Sony DCR-TRV280 Digital8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom
by Sony
|
Our Price: $799.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $140.00 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony DCR-TRV280 Digital8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom
Customer Review: Going strong after 4 years
Summary: 3 Stars
As the title implies, I've had this device for some time now. It serves as a dash mounted video camera, streaming video to a laptop from a big rig. I chose this particular brand because I've come to expect extremely good picture quality in the lowest lighting conditions, which it has accomplished.
The battery life isn't quite what I expected in between charges, in fact it runs about half what I was led to believe it would. However, the battery is now almost 5 years old, and even under the extreme conditions it generally runs under, it still consistently has the same amount of power available (about 90 minutes). This is great when I have to exit the vehicle and get some video of whatever, since I have yet to run into memory issues with this one. However, if you're planning on fairly continuous usage similar to mine on the AC, you had better schedule an hour or so to recharge the battery every week or so, as it does drain even while on AC if the camera itself is on. This is a problem I run into with every video camera I own, so nothing new to me.
To say this device is easy to use is an understatement. I'm use to some fairly complex devices, so this one was a snap for me. When I handed it to a child who was also a novice, they were able to point and shoot right away, with the barest of explanations regarding the basics.
The picture quality, however, is not consistent, with the more motion equating to worse quality. This surprised me, especially since this camera is not designed to do still photography in any way. Sony's much praised reputation for extremely low light shots went out the window and into the trash with this camera, and bright daylight seems to be every bit as bad. Night time shots are grainy at best, and it is often difficult to make out the subject being recorded even with artificial lighting. Bright day shots tend to be overexposed a bit, making details like license plates difficult to make out, and in some cases the make and style of the vehicle! This surprised me, as I've come to expect much more from Sony.
As for the software, protect the CD-ROM at all costs if you want to do USB streaming to a computer. Lose the disc, and you'll have to go with Firewire or composite. Currently, the device has zero support for any 64 bit operating system, and no future support is planned. So, if you have a computer running anything other than Win98SE thru WinXP32, you can forget computer editing. To "upgrade" to far less capable versions, yo uwill need to do a manual download from Sony. Be sure you have the CD-ROM key, or you can forget the upgrade.
Firewire control over the camera is skimpy at best, playback and record, nothing else. If you need to rewind or fast-forward, you'll have to disconnect the camera from your computer and do it manually. Sorry, but even when paying premium prices, there's no more than WYSIWYG today.
While many recommend Sony's iLink, I'm doing just fine with a good old fashioned 2 pin firewire cable, albeit one that is heavily shielded and insulated, and costs less than 25% of what the flimsy iLink costs.
Customer service, the two times I called, was poor at best. Both individuals I spoke with on the two separate occasions were rude beyond belief. Between that and the high cost or unavailability of replacement parts and accessories, I've stopped purchasing Sony products altogether. They may be good, but they aren't THAT good that I have to put up with such nonsense.
If you're looking for durability, particularly in harsh or industrial environments, and you don't mind working with a tape based system, this camera is worth the money. If you're looking for a more professional platform that can work with today's modern 64-bit OS's, well, I would not recommend Sony at this point.
Customer Review: Good replacement camcorder for Digital 8
Summary: 3 Stars
Purchased because my original Digital 8 camcorder was on the fritz. This is a great replacement and I purchased it to transfer all of my existing Digital 8 tapes to disk as the format is being phased out. As it turned out, it was cheaper to purchase the new camcorder than to pay to have all tapes transferred. Now if I will only get to them...
Image quality is good for Digital 8. If you do not already have a library of Digital 8 tapes, I would explore one of Sony's Mini DV, DVD or HDD camcorders instead. If you have a library of tapes, I would convert them to disk ASAP as the format is going away...
Customer Review: Sony DCR-TRV280 camcorder cannot play 8mm video cassettes
Summary: 3 Stars
We purchased a Sony DCR-TRV280 camcorder in hopes of playing our old 8mm videocassettes and capturing them on our computer via its firewire connection. The tapes load into the 280 just fine. It does have firewire output. Unfortunately, it cannot play the original 8mm format. Sony's names for its various 8mm videocassette formats escape me. Perhaps the original 8mm format did not have a name. Anyway, the original is what we have and the 280 cannot play it. So, we're trading in our 280 for a Sony DCR-TRV-460 or -480.Customer Review: Not Hi8 nor 8mm compatible! Be careful!
Summary: 3 Stars
I wonder if more buyers had the same issue, maybe I misread the information available, but this camera is NOT compabile with the Hi8 nor 8mm formats. You can use tape with Hi8 and 8mm specs., but you CANNOT PLAYBACK any Hi8 nor 8mm tapes with this Digital8 camcorder. Be careful about it!Customer Review: Lacks one essential (to me) feature
Summary: 3 Stars
The camera is fine, but it won't play back video recorded on Sony 8mm. Unfortunately, I specifically needed it to ensure access to my pre-2002 archives. I'm including this info, just to make sure that others like me don't inconvenience the seller.