Sony CCD-TRV88 Hi8 Camcorder - Large LCD And Almost Digital Quality
Written: Jul 25 '01 (Updated Aug 10 '01)
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Pros: Price, value, picture and sound quality, features, large LCD
Cons: Analog system
The Bottom Line: The CCD-TRV88 is a good buy if you are not ready for digital camcorder (with its higher costs). You get quality very close to digital for hundreds less.
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| dkozin's Full Review: Sony Handycam CCD-TRV88 Hi-8 Analog Camcorder |
The Sony CCD-TRV88 is a Hi8 camcorder, with picture quality approaching that of digital models, at a lower price.
Format
This model uses Hi8 format, with tapes smaller in size than those of VHS-C, but larger than digital MiniDV. One Hi8 tape can hold up to 150 minutes in the standard SP mode, which increases in LP mode to up to 300 minutes (with some loss in picture quality). The camcorder can also use 8mm tapes.
Keep in mind, that you cannot record in Hi8 in LP mode, the recording will be made in 8mm mode. The 120-minute Hi8 tape costs around $4-5, and 8mm 120-minute tapes cost just $2. Sound in Hi8 camcorders is stored in digital format, however the picture is stored in analog format at maximum horizontal resolution of about 400 lines (comparable to Super VHS and S-VHS-C).
The VHS, VHS-C and 8mm format store video at 240 lines of horizontal resolution. And, unlike VHS and S-VHS, which store sound in analog form, the sound in both Hi8 and 8mm is digital, which means no noise introduced by the media.
Picture Quality
The picture quality is very good and comparable to some cheap digital camcorders. The Hi8 is analog format, which produces some video noise, however often the CCD, optics and electronics of the camcorder limit the picture quality, so the format in which the information is stored is not a bottleneck. Because of this, cheap digital camcorders don’t use all 500 lines of resolution advertised.
The use of LP speed decreases picture quality (and the recording will be in 8mm mode instead of Hi8) and does not make much sense, since the tapes are quite cheap at $4-5 for 2 hours in SP mode. The sound is recorded in Hi-Fi mono.
Image Stabilizer
The TRV88 employs a digital image stabilizer called SteadyShot. It works very well, removing unwanted picture shake. This feature is especially useful when using high zoom levels.
Zoom
You can limit zoom through a menu to 20x (optical only), 40x (digital1) and 560x (digital2). The camcorder has impressive 20x optical zoom, with variable zoom speed. The digital zoom allows you to achieve up to 560x magnification, which is way too much to be useful.
LCD
The TRV88 features a 3” color LCD in addition to a black-and-white viewfinder. The LCD is easy to view in sunlight. The camcorder uses more energy when you use the LCD, so if you plan to shoot for a long time with one battery, you will need an optional battery of higher capacity or you can switch to the viewfinder. The 3” LCD is large than entry-level 2.5” LCDs of other models.
Special Effects
There are five fader settings (black, mosaic, monotone, stripe, bounce), 6 program AE, 8 picture effects and 16:9 widescreen recording (2 modes). You can shoot in total darkness using IR-recording capability called NightShot. The TRV88 also has Control-L (LANC) editing interface, titler. There is edit search and end search (which allows you to easily find the end of your recording).
Manual Focus And Exposure
In addition to automatic focus and exposure, the TRV88 has manual adjustments of both. The exposure can be adjusted manually in dark scenes to avoid video noise.
Battery
The standard battery can be used for different periods of time, depending on LCD and light use (usually about fifty minutes). You can see the remaining time on the screen, and it is very accurate. You can get batteries of larger capacity if you want.
Bottom Line
The CCD-TRV88 is a good buy if you are not ready for digital camcorder (with its higher costs). You get quality very close to digital for hundreds less.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 390
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dkozin
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Location: California
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I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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