Customer Reviews
A SOLID VALUE!
After one month of use I have been pleasantly surprised by this camera from Sony. At around $260 I think it's the best value around and the best combination of performance and price that you will find. First you might think that a camera this low priced would not have much in the way of bells and whistles but you'd be wrong. Enhancements and effects life fade in and out, titling, dubbing; effects like stretching, sepia tone, pastels; photo mode, and various recording modes give this camera a lot of bang for your buck.
The camera is quite easy to use, and a comfortable fit and feel at under 2 pounds. it records quite well in low light although not fantastic in the dark, but again for the price it does very well. I didn't buy the optional battery pack since it's about 25% of the cost of the entire camera and for me that would lower the overall price value of the camera. Runs all my VCRs and my 14 year old had it hooked up and recording onto VHS in no time. Great value
Missing Documentation
I have no way to get the move from my camera to my computer.
The camera came with a USB cord, so I thought it would be a easy as pie.
I Plug in the camera, started the move editing software I got with the camera, tried to stream the movie to the software.
NOTHING!
I read the paper manual that came with the camera.
the paper instructions say I should refer to the
Sony camera "First step guide" that is on the CD for downloading the movie to a computer.
THERE IS NOT SUCH DOCUMENT ON THE CD!
I did find an instruction guide for the mover editing software that was on the CD (free software with the camera purchase).
It said that the software was not compatible with my modle of camera. What the heck did they give me the incompatible software.....that is just stupid.
Then it says I should use some other software (not free?) to capture the USB streaming to a file, then load that file into the movie editing software they gave me.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
I wasted a lot of money on this movie crapy camera.
"First step guide" that was suppose to be on the CD is available.
Their web page was of no help. They said the same thing, Looked for the guide on the CD that came with the camera.
I then Emailed tec support, they said I should have gotten 2 CDs. (I only got one) I have to BUY a replacemnt CD to get the missing "First step guide".
I am not a happy customer of the Sony camera company.
FOR NOW, THE BEST & MOST AFFORDABLE DIGITAL CAMCORDER
After doing hours of research on the internet (and I do mean hours and even days) EXTENSIVE research, I have found that, for the money ($259 from Amazon w/free shipping & also getting the Amazon Visa Card for an added discount), this is the best deal as far as digital camcorders go available today. It is certainly the cheapest priced digital camcorder I could find brand new, and the best built camcorder, especially when compared to the many mini dv's available (they look like they could break if you look at them the wrong way)! I had a friend who had a mini dv camcorder comment on their delicate nature, and her mini dv camcorder also quit working after only a few months of normal use (think about the same price range as digital 8 now--not more costly mini dv camcorders).
The Sony digital 8 camcorders may be discontinued soon by Sony (at least that is the asumption from what I read), but I have read more positive reviews (at this price range) for the Sony digital 8 camcorders than any of the comparable mini dv camcorders IN THIS PRICE RANGE. I purchased a Samsung (JUNK JUNK-AVOID) mini dv camcorder from Sam's Club prior to purchasing the Sony DCR-TRV280 from amazon.com, and I was more than disappointed in the performance of the Samsung mini dv camcorder. The picture from my old RCA Autoshoot VHS-C camcorder produced a picture much better than the Samsung could. I couldn't believe how horrible the quality was on the Samsung mini dv camcorder! This was difficult to tell in Sam's Club as all of their camcorders are in a very bright area of the store.
Also, I think blank tapes (8mm/high 8) will be available still for several more years, and this Sony digital 8 camcorder suits my purposes quite well. The tapes can be erased and reused many many times with very little loss of quality, if any, when well taken care of. I must state the opposite of most people when asked "should I go for mini dv or digital 8?" I say go with digital 8 if you're a "point and shoot" person like I am. Consumer Reports also states that these digital 8 camcorders are amongest the best buys in digital camcorders available today. You have to remember too, that Sony is a big name with a big reputation of producing great quality electronics.
Oh, another thing, how many digital camcorders can you get hours upon hours of use out of a single charge on one battery? Check out the optional batteries that are available with these digital 8 handycams. The NP-QM91D is the longest lasting (6 to 12 hours on 1 charge!) Also compatible with this digital 8 handycam is the NP-QM71D and NP-FM50. BEWARE of generic batteries, however (I found out the hard way!) Sony makes many of their newer models to detect the generic batteries and cause the camera to shut down and not charge the battery. I just sent back a generic NP-QM91D that was only $37.50 (Sony brand is around $149 new). Just stick with the Sony brand name infoLITHIUM batteries only. I re-ordered and got the NP-FM50 for $44 from amazon.com (Sony brand). It will give 2 to 3 hours recording time, which, when combined with the battery that came with this camcorder, will be about 4 hours of battery time. This should be plenty for most users. The batteries also recharge remarkably fast (except for the first two batteries I mentioned. Those require an optional "fast charge charger" to get them to charge quickly).
By the way, the Samsung mini dv had many complaints of low battery time (40 minutes or less). I think Sony makes the longest lasting batteries, and I have done a lot of research on this! I hope you will take my word for it, and check out this digital 8 handycam yourself!
