Rating: 
Summary: Great features, good quality, horrible light tolerance
Review: This camera obviously has great features at its reasonable price. The night vision is a very creative (however unnecissary) feature that I found to be fun to show to your friends however not needed for filming very often. Unfortunatly, you may find yourself using nightvision often because as you take stills in lower light conditions the quality decreases. This decrease is only noticed when looking at the pictures on a computer or on paper (or when looking at movies on a TV screen). However, this camera tends to be cheaper than most others because it records in a Digital 8 format. In other words, it records digitally on to regular Hi8 tapes which are generally cheaper than most miniDV tapes. However, keep in mind if you buy a 120 minute Hi8 tape, this camera will only record 60 minutes on to it because the data takes more room. The camera, however, is very user friendly and can run almost completely automatically as well as manually. The autofocus is very efficient along with an excellent optical zoom and an oustanding digital zoom (although quality does decrease with digital zoom). The camera acts extremely well in brighter conditions and clearly out performs many other cameras, it's the indoor low light coniditions that still need plenty of work.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a great buy
Review: This is a great buy because it is like having a Digital still camera and a video camera in one. It is very small and light too and looks good to I love this camera.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best I have seen...
Review: This is the first camcorder I have bought. I did a lot of research and finally decided to go with the Sony DCR-TRV730... and I am glad that I did.The picture is great!! Very crisp and clear DVD quality. It is very easy to use. Within 5 minutes, I had it setup and ready to use. The controls are intuitive and well placed. However I would suggest reading through the excellent manual when you have a chance to learn about all the features. The zoom is clear and the image stabilization works great. The night shot is really neat, but the "Super Night Shot" is only suitable for use with a tripod. There are many built in special effects, like faders, B&W, Old Time Movie, etc... The only thing to remember is that you will need IEEE 1394/FireWire ports and cable if you wish to copy/edit the video to your computer. The included USB connection is only for still images and MPEG movies on the memory card. Overall a great camera, with professional results.
Rating: 
Summary: Great camera for someone not used to expensive cameras
Review: Used this for school and we are finding it works very well, so well, that our own high school is using this type of camera for all use of cameras for the school. Very reliable, high quality camera with easy to understand feautures and an easy way to film and to hold as well. Did have problem with lighting and trying to pick up sound at the same time but still very good.
Rating:
Summary: Sony TRV730 Okay, but not good in Low Light!
Review: Well, after buying this TRV730 based on all the rave reviews from everyone (mostly) I am a bit disappointed to find out that no one was keen enough to accurately tell prospective buyers about the very POOR low light capability of this model. For the sake of me, I cannot make decent videos using my normal indoor lighting (100 watts or more incandescent lamps) in the room(s).
The LCD screen shows the pictures much brighter than they really are when I upload them to the PC via the i-link (firewire) digital port into Adobe Primier or Ulead's VideoStudio software.
Sony seems to have turned up the video gamma, brightness and contrast inside the camera for playback, because the videos look brighter when I play the tapes through the TRV730 itself connected to my Sony TV via the composite video output of the camera. Digital upload to PC do not look anything near what shows up on the TV composite output, so Digitial copies will be very poor and DARK because of this! My older Sony 8mm analog cams do much better than this in low light and the colors look better too. The Colors on the TRV-730 look pale and washed out. Not at all like the vibrant "Sony colors" I have come to expect from Sony cameras in general. What happened Sony?
The good points people have raved about are true... I just had to enter my experiences to tell the bad points that most people are not telling (or they are beginners and just don't know [...]) Sorry. Does'nt anyone else see this problem or is it just my camera that may be defective? Those are my only gripes (bad faded colors, bad low light sensitivity). Low light pics are not noisey, but just very dark, too dark to see!) ... Oh one more thing, yeah the lense is not so "wide angle", it is like it is always zoomed up on the scene. So beware wide angle lense freaks. This is not good either.
Rating:
Summary: One touch recording with intuitive controls, great features!
Review: What makes this camcorder nice is the fact that it is very easy to use. You can keep this as simple as you like, or you can spend some time and learn the more advanced features -- but they are optional and learning them will not get in your way of making great home movies. With no knowledge of camcorders and a basic understanding of how to connect the power to the cam so that you can charge the battery, you can start making movies. Video quality is superb and the sound recording works very good. When compared to my old analog tapes the quality of a digital recording is amazing. Once you master the basics (which is all you ever actually need to know) you can advance at your own pace and learn how to fade in and out and add great titles. Sony provides a number of easy to use titles that overlay on your recordings, or you can make your own. The instruction booklet is thick with detailed explanations of what, why and when - but the first few pages use pictures and simplicity to explain how to use this unit right out of the box. One great new feature: Sony has made it easy with scroll wheel that also depresses and allows you to navigate many menus with only your thumb. I connected my TRV730 directly to my new desktop using the Firewire cable (included with your camcorder!) and loaded the software (Studio DV) that came with my computer (HP Digital Video Desktop System) and within minutes I was controlling my camera from the computer. There is also a USB port if you do not have Firewire capabilites. I was able to upload several hours of old movies up and into the computer with no problems at all. This unit is backwards compatible (the TRV130 and TRV830 are NOT!) so you can view all of your old analog based recordings. These new Lithium ION based batteries are great because you can charge them anytime you like without affecting the "memory" and you can charge the unit without ever removing the battery. I have other cameras that use the first generation lithium-ions and found them to be great batteries that lasted and lasted. These next generation ones are simply smaller with the same amount of power. Nightshot works great in low light conditions and SUPERnightshot makes it possible to record in virtual darkness. I walked outside on a pitch black night and zoomed in on the license plate of a car across the street and it read perfectly. No way could I read that plate with my own eyes and I have great vision. The Steadyshot is seamless and works well. My last camcorder (the analog one) did not have this feature and you can tell the difference in my recordings. When you are zooming in, the effect of Steadyshot is increased. The bottom line is that this camera has a lot of nice features that make it worth the price. The most important feature is that it is easy to use and the controls are intuitive so you can start using your camera as soon as it is charged. I am a pro-Sony consumer and have spent thousands of dollars on various Sony items. I do this because they WORK and when they don't, Sony stands behind their products with a warranty. You REALLY don't need those expensive in-house warranties sold at Circuit City and Best Buy, despite what you may read in other reviews. The only decision you should be making is where to save the most money.
Rating:
Summary: One touch recording with intuitive controls, great features!
Review: What makes this camcorder nice is the fact that it is very easy to use. You can keep this as simple as you like, or you can spend some time and learn the more advanced features -- but they are optional and learning them will not get in your way of making great home movies. With no knowledge of camcorders and a basic understanding of how to connect the power to the cam so that you can charge the battery, you can start making movies. Video quality is superb and the sound recording works very good. When compared to my old analog tapes the quality of a digital recording is amazing. Once you master the basics (which is all you ever actually need to know) you can advance at your own pace and learn how to fade in and out and add great titles. Sony provides a number of easy to use titles that overlay on your recordings, or you can make your own. The instruction booklet is thick with detailed explanations of what, why and when - but the first few pages use pictures and simplicity to explain how to use this unit right out of the box. One great new feature: Sony has made it easy with scroll wheel that also depresses and allows you to navigate many menus with only your thumb. I connected my TRV730 directly to my new desktop using the Firewire cable (included with your camcorder!) and loaded the software (Studio DV) that came with my computer (HP Digital Video Desktop System) and within minutes I was controlling my camera from the computer. There is also a USB port if you do not have Firewire capabilites. I was able to upload several hours of old movies up and into the computer with no problems at all. This unit is backwards compatible (the TRV130 and TRV830 are NOT!) so you can view all of your old analog based recordings. These new Lithium ION based batteries are great because you can charge them anytime you like without affecting the "memory" and you can charge the unit without ever removing the battery. I have other cameras that use the first generation lithium-ions and found them to be great batteries that lasted and lasted. These next generation ones are simply smaller with the same amount of power. Nightshot works great in low light conditions and SUPERnightshot makes it possible to record in virtual darkness. I walked outside on a pitch black night and zoomed in on the license plate of a car across the street and it read perfectly. No way could I read that plate with my own eyes and I have great vision. The Steadyshot is seamless and works well. My last camcorder (the analog one) did not have this feature and you can tell the difference in my recordings. When you are zooming in, the effect of Steadyshot is increased. The bottom line is that this camera has a lot of nice features that make it worth the price. The most important feature is that it is easy to use and the controls are intuitive so you can start using your camera as soon as it is charged. I am a pro-Sony consumer and have spent thousands of dollars on various Sony items. I do this because they WORK and when they don't, Sony stands behind their products with a warranty. You REALLY don't need those expensive in-house warranties sold at Circuit City and Best Buy, despite what you may read in other reviews. The only decision you should be making is where to save the most money.
| 
