Image Stabilization
Sony's SteadyShot picture stabilization smoothes and steadies your images without degrading picture quality. Sony does it with motion sensors--a more accurate system than those used by many other camcorders on the market.

Optics

• 1/6-inch CCD with 460,000 gross pixels
• 20X optical zoom
• 700x digital zoom
• f1.6-f2.4
• Focal distance: 2.5-50mm
• Shutter speed: 1/60 to 1/4,000 (AE mode)

More Features
Now you can capture video even in total darkness. Sony's NightShot system uses infrared light to capture images invisible to the human eye. You can shoot subjects such as a sleeping baby up to 10 feet away in total darkness. With the optional HVL-IRC NightShot light, you can even capture images from up to 100 feet away.

Sony's Stamina power management system and InfoLithium battery give the TRV250 incredible operating time. To keep tabs on battery life, Sony's AccuPower meter displays the number of minutes remaining--right in the viewfinder.

The TRV250 features a 2.5-inch color LCD (123,000 pixels) and a black-and-white viewfinder. The USB streaming feature can turn the TRV250 into a video conferencing tool or a Webcam, with the ability to stream 320 x 240 pixel video at 30 frames per second (compatible only with Windows 98SE, 2000, Me, and XP).

Digital8 Format
Digital8 camcorders deliver high-quality digital video and audio, with up to 520 lines of horizontal resolution and either 12-bit or 16-bit PCM digital stereo audio. The Digital8 format also allows for digital recording on 8mm or Hi8 tapes--the most popular camcorder format in the U.S.

Size and Contents
The TRV250 measures 3.63 by 4.00 by 7.88 inches and weighs 1 pound 12 ounces. This package includes the TRV250 camcorder, power adaptor/in-camera charger (AC-L15), InfoLithium rechargeable battery (NP-FM30), wireless remote (RMT-814), AV cable, lens cap, shoulder strap, USB cable, two AA batteries, and CD-ROM with PIXELA ImageMixer Ver. 1.5 and USB drivers.

Product Description
The DCR-TRV250 delivers all the benefits of Digital8 recording quality in a smaller chassis. And with the USB streaming feature, you can turn your camcorder into a video conferencing tool or web cam. Stream live and recorded moving video to a PC via USB! Make your own digital-quality movies. Stream and share content. This remarkably value-priced unit delivers amazingly crisp and clear Digital8 video, which allows you to transfer video to your personal computer via its iLINK DV input/output (iLINK DV interface cable sold separately).

The only things I don't like about this camera are:
1. The battery only lasts for about an hour, and getting a 2nd battery with a charger & accessories costs almost as much as the camera itself.
2. The Hi-8 tapes only last one hour so you constantly have to change them. They also take FOREVER to rewind.
3. When you have a tripod screwed into the bottom of the camera, you cannot change the tape without removing the camera from the tripod! If they had moved that over about 1/2 inch it would be fine.
4. The included software is horrible and doesn't work very well at all. It was written in Japanese and most of the English translation makes no sense. I would not recommend even installing it. Instead, get something like Vegas Video or even Ulead Video Studio (which came with the Firewire card I purchased) to get the videos into your computer.

These are just simple little inconveniences that anybody can live with to get such a high quality camera at a great price!

I would recommend installing a Firewire card into the computer if you plan on using that for video editing. If you aren't going to connect the camera to a computer, the included video cable makes it really easy to hook up to a VCR. The remote control is great for controlling the camera when watching your videos. As stupid as it sounds, I never realized how much easier it is with the remote.

All in all, this is a great camera at a great price and I would highly recommend it to anyone. No, it's not professional grade, but it's perfect for the average Joe that wants to capture everyday stuff.


this thing rocks   February 15, 2003
 43 out of 48 found this review helpful

better than the 240, and cheaper. Yeah the 240 has 25X zoom , and this one has 20, but you'll never be able to tell the difference. And you'll thank me later for getting something with such superior quality that allows you to record onto 8mm tapes. For this price, this is a must have. If you're an aspiring screenwriter/movie buff like myself, you can record your own low/no budget movies, transfer them easily to your computer (using provided or other software), edit them "professionally" (your limit is your own creativity), and even lay mp3 tracks as background music. I mean c'mon. This price for a DIGITAL camcorder. How can you afford NOT to have one.


This camera is not compatible with analog-recorded tapes   June 18, 2003
 40 out of 73 found this review helpful

The main reason I bought this camera is so that I could (finally) digitize the 8mm tapes we had recorded of our first son. We were given a Sony anolog camcorder as a gift about 4 years ago. We could not trade it in for a digital and so we decided that one day we would either get a video bridge or update to DV. Our hand was forced when our old camera died. Although I really wanted a miniDV camcorder I thought that it would be more practical to stay with a camera that used 8mm tapes. Well, this camera can use those tapes...but it can't play them back if they were recorded with an analog camcorder. Looks like I will have to return this unit in favor of the Sony 350 which DOES appear to be backwards compatible.


Looking for your first Digital Camcorder?? Buy this one now!   April 24, 2003
 35 out of 35 found this review helpful

My first experience with a video camera was an old full sized VHS camera with about 10 minutes of battery life and a profile that made me look like someone from News at 11. After being out of the video scene for 10+ years, I did the research and decided that the Sony line was best. Well, today I went out to the local Wal-Mart and saw this model and played with it for about 10 minutes. I really was able to figure out the basic controls very quickly and was blown away when I could zoom in quickly across the store to the mole on a clerk's face. The checkbook was doomed when I realized the camera was steady enough to count the hairs growing from the mole!!

For me and most first time camcorder buyers, this model has more than enough features, which are listed in the review. I especially like that it hooked up to my Windows XP Home Edition system without an error. I was playing with my first streaming USB movie in 10 minutes. I took the camera outside at dusk and was able to record close up objects with amazing clarity. The Remote Commander works great -- I even have the added "feature" of being able to turn my stereo on and off with it!!

The only "drawbacks" would be the short battery life (you really need to get a longer life battery which is readily available and at a good price.) The other problem for me is the bottom loading of the tape cartridge which means removing the camera from the tripod to change tapes.


Great Bang for your Bucks   December 4, 2003
 29 out of 29 found this review helpful

This camera is great. It does the job and fits into my budget. I was debating between this and the Canon ZR65 but found that this Sony has better quality. I checked at Best Buy to see the image quality and it helped a lot. The only benefit I saw in getting the canon was to take still pictures and it has a slot for memory card. But the still pictures are poor quality and meant for a digi-cam which I recently purchased too. =) This Sony trv250 camcorder gave me everything I wanted: best picture quality for lowest price, digital and capability to transfer to pc. When you watch the videos, the picture looks perfect. But once you record it onto vhs, you lose picture quality but that's due to the VHS technology. One of the main reasons I got this is to transfer the videos to my pc. The software it came with sucks. It saves it as .mpg which is great, but I couldn't even save a 20 mins video. It crashed several times. So I ended up using windows movie maker and it made my video fine but as an .avi format. I need to find a program that converts the .avi to .mpg so I can burn into vcd. One big flaw though is when you transfer the video using usb (it's 1.0, not 2.0), it becomes choppy, unbelievably choppy. I was scared I couldn't transfer videos anymore as it can get very annoying watching my home videos choppy. So I went out and got a firewire card and tried again and it worked smoothly. I was getting nervous about my purchase but it worked out. The night version is awesome. In a pitch dark room, I can see everything, in green. Its infrared vision makes me feel like a G.I. Joe. I took this camcorder out to the dessert and videotaped my trip and it came out well. My friends thought the quality was pretty good too. The accessories that I bought were a stand, NPFM70 battery that lasts 4+ hrs, camera protective lens for the dusty times (avoid scratches on the actual lens), digital8 tapes (it should've at least came with one, cheap-a*s Sony), and a camcorder backpack to keep everything. All in all, for the price of the camera, I think it was a great purchase.