Sony DCRTRV740 Digital8 Camcorder w/ 2.3" LCD, USB Streaming, Memory Stick, & Mega Pixel Video/ Still (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

Camera didn't work. Looked like it had been used by a heavy handed Frankenstein and was missing all the supporting gear that was on the picture. Plus it ate one of my Hi8 tapes. Obviously never tested.

I'm very impressed with the camcoder. It's like a new one I had before that I couldent get repaired. I had severallens. memory sticks & recorded tapes I can now use with this one. Thanks again, Elbert

The camcorder takes an analog video input via the RCA jacks and produces a digital video output thru the firewire output to a Pc. The camcorder can play all 8MM formats. Playbacks look good.

Pros: Picture quality, Hi8 Playback Capability, PriceCons: Zoom Control, Image Stabilization, Bottom cassette loading, Handling Comfort, 15x ZoomWhile holding out for the cost to come down on DVD camcorders and needing a new camcorder that would play my existing Hi-8s, I went with the backwardly compatable Digital8. The TRV740 appeared to be a solid choice with it's many features and great output quality. But when I first started to use it I was quickly disappointed by the following:Zoom Control: My previous camcorder was a Canon ES5000 (Hi8). The TRV740's zoom control is awful in comparison with the Canon. It's very difficult to activate the slowest zoom speed as the sliding switch does not move smoothly. 9 times out of 10, you'll go right past the slow speed as the force needed to get the switch moving is much greater than the force to keep the zoom speed steady so an overzoom situation happens. Then you're zooming rapidly and have to slow it down which ruins the slow zoom effect."Super" SteadyShot: Huge disappointment here. Electronic stabilizers simply do not compare with optical stabilizers (Canon). It almost seems that when the stabilizer is turned off, Sony added shake to the image so that when the stabilizer is on, it looks better in comparison to when it was "off". Just a silly conspiracy theory to let you know how bad it is.Bottom cassette loading: Did you ever think you'd see a camcorder that had to be removed from a tripod in order to change the cassette? You've got it with this one. Unbelievable.Handling Comfort: It's a little heavy and not something you want to use for an extended period.15x Zoom: This is on the low side and the only reason I can imagine that they went with this low of an optical zoom is because of the poor image stabilizer. At 15x, let alone 20x, you need a tripod or it looks like you have some sort of neuro-muscular affliction.I'll probably keep it to use as a player to backup my Hi-8 collection by playing those tapes to a DVD burner. I recommend looking for something else if you think you'd be bothered by the same things as I am with this camcorder.

First of all, let me say that the bottom-loading thing is terrible. It has more downsides than ups! I mean, the way they have you open the deck exposes the entire tape assembly! Sony has said this is done to make the camera smaller- with D8, you can't get smaller. Anyway, back to the camera.The DCR-TRV740 is not quite a well-defined camera. It's older brother, the TRB840, has many feautres that the 740 skimps on. One major dissappointment is the low-resolution 2.5" screen. The screen is not only small, but also has about half as many pixels as the MiniDV cameras have on their LCD's. So, you can understand that the picture you see while shooting may look dissapointing. As far as the CCD, yes, it's Megapixel, but what good is the resolution when the pictures don't look any good? I had a DCR-TRV310, which in 640x480 mode took better stills than this! The low-light quality of this camera is worse, as well. I think that the use of a small 1/4.7" CCD is to blame. It just doesn't capture as much light!The real problem is that there seems to be no real reason to buy this camera unless you need D8 and can't afford a DCR-TRV840. The manual features are downright terrible- most of the controls must be accessed throught the menu, even the automatic stuff(a very bad move by camcorder companies)! And to press the buttons on your cam, you inevitably move the camera. The camera does have a nice fast rewind/fast-forward speed, so if you own a lot of D8, Hi8, or 8MM tapes, and need a camera to play them back, this will do.... I returned my camera and am going to get a real D8 Playback device, the GV-D800. And then buy a MiniDV camcorder.CONCLUSION: This camera is OK, just don't expect anything magical out of it. Not even the Megapixel resolution saves it. Just not well thought out- I think the camera designers should actually use the cameras they make!

I purchased a 2G SD card to store more pics that the one that came with it. I put in the card and kept getting a "card reader error". The store indicated that the cam cannot handle the additional memory for storing pics. If anyone knows which SD card I can purchase to store more than the 40 pics, please let me know.