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Sony DCRTRV140 Digital8 Camcorder with 2.5" LCD, Video Light & USB Streaming
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11 new or used available from $138.00
Average customer review:
(40 customer reviews)
Product Description
Make a memory last forever with a Digital8 camcorder from Sony. The 2.5" Swivelscreen LCD is easy to use and captures events in true-to-life detail. Steadyshot Picture Stabilization will hold true to its name by reducing the effects of a shaky hand or movements. With Super NightShot you can record in complete darkness. and the 20x optical/560 digital zoom gets you up close and personal. The built-in light will brighten up all your shots!Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #4489 in Camera & Photo
- Brand: Sony
- Model: DCR-TRV140
- Dimensions: 3.30 pounds
- Display size: 2.5
Features
- Digital8 camcorder
- 20x optical, 560x digital, zoom with image stabilization
- 2.5 inch color LCD and black and white EVF
- Features a digital photo mode
- Comes with NightShot mode and digital faders and effects
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The Digital8 line was conceived to provide a path to digital for current owners of 8mm or Hi8 camcorders. Unfortunately, the DCR-TRV140 can't play Hi8 and 8mm footage, as its bigger brothers up the line, like the DCR-TRV240, can. However, it is Sony's least-expensive digital camcorder, and is quite a steal for those who want to make the digital plunge.
To start off, Sony put in a 20x optical zoom and paired it with SteadyShot image stabilization. Image stabilization is a handy technology that helps to eliminate the shakiness associated with high zoom levels. The only way to avoid shakiness completely is to utilize a tripod, table, or other stable surface. The 2.5-inch LCD is the best way to frame your shots, although you can use the black-and-white EVF to preserve battery life.
In addition to the normal slew of ports (IEEE 1394, S-video, mini-AV) that have made their way onto the TRV140, there's also a USB port, which, with some included software, offers some interesting functions. Specifically, it allows you to use the camcorder to capture stills, or "broadcast live video with audio," according to Sony, which seems to indicate you can use the TRV140 as a Webcam.
The DCR-TRV140 comes with a power adapter, InfoLithium battery, remote control, two AA batteries, A/V cable, lens cap, shoulder strap, USB cable, and software CD-ROM.
The Digital8 line was conceived to provide a path to digital for current owners of 8mm or Hi8 camcorders. Unfortunately, the DCR-TRV140 can't play Hi8 and 8mm footage, as its bigger brothers up the line, like the DCR-TRV240, can. However, it is Sony's least-expensive digital camcorder, and is quite a steal for those who want to make the digital plunge.
To start off, Sony put in a 20x optical zoom and paired it with SteadyShot image stabilization. Image stabilization is a handy technology that helps to eliminate the shakiness associated with high zoom levels. The only way to avoid shakiness completely is to utilize a tripod, table, or other stable surface. The 2.5-inch LCD is the best way to frame your shots, although you can use the black-and-white EVF to preserve battery life.
In addition to the normal slew of ports (IEEE 1394, S-video, mini-AV) that have made their way onto the TRV140, there's also a USB port, which, with some included software, offers some interesting functions. Specifically, it allows you to use the camcorder to capture stills, or "broadcast live video with audio," according to Sony, which seems to indicate you can use the TRV140 as a Webcam.
The DCR-TRV140 comes with a power adapter, InfoLithium battery, remote control, two AA batteries, A/V cable, lens cap, shoulder strap, USB cable, and software CD-ROM.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews159 of 160 people found the following review helpful.
Package with everythingBy Peter
Camera is easy to use and a sturdy rugged design. The buttons are solid and all have a positive feel to them, no chrome to wear off. The zoom is easy to control. Some of the cameras I tried would pick up the sound of the zooming onto the tape, this camera is silent. Lots of goodies, remote (so you can sit back in your chair as you watch your videos), being able to zoom in on a video during playback, and time lapsed videoing. When looking for a camera make sure that you have enough optical zoom. Digital zoom is just blowing up the best optical picture that you can get. I've tried some cameras with 10x optical, but the picture quality really suffers, and even more so when you use digital zoom. This camera with 20x zoom and 560x digital zoom makes for great shots of people without getting in their face and does a nice picture job on zooming in on objects. The steady shot feature is the best out of all the cameras I looked at. Other cameras have their own versions, but Sony has perfected this feature. Very handy when looking at your home videos. Nothing more annoying than watching a shakey video. Which brings me to the weight of the camera. This camera isn't the lightest, but that's because of the size of the tape and technology in it, but the lighter the camera, the harder it is to keep steady. The O- lux with super nightshot works great, you can see in the dark! In low light I was happy with the performance. I've used the camera around the camp fire and was able to take some great video. The battery life is relatively short even if you don't use the LCD screen, but Sony as the infolithium battery which tells you exactly how much time you have left on the battery at all times. Like with any camera, you will need to buy a second battery anyway. The USB streaming function with the Pixella software is virtually useless. Very disappointing, because that is why I bought this model. (Other wise I would have bought the TRV308). I went out and had to buy a Firewire PCI card with a cable (IEEE 1394, I-link). Now your talking great camera to PC downloading. Its like your LCD screen is on your computer. Cut, paste and re-record the video onto your camera or email it. Overall Sony knows how to make a product. They try to think of everything, even the lense cap has a handy clip to hang it out of the way when you are filming. Plugs and cable ports are handy and easy to get at. Whatever camera you get, buy a UV lense, 10 bucks takes the glare out of outside video shots and adds an extra layer of protection to the actual video camera lense. I spent alot of time going from store to store buying, trying and returning 4 different brands of cameras in this price range. I am very satisfied with my purchase.
84 of 86 people found the following review helpful.
Nice introduction to the digital worldBy Carlos Santiago
... After some browsing I was convinced to purchase this camera because of its solid technology and advanced features in a surprisingly affordable package.
The highlights are: Digital technology using Hi8/Digital8 tapes, Hi-Fi Stereo, 560x digital zoom, 20x optical zoom, USB streaming, Super Nighshot, Steady Shot, built-in light, LCD screen, and the infoLithium technology.
The camera includes a complete and detailed guide, a stereo A/V connection cable to hook up to your VCR or TV, a full featured wireless remote commander (with batteries), the NP-FM30 battery pack, a USB cable for video streaming to your PC, a shoulder strap, plus the AC power adaptor. It also includes a CD-ROM with Sony's USB drivers and Pixela's ImageMixer software for Macintosh Windows (including 2000 and XP).
I am new to this whole digital video camera world as this is my first video camera, and I can say that after just a couple of hours of use I find myself very satisfied and excited with this new investment. The main purpose of my purchase was to use it to record family events and share the family moments using my PC. Obviously one of my first tests was the digital streaming using the USB connection.
I found the digital streaming very simple to use and well documented. The only gripe is the bundled Pixela ImageMixer software. It didn't work quite as expected and I had to resort to MS MovieMaker, which incidentally works excellently with this camera. I own a PC clone with Windows XP Pro and I couldn't find any glitches or incompatibilities here. You can record your pictures using various levels of quality; in high quality mode the USB performed quite well, although not quite comparable to streaming directly to a TV or VCR. The available option of using an I-Link, IEEE 1394 cable (not included) should provide a faster data transport (100-400 Mbps) and a better streaming experience, but I am currently unable to test this feature.
The camera can also be used for still pictures, with capacity for more than 550 pictures using one tape. This is a fantastic feature, plus the still pictures may be combined with your videos at the same time. Later on you can use the built-in search functionality to easily obtain and view (or transfer) your stills.
Additional nice features include:
* Fader effects
* Digital effects such as Still, Flash, Luminance key,Trail, Slow shutter and Old-movie
* Auto Exposure - these are preprogrammed modes used for different shooting conditions
* Interval recording - The camcorder automatically records and standbys
* Cut recording
* Zooming during playback
* Scene search by date, photo search
* Digital video editing
Overall, this is a very affordable, easy-to-use, full-featured video equipment and that is why I highly recommend it.
Pros: Affordable Digital technology, ease of use, many advanced features, great documentation
Cons: Camera is a little heavy and big compared to recent models, poor software
82 of 85 people found the following review helpful.
Perhaps the best choice in digital camcorders.By Arda Demirkan
I think the first question when buying a Sony digital camcorder is, Mini DV or Digital 8. Both Mini DV casettes and cameras are smaller but more expensive. The price is about 1.5 fold for about the same specifications. As they use the same recording system there isn't a real difference in picture quality and data transfer. Digital8 camcorder's recording pattern allows digital recording on 8mm or Hi8 tapes but only TRV 140 can't playback ! In fact the most important difference between them the size and the weight of the camera because of the size of the casette. TRV 140 is the cheapest D8 camera. Its most important spesification is x20 optical zoom. 560 digital zoom is useless as the quality destroys completely after x40 digital zoom. LCD monitor is perfect. TRV 140 has the USB connection but you can't transfer quality videos to your PC with it. I think you need to use the i.LINK DV Interface (IEEE1394) on TRV 140 if you want to transfer quality videos to your PC. Of course you have the A/V out which can be used by a TV card but the quality differs. USB connection brings the ability to use your camera as a webcam and transfer still images to your PC but nothing else. Built-in light is effective only 2 meters so you need extra light in larger places. Built-in infrared light system lets you capture video from a up to 3meters away, even in total darkness but the sceene is black and white and qualility is poor for moving objects. You can see the others on the LCD even when you can't see your own hand because of the darkness(!). It is posible to use an external infrared light system. TRV 140 records high-quality 12-bit or 16-bit digital stereo audio but it is a bit more noisy at 16 bit. When you watch your video on TV picture quality is realy wonderful. You can connect your camcorder to a TV by A/V out, scart connector or S video cable. S video connection doesn't transfer audio and it doesn't bring an extra quality. The cable isn't included in the package and no need to pay an extra in my opinion. TRV 140 has a DV out connector but not a A/V in. Some digital camcorders can capture MPEG digital video and store it directly to the memory stick but TRV 140 can not. Movie length ranges allowed by the capacity of the memory stick and it is only some seconds. MPEG movie function can be usefull to share via the internet and you can get performance by using USB connection but nothing else. You have to pay minimum 150- 200 $ more to have a camcorder which can produce MPEG movies. There is also the photo function in TRV 140 but the quality is not like a digital camera. Photos are like paused images in good quality. In fact camcorders can not take quality photos as a megapixel digital camera. Transfering the photos to a PC is also not practical as a digital camera too. Battery life is realy satisfactory. You can record a 60 minute casette even the LCD monitor and sometimes the built-in light is on. The remaining battery and casette is always displayed. Steady shot picture stabilization of Sony with motion sensors works very well. As a result TRV 140 is the cheapest digital camcorder and there is not any reason for not to buy it. All digital8 camcorders are bigger and heavier than Mini DV camcorder but there is not a big difference in picture quality. Don't even think of buying a Hi8 camcorder instead of TRV 140. You will see that digital videos and sounds are very different than analogs. Perhaps TRV 140 is the best choice if you don't want to spend too much on a digital camcorder. Be sure that it is not poor of some technology as it is cheap !!
See all 40 customer reviews...
Not worth the $$$
Look elsewhere if you need to shoot indoor video
