Review 4 of 5
Price Paid:
$450.00
from Tweeter Summary: What do you want your camcorder to do?
These are the features I considered most important to me:
Video quality - as good as possible for a reasonable price, digital at a minimum.
Image stabilization - I don't generally carry a tripod around with me, and hate shaky, amateurish looking handheld shots.
Ergonomics/portability - Other cameras may have different/better features, but if the camera is uncomfortable to hold, or the size means I'm less inclined to take it with me after the "new toy" glow wears off, then what good are those other features? I'd rather have some video than none at all.
Low light capability - I shoot family stuff indoors, under less than ideal lighting conditions, this is important!.
Price - I did not want a case of "buyers remorse", or feeling like I spent more than I should have unnecessarily.
Build quality - I hate junk!
Features NOT important to me:
Analog to digital conversion - I already have a DVD recorder that does this.
Still photo capabilities - I'm shooting video, not stills. And, since ALL camcorders do this poorly, save your money and buy a digital still camera instead.
DVD format (instead of MiniDV) - Unless you want to have a stack (hundreds) of little DVD's lying around, you will probably be transferring the video you record to another medium anyways, so the camera media is a temporary holder - MiniDV, Digital8 or DVD format doesn't matter, it's all going to computer for editing and permanent storage elsewhere. MiniDV is fine, especially because of the smaller size.
With this criteria in mind, and based on all the reviews I've read, I narrowed my choices down to the Canon Optura 20 and the Sony TRV 19. The Canon had better video quality and a 3.5" LCD, but the extra bulk meant I'd be less inclined to take it with me hiking, and would probably use it less often just because of the larger size. The other Sony models TRV-22, TRV-33, & TRV-38 were also given consideration, but lost out mainly because the added price/features of the TRV-22/TRV-33 did not add anything in terms of my stated criteria, and although the TRV-38 has a better image quality CCD, it's smaller, meaning less low light capability than the TRV-19, and the added bulk of the 3.5" screen and battery drain made it less appealing, not to mention the hefty increase in price. Strengths: I tried ALL the top available models - Hitachi, Panasonic, JVC, Sony & Canon. Sony & Canon had the best Image Stabilization (equal) - most of the others were pretty poor.
Sony TRV's for ergonomics, hands-down.
Sony TRV's for low light, hands-down.
Sony TRV-19 price lower than Canon Optura 20.
Sony & Canon equal in terms of build quality, both very good!
The Sony TRV-19 met my stated criteria the best, and I researched and demo'd a lot! If you don't mind the extra bulk, and having less low light performance than the TRV-19, and are willing to pay a little more for a somewhat usable still shot feature, then the Canon Optura 20 would be my next choice - and the Canon comes with some extra software and a 32Mb memory stick which is a nice touch, but not enough to sway me from the TRV-19. It's a great little camera, comfortable, easy to use and performs very well for the features I stated that were most important to me.
The Sony TRV-19 won out over the Canon Optura 20 mainly because it was better for me ergonomically (I liked the smaller size), had better low light capability, and was cheaper. Weaknesses: Would like a built in video light.
Would like a built in windscreen, but instead will simply glue a small piece of microphone windscreen foam over the mic holes on the body of the camera. Similar Products Used: None. Customer Service: N/A
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