PRODUCT REVIEW: SONY DCRTRV50 NETWORK HANDYCAM

Well, Video Gamer X's latest new gadget represents the cutting edge of consumer digital video, Sony's "Network Handycam" the DCRTRV50 MiniDV Camcorder. This unit is going to replace my DCRTRV720 Digital8 Handycam that I bought back in 2000. My old one has done quite well, but I wanted to compare the two to see what the major differences were and examine the benefits of new technology.

The DCRTRV50 retails in the neighborhood of $1599.99, and comes packed in the box, with a Sony NPFM50 (approx 2.5 hour battery), a battery charger/AC adapter, USB Cable, 8MB Sony Memory Stick, Lens Cap, Camera Strap, Lens Hood, Remote Control, Batteries for the Remote, Owners Manual, LCD Cloth, Stylus, and Software.

As far as features go, the Sony DCRTRV50 Essentially replaces the DCRTRV30, last year's top end consumer single CCD Camcorder. The DCRTRV50 maintains a 1.55 Megapixel Gross/1.39 Effective Still CCD to capture crisp video and digital stills on a camcorder. This video camera merges digital photography and digital video on one unit better than most camcorders available today. Images greater than 1 Megapixel are adequate for 3 x 5 and 4 x 6 printing. The camcorder records on MiniDV tapes, which are a lot smaller than my Hi8/Digital8 tapes I was using on my Digital8 model. This of course makes the camcorder small and less bulky. Compared to the one I had before this one is a lot lighter. The DCRTRV50 has a 3.5 Inch sharp TFT Touchpanel Screen. The included stylus is designed for the touchscreen, but your finger will suffice to do the job if you lose the stylus. Sony's Digital Camcorders aside from the DCRTRV140 Digital8 Handycam all come with an Intelligent HotShoe on the top of the camcorder, and my Zoom Microphone and Video Light both worked on the DCRTRV50. One major difference this year with Sony's consumer camcorder line is the fact that the viewfinder (not the screen) on all the digital8 models is black and white, however on the MiniDV models it's color. The camera has a 10x Optical Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar lens, and I noticed very quick response time on the zoom, although I would have liked to have a lot more optical zoom. I will mention that it has 120x digital zoom, but when looking for best quality out of your videos its best to turn this feature off. The Super Steadyshot lessens the degree of wobble and swaying occured from jittery hands or movement of the camcorder. For the digital still camera function of the camcorder it includes a built in camera flash and utilizes Sony's Hologram AF technology to determine the correct illumination and focal amount on the lens. You can capture MPEG movie on the camcorder straight to the memory stick which is great if you want to have a movie clip to email to someone or use on a website or presentation. Like all other Sony Camcorders it has NightShot, and "Super" Nightshot which allow you to record in the dark. I compared this feature on both my camcorders and it seemed to not be quite as effective in darkness as the Digital8 model. My best explaination for this is due to the size of the lens on DCRTRV50 versus the larger lens on the Digital8 camcorder. Larger lens usually means proportionally more light that enters the lens.

Probably the boldest change in this camcorder over the DCRTRV30 is the fact that can be networked to any BlueTooth enabled device. You can surf the internet on this camera, upload photo's to Sony's "So-net" service and read email, however the camcorder didn't come with the required BlueTooth modem in order to access any of these functions which was kind of a bummer. BlueTooth is still an emerging technology and hasn't proven whether or not it will catch on. Allegedly, if you were to have a BlueTooth enabled G3 cell phone you would be able to surf the internet on the camcorder or a PDA using the cell phone as a modem and wireless network transceiver, or if I had the BlueTooth Modem connected to the PC I would be able to communicate with my computer and the internet with the camcorder. This is a cool feature, certainly reminded me of Star Trek technology, but the practicality of it seems lacking. If I can surf on my PC, how many other places do I want to pay for to surf? My Cell phone? My PDA? My Camcorder?

My only other gripe about the DCRTRV50 is it's low light troubles. It almost seems like it acquires more video noise as lux diminishes. Even when I was inside my house in a well lit room it seemed to be noisy. This didn't seem as pronouced upon playback of the video on a TV screen though, so it may be of little consequence. One major difference you may notice on this years camcorder line is the abscense of "Super LaserLink" a feature used on previous Sony models, I assume it was deemed unnecessary considering the camcorders all come with Remote Controls, this of course renders my LaserLink receiver for my TV useless. You can slow the shutter speed on the camcorder but you lose framerate and it doesn't look as vivid as it should. Sometimes there are slight fluctuations in the focus in lower light as well. While these are rather slight and tolerable, I was hoping it would have quicker automatic response. However, the Digital Photos I captured with the flash indoors and in low light were very clear and bright. This was remarkably better than my old Digital8 camcorder that could only muster 640x480 resolution and had no flash.

Tape rewinding was very fast on the camcorder and I liked the fact that you could jump to any point on the tape and search for the end to ensure not erasing previously taped video. The camera also integrates a time lapse video feature which is cool if you plan to use it. As in all previous Handycam models they have various Picture and Digital Effects as well as various Faders to use. There is also a built in titling feature but I would suggest doing this later on the PC with Digital Video Editing Software to give it a more professional look.

The Sony DCRTRV50 is a real solid MiniDV Camcorder, and comes fully loaded with tons of features to play with. Compared to my other one the size is a lot more portable and easy to carry. Although I would love to have more optical zoom like the the Canon ZR45MC, a 2x telephoto lens should bring me up to 20x. I like it so far and recommend it to anyone wanting a small yet high quality video camera.