Rating: 
Summary: A neat product with a great mix of features.
Review: All in all this camera has a very useful set of features for the amateur videographer and those who simply wish to record interesting experiences.It's got full DV capabilities, as well as a few built-in transitions that some may find useful. It also has a useful selection of effects that are not too cheesy. Likewise, the menu system is easy to get used to and becomes second nature after a few uses. The SuperSteadyCam feature works and works quite well. The Supernightshot capability is a great, allowing footage to be taken in complete darkness, albeit with less color quality. I find that mixing the SEPIA effect with the night shot capability results in a more natural effect than the default green cast provided by the nightshot light (built-in). The unit also functions as a digital camera, which is a great bonus. You can choose resolutions up to 1152 pixels. This should be good enough for amateur webmasters who simply want photos for their sites. Photos are saved to Memory stick. You may find that the 4MB Memory stick that is included is way too small in capacity. It can hold as many as 20+ photographs at medium resolution. It also supports the "SMART" tape cartridges that can be indexed and titled. For those who use up little tape per session and end up covering more than one event on a single tape, I highly recommend the use of the smart cartridges to allow proper indexing of the differing events on the tape. The automatic white balance adjustment is commendable, as is the wonderfully sharp optics of the Carl-Zeiss lens. There are only a few things that may make you think twice about this unit. - Tape loading happens from beneath the unit, making tape changes a bit fussier. You'll have to take your hand out of the retention strap and put the thing down. - The unit is very small, and it does tend to cramp the hand when used for extended periods of time. However, I've found that it can be avoided by not using the hand retention strap altogether. I just tilt the LCD panel upwards and hold the unit at waist level. It also allows more powerful compositions in your videos. - The unit is not the smallest out there. The vertically oriented camcorders are much smaller. So if you're out for ultimate miniaturization, this unit ain't it, either. - Not enough wide-angle. I find that the default focal lengths achieved by the carl-zeiss doesn't allow for wide-enough angles. This affects those who wish to take nice vistas and comprehensive panoramas. Sony does make a wide angle lens attachment / adapter, but I have yet to try it. Aside from those forgivable and slight caveats, I find the unit wonderfully well priced for the full range of features and the excellent video quality it can provide. Of course there are much better units out there, but I feel that they provide little added benefit in relation to the large jump in cost that they entail. All-in-all, five well deserved stars! taj d.
Rating: 
Summary: No longer the best one out there...
Review: As much as I love Sony's megapixel sensor implementation in this camcorder, I no longer think it's the best one out there. If this cam is on your shopping list then definitely check out its closely related sibling: PC110. It has the same features, it is over twenty percent smaller, has a decent built-in flash, and in addition to being capable of megapixel shots, it records short MPEGs to the memory stick. The drawbacks could be the smaller 2.5-inch LCD and the vertical form factor (I actually prefer it). But other than that, everything else is the same or better, even the price... You should also consider TRV900 which offers three CCDs instead of one, resulting in much better video quality, especially in low light conditions (worse resolution for the still pictures and slightly larger body size though), and many additional semi-professional features for not much more money. Whichever you choose, stay with a Sony camcorder and their miniDV tapes. Their quality is great, drivers widely supported, and countless sites and newsgroups will help you enhance your digital movie and photo experience.
Rating:
Summary: Value for money
Review: Excellent camcorder with the latest features. Exceptional picture capturing capabilties with its world class lens. Very good handling features, auto stabilizer and controls are at the right location, very ergonomically designed. The wieght of the camera is also pretty decent to be handled by a single hand. One needs to be a little careful while using it during dim lights or less illumination. Another problem is of loosing the battery even in the OFF mode, my advise is to remove the battery once you are done with the usage.
Rating:
Summary: There is no other...
Review: Fits in the palm of your hand. As small as practically possible without being annoying. The only other camcorder that comes close is the DCR-PC100, which feels very awkward in your hands. They both have the same CCD and the same High Quality Lens. If quality is your main concern... there is no other camcorder to consider.
Rating:
Summary: Superb camcorder with digital stills
Review: I bought the DCR-TRV20 in January, and I have been very pleased with it. The image quality, features, battery life, size/weight, and zoom Zeiss optics are excellent. All around, a good choice ...and I'd buy one again. The still image feature produces digital photographs (1M pixel) that are good enough that I don't carry my 2 and 3Mb digital cameras when I pack the TRV20. I do use PhotoShop to "warm" the images up a little because they have the "cool" look typical of video cameras. Colors are very good, video is impressively sharp, and autoexposure and autofocus are rapid and accurate. There is excellent sound quality from the built-in stereo microphones. The controls are all in the right place for single handed (right handed) operation.
Rating:
Summary: Love the lens, not sure about the ergonomics
Review: I bought this because of the form factor and the lens (Ziess). Movies look great and pictures look great if you are OK with resolution. I picked it up so that when we travel, I could take snap-shots for my web site and make movies to bore my family. The only thing I do not like is the ergonomics: learning to zoom smoothly takes a while. I cannot change the options for the movie, or even add a backlite when filming in the sun without taking my hands off the camera, looking for the button and activating it. There are many options that take a while to learn where they are and how to access them. I still love this machine and really do commend it.
Rating:
Summary: Compact and versatile
Review: I bought this to take on my honeymoon in Jordan. It weighs about the same as a SLR, but you can take single shots as well. The night vision feature is great. By attaching the camera to my computer via a firewire system, I can also capture still shots from the video mode and print them out. I love it. The TRV20 is small enough to slip in a coat pocket with comfort. Around the neck or over the shoulder, it doesn't cut into you because of the wide strap. I wish the lens cap had a cord attached to keep up with it. The reversable viewing screen is wonderful for showing your movies when a TV hookup is not convenient. Over all, once you learn all the buttons and features, this is a dandy little unit for amateur or semi-professional alike.
Rating:
Summary: Sony TRV20 evaluation
Review: I have a Sony TRV20 since about a year and have used it quite a lot. The quality of the video is really superb. The still images have a very good resolution for a video camera, permitting non pixellized printouts. However I find that the colors of the still images are not as good as one could expect. The handling of still images is great too, you can view 9 pictures at a time as thumbnails on the screen. A good acessory is the flash made by Sony. I have the one that combines the video light and the flash for still pictures, very practical in low light situations where you tend to get those poor quality still shots. A little advice: if you use the flash do not use it with the subject less than 3 meters away otherwise it gest washed out (you can step back to 3 meters and use a bit of zoom to have a portrait) The image stabalizer works very well, and does not deteriorate the image in an obvious way. I regret that there is not an iris lock button (it does have a manual exposure but not as handy as a iris lock button). I won't go over all the features, which are nice to have but seldom mandatory. The large LCD screen is also above average. The best about this camera is really it's picture quality which is the real purpose of it. I can highly recommend this unit.
Rating:
Summary: Superb camcorder with digital stills
Review: I have looked here at Amazon.com often to purchase a new camera, and this is the camera. Have only had it a few days, but what great shots and video. When I read about it with Amazon's "Product Specs" it said some things that made me almost not buy it. The specs about titles is not correct. There are preset titles and also custom titling. I don't let the camera do titles because my software makes much better ones for a "movie" type effect where the camera just has a word or two in the middle of the screen for 5 seconds. This is my first fire wire device so I have not worked with that, but when the product specs said "no" with the S video I was turned off. This camera DOES HAVE S-video jack and that takes care of the 520 lines of resolution great. A couple of things that has troubled me with the camera are the zoom toggle and photo snap shot button. The zoom is very small and very sensitive. My old RCA camera had a much bigger front/back for zoom and wide angle, but this camera is small left/right. Being so new, I have to think left or right for zoom in and out and still go the wrong direction. The photo button on the top is another thing that I will need practice with. For just a few seconds you depress the button lightly until the camera is ready for a picture. Then you have to press the button deeper to let is take the picture. The place of the button and then have to depress it down completely has caused me to move the camera during the picture. The subject is hard to keep in the center when the "shutter clicks". With a tripod and using the remote might be the way to take a better picture. As a point and shoot still camera, it could be better. The large LCD screen is great, but it takes power. Get extra batteries and spend some money to get a larger memory stick. The 4 meg stick that come with the camera works but not for long. I can't say that this is a "must have" camera, but if you want the higher end type equipment this is a great camera.
Rating:
Summary: It is a great camera.
Review: I have looked here at Amazon.com often to purchase a new camera, and this is the camera. Have only had it a few days, but what great shots and video. When I read about it with Amazon's "Product Specs" it said some things that made me almost not buy it. The specs about titles is not correct. There are preset titles and also custom titling. I don't let the camera do titles because my software makes much better ones for a "movie" type effect where the camera just has a word or two in the middle of the screen for 5 seconds. This is my first fire wire device so I have not worked with that, but when the product specs said "no" with the S video I was turned off. This camera DOES HAVE S-video jack and that takes care of the 520 lines of resolution great. A couple of things that has troubled me with the camera are the zoom toggle and photo snap shot button. The zoom is very small and very sensitive. My old RCA camera had a much bigger front/back for zoom and wide angle, but this camera is small left/right. Being so new, I have to think left or right for zoom in and out and still go the wrong direction. The photo button on the top is another thing that I will need practice with. For just a few seconds you depress the button lightly until the camera is ready for a picture. Then you have to press the button deeper to let is take the picture. The place of the button and then have to depress it down completely has caused me to move the camera during the picture. The subject is hard to keep in the center when the "shutter clicks". With a tripod and using the remote might be the way to take a better picture. As a point and shoot still camera, it could be better. The large LCD screen is great, but it takes power. Get extra batteries and spend some money to get a larger memory stick. The 4 meg stick that come with the camera works but not for long. I can't say that this is a "must have" camera, but if you want the higher end type equipment this is a great camera.
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