Sony CCD-TRV138 Hi8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom
by Sony
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: SonyRelease Date: 2009-11-30
Model: CCDTRV138
Product features:
- Sony's CCD-TRV138 Handycam camcorder offers outstanding Hi8 video and Hi-Fi sound recording at an affordable price
- 1/6-inch CCD imager with 200K effective pixels
- 2.5-inches SwivelScreen LCD display
- 20x optical zoom lens with 990x digital zoom
- NightShot Plus infrared system
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony CCD-TRV138 Hi8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom
Customer Review: It Does What it Was Intended to Do
Summary: 4 Stars
It's not a camera you'd use to go shoot a movie, or something you'd use in some fancy studio. It's a home camera. A camera for regular guys looking to film their families or pets and make home movies. I've had this camera since it came out in 2005. I'm still using it in 2009 (different camera, but same model -- last one got stolen). One of the only really bad things about this camera is that there's no internet connection. No USB port, no FireWire, nothing. The only thing it plugs into is the wall and the T.V. (and VCR, for some people). The other really bad thing is the cameras weight. My hand does get pretty tired after a while. But in the days of I-Pods, and pen-sized video cameras, this camera will seem a bit heavier than it really is since most people aren't used to it. It's not at all impossible to film though. My uncle still uses his huge 1980's "record-straight-to-VHS" video camera, which he has to hold on his shoulder with two hands.
The picture quality of this camera is pretty bad. It's sometimes blurry, usually fuzzy, and always grainy. But that's how I like it. It looks clear when played on the LCD screen. But when recorded onto a VHS tape, it has an 80's or 90's look to it. That's what I like though. There's always background noise too. Even in silence, there's noise. It's usually the sound of the Hi8 tape rolling. It's all acceptable though for home movies, which is what I use this camera for. The quality seems more horrible to some people than it really is. This is because they're all spoiled by digital, HD, etc. Well digital and HD-quality pictures aren't necessary at all -- unless you're making a professional movie or something. And if you are, then you'd buy a professional movie camera for $3,000+ -- not this one.
Filming in SP might make the picture quality a little better -- I don't know. I never shoot in SP because it eats up half the tape time. If you want to get the full 2 hours out of your Hi8 tape, you have to shoot in LP. So while SP may (or may not -- I don't know) give you slightly better picture quality, I don't think it's worth sacrificing my tape time.
The battery it comes with isn't great compared to other batteries you can buy separately (or so I've heard). Supposedly, the battery it comes with, when fully charged, can last about an hour and half (90 minutes) straight. I can't testify to this, because I've never filmed anything for an hour and a half straight. But not once in the last 4 hour years has the battery died on me while I was filming.
The zoom is good. I would have preferred a 40x zoom -- because I'm a "zoom freak" -- but when most of the filming is home movies (pets, backyard, etc.), you really don't need a 40x zoom. The 20x zoom (which is what this camera has) is just fine. By the way, the lens is not a Carl Zeiss lens, unlike most modern cameras.
The NightShot (night vision) is fantastic. It works in total darkness. Indoors, it works all the way across the room. Outdoors, it's not as good. It works great for about 6 feet, then gets a bit faint. You can see (though not so good) up to about 12 feet or so. The LED light helps, especially indoors. The NightShot is full screen too, not the little circle you see on some cameras.
A lot of people complain about the LCD screen going black. Well I've never had this problem. I thought I did one time, and got really nervous and started thinking that all these people were right, but it turned out I had the lens cap on. I wonder if anyone else wrongly complained about it breaking because they forgot to remove the lens cap.
Some people complain about the LED light. They say it's pointless and takes up battery life. Well let me tell you, it's far from pointless. When you're filming a black cat or dog, indoors, during the day, with the windows closed, in a poorly lit room (40 watt bulb in a table lamp), then the LED light is your best friend. Who cares if it does take up some of the battery life (and like I said, it's never once died on me while filming).
One little feature this camera has is you can add titles to the screen. But it's pretty cheesy looking. And it only allows 20 characters, including spaces. So if you say "Happy Birthday [Name]", that only gives you 5 letters to work with for the name. A lot of times you have to put "B-Day" in order to fit the name.
Another interesting feature is it allows you to film in widescreen (note: wide screen, NOT wide-angle lens), which is letterboxed. Something this camera doesn't have (which I always wanted) is interval recording (or a "time lapse"). It's something I would have liked to have fooled around with, but it's really not the type of feature you'd need for the cameras intended use, which is probably why it wasn't included.
The "End Search" feature may be useful for some, but it's useless to me. What it does is it automatically sets the Hi8 tape to when you last recorded, so you don't accidentally record over something. I don't use this because I always re-use and record over my Hi8 tapes after I record them to VHS tapes.
Oh, and like most cameras, there's a thing in the bottom that screws into a tripod (but a tripod must be bought separately). The cameras weight might be a concern for some using a cheap tripod, but I used the cheapest plastic tripod (cheap in both quality and price -- $10), and the camera held up fine.
One scary thing about this camera is the amount of time you have to wait for the tape to eject. Every time I open the bottom to insert or eject a tape, I get nervous thinking that it's broken. But it always comes out. You just got to wait a couple minutes.
This is one of the last Sony cameras (as far as I'm aware) to have buttons and an LED light. They removed the lights from their cameras, probably to make the cameras smaller (and thus lighter), and probably also to save battery life. I don't know. They removed the buttons on their more modern cameras and replaced them with a touch screen. The buttons are much more convenient than people think. First, with a touch screen, the screen gets fingerprints all over it. It might be alright with a touch screen pen. But who really wants to go out a buy a touch screen pen? And then carry it around with them while they film? And then try to fiddle around with it with one hand (usually your bad hand) while filming? I haven't done this, but I'm sure it's a pain. Second, it's much quicker (and convenient) to be able to toggle things like the date and time while filming, without having to go through touch screen menu options.
It does admittedly become inconvenient during playback. I assume that with a touch screen, you only have to hit rewind or fast forward once. But when playing the film on this camera, you have to hold down the fast forward and rewind buttons. This is only while it's playing though. If you press stop and then click fast forward or rewind, then you only have to press it once.
Another thing this camera has (which many modern ones don't) is an adjustable viewfinder. Most people don't even use the viewfinder, but on those rare occasions that you do, you'll be glad it's adjustable. The viewfinder is black and white (but doesn't film in black and white -- unless you record in black and white mode through the menu options). And you can't see through the viewfinder while the LCD screen is open and facing you. But you can see through it when the LCD screen is open and facing the person/thing you're filming.
I would recommend this camera to those who like the old 90's look, plan on casually filming pets, making home movies, and who don't want to spend (or just don't have) a lot of money. The price range of this camera is $190-$245, which is very good for what you get. It's down over $100 since it's release too. When I first bought it in 2005, it cost about $365. For those looking for some high tech professional HD super duper mega camera with loads of gadgets and features, go waste your money on an $800 camera. This camera does what it was made to do, and gets the job [the job it was intended to do] done.
Description of Sony CCD-TRV138 Hi8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom
Capture Hi8(TM) quality video and Hi-Fi sound with the compact, affordable, and easy-to-use CCD-TRV138 (TM) Handycam(R) camcorder. It features a CCD imager with 320K gross pixels that provides detail and image precision along with exceptional analogvideo performance. Digital Zoom Interpolation creates clearer, sharper images for extreme digital zooming. Along with a variety of features to capture quality images and sound, the CCD-TRV138 lets you customize your personal videos with such tools as Fader Effects, Picture Effects, and Titling. Choose from a variety of modes to add creative fades, pictorial exposures, and titles. Get creative and enhance your home movies with professional looking video effects. Video Hi8(TM) Recording Records outstanding video quality up to 400 lines of horizontal resolution with Hi-Fi sound on affordable 8mm and Hi8 tapes. 1/6" CCD Imager, 320K Pixels Gross 1/6" CCD Imager with 200K (effective) pixels provides great detail and clarity along with exceptional analog video performance. 20X Optical/990X Digital Zoom The optical zoom helps to bring the action close up from far away. In addition the Digital Zoom Interpolation means that extreme digital zooming is clearer, with less distortion than previous types of digital zooms. 2.5" SwivelScreen(TM) LCD Display (123K Pixels) Provides excellent viewing clarity with improved resolution. The high resolution 123K pixel LCD screen rotates up to 270 degrees for multiple viewing angles providing sharp, detailed images for monitoring or playback. InfoLithium(R) Battery with AccuPower(TM) Meter System Charge the battery at anytime because unlike NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) batteries, Sonyâs rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries are not subjected to a life shortening âmemory effectâ. Sonyâs exclusive AccuPower(TM) meter displays the battery time remaining in minutes, in either the viewfinder oCamcorders
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