Sony CCDTRV318 Hi8 Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and Steady Shot

Buying a camcorder can be difficult. Do you want VHC? 8mm? Hi-8? Digital 8? Mini-DV? Then there's whether or not you want to be able to take stills, have firewire output to a computer, image stabilization, etc.

One can easily find themselves saying, "All I wan't is a basic camcorder to record random things." If that's you, this is your camcorder.

Though the picture is not digital, Hi-8 offers a nice clean picture that gets the job done. And since you can plug right into your TV or VCR, transfer to video is simple without having to store all your old tapes like you did in the VHC and VHS days. Being a Sony, you can expect a great zoom that let's you get nice detail from a good distance away. Add Steadyshot, probably the best image stabilizer out there, the ability to manually adjust your lighting, nightshot, and you have the ability to record in any situation.

Having sold Sony's for over a year, I can tell you the number returned due to dissatisfaction was minimal. Same for broken or damaged camcorders.

Bottom line is this. In the TRV-318, Sony makes a great camcorder that's not only easy to use, but able to take a nice clean video. And as long as you don't care about capturing the light flicker off a snowflake, you'll love it too.

Personally I think you should get a MiniDV digital camcorder. Namebrands like Sharp and JVC now have very inexpensive MiniDV models, so it's time to move to that format.

If you really need an 8mm/Hi8 camcorder -for example, in my case I needed one to play back my large library of 8mm tapes -then this Sony is simply the best. It costs a bit more than a couple other Sony models as well as some offerings from lesser companies, but you get what you pay for. This Sony is not only high quality but has tons of features, such as image stabilization, NightShot, and 20x optical zoom. You can hook it up to your PC as well. You should also know that its CCD sensor is 460k pixels, more than any other model in this price range. The result is vibrant images.

Buy Sony CCDTRV318 Hi8 Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and Steady Shot Now

The SONY CCD-TRV318 I bought a month ago has surpassed my expectations. It is very compact, but with the Steadyshot feature, is easy to stabilize even at 20x zoom. The clarity of the image is excellent and the color reproduction is outstanding in a wide variety of lighting situations. The only enhancement I have indulged in is a wide angle lens which, although inexpensive, works remarkably well and adds to the versatility of this camcorder. I am extremely pleased with the size, convenience and performance of my TRV318!

Read Best Reviews of Sony CCDTRV318 Hi8 Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and Steady Shot Here

I bought htis for my finacee for xmas and I can't stop playing with it! Besides being uder friendly and not needing a book to understand it, it is the best camera I have ever seen. Youc an add effects, change colors, add titles and much more. It has a nice big screen for viewing and I love the battery life. It is light and so fun to use. I reccomend this camera also because of the infared it has for night shots and it amazing picture quality. This is a winner hands down!

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I've had the camera for 5 hours and I've recorded several scenes and already transferred some to VHS. No problems! The power of the zoom is very good and the quality is average to above average. The best part of this model is the steady shot -it's a life saver for shaky people like me. :-)

I highly recommend this camera to someone who just wants to play around with it or use it every once in awhile. If you are a major camera user then you will want to go to a higher end model with controls that are slightly more user friendly and even better picture quality.