Sony DCR-TRV140 Digital8 Digital Camcorder With USB

The Sony DCR-TRV140 is an inexpensive Digital 8™ camcorder. And here lies its beauty for people who like everything Sony – it is the cheapest digital camcorder from Sony.

Digital 8

There are several good things about Digital 8 format, but most of them don’t apply to the TRV140. The digital camcorders usually use MiniDV cassettes, which are small and specially designed for use with digital camcorders.

The Digital 8 camcorders, on the other hand, use Hi-8 tapes (you can use cheaper 8mm tapes but it is not recommended), but perform digital recording. The Digital 8™ camcorders are usually backward compatible with 8mm or Hi-8 tapes – they can play your old 8mm or Hi-8 recordings.

Advantages of D8 camcorders:

1. Ability to play 8mm and Hi8 recordings - TRV140 cannot do this
2. Hi8 tapes are a little cheaper than MiniDV
3. Sony D8 camcorders are cheaper than their MiniDV camcorders with similar features
4. Even inexpensive D8 camcorders usually have analog inputs and analog-digital pass-through - TRV140 doesn’t

Disadvantages:

1. D8 is not widespread and if your D8 camcorder dies or becomes obsolete, you will have to get another D8 camcorder.
2. Hi8 tapes are larger in size than MiniDV
3. MiniDV is widely supported, unlike D8. If you need to play your tape on another digital camcorder or VCR, chances are they will be MiniDV.

As you can see, two major reasons to get a Digital8 camcorder would not apply to TRV140 (you can buy TRV240, which has both 8mm/Hi8 playback and analog inputs). And the Hi8 tapes are not much cheaper than MiniDV. So the only reason would be:

You want a digital camcorder from Sony that is inexpensive.

Picture

Although the picture quality of this model will not rival more expensive digital camcorders, it is a cut above analog 8mm/VHS-C and is better than most Hi8 models. The digital DV recording (same as MiniDV) features no analog noise and digital stereo sound (see below). The built-in light, proper set Program AE and the ability to manually adjust shutter speed and exposure help you to deal with low light situations, which might produce video noise (“snow” of different colors).

The still picture mode is not easy to use and doesn’t produce good picture quality – the picture’s resolution is low and it looks blurry.

Sound

As other digital models, the TRV140 uses Digital Audio Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) - similar to CD recording technology, with 12-Bit or 16-Bit modes. In 12-bit mode you can have two stereo soundtracks (at LP speed), 16-bit mode provides better dynamic range.

Zoom

The camcorder has 20x optical zoom and 560x digital zoom (which is more than sufficient for any conditions). In fact, the optical zoom might be all you need. The variable-speed zoom allows you to zoom in and out very slowly, giving your video more professional look. The SteadyShot® image stabilizer works well even at high magnification levels.

Features

The camcorder employs a 2.5" LCD with good visibility in sunlight and also has a black-and-white viewfinder. The viewfinder consumes less power. The camcorder has digital picture effects and A/V fader modes.

There are 6 Program AE modes. Auto Exposure modes are designed to control the exposure according to typical lighting scenarios, e.g. outdoor, portrait, etc. The use of the right AE allows you avoid overexposure and video noise.

The Super NightShot™ mode allows you shoot in total darkness. You can shoot subjects up to 10 feet away using a built-in infrared light. The picture is in black-and-white and the shutter speed is slow. The camcorder has edit search and TBC (Time Base Correction), 16:9 mode and LP recording capability (on Hi8 tape only). You also get manual focus and manual exposure in addition to automatic ones.

You can shoot still pictures in Digital Photo Mode and store them on the tape (510 pictures on a 60-minute tape). You can later find the pictures among the video segments using “Photo Search” mode from the supplied remote control.

Data Code

The digital camcorders (TRV140 included) record so-called “Data Code” on the tape in digital form separately from the picture, including the date, time and recording parameters. This way, the date/time is no longer superimposed on your video and leads to ability to search for recording by date/time (you have to use the supplied remote control).

Inputs/Outs

The camcorder has the following jacks: USB interface jack, A/V out, S-Video out, i.Link (FireWire, IEEE 1394). The i.Link® (IEEE1394, FireWire) port is very fast and USB gives you convenience for transferring still pictures.

Battery

The supplied InfoLithium NP-FM30 battery last for about 40 minutes with LCD on or up to one hour with LCD off. If the camcorder is in continuous recording mode, the battery will last longer. You can always see the approximate remaining power in minutes: AccuPower™ meter shows it on the camcorder's LCD or viewfinder.

The power cord can be connected to the camcorder while the battery is attached and the external power also charges the camcorder while it is in the “off” mode, unlike some other camcorders that require you put the battery on the charger.

Remote Control

The supplied remote control features some functions that are unavailable without it: slow motion, frame-by-frame, date search, photo search, etc.

Bottom Line

The TRV140’s main advantage is its price. But there is little sense in buying the D8 camcorder that lacks D8 features like backward compatibility and analog inputs. There are better similarly-priced MiniDV alternatives.