I did my homework on digital camcorders, and in the end came down to the conclusion that I only had two brand choices: Sony or Canon. Now my only dilema left was the style of camera that I was to purchase. By that I mean the "ultra compact" upright style, like the Canon Elura40MC and Sony DCRPC101, or the traditional style of the Sony DCRTRV27. It should be obvious by the fact that I am writing this review that I chose the Sony DCRTRV27.One of the reviews I read said that the upright camera wasn't comfortable to hold in comparison to the horizontal style of the TRV27. I could not agree more. I held the Canon for about two minutes and had a hand cramp. The TRV27 is certainly small enough too. I also noticed immediately, that it was near impossible to hold the Canon Elura 40MC without covering the light sensor with my finger. I would say that this is a serious design flaw on Canon's part.
That aside, the features of this camera far exceed my expectations for the price point. There are almost too many features! In all seriousness, the video I have captured so far has all been excellent, and I could not be more satisfied. The most common complaint I read about this camera (and all others BTW) is that it is not that great in low light situations. All I can say is that 1) Even cameras costing 3x this have the same issue and 2) this is easily remedied with a $... video light. For those reasons, I will not take any points away from this product. For me (first time camcorder owner with demanding tastes) this camcorder is fantastic.
The only additional feature I would like to comment on is the digital photo quality. This is NOT a digital camera. The photo quality is fine for what it is, and to expect more would not make sense. I am more impressed by the 1 trick pony type of electronics, as I think that multi-purpose products tend to do a lot of things fair, and don't do anything great.
...
Was looking for TRV30 which went out of production and came across this one.
Pros: 1) clear and vibrant video picture (video 690K pixels and still 1 mega pixels CCD)
2) Fast focusing when using zoom in auto mode
3) simple to use knobs and buttons
4) Value for price
5) still photo fairly good with 1 megapixel rating
6) video looks great on TV (at least in Sony Wega TV) than the LCD screen (May be I have reduce the brightness of screen)
Cons:
1) 10x optical and 120x digital zoom slightly less than the competion JVC, Panasonic, Canon
2) Battery life is short with LCD usage
3) No memory stick holder/case supplied
4) No flashlight/ video light (have to buy separately)
Will recommend for anyone who wants good decent video with high resolution and money to spend.Pro's:
Mini-DV format is ubiquitous and produces excellent images.
Large swivel-screen and color viewfinder.
Can also take 1 mega pixel still images and low-res MPEG's on memory stick.
Crazy, useless, nonetheless cool features like Super Night Shot, various fades, several picture effects, digital effects, time-lapse, digital zoom, etc.
Great design considerations including button placement, the overall feel (shape, weight, balance), and menu options.
Can take higher resolution stills directly onto tape (vs. onto memory stick).
A lot of DIY features like manual focus, exposure setting, white balance, etc.
USB streaming means it can be used as a web cam (overkill, but nice for eliminating extra devices).
Camcorder can be used as a bridge for transferring analog films directly onto a computer or onto DV tape (i.e., it has input capability).
Several connection options including: standard RCA, S-video, headphones, USB, Firewire, external mic.
Excellent battery life and information.
Con's
One design problem comes from the bottom-loading tape, but honestly where else could they have put it?
Only 1 CCD, but that's what you get in the sub $1500 category.
Still images are 1 mega pixel, but hey, the fact that there are any stills is a bonus on a camcorder.
Battery charges on camcorder.
I highly recommend this product: the value, features, and quality are all outstanding.
I recommend doing certain things right out of the box to maximize the camcorder's capabilities. First, do not install the Sony issued software, it's worse than useless, it's anti-productive (just short of destructive). For stills and MPEG's you can simply use Windows' standard programs. The camcorder/memory stick shows up as a drive in My Computer when attached via firewire. For video editing you need something more robust anyway, so go with something like Pinnacle Studio 8 (lower end) or Adobe Premiere (the other end). Next, Turn off the digital zoom, it tends to make the picture pixilated. Raise the audio to 16 bit. Set still images and MPEG's to the highest settings simply because even at that level they aren't too good. Always keep steadyshot on. Finally, I have yet to get one, but a wide-angle lens seems desirable because the auteur ends up backing so far away from the subject being filmed.
Here are a couple more recommendations for people that will be editing film on a computer. Firewire is a must, not just for the high transfer rates, but for the control you have through the computer. It allows you to preview your work without the long capture sessions. I use Pinnacle Studio for editing, it's great (i.e., easy and cheap). When filming, don't use: fades, picture effects, digital effects, or digital zoom, these will all just get in the way when you start editing. Make sure the lighting is good, if not use the exposure wheel. I like the letterbox feature, it just looks cool. There are different kinds of Mini-DV tapes, the tapes with built-in memory are expensive but invaluable while editing (the time code allows you to preview film without capturing it in the editing software). These tapes are about three times the price of a regular tape, but obviously can be reused (make your movie, edit it, output it to DVD or regular Mini-DV tapes, then record over the original raw material).I've been wanting to get a new camcorder for about two years now. I've put it off until recently when I saw the TRV27. It had pretty much what I wanted in a camcorder. Digital, large LCD, usb and firewire connections and i'm partial to Sony anyway.
After about two weeks of messing around with it I can certainly recommend this camera to anyone willing to spend the money for it. There are comparable cameras out there so it comes down to personal taste and affordability.
I can only give this 4 stars though because of a few things.
1. The included PixelView DV editing software sucks. I downloaded a trial version of Ulead Videowave and it had more features and was easier to use. Sony should've included better software to compliment their equipment.
2. Filming in low light is almost useless. The film comes out near total black. I would recommend a video light.
and lastly,
3. The still shots at standard settings aren't the greatest. The still shots are at 1.0 megapixels so to get the best output you need to have those settings at the highest resolution and hightest quality. That takes up space on the included 8 meg memory stick. If you are planning to use it as a digital camera for still shots, I would recommend the 128meg mem. stick.
Other than those concerns I'm completely happy with my purchase and having a good time learning video editing.After one VHS and two Hi-8 camcorders, this is my first digital machine. I think it is superb. The pictures are incredibly sharp and clean. I didn't expect to use the memory stick much, but I'm already snapping and emailing loads of pictures of our kid. (The downside is that it subtracts from the number of quality film stills I take.) The 27 is quite easy to use and feature-rich. It is a cinch to plug it into my Mac and edit movies. The one glitch I had was finding a memory stick reader that worked properly, but I seem to have solved that. I think an accessory light is essential for better results. I bought Sony's 10/20 watt (less than 10 is too little light). I also bought 2 NPO-QM91 batteries and a Sony SQ quick charger. This battery is necessary for the light, and it works in the camcorder to give something like 6 hours of power. The 10x zoom isn't spectacular, but usually good enough, and Sony sells a magnifying lens. As always, the digital zoom is awful. The image stabilizer works well and I hear zero camera noise on playback. This camcorder and a Mac (and I suppose even a PC!) are a perfect home film making combination. It's a splendid camera.
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