Sony DCRTRV19 MiniDV Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and Remote
by Sony

Our Price: $125.00
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details

• Compact MiniDV digital camcorder
• 10x optical, 120x digital, zoom with Super SteadyShot image stabilization
• 2.5-inch touch-panel color SwivelScreen LCD display for easy access to the entire camcorder menu
• NightShot O Lux infrared system for recording in total darkness

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• AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A-Male to Mini-B Cable (6 Feet / 1.8 Meters)
• AmazonBasics 3RCA Component Video Cable (6 Feet)
• AmazonBasics IEEE 1394 4-Pin/6-Pin FireWire Cable (6 Feet/1.8 Meters)
• Corel VideoStudio Pro X2 [Old Version]

Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony DCRTRV19 MiniDV Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and Remote

Customer Review: ready to open up a can of worms?
Summary: 5 Stars

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.

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