Rating: 
Summary: My first camcorder
Review: Okay, lets look at the camera' it fits in the palm of your hand, literally ' if you are right handed that is. I am, so no problem there. The 2.5' LCD touchscreen folds out on the left side and is used to control various settings, exposure, effects, tape control etc. as well as provide an alternative to the colour viewfinder. The LCD can also flip twist and sit back in it's 'dock' facing outwards so you can still access the controls without it sticking out from the camera.The power connector is on the back as is the battery, record button and function selector (vcr, off, camera, memory) that you use your thumb to operate. On top there is the photo button and zoom control, halfway toward the front there is the nightshot switch, just in front of that the smart shoe. On the right side, under your hand, are the: memory stick; tape compartment (bottom loaded); iLink, USB and AV ports. On the front of the camera there's the lens, stereo mic and the S-Video port. The camera comes with a battery, power supply (charge the battery on the camera), USB cable, AV cable (3 x phono to headphone style AV jack), lens cover, 8MB memory stick, remote control, manual and software on CDROM. My last experience of video cameras was the old VHS-C system. Editing tapes using a VCR and a cheap mixing deck was no fun and the results were pretty poor. Digital video technology is another kettle of fish entirely! This is actually the first camcorder I have owned and so far I am very impressed. The quality is great, the camera is easy to use and I have no problem downloading the footage to my PC or Mac. The lack of a iLink cable was a pain but I had to buy a firewire card for my PC anyway, and that came with a cable and software for only $25. You can buy the cables online for about $10 - don't pay $40 in a store it is not worth it. The webcam feature is a nice touch, though it only works in Windows. It looks like I can use this feature to stream video to my relatives overseas too, instead of switching to camera I just switch to VCR mode and hit play. The difference between this and the TRV19 is the addition of S-Video In - the TRV19 is not capable of converting your analog video to digital. The TRV-33 gives a better still picture, the TRV22 is 640x480, but since I have a digital still camera anyway I thought I may as well save $150. The night shot is basically a kind of infra-red mode, LED's on the front provide illumination and as long as the subject is not too far away ( >5ft) you can film in complete darkness. There is some motor noise on the soundtrack, which is understandable given the size of the camera and the proximity of the motor to the mic, but it is hardly noticable. The software is not great. iMovie or Windows Movie Maker are more user friendly. But it does get the job done. I have only had the camera a week, so these are mostly first impressions, but suffice it to say I'm extremely happy with my purchase and I'm thoroughly enjoying DV editing on a PC. I have yet to put anything back to tape, but I created a VCD with the supplied software and am happy with the result. Now I just need to get myself a DVD burner'
Rating:
Summary: A very fun little camcorder!
Review: Okay---do NOT read this review if you are interested in my opinion regarding various technical details, specs, or other important aspects of this device. If you want that info--read the above reviews which offer far more informed opinions. If, however, you want to know if this camcorder is easy to operate, straightforward in design, fun to use, and a good buy--well continue reading. My husband and I are so electronically un-evolved--it's pathetic. Neither of us has ever purchased or operated a digital camera or a regular old analog camcorder...Digital? Forget it. We have two young children who keep erforming incredibly precious, video-worthy antics (you know, eating breakfast, reading books, taking a bath---what could be more exciting?)--we decided that we have already let two many of these precious moments pass us by--and it's time to document some of them...So we decided to get a camcorder. Right out of the box this device has been incredibly easy to operate...my partner spent 2 nights studying the manual, practicing with different lighting, setting up the tableaux, etc...I just grabbed the camcorder after I found my son tearing around the house--naked (he's 2 for chrissakes), smeared with cream cheese, peanut butter and pretzel hat and wearing a hardhat and cowboy boots. I just picked it up and started filming. The sound quality is very good. The display screen is fantastic--the image is wonderful when projected onto the elevision. This is a great camcorder---great for technologically naive users and apparently for sophisticated users as well.
Rating:
Summary: Best little camcorder!
Review: Oooh, I love my new TRV22! I just got it yesterday, but I've already spent hours and hours just playing with it. You know you've got some cool electronics when you read the manual like a novel, and don't want to put it down.
When we were researching camcorders, we were leaning towards the Sony TRV19, but we chose this model over the 19 mainly because of the analog to digital feature. We have a few home movies on 8mm, and wanted to transfer them to digital, to keep them from deteriorating or being forgotten. This is a neat feature!
And it's so tiny! I bought it in a local store (after talking them down to the web price) and I couldn't believe how small it was! In some reviews I have read, people say that tiny hands can't reach the buttons, but I have small hands and I find all the buttons very well placed for ease of use. The touch screen is really nice! The menu is very easy to navigate once you get the hang of it. It is not overly sensitive, but just right to pick up the exact little spot on the menu that you want to select.
I've also read that the soom function is too quick. It's only quick if you mash the button, but when it's depressed lightly, I find the zoom to be very smooth. The digital effects and the picture effects are a lot of fun.
As far as the still picture goes, it does what it says it will do! The pictures it takes are not for printing or blowing up, but they're fine for emailing.
The Night Shot is cool, and looks pretty good, but I haven't really gotten used to the color night shot, that this model boasts. Don't expect this to look very realistic. It's on a very low shutter speed and looks really jerky, even when filming stationary objects. Granted I haven't tried it with a tripod; I'm sure that would improve it greatly.
All in all, I don't think I'll ever want to part with this beautiful little camcorder! Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Sony DCRTRV22
Review: Overall great comcorder. In All areas this camera is great, only thing that could have been better is the still pictures quality. This camcorder matches us against others that cost hundreds of dolars more and does well in compition against it higher priced betters. Its size and fact that it uses standard sony batteries (that we have already) was a great bonus.
Rating:
Summary: Does what you need and does it well..Great camera, I love it
Review: Pros: Compact and lightweight; spot metering with selectable spot area; flexible low-light features. Cons: Hard to see LCD in daylight; fairly narrow-angle lens; bottom-loading tapes; no wind filter. Summary: I purchased this camera immediately after returning a Canon ZR65MC. The problems I had with that camera were very poor quality video under normal indoor lighting conditions. With that experience fresh in mind, I tested the TRV-22 under the same conditions and found the results that I would expect from any decent digital camcorder: crisp, low-noise images far superior to those of the Canon. So to compare the two, I think the extra $90 I paid for the Sony is well worth it. I then took the camera on a mini-vacation, which is a more realistic test. I found the camera extremely easy to use - every family member was able to pick it up and start recording with no explanation. I took some video under poor lighting conditions, such as indoors on a cloudy day with a bay window as a backlight, and was very surprised later when I reviewed the footage and found that it was pretty good despite that. The final test was to capture the video to my PC using the IEEE-1394 interface. The video was captured flawlessly andthe resultant AVI is as sharp as any I've seen. To sum it up, I think I got my money's worth and then some with this camera. A digital camcorder should provide a high quality image, and this camera is the best I've ever owned. Add to that the abundance of cool features and you can't go wrong. The ONLY thing negative I can say is that the still image resolution is too low to replace a dedicated DSC. But unless you want to cough up a few more bucks for the TRV-33, you'll just have to carry two cameras like I do.
Rating:
Summary: Sony Rules Camcorders. Period!
Review: Sony camcorders are by far the best investment for what us regular people want from them. We want to be able to:
1. Shoot video in a variety of lighting situations, especially in the house and even at night.
2. Shoot nice quality video.
3. Operate the camcorder easily and comfortably.
The TRV-22 does all of this very well. I used to have the PC5, until I left it in a park somewhere. I couldn't afford another tiny camera so I did my research on this one. I am very pleased. It does everything the PC5 did and more.
First of all the operating system of the TRV19,22 and 33 is the old style, without all of the graphics the new system uses. Personally I like the old way better. In nearly all lighting situations the LCD, which is used to access nearly all of the cameras manual functions, is very simple to use. On most other cameras you have to push buttons underneath the LCD, or use a jog dial, but with Sony's, you get to keep your eyes on all of the action on the screen while choosing a fader, or using the spot focus.
I don't care what anyone says about low light capabilities when it comes to other cameras. I'm here to tell you that Sony's low light is fantastic. I recently compared the new JVC GRDX77 at home to my Sony. And the difference was incredible. With just one lamp on The JVC was very dark, and the Sony was bright and clear. Sure you can adjust the JVC but the quality drops quickly. And when you turn the lights off, the JVC is useless. Dont' believe the professional tests they do. They are only filming a stationary test pattern so there is no blur, which is what all the other cameras will give you in low light when you use their "low light features". I can't tell you how many times I have used the infrared nightvision. Camping, watching my daughter sleep, looking into dark holes or into any place the eyes can't see. If the world was plunged into darkness I would definitely want to have my Sony camcorder.
I've heard some things said about these camcorders are just plain false.
1. The cameras manual functions cannot be utilized while using the viewfinder. Wrong. Flip the LCD out and recess it with the screen outward, and by pushing the screen you can see the commands appear in the viewfinder.
2. When using the VCR function you can't get the on screen buttons off, which clutters it up. Wrong. Hit the display button on the camera body and the screen clears showing only the picture.
3. The infrared is a ghostly unpleasant green. Wrong. You can go into the menu and change the color to sepia, black and white or negative. I like to use sepia.
I love this TRV22. It has a hot shoe, if I ever need to use it. It has a mic plug in. It has every kind of plug and plug out you could need actually. Plus it has time lapse photography, something my older Sony was missing. The form of the body makes holding this camera wonderful. It fits perfectly in my large hands, but is still small emough that I will take it everywhere I go.
Please believe me, you will not regret spending a little extra mullah on Sony, or if your smart you'll just pick up an older model like this one for under $400.
Thank you for reading my review.
Rating:
Summary: Really Great MiniDV with mem card for Ok pics
Review: Sony TRV22 is a great little minidv. I prefer taking pictures with an Olympus 35m camera, but I wanted to move into digital for video, and figured it would be silly to not pick up memory card technology for digital pictures, in one device. The TRV22 has everything you need in a palm size package with amazing features. But not stuff you'll never use. These are cool features that really beef up your otherwise simple (or hoohum)home video. The only complaint is the sound is very low, even with the volume turned all the way up, and the digital pictures are sub mega pixle (so stick with a 35m right?). But the touch screen is a blast! Don't buy the trv19. Spend 20% more and get real fun. Also you can film in complete darkness with the IR light. Its like those Special Forces night films you see on TV. Dude!
Rating:
Summary: Great for shooting indoors
Review: Strengths: Great low light performance, good image quality, low price, touchscreen LCD. I love this camera. My two biggest criteria were low light performance and size. I think the TRV22 is a good compromise between the two. The low light performance is great, much better than the Canon's and better than the new smaller vertical Sony cameras. There is a very slight motor noise picked up by the microphone but it's not that noticable. It does pick up wind noise really bad but I think all camcorders do. Overall a great buy, if you want to shoot indoors this is one of the best. I wasn't sure if I'd like the touchscreen LCD but it is simply awesome. No more fooling around looking for buttons on the side, you can easily access everything from the menu while filming!
Rating:
Summary: Great camera, but noisy
Review: The only major complaint I have is that the motor makes too much noise, it is picked up by the microphone and is audible during playback. It is noticed while recording in quiet areas. The sound quality is excellent. The only other minor gripe I have is that the zoom responds too fast. Zooming in is almost instantaneous. It can be distracting watching a film where someone is zooming in and out very rapidly. However, this is easily fixed because the zoom switch is pressure sensitive, the harder it is pressed, the faster it zooms. So just press it very lightly, and it will zoom very slowly. It is just too easy to push it too far and it will zoom very rapidly. I have a PowerBook running OS 10.3.1 and it works flawlessly. I purchased a Firewire cable separately (have to buy for video import on Mac). Firewire is also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link or DV. I bought a 1394 cable for $10 at Target and it works just fine, don't need to buy a $40 cable (lots of profit for the vendor). I plugged it in, opened iMovie, it said the camera was connected, clicked the import button and it copied the video in real time to the hard disk. The video/audio is full quality, running about 1GB / 5 min. It can be exported and compressed in MPEG 4 which will drastically reduce the size, but will also decrease quality. It can also be sent back to the camera to be recorded on the tape again (full quality). So you import to your computer, make edits, send back to another tape, and watch on your TV. For the stills, I plugged in the USB cable (included) and clicked import in iPhoto and the pictures copied over. I didn't have to install any software for video or stills. Picture quality is just fine for 640x480, this is an adequate size for email or eBay, not great for printing. This isn't a replacement for a still camera. The 8MB memory stick (included) is adequate size for stills, because they are relatively small. It will hold about 50 pictures total. The lens is excellent. It zooms smoothly, and has an excellent 10x optical zoom. I don't use the digital zoom at all (it is 12x for a total of 120). Video quality is good, seems about the same as the Hi8 sony camcorder I was using before. There are a lot of manual controls, but they are difficult to get access to quickly. The side LCD has a sharp picture and is touch sensitive. The menus are all accessed by touching the screen (like a PDA). This is a little awkward if you have big fingers like myself, but it works very well.
Rating:
Summary: Sony TRV 22 - Review
Review: The Sony TRV series is a great series. I bought and am using the 22 since it was the best fit for me. I bought an equivalent camera in another brand and returned it due to poor LOW LIGHT (inside your house) capabilities. The Sony is the best. Sure its a little more $ but I have never been disappointed when I spent a little more to get the best quality. I am always disappointed when I spend close to as much but dont get what I want. I am a professional digital photographer. So getting a great value (high quality) was important to me.
I spent a lot of time researching my purchase. I would recommend staying away from other cheaper brands, alot of their features do not work the way you think they will Thanks for reading my review (I am very pleased with my cam)
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