Great choice for professionals

I purchased the TRV900 about a year ago as a replacement for my beloved
Canon ES5000. The Canon was very easy to use, produced great pictures, and featured a 20X optical zoom, and optical image stabilization. Until the advent of digital, this was one of the best HI-8 models on the market. I took the step up to the TRV900 after months of research on the internet. My goal was to get a camcorder which would significantly improve upon the ES5000. The bottom line - After several months I sold the TRV900 for $1,700 and purchased a Canon ES6000 HI-8 for - $300. Let me explain why. First, the picture of the TRV900 during daylight filming is only marginally better then the picture on my ES5000. The only instance where you would notice a big difference between the formats is when viewing copies of the original tapes. With Hi-8 there is a noticeable degradation in image quality in the copy vs. the original, while with digital the copy is almost
equal to the original - even after repeated copying. Second, the optical zoom of the Sony is only 12X vs.20X for the Canon. I missed the extra power! Third, the Canon was more easy to carry around and operate, while the Sony is larger, heavier, and bulkier. On the other hand, There were three aspects of the Sony which I clearly preferred over the Canon. The first was the anti-grounding feature. This prevents you from confusing start recording with stop recording and vice versa. This is a great feature!! Also, the Sony uses the infolithium batteries which cost less, and provide longer life then the Canon choices. Last, but not least, the Sony is built like a tank. The pictures of this model do not do it justice. It is much larger, heavier, and solid then it appears.

In summary, the TRV900 is a great choice for the professional, or advanced amateur. Another good choice in this price range would be the Canon GL1. However, if you are a casual user, and are not concerned about the dropoff in image quality of your copies, Hi-8 may still be the best choice for you. You really need to do a price/benefit analysis.