Home :: Cameras :: Camcorders  

Analog Camcorders
Digital Camcorders
Sony DCRTRV320 Digital Camcorder

Sony DCRTRV320 Digital Camcorder

List Price: $999.99
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Super Fun Camcorder
Review: If your thinking about buying a camcorder this is the one. It has many cool features night vision, negative, & many more. I bought this for my trip to Cozumel mexico and it worked like a champ. I also purchased the software for downloading it on your computer. I have made several mini movies with it. You would be surprised at what you can do with the editing software. I have used many camcorders in the past and this one completely rocks.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: trv 120 (320's little sister)
Review: just took delivery of the 120 after the hi 8 trv75 was stolen. have not had a lot of time with it yet, but a few thoughts--

1)rca cable output is proprietary. has normal 3 outputs to connect to standard rca jacks, but the jack at the camera is a sony "mini" jack that has all three outputs. nice, but i know if i lost my old ones, i had other rca jacks around the house to use in a pinch, or even if taking cam to mom and dad's, they had rca's sitting around from the back of their record player if i forgot this one. now, if i forget this cable, we all gather around the 2.5 inch screen and squint.

2) didn't think i would notice, but the .5 inch difference between 2.5 and 3 inch screen is significant. couldn't justify going all the way to the 3.5 inch screen, but size does matter.

3) lens cover is old plastic cap that clinks and clanks around the camera because it is attatched with a string. the trv 75 had built in lens cover in camera.

4) camera comes with lame 90 minute battery. replacements and upgrades are way too expensive, but you've got to get at least an 8 hour battery.

5) seems bigger than the 75.

6) 25x zoom is great

7) 120 does not include memory stick for stills, but does have a photo mode where you take a picture and 5 seconds are recorded on your tape. nice feature if using computer input.

overall, nice camera, but not perfect. would give a four star rating if not so expensive

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: trv 120 (320's little sister)
Review: just took delivery of the 120 after the hi 8 trv75 was stolen. have not had a lot of time with it yet, but a few thoughts--

1)rca cable output is proprietary. has normal 3 outputs to connect to standard rca jacks, but the jack at the camera is a sony "mini" jack that has all three outputs. nice, but i know if i lost my old ones, i had other rca jacks around the house to use in a pinch, or even if taking cam to mom and dad's, they had rca's sitting around from the back of their record player if i forgot this one. now, if i forget this cable, we all gather around the 2.5 inch screen and squint.

2) didn't think i would notice, but the .5 inch difference between 2.5 and 3 inch screen is significant. couldn't justify going all the way to the 3.5 inch screen, but size does matter.

3) lens cover is old plastic cap that clinks and clanks around the camera because it is attatched with a string. the trv 75 had built in lens cover in camera.

4) camera comes with lame 90 minute battery. replacements and upgrades are way too expensive, but you've got to get at least an 8 hour battery.

5) seems bigger than the 75.

6) 25x zoom is great

7) 120 does not include memory stick for stills, but does have a photo mode where you take a picture and 5 seconds are recorded on your tape. nice feature if using computer input.

overall, nice camera, but not perfect. would give a four star rating if not so expensive

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Tons of features....and really a good buy
Review: My first handycam was an F series bought 8 years ago. After 5 years it was broken beyond repair. I was itching to get one and finally did about a week ago.

I was surprise how far the handycam has evolved. I was the production engineer back then in Sony Handycam production line. Even spent 3 month in Sony Minokamo(where current handycam is produced... check your handycam label) in Japan for training. This is a good product for beginner, intermediate and even an expert. It has all the function you need. I think you have read all the pros regarding the handycam.

The low points for me are:

1. The supplied batteries lasts less than an hour. You'd better get another one. But it is very expensive. In fact all Sony products and accessories are expensive.

2. They eat up lots of tape.

3. For F450 model (8 years ago) the battery charger is external and you can charge the battery and still using your camera. But for this handycam the charger is external and when you are recharging the battery you will not be able to use the camera.

Other than that, everything is great. I bought a DV link card using the i-link IE3944, but the card was unusable and I return it to the supplier. Still waiting for a replacement. I would like to create a movie using this card.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Tons of features....and really a good buy
Review: My first handycam was an F series bought 8 years ago. After 5 years it was broken beyond repair. I was itching to get one and finally did about a week ago.

I was surprise how far the handycam has evolved. I was the production engineer back then in Sony Handycam production line. Even spent 3 month in Sony Minokamo(where current handycam is produced... check your handycam label) in Japan for training. This is a good product for beginner, intermediate and even an expert. It has all the function you need. I think you have read all the pros regarding the handycam.

The low points for me are:

1. The supplied batteries lasts less than an hour. You'd better get another one. But it is very expensive. In fact all Sony products and accessories are expensive.

2. They eat up lots of tape.

3. For F450 model (8 years ago) the battery charger is external and you can charge the battery and still using your camera. But for this handycam the charger is external and when you are recharging the battery you will not be able to use the camera.

Other than that, everything is great. I bought a DV link card using the i-link IE3944, but the card was unusable and I return it to the supplier. Still waiting for a replacement. I would like to create a movie using this card.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great camera but good luck getting it to work
Review: stetched to buy digital- and the still photo feature pushed me over the top. The salesman included "firewire" hardware from Pyro which includes Ulead editing software and, it works. The problem is that the while the camera takes great video and great photos, the Sony software included with the camera, needed to get the photo off the media stick and into a format the computer can read is defective. Doesn't work. Sony COULD or WOULD NOT HELP although they had a live rep available on a holiday, Gave me the line that it was the computer's fault- of course, the computer company said that since the camera was not purchased from them they could not provide support. HOURS, if not days on the phone and with badly written manuals. Result? No jpegs, just pretty pictures viewable through a 2.5" viewer attached to the camera. An ($) mess.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great camera but good luck getting it to work
Review: stetched to buy digital- and the still photo feature pushed me over the top. The salesman included "firewire" hardware from Pyro which includes Ulead editing software and, it works. The problem is that the while the camera takes great video and great photos, the Sony software included with the camera, needed to get the photo off the media stick and into a format the computer can read is defective. Doesn't work. Sony COULD or WOULD NOT HELP although they had a live rep available on a holiday, Gave me the line that it was the computer's fault- of course, the computer company said that since the camera was not purchased from them they could not provide support. HOURS, if not days on the phone and with badly written manuals. Result? No jpegs, just pretty pictures viewable through a 2.5" viewer attached to the camera. An ($) mess.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great camera but good luck getting it to work
Review: stetched to buy digital- and the still photo feature pushed me over the top. The salesman included "firewire" hardware from Pyro which includes Ulead editing software and, it works. The problem is that the while the camera takes great video and great photos, the Sony software included with the camera, needed to get the photo off the media stick and into a format the computer can read is defective. Doesn't work. Sony COULD or WOULD NOT HELP although they had a live rep available on a holiday, Gave me the line that it was the computer's fault- of course, the computer company said that since the camera was not purchased from them they could not provide support. HOURS, if not days on the phone and with badly written manuals. Result? No jpegs, just pretty pictures viewable through a 2.5" viewer attached to the camera. An ($) mess.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Camera! A bit pricey...
Review: This digital camera has it all. It records in a digital format... on regular 8mm tapes. So there is no need to try and find any miniDV cartridges. The picture quality is excellent. It also has a "night vision" capability! The only thing I don't like is the price. It could go for less.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Perfect for High Quality Home Movies.
Review: This little number is a great step up from DCR-TRV310. I'm Not sure why, but the number is higher, and in my experience that means that it is way better and should cost alot more. I greatly recommend it with the 2.5in screen. Anything larger sucks the life out of a battery like, the KC Chiefs suck the fun out of Monday Night Football. You'll find the zoom is very suitable for most situations. The Info-Lithium batteries are a serious point in favor of the Sony brand family over its competitors. Knowing how much time you have left to shoot is priceless in those once-in-a-lifetime situations. In California, and sweeping quickly east, is the Phenomenon I dubbed "Green Porn". With Sony's 0-lux technology, you call literally see/film in pitch black. The ablitity to create a sensuous mood with the green glow that 0-Lux provides is amazing. It's like wathing The Nature Channel. Overall, if you don't have the money for the big time digitals and don't want junk. Then this is the Cam for you. Happy Honeymoon!


<< 1 2 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates