 240 is the addition of a Sony Memory Stick as an alternative recording media. An 8 MB Memory Stick is included. The resolution is 640 by 480 pixels for still images and 320 by 240 for MPEGvideo. One clever feature is the ability to mix video and digital images using chromakey, overlap and luminescence enabling all sorts of special effects possible as you shoot rather than applied at the editing stage. You can copy images from your Memory Stick to tape and vice versa. You can even connect a printer directly to the camera and print them out. Using the Memory Stick for stills is faster than using the tape and saves a lot of battery power. It's not easy to find a serious shortcoming in the TRV340, it does everything you could ask with style and manages to be good value while doing it. --Miles Berkeley
Sony DCR-TRV130 Digital8 Camcorder

Sony

The Sony DCR-TRV130 Digital8 Camcorder provides a good introduction to the world of digital video, being an easy-to-use and capable entry level digital camcorder. Despite being Sony's "best value" Digital8 camcorder, the TRV130 has a list of features that would fill this review on its own.
The Digital8 format uses standard 8 mm tapes to store digital video rather than the more expensive MiniDV format. You can fit up to 90 minutes on a single tape in LP mode. The TRV130 is respectably compact and light (under a kilogram). The controls are logically placed, making it easy to use with one hand. The quarter-inch CCD produces video images of around 440 lines, not equal to the maximum capabilities of a PAL television but considerably better than standard analogue camcorders. The lens is threaded and you can fit other Sony lenses to extend the capabilities such as telephoto and wide-angle. There's a 2.5-inch colour LCD screen, but the viewfinder is black and white. The remote can be used to control both playback and recording. The zoom should be enough for everybody: a 20x optical backed by a digital zoom to push the maximum to 560x.
Battery life is reasonable at about 50 minutes but the optional high-capacity battery is a worthwhile investment, especially as it is so tempting to watch your recordings on the LCD screen as soon as you've made them.
Some real effort has been exerted to make the TRV130 easy to operate--it takes about five seconds to "warm up" from the moment you turn it on. There are a few digital filters and effects such as sepia, pastel and the like. These are fun to play about with but are really gimmicks, more useful is the titler.
Unless you have some really exotic demands, the TRV130 is certainly an excellent value. It's easy to use and produces good recordings without fuss. It's not as flexible as some and the image quality suffers a little from a small CCD, but for most purposes it fits the bill perfectly. --Miles Berkeley