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

I bought my Sony DCR TRV310 used (partly broken). Since the input/output connections don't work properly, I just plug my TRV310 into the FireWire port, and use Windows Movie Maker 2's capture mode to control the camcorder -- right on the computer screen!

I sent somebody some video I had shot, stored as a .WMV file on a CD-R. He sent me back a note thanking me for the DVD!!!

This model is aging, and its cost is going down. Since it does everything you'll want, including playing back 8-mm and Hi8 tapes directly into Windows XP in digital format, it's still an excellent buy -- and an even better value than ever!

Windows Movie Maker 2's minimum computer requirements are, CPU 1,500 Mhz (1.5 GHz), 512 K RAM, lots of disk space (20 GB+), and a FireWire port. Since Windows Movie Maker 2 uses Microsoft-specific storage formats, you may want to spend a few $$$ to purchase third-party video editing software, which will record to more formats, or give you DVD authoring capability.

Suggested equipment upgrades for the TRV310: External clip-on microphone for better forward gain & extended bass sound; 8-hr InfoLithium battery HIGHLY recommended.


B and W view finder   March 31, 2003
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

The B&W viewfinder is better than color for manual focus and contrast. Having both in the package is a plus and not a negative.


The last of the great Sony Handycams   January 14, 2003
paparazzi83 (Honolulu, Hawaii)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This must have been the best handycam for the price when I bought it! And I love the death out of it! All I can say is that this camera would still be great if it were still manufactured, 3 years later! If you find one someone who is selling this camera in good condition, by all means get it! It's a great camera!


Sony digital Handycam   December 28, 2001
A. Quarles (Moses Lake, WA USA)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

This camcorder is great and has every feature you need. It is self expainatory and easy to use. The best feature is the digital camera which takes photos along with being a digital recorder. The only thing that would make it better is if it recorded onto a floppy. The color screen monitor is awesome and the microphone picks up every quite detail. It is well worth the investment and we enjoy it a lot!