The Sony Handycam DCR TRV285E is a great camera for first time users. This camera can easily be operated without even having to read the instruction manual. It has the "Easy Handycam" feature which sets the camera settings automatically. The camera is light and easy to use. When recording there is a zoom function, the ability to have a title for the movie and various faders for opening and closing shots. The camera has a nightvision mode which uses infrared and gives you an eeirie green appearance to everything which is actually quite handy, or if filming in dull locations there is a handy light on the front of the camera. The camera can also be used to take still shots with a simple press of a button, this means you don't need to carry your normal camera as well. The camera comes with a remote control which allows you to control both the recording functions and playback functions. When viewing tapes on the camera there is a handy end search button which automatically goes to the end of where you stopped taping preventing you from taping over any footage. The camera can use either Hi8 tapes or Digital8 tapes, neither of which are supplied with the camera, the tapes can be set to longplay which increases the length of the tape The LCD screen swivels round 180 degrees to allow you to film yourself and also you can tilt it if you set the camera on a tripod so you don't need to bend down to watch whats being filmed. The battery supplied with the camera has a 90 min lifespan, dispite the box stating that it has up to 12 hours, this is actually another battery which you can purchase seperatley. One way of increasing the battery life is to use the view finder istead of the LCD screen and to limit using the zoom feature. It can be quite confusing at first trying to capture on to PC and it only captures 4gb at a time and so your movie gets split in to different little movies. Once you get used to it though it's fairly easy and the "Easy Handycam" feature simplifies things. You can record straight to DVD or CD from the camera when connected to the PC, this saves having to capture then join the movie together and then burn it. The camera can also be easily connected to a TV. Overall I would highly recommed this camera though I suggest you read the instruction manual before trying to connect with your PC as it saves a lot of frustration!!
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Sep 15th, 2005
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