The black-and-white EVF is adequate, but the 2.5-inch color LCD monitor is the better bet for framing your shots. Digital stills can be recorded onto the accompanying 4 MB Memory Stick, and images can be downloaded to your computer via USB. Like all DV camcorders, the audio is recorded at CD-quality levels--PCM digital stereo. Should you need more professional sound than the built-in mic provides, a mic input jack is located on the camcorder.

Because the DCR-TRV330 uses the DV format, you can download your footage to a computer for editing using an IEEE 1394 cable. Analog pass-through ports are built-in, letting you digitally archive all your old analog footage. Also included are a shoulder strap, lens cap, battery, AC adapter, and remote control.

1. Being digital hasadvantages... better resolution, color's great etc. Editing, however,is not so easy - takes time and the right tools (e.g. 'AdobePremiere') - so consider tapes being your primary storage medium. I'vemade VCDs and they're worth it but the quality is significantly lesserthan on tape.

2. Requires lots of light - outside it'sbeautiful... inside - JPG-like artifacts appear (also, colored dots ona perfectly white wall) But this is acceptable if you're *not* lookingfor professional quality.

3. Optical Zoom is great - 25X - one ofthe highest and definitely comes in handy. I've turned off digitalzoom (MoreThanYou'llEverNeed X) since it reduces picture quality and Ican anyway do it on the computer while editing. 25X optical is enoughfor most needs.

4. Picture stability (steady shot technology) isgreat - shots from a moving car are stable.

5. Buttons are a bit tooclose to each other - in my first exp., at a friend's party, I must'vemissed a cycle of on/off so, we got to see shots of table tops, walls;) and cleanly missed the action ;) fortunately this lasted for onlyabout 5 mins before i realized. The recording indicator is easy tomiss when you're concentrating on the subject (and if you've had ali'l too many beers ;))...

6. Memory stick stills taken in mediumlight again have JPEG artifacts and paying extra $... (over DCR-TRV230with no memory stick - you *can* take stills on tape) for this is notworth it if you have a digital camera already. However, your cameramight not have 25X optical zoom so think about it. This camera usesthe same chipset for video and stills. In more expensive models, thereare two chipsets.

7. Night shot (shooting in darkness) sounds greatand works great - if you don't mind loss of almost all color and agreenish tinge to everything. To our party, however, it gave a 'BlairWitch' effect - everyone loved it. It's better to have some normal(intruding) light source attached to the CAM.

8. MIC is verysensitive and sound has been amazing throughout.

9. LCD is great -less dotty than DCR-TRV530 and uses less battery (1"smaller).

10. The bundled battery lasts for about 75 mins on an avg- so you want to buy a backup for trips. Charging to FULL was somewhatslower than I expected.

This camera has some built-in editingfeatures which I am yet to explore fully.

To transfer the video tomy computer for editing, I had to shell out an extra $... for aFireWire kit. The installation on Windows 2000 was quite painless - itdid everything for me except plug in the card physically.

Overall a4 rating - a great camera and worth the money you put in - even inthis recession.


Good choice for a home camcorder   March 13, 2001
 44 out of 45 found this review helpful

This is a very good camcorder for a home user, that is, for recording birthday parties, football games, general family activites, etc. Its easy to use and has lots of features. It is also easy for my wife (who is not a gadget person) to use, and is well featured for me (I am a gadget freak). Video quality is excellent if you have good lighting - it does get a little grainy if the light is particularly low. Both the low-lux feature and the nightshot feature help, but at a price (frame rate and color quality respectively). I did find that this camera is much LESS susceptible than my old video cam, but it was ancient technology. I have since added a 3.3 megapixel Sony DCR S70 digital camera to the collection - and if you want both, Sony makes the partnership a good one. Both cameras share the same battery (M series), Memory Stick media, and charger. This makes traveling with them rather nice, as well as savings on accessories. Overall, Im impressed with the 330, although I question whether the additional ,,,($$$) I paid for it in excess of the 320 price was worth the feature differential. As the price comes down, this will be an even better deal.


A decent camcorder, but a bad digital camera   November 9, 2001
 30 out of 31 found this review helpful

We purchased this camcorder specifically because of its dual function as a camcorder and digital camera. I'm not really going to comment on the camcorder aspects because I agree with most of the other positive comments that people have made.

As for the digital stills, pictures taken outdoors look fine, but indoor pictures are VERY grainy and pixelated, even in a very bright room. In my opinion, the quality is just unacceptable. The Memory Stick with USB output is an incredible technology that makes downloading pictures to your computer so EASY, but this benefit can not make up for the bad pictures that it takes. (I did not try to capture stills from the tape because I do not have the ieee adaptor needed to do this, so I do not know if stills taken in this way may look better than those taken on the memory stick)

If you are just looking to take video, then this camcorder is probably fine, but I see no need to pay for the extra memory stick capabilities because they are not worth it.


A step down in video quality   April 10, 2001
 24 out of 29 found this review helpful

I bought a TRV330 as a replacement for a 1st-generation Sony Digital8 camera. I expected improvements, and indeed there were some. The smaller 1/6" CCD on the 330 allows Sony to provide a higher-power optical zoom in a smaller camera. And this new model *is* considerably smaller and a bit lighter.

Video quality is another story altogether. Compared to the original, video made with the TRV330 is in my opinion washed-out, with poor color saturation and a distinct blue tint. And the version of Steady Shot in this camera, while it does compensate for a lot of shake, also seems to ensure that all video shot with it lacks sharp, crisp detail. I tested this by mounting on a tripod and turning Steady Shot on and off - to me it looked as if the camera would not quite focus when Steady Shot was on. Note that was just a test - you cannot possibly make decent video with this camera (hand held) if you turn Steady Shot off and leave it off.

Compared to any consumer-grade analog format, this model is indeed far superior. But if you are fussy about color and sharpness, look elsewhere. I for one have gone back to my 1st gen D8 cam.


Great Camera   May 16, 2001
 24 out of 25 found this review helpful

My fiance and I just purchased this camera and boy was I impressed! This is our first camcorder but not the first one I have used. It's light weight make it easy to handle. And the steadyshot works quite well. My hands are quite shaky but you could never tell by watching something I taped! The picture quality is good, but I am only using the standard A/V cables. Once I get the S-video cables I should see a dramatic upgrade in picture quality. The battery it comes with isn't the best, only about 90 minutes fully charged. I particularly liked the nightshot feature. Although the images come out in a green tone the picture quality is outstanding. I was fooling around with it in a pitch black room and you could see everything clear as day(green of coarse). The LCD is exceptionally smaller than the 530 but it is still big enough to fit most people's needs. Of coarse if you want to save battery power just don't use the LCD. The only thing I can't comment about is the still picture option. I just spent a large sum of money on a straight up digital camera so I don't need to use that option. So I am sorry I can't help you out there! Overall the camera is excellent and I would suggest it to anybody looking for a new camcorder.