The Cadillac of Camcorders

Author's Rating:

Pros: size, night vision, still photos

Cons: overwhelming, pricey

Author's Review
If you can afford the sony DCR-TRV10, it is a great camcorder. (By the way, I have seen the price vary by several hundred $$$ so shop around and wait for sales) This looks identical to the TRV8 but adds the memory stick feature which basically adds a digital camera feature to the extensive camcorder features. With special video effects, night vision, large LCD display, image stabilizer, and firewire ports, this camera is a "cadillac".

General

The feature list is way too long to cover in detail, but let me just say that when you view your videos on your TV, even a big screen 45", the picture quality is great and the sound is awesome. With the remote control you can sit back on your couch and watch the movie in comfort. This thing is very tiny. You can be much more discreet and comfortable when shooting.

Sony has an "extended record mode" which gives you 90 minutes of recording time on a 60 minute miniDV tape. This can save you some money in the long run, as tapes are not cheap. I still go for the more expensive memory chip tapes which store time code right on the tape. Battery life is exeptional, ranging from 45 min (using the LCD display alot) to 90 min (not using the LCD display too much).

Memory Stick

You can take still photos and store them on the memory stick, which is about the size of a piece of chewing gum. However, the still photos are only 640x480 so it doesn't replace a digital camera. But with the excellent zooming you can snag some good low-res still photos for your web site while out shooting video.

Few computers can take a memory stick directly to import your photos, so you can do the following: use the bundled serial cable (doesn't work with Mac), purchase a PC Card or Floppy adapter ($70), or just import over the FireWire port (Sony calls this the i.Link port)

FireWire

Any new computer purchase these days should include a FireWire port, and any new camcorder should include a FireWire port. It is just plain cool! I hooked up the camcorder to my Mac G4 via a FireWire cable (plug-and-play, no setup required), launched the free iMovie software, and started importing and editing video. You can control the camera from your computer, and export your finished movie back to a tape. I experienced no problems whatsoever.

Night Vision

The night vision mode is incredible! In pitch darkness you can get a very good, slightly fuzzy image at up to 20 feet away or so. This allows you to get pictures that you otherwise would never be able to get: sleeping baby at night, nocturnal animals, camping scenes, you get the idea.

Special Effects

There are almost too many features on this camera! Fear not, you don't have to learn them all at once. You can enable several video effects to get some funky videos, and you can frame your moving video with a still image from the mmeory stick (like a frame that says "happy birthday"; several are supplied with the camera). There are the usual transition effects like fading, bouncing, etc too.

Accessories

I only bought a tripod and a case. Go to the digital camera section to find your case, as most camcorder cases are WAY too big.

Complaints

Granted, I am not a video professional, but I have very few complaints. The number of features and controls can be overwhelming in the beginning, but I learned fast. The still photo capture mode is a bit confusing, and the photos are low res (640x480). It would be nice if they bundled a sleek case with it, but I found a perfect one for $25.