Sony Digital8 Camcorder

This is a handy camcorder from Sony, a name in themselves when it comes to cameras. Their DCR-TRV series of camcorders are intended for hobbyists and home users. With a roughly similar feature found throughout the series, these cameras record video in the Digital8 format. It also features an MPEG movie mode, which captures video in the MPEG format and stores directly on a Memory Stick. The captured length depends on the capacity of the stick. Apart from movies, the camcorder can also take still pictures. 

The camcorder comes with a standard cam viewfinder and a 3.5” swivel LCD screen. It also features NightShot for recording video in the dark. A feature called SteadyShot takes care of the shaking of the hand while shooting by stabilizing the picture.

The CCD has a gross resolution of one Mega Pixel and gives you 520 lines horizontal resolution. As for the zoom, the cam boasts of a 15x optical and 420x digital zoom which allows you to comfortably zoom into a distant frame. 

All of Sony’s camcorders feature digital picture effects and transition effects. These are accessed through a menu via a carousel at the bottom of the camcorder. 

This camcorder is powered with a Lithium ion battery that gives it a long life. The remaining battery life is displayed on the LCD. It also has an array of connectors that include composite video, S-Video, USB port and an iLink digital video interface (IEEE1394). Hence, the camcorder can be directly connected to a TV for playback and to a capture card or FireWire interface, to transfer video to a PC for further editing. You can also connect an external headphone and microphone for recording. 

The Bottom line: Overall, a good buy for home and for creating your own movies.

Ashish Sharma