Sony DCRTRV27 MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/ 3.5" LCD, MPEG EX, Memory Stick und Mega Pixel Video/ Still
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Manufacturer: Sony
Price at amazon.com:
Used from $499.95List price $1,119.99
- MiniDV camcorder
- 10x optical, 120x digital, zoom with image stabilization
- 3.5-inch color LCD monitor; color EVF
- Records still photos onto tape or included Memory Stick media
- Analog-to-digital conversion with pass-through analog inputs
Product Description:
The Sony DCR-TRV27 is a solid MiniDV camera with a load of functions, including that of a 1-megapixel digital still camera. Demanding video enthusiasts will find their needs satisfied with a 10x optical zoom, manual focus ring, a night-shooting function, and a large 3.5-inch LCD screen. Lens The lens is a famous, high-quality Carl Zeiss construction with a single 1/4.7-inch CCD capturing the image, enabling the camera to produce 520 lines of resolution. The SteadyShot function stabilizes the picture and reduces camera shake. Use the infrared NightShot for shooting at night or in dark settings. The TRV27 also sports a 10x optical zoom, which is enough for most purposes. Turn on the digital zoom, which electronically magnifies the optical image, and reach up to 120 times. Digital Stills Digital stills can be stored on a Memory Stick, which works independently from the DV tape system. The camera performs with 1-megapixel resolution, making it capable of sharp images that are up to 1,152 x 864 pixels in size. The camera can also shoot in MPEG movie mode, storing 320 x 240 videos onto the memory stick. MPEG movie lengths range from five seconds to the length allowed by the capacity of your Memory Stick. Inputs and Outputs The TRV27 is equipped with the standard DV IEEE 1394 port (also known as FireWire) for a super-fast, lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines. The USB connection is used to transfer digital photos and MPEG movies. The traditional S-video and RCA connections are also present for direct viewing on a television or VHS dubbing. The DCR-TRV27 comes with one 8 MB Memory Stick. Memory Sticks are reusable, but if you tend to take a lot of digital images, then you'll want a bigger card. MiniDV Format MiniDV digital technology delivers clear, sharp video with over 500 lines of horizontal resolution--far superior to the 240 lines of resolution offered by 8mm camcorders. You'll also get minimal color noise interference for a more stable picture. You'll also get excellent sound quality, recorded in either 12-bit or 16-bit audio recording modes. 16-bit audio includes on set of stereo audio tracks to produce CD-quality sound. 12-bit audio utilizes two sets of audio tracks so you can easily add background music or commentary into your videos while maintaining the existing soundtrack. This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of two full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.
Description from Manufacturer:The Sony DCR-TRV27 is a solid MiniDV camera with a load of functions, including that of a 1-megapixel digital still camera. Demanding video enthusiasts will find their needs satisfied with a 10x optical zoom, manual focus ring, a night-shooting function, and a large 3.5-inch LCD screen. Lens
The lens is a famous, high-quality Carl Zeiss construction with a single 1/4.7-inch CCD capturing the image, enabling the camera to produce 520 lines of resolution. The SteadyShot function stabilizes the picture and reduces camera shake. Use the infrared NightShot for shooting at night or in dark settings. The TRV27 also sports a 10x optical zoom, which is enough for most purposes. Turn on the digital zoom, which electronically magnifies the optical image, and reach up to 120 times.
Digital Stills
Digital stills can be stored on a Memory Stick, which works independently from the DV tape system. The camera performs with 1-megapixel resolution, making it capable of sharp images that are up to 1,152 x 864 pixels in size. The camera can also shoot in MPEG movie mode, storing 320 x 240 videos onto the memory stick. MPEG movie lengths range from five seconds to the length allowed by the capacity of your Memory Stick.
Inputs and Outputs
The TRV27 is equipped with the standard DV IEEE 1394 port (also known as FireWire) for a super-fast, lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines. The USB connection is used to transfer digital photos and MPEG movies. The traditional S-video and RCA connections are also present for direct viewing on a television or VHS dubbing.
The DCR-TRV27 comes with one 8 MB Memory Stick. Memory Sticks are reusable, but if you tend to take a lot of digital images, then you'll want a bigger card.
MiniDV Format
MiniDV digital technology delivers clear, sharp video with over 500 lines of horizontal resolution--far superior to the 240 lines of resolution offered by 8mm camcorders. You'll also get minimal color noise interference for a more stable picture.
You'll also get excellent sound quality, recorded in either 12-bit or 16-bit audio recording modes.
- 16-bit audio includes on set of stereo audio tracks to produce CD-quality sound.
- 12-bit audio utilizes two sets of audio tracks so you can easily add background music or commentary into your videos while maintaining the existing soundtrack.
This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of two full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.Average Customer Rating: 
Comment: Nothing to dislike Rating:
After one VHS and two Hi-8 camcorders, this is my first digital machine. I think it is superb. The pictures are incredibly sharp and clean. I didn't expect to use the memory stick much, but I'm already snapping and emailing loads of pictures of our kid. (The downside is that it subtracts from the number of quality film stills I take.) The 27 is quite easy to use and feature-rich. It is a cinch to plug it into my Mac and edit movies. The one glitch I had was finding a memory stick reader that worked properly, but I seem to have solved that. I think an accessory light is essential for better results. I bought Sony's 10/20 watt (less than 10 is too little light). I also bought 2 NPO-QM91 batteries and a Sony SQ quick charger. This battery is necessary for the light, and it works in the camcorder to give something like 6 hours of power. The 10x zoom isn't spectacular, but usually good enough, and Sony sells a magnifying lens. As always, the digital zoom is awful. The image stabilizer works well and I hear zero camera noise on playback. This camcorder and a Mac (and I suppose even a PC!) are a perfect home film making combination. It's a splendid camera.
Comment: Sony DCRTRV27 Rating:
I've been wanting to get a new camcorder for about two years now. I've put it off until recently when I saw the TRV27. It had pretty much what I wanted in a camcorder. Digital, large LCD, usb and firewire connections and i'm partial to Sony anyway.
After about two weeks of messing around with it I can certainly recommend this camera to anyone willing to spend the money for it. There are comparable cameras out there so it comes down to personal taste and affordability.
I can only give this 4 stars though because of a few things.
1. The included PixelView DV editing software sucks. I downloaded a trial version of Ulead Videowave and it had more features and was easier to use. Sony should've included better software to compliment their equipment.
2. Filming in low light is almost useless. The film comes out near total black. I would recommend a video light.
and lastly,
3. The still shots at standard settings aren't the greatest. The still shots are at 1.0 megapixels so to get the best output you need to have those settings at the highest resolution and hightest quality. That takes up space on the included 8 meg memory stick. If you are planning to use it as a digital camera for still shots, I would recommend the 128meg mem. stick.
Other than those concerns I'm completely happy with my purchase and having a good time learning video editing.
Comment: Excellent value Rating:
I've used the DCR-TRV27 for almost a year and a half now. Excellent image quality, light weight, great battery life, data flows through FireWire to computer very well.
Down sides: Sony's web site doesn't even acknowledge they ever made this camera; searching on its model number will not produce any results. So if you lost the manual, the best source to get it in .pdf form is Amazon! Also, the zoom is a little over-sensitive.
These are minor quibbles though. For the money, this camera is a bargain.
Posted at November 11, 2003 07:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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