Sony Handycam DCR-TRV280 Camcorder - Silver

With technology going so fast it's easy to get caught up in believing you need the latest thing, but Digital 8 still produces great pictures for almost all folks' needs. I bought this because my old Digital 8 went bust and for less than the cost of a repair (I had it repaired once and it went bust again) I got this refurbished newer model so I could transfer my recorded tapes to DVD. Works perfectly and is smaller, better than the old one, with more features. This particular one came in original packaging, all the little protective stickers covering the sensitive camera parts. The only reason I knew it wasn't "new" is it had a little sticker that said "Refurbished" on the side. It's new as far as I can see. I could have easily bought 4 for the price of a low-end consumer HDD camera. Hopefully I can still find the Hi8mm tapes for awhile - not that easy to find in France. Excellent value for home movies.

WOW is all I have to say!!!! I just got this camera for Christmas and it is just the coolest thing ever... It has so many features I was really so pleased with this gift. Let me just share a few incase you are thinking about purchasing one of these babys. OK it has a already built in light and it is super bright, the ability to record in a completely pitch black room... YES you head=rd me right night vision... so cool...Also my favorite feature the usb link up to your computer allowing you to save your movies to a dvd or send in an email to your family. So I hope this helps any of you looking for a great camera. A+++++

What I really like is the size and the zoom and also the USB port to transfer
image to the computer and the clear lcd screen , the super night shot
to many good features that camera have

Oldy but a goody. It is a discontinued model, however, I had just purchased a Sony Hybrid Camcorder with Small DVD and Flash (memory stick) media. I hated it. The DVD video is an unreliable media. Only 20 minutes on High Quality setting and if you record more than 15 minutes you will not be able to finalize a mini DVD-R disc. Sony can recover the files for about $250!!!!
Also, Flash media records fine, however, it is a 4 step process to move files to a DVD. #1 upload into computer, #2 create files/thumbnails for editing (have to do this even if you want to go straight to disc), #3 Convert files to a DVD format (why aren't they recorded in a DVD type format?), #4 Burn DVD video, The whole process takes about 45 minutes with a fast computer and an hour or more if you don't have the latest and greatest. Also Colors and night time shots are brighter and less grainy with the trv280(Digital8). I'll stick with tape until they come up with a better/faster way to process to DVD. This camcorder still has picture quality just under the current HD/Blue Ray type camcorders. Great Model for Converting Digital8 to other Media. Others have said it will play 8 and Hi8mm tapes. I was not able to do this with my previous 280 and have to use an eirlier model.

Digital-8 is far superior to miniDV in terms of reliability, because it's physically bigger. Its ability to record digitally on either Hi8 or standard 8mm videocassettes is a huge plus. Size of camcorder is also very nice.
On the minus side, its lack of line-input recording capability renders it useless for archiving video onto Digital-8 from other sources. Also, its lack of LAN-C edit control makes it unable to be controlled by Sony editing VCR's and other edit-control devices.
Very nice for run-of-the-mill consumer-grade use, but falls short where enhanced features are required.