Some of the best features are to be found on the older Sony's, in this case the TRV70. While it has "Super Nightshot" (nothing more than slowing down the shutter, hence the herky jerky image) the TRV70 still retains the old night shot capability. That's the one that gives you that erie,green Gulf War looking footage...the whole reason I bought it. This is due to the camera's built in Infrared sensing ability. Essentially, the camera reads the Infrared spectrum just like an old school military night vision scope used to due. Hence, in addition to it's build in red light, you can rig up a "QBeam" with a red gel and "Paint" subjects much farther out. At the same time, the TRV 70 retains the ability to use manual focus, with a very large and easy to use focus ring provided. As a storm chaser (see hurricanejim at myspace) this is essential, because you'll get drops of water on the lens cover and a purely autofocus camera will lose it's mind deciding where to focus. This way, you get a target frame and lock in your point of focus and keep rolling. It's also small enough to ride next to my stills rig, but large enough so that you've actually got something to hang on to and hold steady. I worry that the touch screen controls are going t bite it one day, but I'll deal with that when I come to it. Other than that, I'm real happy with it. Wish they'd give all of the same features in a 3chip that didn't cost 3-4 grand!Read full review
I used this camera for hours and hours of recording musical events and local plays featuring local artists. The clarity of the picture and ease of zooming into focus is a great feature. The touchscreen for playback is easy to use also.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This is my 3rd TRV70. I bought my first because of the features: nice big lens, great in low light, works great with my Sony Movie Studio and my Sony Direct DVD burner, and my Sony Vaio desktop. 2 1/2 years ago, I started to my professional photography career and not too long, started providing video services as well. I had to buy a 2nd of the same brand to guarantee consistency. All though the default white balance of the 2nd one is less warmer than the first, no big deal. It can be adjusted. Audio is good. Video is good. Now I sell DVD videos and the quality is more than enough for my audience. I bought my 3rd TRV70 and was lucky to get the unit in very nice condition. I think it's better than my first actually. This unit immediately became the family camcorder. The other two, I still use to create videos that I sell. I can't deny that sooner or later I have to step up and buy the next. But for now, this is good. I only buy gear that a gig can finance.Read full review
I wanted a camera with Firewire (to feed directly to computer) and the new HD models don't go there. This is a great camera. It works smoothly. I do wish the tape didn't load from the bottom, which makes me detach it from the tripod each time. The only other little negative is the size of the flip=out display, which could be bigger. It does work great, including the touch screen controls. This is very easy to use and Sony is one of the top names in the industry. Right now, this was a great buy. Seems to have been hardly used by the original owner and it's going for about 1/10th the original price. Tapes are still failry cheep and avaioable also. On the down side, I do notice a very little noise in the background when the zoom is operated during recording.
I bought this item about a year ago, as it is the last of the good Mini DV's, along with the DCR-TRV80 Sony put out. These cameras are better built than the new HC series in the same class, and still have the Carl Zeiss "Sonar" lens in them as opposed to the cheaper "Tessar" lens, in the mid range camcorders. Larger 37mm lens is good in low light, and you can print out decent 4x6 pictures. After all, album pictures are hard to dicern at that size anyway.
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