Sony CCDTRV308 Hi8 Camcorder with 2.5"LCD and Video Light Electronics

Average Rating:

One caveat...a wide angle lens would be a smart purchase. It's difficult to get far enough away from the action and still hear what is going on.

We chose official Sony cassettes for this first run to ensure optimal picture quality and compatibility. Image quality is excellent, but we did notice that it performs better after it has 'warmed up'. This might be due to cassette stability or electronics temperature, but in no way detracts from this product's quality. Fade in/out options are excellent and with the 'cinema' setting gives your production that 'ER' feel.

I suspect that upgrading to a higher capacity battery may be a next step, but it lasted through the kid's party with ease. About 30 minutes of shooting remained, even though we used the LCD the whole time.

Title use is a little confusing, but you do get the option of creating two custom titles in addition to the standard fare.

The tripod was prepared, just in case the weight of the camcorder became tiring, but it was not needed. The lightness of these new camcorders over the ones of yesteryear makes life much easier, and is not burdening.

We researched considerably, before purchasing this product, which is no guarantee of success, but I have no hesitation in recommending it to those considering a Hi-8 camcorder.

You can also convert this analog data to digital format with Dazzle 80 software, although be forewarned, if you're a novice like myself, it will be sheer torture to get it installed. I don't recommend using this program with the Sony unless you have a techie as a friend who can do it for you. Otherwise its an awesome combination.