Sony DCRTRV230 Digital8 Camcorder
By: Sony Average Rating: 3.0 Total Reviews: 15
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 On: 2004-02-10
This is not a bad camera but I am having trouble with it not wanting to record or playback tapes. I have tried different tapes thinking maybe it was the tape but no matter what I do, it wont work. Took it to the place I got it, they had to send it away, which took forever, and all they done was use a headcleaner on it. They said they could not find out any problem with it. I brought it home and it started doing the same thing again and I bought a Maxell head cleaner and used it several times on it and it worked okay for awhile. Now it is back to doing the same thing again on not recording or playing back a tape. Do not know what the problem is. It just could be that I got a "lemon." I have contacted Sony but have never heard anything back.
 On: 2002-03-31
Several of the previous reviewers complained about the poor picture quality especially indoors. I thought the same until I
turned off the elctronic stabilization. Aside from the tape ejecting on the bottom I find this camcorder to be a good value.
On: 2002-03-30
I read all the negative reviews and whining in the reviews of the Sony TRV-230 Digital 8 camcorder, and bought it anyway for use of live-action reference for my animated projects. I didnt need stellar image quality, anyway, so the complaints didnt apply to me. I was suprised when I got this thing.The image quality is wonderful! It has natural looking colours, excellent sound reproduction for a built in microphone and is razor sharp. While it is true that indoors you may have a bit of grain, it isnt a detriment like the people here would make it out like. I lit my subjects evenly and brightly, and the grain disappeared. Scratch one problem. If you have good lighting, theres no grain. Very simple. But, if you do not have even, bright lighting, it can become very grainy indeed. The camera has a mind-boggling array of effects, all of which can have a nice effect if used in moderation. The effect I particularly like is the "flash" effect. If you crank it down to one bar, you get a nice cinematic look that is very similar in look to 35mm film at 26fps. The lens is very good, but in very bright situations some glare can appear on subjects. However, all cameras do that in some respect so if youre doing a lot of outdoor shooting, Sony has some lens filters that you can screw on. Scratch another complaint. I especially liked how virtually everything is near your thumb. Record mode, play mode, zoom. The zoom is amazing, but you can forget a 700x zoom. It gets blurry around 400 or 500x, but as someone else at Amazon put it, who needs that much zoom anyways? If you really want to shoot something, then get off your [behind] and shoot it. The remote is also handy, as well, especially if you are doing stop-motion/steadycam work. It may seem like a toy, but when its on a tripod, you dont want to jolt the camera when youre doing stop-mo. It has most of the functions of the camera itself. One complaint that I have is the tape loading mechanism. Most 8mm camcorders have a simple door, shove in the tape and slam the door shut --- just like a cassette deck. Not this one. It has a fancy little motor that wheels out the cassette like some kind of science fiction movie. It definitely looks cool but if it breaks down, how are you supposed to get the tape in? demerit point for Sony there. I did like the bottom tape loading mechanism, though, because most 8mms have the door where your palm is, so you have to slip your hand out. Not so here. Tripod could be a problem, but a display tells you how much tape youre used and how much tape is left, so it doesnt reall matter because you have more than enough notice to change the tape anyhow. It is a simple point and shoot camcorder which does a good job. It also suits me well in professional ways, as it runs circles around all the other broadcast cameras at Cogeco. This camera exceeds quality than any of the other cameras at the Cogeco studio, before or since. It takes some photography know how and a true artistic eye to get professional quality out of this camera, but it can certainly be accomplished.
On: 2002-03-24
I bought this camera in November of 2001 and am very happy with its performance and features.
For all those that complain about the grainy picture: read your manual that came with the camcorder! With this camera you have the option of different exposure settings. I have found that the AE(automatic exposure) setting tends to make the picture look grainy, especially when filming indoors. This can be corrected by using the sun and moon exposure or one of the others. Take the time to try each setting in different lighting and surroundings and view them on your television to see which ones you like best.Some pros about this camera
* light-weight
* very good lcd color screen
* excellent image stabilization
* very good color representation (with right exposure)
* excellent compatibility with computer OSs & programs
* great stero sound
* excellent remote control Some cons to consider
* changing tapes is awkward, tape loaded from bottom
* camera hum audible on tape if shooting quiet scene
* digital zoom is not focused (keep on analog zoom)
* battery does not last long when using the lcd screen
(about 1/2 hour) This cam does not have a digital media storage card for photo stills but I dont consider this a con. High cost models are beginning to come out with decent resolution photo still capability integrated into the camcorder and until the price falls, buy a seperate digital photo cam.
Very good camera overall!
by: Anonymous On: 2002-03-12
This is junk. It has not worked since the day I got it. Have returned it for service three times. Has never been fixed. Sony refuses to replace the camera. If I did not have so much invested in accessories I would just throw it away and buy a Canon.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-02-07
After owning a Sony 8mm camcorder for 10 years without any problem, I thought I would get this model. BIG mistake.These other reviewers are right. The indoor quality is terrible. Much too grainy. Do yourself a favor and look around a little more. Dont buy this.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-01-21
I expected high quality video and still pictures from a digital camera! Instead I got grainy results that any cheap camera on the market could produce. In fact, my brothers $300 VHS-C camera took video far superior to this model. Some nice features include a wireless remote and the lithium batteries last a while. If you are looking for sharp pictures from a digital camcorder, look elsewhere!
by: Anonymous On: 2002-01-03
Terribly grainy even in well lighted room. This produc shows how SONY sells products by its name and not quality. Image quality shot from camera is unacceptable and LCD display is equally horrible. The absolute worst camcorder anyone can buy. Remember, buy product only on its merrit and not brand. SONY lost my loyalty forever.
On: 2001-12-09
Indoor shooting is terribly grainy.
by: Anonymous On: 2001-08-28
While I am very pleased with the trv120 I bought last year, I have to say Sony has gone a step backward with the new x30 (130, 230, etc) line. Yes, it is slightly smaller, big deal... However, the inconvenience of the botton loading tapes is a real negative if you use a tripod (which I do most of the time). Many features that were on the 120, were dropped from the 130 (playing analog tapes, microphone jack, contrast control on LCD screen) and I went to the 230 when I needed a second camera just to get those features back. The batteries (M series) on the new x30 generation are different from the x20 series(which used L series). I still like the Sony line, but Id buy a used TRV120 instead of the TRV230 if I had it to do again. The 230 is not as much bang for the buck for my uses.
 On: 2001-08-24
The 230 is this years lowest price "complete" digital 8 camcorder. (the 130 does not play analog 8mm tapes). The camera is a pleasure to use. The picture quality is a startling step up from 8mm and the ability to display complete single frames one at a time is fun. Ive compared to mini dv and cant see any quality difference (Digital 8 is 500 lines vs 525 for dv). The tapes are easy to find and less expensive that mini-dv... Sony has added a helpful "intermidiate limit" on digital zoom. This feature allows the digital zoom to be limited by the user to a range that is usefull. (about 3x over the tightest optical zoom.) The Color LCD screen is perfect for off eye shooting and great fun with children.Any downside? -Some dont like the B&W eye viewer. I prefer it since the detail seems better in it. -The backlight button is easy to confuse with the adjacent control. -Sony dropped the "force to infinity" focus button this year. (This was often helpfull). -Im not fond of the bottom opening deck, but it makes sense since you can keep the camera strapped on your hand while you change tape. -The standard video out plugs have been changed to a mini-video plug. This helps make the camera smaller but may make replacing a lost cable harder. The features Id most like to see next year: Move the menu button to the outside of the camera and add an option for a brief date and time display at the start of each scene in play mode. What about the memory stick option in the 330. I suppose that this is a matter of personal preference, but I bought this to have very good video camera, if I want a good digital still camera, Ill go buy one.
On: 2001-08-10
if the size doesnt matter this is no doubt better product then any other mini dv camcorder in low midle class... as picture can esly match any mini dv, or even better... soo, if weight (size is quite compact) doesnt metter go for it, as it has superior zoom...!!!Iown 330, but there cant be diff.
On: 2001-07-03
I have found exactly the same problem - grainy and unnatural colors for indoor shots. In fact I compared the video quality with my 6 year old Sharp camcorder and found the older camera had clearer images than Sony DCR-TRV230 in almost EVERY case.
by: Anonymous On: 2001-06-30
This is a great camera!! ...Ive had NO problems with this camera. Ill admit that its kind of pointless to have a 700x zoom and it doesnt work to well after about 400x, but who needs that much zoom anyways. This camera is far better than our last SONY camcorder which was about 12 or 13 years old. It was good at the time, but technology changes. The picture is great quality and the feature that includes editing on the computer is great! The night-vision feature comes in handy too. The only thing I partially agree with, that the other reviewer stated, is that the tape release button is on the bottom, so this could make it hard if you are using a tripod, but I havent used a tripod yet with this camera, and I would assume that you could easily insert a new tape. Overall, I HIGHLY-RECOMMEND this camcorder.
by: Anonymous On: 2001-06-15
After spending a week with this camcorder, I found that whilst the quality of videos from outdoors was nice, for normal indoor use this camcorder is far worse than my 8 year old standard 8mm camcorder. The picture gets REALLY GRAINY indoors under normal room lighting.For many people, BY FAR the greatest use of camcorders is to take videos of family/group activities INDOORS (e.g. children growing up, birthdays, graduations, wedding receptions etc). For these situations, it is very important to shoot the videos in natural light and not have powerful video light/s which make people conscious of their videos being taken. Sony have lately neglected this capability for other stupid gimmicks like nightshot (0 Lux !). Example: Sonys previous generation camcorders had MINIMUM ILLUMINATION specifications of 1 Lux or less whilst for the DCR-TRV230(, TRV330 and TRV530) Sony specify a minimum of 4 Lux! Sonys previous generation camcorders had a 1/4 inch CCD sensor whilst the new 230/330/530 camcorders have a 1/6 th inch sensor. In fact you are better off taking pictures with SONYs current generation of Hi-8 camcorders for indoor videos for which Sony specify minimum illumination of 0.4 Lux. Unfortunately, Sony no longer offer Stereo sound or even external microphone inputs on their Hi-8 camcorders. Finally, the new 230/330/530 camcorders have the cassette door latch at the bottom. This is really inconvenient if you have mounted the camcorder on a tripod and you need to change the tape.
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