Product Description

Hi-8mm Handycam vision digital camcorder w/stereo recording and playback. 360X digital zoom, nightshot infrared 0Lux system, special effects, 3 1/2" swivelscreen color LCD. Laserlink connection. IMAGE Stabilization, remote.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9247 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Sony
• Model: DCR-TRV310
• Platforms: Windows, Mac OS 9 and below, Mac OS X, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP, Windows NT 5, PowerMac, Windows Me, Windows NT, Macintosh, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 3.5, Windows NT 4
• Dimensions: 8.50" h x 4.25" w x 4.25" l, 2.10 pounds
• Display size: 3.5

Features

• 360x digital zoom
• High-quality Digital 8 format
• Infrared night video capability
• Stereo recording
• 3.5-inch swivel LCD screen

Amazon.com Review
The Sony TRV310 Handycam provides top-of-the-line digital recording with a host of advanced options, including a large 3.5-inch LCD screen. Its powerful 360x digital zoom, wide range of special effects, image stabilization, and Sony's unique infrared night recording capabilities make it a great choice for those needing high-end digital camcorder features. Sony's elongated Handycam design fits easily in one hand and is well-balanced. While not the lightest of camcorders, we found the Handycam line to be one of the most ergonomic and easy to use.

The Sony TRV310 Handycam has a nifty status screen on the outside of the LCD screen module that lets you know how many minutes you've recorded or how far you've played a tape. It also tells you if there's a tape in the camcorder. This screen is backlit for maximum visibility.

The LCD screen swivels 210 degrees, which lets you record above your head or put yourself in the picture. The optical viewfinder is black and white, which is not a real drawback since we ended up using the LCD screen for most of our shooting. The unit's playback buttons are backlit, making it easier to use the Sony TRV310 Handycam as a VCR. This video camera also comes with a remote control unit.

The Sony TRV310 Handycam lets you manually adjust focus and exposure; it also includes seven programmed exposure modes, plus backlight compensation, to help optimize your video under different shooting conditions. It provides three recording modes--normal, hold-down, and five-second--to help you take short, lively video segments. The TRV310 also lets you record still photos. It features a high-powered 360x digital zoom, great for getting closeups and recording faraway events. This Handycam also provides electronic image stabilization to minimize camera shake, which is especially useful when using the zoom or during fast-action events.

We enjoyed Sony's full range of special effects, including the distinctive pastel, slim, and stretch picture modes. The TRV310 provides widescreen, black-and-white, sepia, negative, and solarized modes. We also liked the range of fade options, which include fade to black, mosaic, monotone, overlap, and a bounce-image effect. The camera includes digital effects for playback, including still, flash, lumi, slow shutter, old movie, and trail modes. You can even insert a scene in the middle of a recording.

The camcorder includes Sony's exclusive NightShot capability, which lets you shoot video in total darkness. The camcorder emits an invisible infrared beam to light the scene. The resulting video is basically black and white and lower quality than normal, but being able to get decent images in complete darkness is nonetheless pretty amazing. The TRV310 also comes with a mount for an external standard light.

This camcorder uses the Digital 8 format, which lets you record digital video on a standard Hi8 tape. Digital video gives you extraordinary video quality--up to 500 lines of resolution and CD-quality sound; it's the top-of-the-line format. The digital format allows you to take digital still pictures, just like a digital camera. If you want to download and edit your digital still images and video on a computer, however, you have to purchase a separate video capture card first. You can also use this camcorder to play back analog 8mm and Hi8 tapes--a handy feature if you have previously recorded video in these formats.

Pros:

• Large 3.5-inch LCD screen
• Super-powerful zoom
• Still photo capability
• High-quality digital format
• Great selection of special effects
• Image stabilization

Cons:

• Optical viewfinder is black and white

Customer Reviews

Great Camera, Lots of Features
I purchased my 310 about 3 months ago and am nothing short of thrilled with it. It is truly an amazing camera. I am a professional cameraman and that makes me ultra critical when it comes to any type of consumer video gear.

The only downside to this camera is that I have no way of controlling the dB video gain level on the camera. The 310 uses it's own automated gain according to the amount of light in a given scene. For those who don't know what I am talking about I mean that the image recorded becomes automatically more less or less grainy with the fluctuation of light levels. For example, if you are outside the camera automatically records at 0 dB, but as soon as you move it to an area with less light, the gain level begins to change, thus the image is recorded grainier as you move into areas with less light. That is my only real complaint about the 310.

Among the main stellar features on this camera, one feature that I love is the true 16:9 aspect ratio. Other cameras and even the DCR-TRV8, which is the next step up in the Sony line of camcorders, do not have true 16:9 ability. They instead just put out two black borders on the top and bottom of the screen to simulate 16:9. This is a great feature especially if you have a 16:9 aspect ratio television.

All in all, if you are looking to spend under a grand, look no further than to the DCR-310.

A GREAT digital camcorder at an ASTOUNDING price
I've played with this digital camcorder for about 5 days now and I am delighted with it's quality and features. If anyone's disappointed with the quality of the video (see reviews below), they are probably being unrealistic in their expectations. To get better video, you'd have to go up to a 3CCD camera (at about 3times the cost!). As for those who say that the camera is too big and heavy, I say just TRY shooting a still video without a tripod with a camera as small as a paperback book! You NEED something larger to get a good steady picture (even with "steadyshot"). I appreciate Sony's innovative digital 8 because the tapes are less expensive, but you still have the quality of digital recording (the Pauses are terrific!). I'm not worried that these tapes are not interchangeable with the mini-DV format. I mean, how often would I want to trade digital tapes with someone? I also have the option of playing back any old 8 or hi-8 videotapes that were previously recorded, and converting them to digital (try THAT with a mini-DV camcorder)! I like having A/V outputs AND inputs so that I can digitally record from a source other than the camera lens. The Sony infrared "nightshot" is astounding. It's like have nightvision goggles for your camcorder! The LCD screen on the TRV310 is WONDERFUL... 3.5 inches! The 20X optical zoom is sufficient, and going partway into the digital zoom ain't too bad either (as long as you don't try to actually use the full 360X!) I cannot say enough good things at this point. If I have to find something negative to say, I wish some of the controls were in easier locations to get to while I'm still filming. All in All, a nifty camcorder that I HIGHLY recommend!

SONY's Digital 8 is great!
I bought SONY's similar top of the line model TRV 510 shortly after becoming a new dad, this after much debate between the 310 and 510. I decided that the 510's features and extras were worth the added expense. Overall this camcorder does a very decent job of making digital home videos and digital stills, but make sure you have plenty of light, otherwise the results will be slightly grainy. Didn't notice the difference between the regular video and S Video hookups to my TV, SONY should have also included a titling function, the included battery is not sufficient for heavy taping and use, need to get the optional battery, at least 4 hrs, use the original for back-up. Still satisfed with my decision to get the TRV 510, but the TRV 310 would probably be a good choice too and also at less cost.