Sony DCR-TRV330 Digital8 Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode
by Sony

List Price: $899.99
Our Price: $249.99
You Save: $650.00 (72%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details

• Digital8 camcorder, uses Hi8 tapes
• 25x optical (28x digital) zoom with image stabilization
• 2.5 inch color LCD monitor with black and white EVF
• Records 640 x 480 digital stills onto included 4 MB Memory Stick media
• Uses Sony's NP-FM30 InfoLithium battery; features Sony's NightShot 0-Lux shooting capability

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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony DCR-TRV330 Digital8 Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode

Customer Review: Just the hard facts
Summary: 4 Stars

1. Being digital hasadvantages... better resolution, color's great etc. Editing, however,is not so easy - takes time and the right tools (e.g. 'AdobePremiere') - so consider tapes being your primary storage medium. I'vemade VCDs and they're worth it but the quality is significantly lesserthan on tape.

2. Requires lots of light - outside it'sbeautiful... inside - JPG-like artifacts appear (also, colored dots ona perfectly white wall) But this is acceptable if you're *not* lookingfor professional quality.

3. Optical Zoom is great - 25X - one ofthe highest and definitely comes in handy. I've turned off digitalzoom (MoreThanYou'llEverNeed X) since it reduces picture quality and Ican anyway do it on the computer while editing. 25X optical is enoughfor most needs.

4. Picture stability (steady shot technology) isgreat - shots from a moving car are stable.

5. Buttons are a bit tooclose to each other - in my first exp., at a friend's party, I must'vemissed a cycle of on/off so, we got to see shots of table tops, walls;) and cleanly missed the action ;) fortunately this lasted for onlyabout 5 mins before i realized. The recording indicator is easy tomiss when you're concentrating on the subject (and if you've had ali'l too many beers ;))...

6. Memory stick stills taken in mediumlight again have JPEG artifacts and paying extra $... (over DCR-TRV230with no memory stick - you *can* take stills on tape) for this is notworth it if you have a digital camera already. However, your cameramight not have 25X optical zoom so think about it. This camera usesthe same chipset for video and stills. In more expensive models, thereare two chipsets.

7. Night shot (shooting in darkness) sounds greatand works great - if you don't mind loss of almost all color and agreenish tinge to everything. To our party, however, it gave a 'BlairWitch' effect - everyone loved it. It's better to have some normal(intruding) light source attached to the CAM.

8. MIC is verysensitive and sound has been amazing throughout.

9. LCD is great -less dotty than DCR-TRV530 and uses less battery (1"smaller).

10. The bundled battery lasts for about 75 mins on an avg- so you want to buy a backup for trips. Charging to FULL was somewhatslower than I expected.

This camera has some built-in editingfeatures which I am yet to explore fully.

To transfer the video tomy computer for editing, I had to shell out an extra $... for aFireWire kit. The installation on Windows 2000 was quite painless - itdid everything for me except plug in the card physically.

Overall a4 rating - a great camera and worth the money you put in - even inthis recession.

Description of Sony DCR-TRV330 Digital8 Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode

The black-and-white EVF is adequate, but the 2.5-inch color LCD monitor is the better bet for framing your shots. Digital stills can be recorded onto the accompanying 4 MB Memory Stick, and images can be downloaded to your computer via USB. Like all DV camcorders, the audio is recorded at CD-quality levels--PCM digital stereo. Should you need more professional sound than the built-in mic provides, a mic input jack is located on the camcorder.

Because the DCR-TRV330 uses the DV format, you can download your footage to a computer for editing using an IEEE 1394 cable. Analog pass-through ports are built-in, letting you digitally archive all your old analog footage. Also included are a shoulder strap, lens cap, battery, AC adapter, and remote control.

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