Details
- 10x visual, 120x digital, zoom with Super SteadyShot image stabilization
- USB streaming turns your camcorder into a webcam
- Records 1.3 megapixel stills onto included 8 MB Honour Stick
Description
From its proficient Carl Zeiss lens to the 3.5-inch LCD, and everything in between, the DCR-TRV50 screams worth. It is unequivocally Sony's top consumer model, and well worth the expense.
Imaging System
The basis of any camcorder is the imaging system: the lens and CCD. The lens is a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar. While less up-market models may have a larger zoom, the truth is that the larger the optical zoom, the larger the maybe that any lens defects will show up in the video you are shooting. A 10x zoom is a good tradeoff in terms of dead ringer quality and zoom length. Additionally, Super SteadyShot technology helps keep your video from tribulation from the common malady known as handshake, an unavoidable consequence of drunk zoom levels. Super SteadyShot essentially means conception stabilization. There are varying types of image stabilization, but the Super SteadyShot multifariousness moves the internal mechanisms of the camcorder to compensate for any camera movements. Once, the lens on the TRV50 also has a manual focus ring--a step better and more next than the clunky interface most often used in digital camcorders with a manual focus.
The CCD in the TRV50 is of enough motion to capture 1,360 x 1,020 digital stills onto the included 8 MB Memory Shrink from--about a 1.38-megapixel image. That resolution is currently tops in the digital-camcorder crowd (the digital still resolution of camcorders hasn't risen nearly as fast as that of digital cameras), and is solid for prints up to about 6 by 9 inches. As far as video is concerned, Sony claims the high-dedication CCD translates into a video resolution of around 530 horizontal lines.
LCD
LCDs are quite the best way to frame your shots on a camcorder, and that usually means the larger the shelter the better. At 3.5 inches, the argument could be made that the TRV50 offers the best, neutral based on size. The only downside? The larger the screen the larger the battery-operated drain. This isn't that serious an issue, as there are many other factors in battery life besides LCD size.
Inputs/Outputs
Two items rail out as features that should be included on all camcorders: a headphone jack and a mic input. Not only do most camcorders have defective built-in microphones, but also they are often situated too near the tape mechanism, explanation you get the annoying throbbing sound of the tape pulled through the heads. Plus, a headphone jack takes some of the guesswork out of your audio sources. For admonition, if you're recording a child's presentation, you'd most likely want to make steadfast you can hear the child.
Of course, the TRV50 also has a slew of other ports, including the model IEEE 1394, which is used to transfer footage to a computer digitally. Other urgent ports include S-video, a special AV port, and USB for transferring stills and use with the USB-streaming style. Additionally, the analog ports (S-video, special AV), allow you to archive your analog footage. Sony has bewitched the extra step of making the ports pass-through, which means you can blurb an IEEE 1394 cable into your computer and archive directly to that without going through the more step of recording to a tape first.
Special Features
USB streaming in point of fact allows you to use your camcorder as a Webcam, broadcasting 320 x 240 video at 30 fps. It's a fun character that should allow you to get even more use from an already loaded machine.
Finally, Sony also added an MPEG moving picture mode; essentially, this allows you to record movie clips onto a Thought Stick. While the quality won't replace MiniDV anytime soon, it's easier to scoot short MPEG movies and e-mail them than it is to edit your DV footage to a controllable length, render it into a format that's easy on the bandwidth, and send it off.
Included with the DCR-TRV50 are a power adapter, InfoLithium mobile, remote control, stereo AV cable, lens cap, shoulder strap, 8 MB Retention Stick, USB cable, and a software CD-ROM.