Sony DCR-TRV480 Digital8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom

Manufacturer:	Sony
List price:	~~$399.99~~
Our price:	Too Low To Display that is 100% off!

Sony DCR-TRV480 Digital8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom

Average rating: Stars

NICE DEAL FOR THE MONEY

When my 12-year-old Hi8 Sony went out on me recently I started shopping around. I had narrowed my search to the miniDV HC90 or the DVD403 model. I was leaning towards the HC90 simply because I liked the longer recording option that tape offers and the fact that both offer a 16:9 aspect ratio. I have a 70-inch HDTV and wanted something to fill the screen. However, the $900 price of those cameras was causing me to consider the new HD Sony camcorder with its $1900 price. I really wasn't ready financially to make such a big leap and wasn't too thrilled with the idea of spending $900 while knowing eventually I'd still want the HD when I was able to drop the bucks.

Thankfully I stumbled upon this TRV480 model. Not only is this Digital8 model compatible with the Hi8 tapes I already own, but it also includes a 16:9 aspect ratio recording option which was essential for me. Best of all, the $350 price made me very comfortable using this camera as a stepping stone until I am ready for the move to HD.

I paid over $1,000 for the old Hi8 and was curious to see how this $350 camera could possibly stack up. There are definitely some short-cuts taken. No automatic lens cap for instance. But the touch-screen LCD was an unexpected plus. The biggest challenge was transferring movies to the PC for burning to DVD. I had been using a Pinnacle PCTV to capture video from the old camera with an S-video output and an audio cable from the camera's headphone jack. (There is no S-video output on this camera nor is there a headphone output.) As another reviewer pointed out correctly, the software provided by SONY is basically useless you own a Vaio. Furthermore when trying to capture video with Sonic RecordNow using the supplied USB cable, I was getting video but no audio. Purchasing a $30 IEEE 1394 cable did the trick. I can now transfer video from camera to PC without using the Pinnacle video capture hardware. The Sonic software works fine for this purpose.

I was very surprised at the quality of the picture on my 70" TV with the 16:9 aspect ratio. Granted, it's nowhere near HDTV but this camera exceeded my expectations and the video quality is at least as good as my old camera, maybe even better. For $350 and for what I wanted out of this camera, I could not be more satisfied.

Sony DCR-TRV480 Digital8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom - Sony

flexible camcorder

New recordings seem to be of very good quality. Also very pleased with ability to play & convert to digital, my old Video 8 and Hi-8 tapes. Sound quality is good but true test awaits a visit to an auto race track. No serious complaints so far. If I had a choice, prefer all manual controls over programming. Overall, an excellent machine.

Sony - Sony DCR-TRV480 Digital8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom

gets the job done.

I grabbed this camcorder so I could convert 8mm videos over to DVD. This is the only one on the market I found that would play back 8mm and Hi8 tapes. It does it through the firewire so transferring to DVD was cake. Nice zoom, steadyshot is decent, battery life is pretty impressive, the digital camera part is useless but it is there if you want to play with it.

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