Sony DCRTRV18 MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/ 2.5" LCD. MPEG, & Memory Stick

Capture those special moments with the DCR-TRV18 MiniDV camcorder. The new MiniDV camcorder from Sony creates high-quality visuals, thanks to the 800,000 pixel CCD (which gives a horizontal resolution of up to 500 lines) and the Carl Zeiss 10x optical zoom lens. The Super SteadyShot mode will make sure your visuals stay still, even if your hand doesn't.

Using the USB streaming feature, the camcorder can also function as a Webcam. In addition to this, video footage can be downloaded directly to a PC via a USB port. This material can then be edited on your PC using the supplied software. Once edited, your masterpiece can be shared with the whole world via the Internet.

The DCR-TRV18 includes the ability to record straight to MemoryStick. As with the DCR-TRV340, you can create movies by using MPEG; your recording time is now only limited by the size of MemoryStick.

Add to these already impressive features a 2.5-inch 123,000 pixel LCD screen, manual focus, 120x digital zoom, playback zoom and Super NightShot mode for filming in very low light and you've got yourself an impressive camcorder.

1 Bad tape technology
Before you buy, think about the cost of the DV tapes. They are about $6 each, retail, and EXTREMELY fragile. One broke in my camera, and damaged something when being taken out. This was a $70 repair, while it was still under warranty. I don't know how much it would have cost after warranty period was over. If I had it to do over again, I'd buy a camera with a sturdier, cheaper media, and from a manufacturer that respects its warranty.

2 The Best Camera for the Money
I am a student filmmaker of fourteen years. Previous to my purchasing of this camera, I had been using my mother's PD-100P. (My mother is a film producer). I needed to stop using her camera because it annoyed her that I knew more about it than she did, and because I needed the convenience of being able to use a camera without supervision and whenever I wanted. Being parents, my mother and father forced me to do my research on camera's, and made me earn all the money for it, instead of spending money I already had in savings. From the beggining I knew I wanted a Sony. Everybody in the business talked about how they were the top of the line, the best in every dimension. Still, I looked at Cannon's, Fuji's, Panasonic's, and just about every other make. After my gigantic search, I finally decided to go with this camera because of picture quality, format, Firewire (i.Link), and because of the cost and size. I can tell you, I made the right choice.

A few days after purchasing the camera, a friend of mine (who owns a Cannon) and I got together and did a two-camera shoot for a class production. When I brought the tapes home to edit, I was amazed at the diference in picture and sound quality. Even though we were mostly the same distance away, my camera picked up better quality, denser, and overall more dynamic sound than the Cannon, which I had been told had better sound than the Sony. Of course, the Sony also had much better and more detailed pictures as well. Overall, I was amazed at the quality.

One more thing to mention that is a definit advantage over other consumer camera's that most people overlook: the Intelligent Acessory Show. (IAS) The Sony line of camera's are the only ones that have hot shoes (the devices that you plug in get power from the camera). Most other brands feature cold shoes (the devices you plug in have to get power from another source), meaning you must carry extra cords around whenever you want to plug in an external feature, and you have to make sure that there is always an outlet nearbye.

The overall features of this camera make it the best buy for "the money" out there.

OVERVIEW

Pros:
-Size
-Format
-IAS
-Firewire
-Picture
-Sound

Cons:
-Only one con that I have found, and it is so minor, I didn't even mention it in the main portion of the review. The hand strap is slightly uncomfortable.

I hope this helps you decide which camcorder to buy.

3 Great Camcorder, Great Price (for Sony), Great Features
OK I've only had this camcorder for a couple of days, but I spent the better part of the last month conducting extensive online research on what camcorder I needed to buy. Here were my constraints:

1) Did not want to spend more than $700.
2) Did not need great still picture quality or capability as I already have a Sony F-707 (an outstanding product by the way).
3) I wanted a camcorder that used the same type of battery as my still camera.
4) I wanted a camera that was good in low light.

5) I wanted a camera that was compatible with today's computers.

I looked at hundreds of different websites for a camera that met my needs. I already liked Sony (even though their customer service isn't the greatest) so after looking at other brands for a short time I decided to stick with Sony brands. I debated waiting until next month when Sony releases their new line of camcorders, but I ultimately decided to go ahead and purchase one now (mainly because I have a new born on the way and she's not going to wait until April). If you do the research you'll find that Sony's new models, TRV-19, 22, 33, etc. have better still picture quality, they all have touchscreen LCDs, and thier low light quality is better than previous lines, but I think that's about it.

The bottom line is the TRV18 is a very competitively priced product (for Sony). It has most of the features as the TRV25 and 27 as well as the new line. It operates well in low-light. I like the fact you can slow down the recording shutter speed to capture more light in low light conditions. The video becomes slightly choppy, but it's OK if you're filming slow moving or stationary objects. Night shot is another great feature if you don't mind your video looking like a special ops movie. I tested the transition features and they are OK. I haven't tested the still quality, but I can't imagine it's very good. If you're wanting to buy a camera that takes high resolution stills, look elsewhere. There are many things I still want to try and do with the camera, but I don't regret buying this model. It meets my needs perfectly.

4 Great Camcorder, Great Price (for Sony), Great Features
OK I've only had this camcorder for a couple of days, but I spent the better part of the last month conducting extensive online research on what camcorder I needed to buy. Here were my constraints:

1) Did not want to spend more than $...
2) Did not need great still picture quality or capability as I already have a Sony F-707 (an outstanding product by the way).
3) I wanted a camcorder that used the same type of battery as my still camera.
4) I wanted a camera that was good in low light.

5) I wanted a camera that was compatible with today's computers.

5 Excellent Camera
I bought this camera six months ago. A wonderful camera indeed, very compact but very powerfull, lots of features, still going over the manual!!! the bundled software is very basic, however with a more powerfull software you can do wonders. If you plan to edit with your computer, the firewire cable is a must. The only complaint I have is the included battery, it doesn't last very long, so a bigger battery is also a must. Because of the short battery life I haven't used the LCD much. Super Night Shot feature is incredible, works great if you plan to film things that are relatively close, however is works even in complete darkness!! Overall a great camera!! worth every penny!!

6 it works
picture quality of video was good. digital camera pictures looks horrible. not recommended for someone looking for a digital camera and camcorder in one package. in fact, only a fool would do something like that. works right out of the box even under windows xp. connect the 6pin to 4pin firewire cable and windows xp automatically detects camera. works with windows movie maker. simple, easy, and reasonably priced.

7 great camera
I have had this camera for about 7 months now and i think it is a great camera. It does have its limitations. Low light situations are not the greatest, but acceptable. The photo function is only like 1 megapixel or less, but i did't buy for the photo quality. (You want sharp photos get a digital camera!)In a well light situation the video quality is supurb and editing the video in the computer is awesome! Highly Recommended! Good Value for the money! Who needs a bigger lcd! If the video is sharp, clear and i can get it into the computer i am happy!

8 Great Picture Quality
Just bought this camcorder after much investigating. I bought the TRV18 instead of the 25 or 27 because why pay the extra money for more mega pixels when they already tell you that these pictures are not printing quality just basically for e-mailing and transfering to CD. I also do not believe that $ 300.00 more is worth getting a larger viewing screen. Just got back from Disney World and the still photo's and movies are great. We have a Sony HD tv and let me tell you the videos almost look HD. The night shot is just amazing you have to see to believe. This camcord is worth every penny.......If you want pictures to print then buy a digital camera if you want pictures to share on the internet then this does just fine. Size is great just put int in a purse or fanny pack and away you go.

9 DCRTRV18
yes. this product is fantastic,
Small, easy for operate,
good quqlity of picture

10 Sony DCR TRV18
A good small digital camera. Video quality is good. Still pictures are not the greatest, but as a starter camera combining video and stills, it is OK. Only problem is when I tried to download the stills from the camera, the USB driver provided did not work. Windows XP was unable to recognize the driver and am still waiting for Sony's reply to my request for a driver.

11 Sony DCR-TRV18: exceptional quality, a great value
At 25 Mega bits per second, MiniDV is the digital video format of choice for amateurs and professionals alike. Shoot your movie, transfer it to the computer then burn it on a DVD. If you're like me and want to make lots of quality home movies and still skip the costs of burning DVDs, a good choice is to store your movies on regular CDs as SVCD... The MiniDV tapes offer top-of-the line video & audio quality yet they are very small (tape width: 6.35 mm).

The question is: which MiniDV camcorder?
Important factors in my decision:

* A quality camera lens. DCR-TRV18 is Sony's least expensive camcorder that comes with the famous Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar lens!

* CCD size: look for a camcorder with a 680K CCD or larger. That larger pixel matrix gives you steadier shots and more horizontal lines.

* Low-light operation: went out after dinner and videotaped rows of flowers in the local park - the camera compensated very well for the insufficient light, the video came out great. Sony camcorders shine when it comes to operating in low-light (compared to JVC and Canon). DCR-TRV18 also has a "Night Shot" mode for videotaping at zero Lux (darkness). I used NightShot to record people dancing at a wedding reception.

* Analog pass-through: many camcorders do not have inputs for transfering older analog tapes to MiniDV or to the computer. With DCR-TRV18 I was able to copy older S-VHS-C tapes, playing in my analog camcorder, to MiniDV tapes.

I bought my DCR-TRV18... and I love it! Like I mentioned before, I edited my movies, added scene transitions and text then burned the MPEG-2 files on regular compact discs (40 min SVCD) to view them with my DVD player.

If you need to take digital pictures, consider buying a separate digital photo camera ... rather than a camcorder/photo camera combo (these combos could only take low-resolution photos at the time of this review).

12 SONRY TRV18
I initially bought a JVC DVL520 and promptly returned it to the shop after viewing the output quality. The replacement i bought was the Sony TRV18. Although it was a more expensive camera, i feel it is worth it. The clarity is amazing - almost DVD like. There are also a lot of handy features such as USB streaming, being able to record on Memory stick and of course the size of this unit really nice & compact. The digital stills are OK and the NightVision is a neat feature!

13 A very good camera but it has some cons...
I had this camera for a few months already so far i have no complains about it. Is very easy to used and it has a lot of features. But there are a few problems with this camera which may affect ur decision on buying it:

Firstable Sony doesn't include the firewire card which allow u to transfer the DV video to ur computer. The good thing about it is the u can use ur USB to transfer the video but the quality is not the same since firewire the bandwidth is 400 mbps compare to 12 Mbps on USB.

Another thing u may find annoying with this camera it only includes a .67 pixel camera. This mean ur still image picture would not come out as clear and sharp as a 4.0 Mega pixel.

Also the program they include for transfering the Video isn't the great. I recommend u getting adobe premiere 6.5, Pinnacle 8, MGI 5.0. Which make ur life easier and do a better job then the one sony include. If u don't believe me check Cnet.com for ratings.

Besides those point this camera is great, records very clear, and it has a very good zoom, a 10x digital although that may sound like not that much zoom, the advantage is that is digital which allow u to capture a more clear picture when u zoom at a far object.

14 Good MiniDV, but there're better and cheaper camcorders
This entry-level MiniDV is very easy to use, and very comfortable to hold. I am very impressed by its picture and audio quality when I play my movie on TV; though I think the color balance lacks depth and a bit light when I compared it with TRV-25.

This camcorder allows you to capture picture and MPEG Movie into the provided 8MB Memory Stick (USB Streaming Only). I would not recommend either, since the still pictures are very poor(680k pixel), and 8MB memory stick is not going to capture any long movie either.

If you want to edit or upload your movie on your computer, I would suggest purchase a firewire card as it provides much better quality than the USB option. The provided Sony software is very easy to use. (Love those video e-mail!)

If you're a big fan of Sony, I would suggest spend a little more to buy the TRV-25/TRV-27, which provides better picture quality and have megapixel. If price is an issue and you don't mind if it is not a Sony, try the Canon MiniDV.

15 Pretty good camera
I just bought this camera last week .I never touched camcorder before it is very easy to figure out how to use it .Picture is very good like you see in regular tv excepts you are going to be in it .I am disappointed with 8Mb memory stick .I would have liked to get 256mb free instead of spending another 4o bucks at sony .With usb cable and software (free) i transferred images to pc this software little clumsy but not hard to figure out .I dont think mpeg movieis ok you can't record more than 5 min with free 8mb memory stick .If you want to transfer the movie to pc from tape you need to have I-link (Not free) software and cable .Remote is little funny you to place before the cam corder for that to work .Initially i thought that is not working .
To wrap it i will say it is pretty good one .