Sony Keeps Alive Digital8 Line Breaking the $300 Digital Camcorder Barrier

by Robin Liss

Published on Jan 5, 2005 5:45 PM
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The Digital 8 format, which was declared dead just a few years ago, has once again been kept alive by Sony, who introduced two ultra-low priced Digital8 models at a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today. Sony's new DCR-TRV280 (Review, Specs, $219.95) and DCR-TRV480 (Review, Specs, $279.99) record a digital signal to Hi8 and 8mm tapes, and are priced for the extremely budget-concious camcorder consumer. The DCR-TRV280 priced at $300, is the first digital camcorder ever to be sold at this remarkably low rate.

Sony's announcement of new Digital8 camcorders is somewhat suprising because many industry watchers have declared it dead for quite a few years. Along with other analog formats, Digital8 has experienced slipping sales numbers as it loses ground to MiniDV. However, the DCR-TRV280 is the lowest priced digital camcorder announced at this year's CES and it beats all past-records. It is likely that the DCR-TRV280 will sell for $270-$290 within a few weeks of being introduced. By continuing the Digital8 format, Sony is delivering digital video technology at a remarkably low price, allowing more people than every before to enjoy digital video.

The new DCR-TRV280 replaces last year's DCR-TRV260 (Review, Specs, $543.27). The camcorder includes the same 480K pixel 1/6 in. CCD with 290K effective pixels for video as the model it replaces. Like last year's DCR-TRV260, the DCR-TRV280 features a 20x optical zoom and a 2.5 in. LCD screen. The DCR-TRV280 is the lone digital camcorder in the Sony line without a touch screen. Sony has added their popular zoom and record buttons to the side of the DCR-TRV280's LCD screen. While it records the Digital8 signal to Hi8 and 8mm tapes, the DCR-TRV280 noticably lacks the ability to playback Hi8 and 8mm footage. The ability to playback this footage has made the Digital8 camcorders very attractive to consumers who have previously owned an 8mm or H8 camcorder and want to be able to playback their old tapes on their new camcorder. Besides price, this is really the only major benefit the Digital8 format offers over MiniDV.

The DCR-TRV480 has identical specifications as the DCR-TRV260 with the added capability of playing back Hi8 and 8mm tapes. In addition, Sony has added a touch screen to the DCR-TRV480 and still picture functionality. The DCR-TRV480 can record 640 x 480 pixels stills to Memory sticks, however it uses the full sized Memory Stick format, which Sony is transitioning away from, in favor of the smaller sized Memory Stick Duo. The DCR-TRV480 also adds analog-to-digital pass-through capability which allows you to convert old analog video to a digital signal by plugging your analog source into the camcorder's inputs.

One of the major selling points of the Digital8 line in the past has been their very large optical zooms, some of the largest in the industry. With the budget market, large optical zoom is a strong selling point because it represents a "non-technical" number which is easily comparable for almost any shopper. However, Sony's claim to the biggest zooms is quickly being taken away with many of the new camcorder introductions at this years CES. Sony's Digital8 camcorders have been matched by all the other manufactuers, JVC has surpassed Sony with 25x optical zoom on all the budget camcorders, and earlier today, Panasonic blew both Sony and JVC away with their 30X optical zoom model.
Battle of the Budget Big Zooms
Sony DCR-TRV280 20 X
$300.00
JVC GR-D250 (Review, Specs, ) (Review, Specs, $299) 25 X
$429.95
Canon ZR100 (Review, Specs, $219.95) 20 X
$349.00
Sony DCR-TRV480 20 X
$350.00
Panasonic PV-GS19 (Review, Specs, $244.74) 24 X
$349.00
JVC GR-D270 (Review, Specs, $379.99) 25 X
$449.95
Canon ZR200 (Review, Specs, $120.99) 20 X
$399.00
Sony DCR-HC21 (Review, Specs, $329) 20 X
$400.00
Panasonic PV-GS31 (Specs, $299) 26 X
$399.00
JVC GR-D295 (Specs, ) 25 X
$499.95
Canon ZR300 (Review, Specs, $449) 22 X
$499.00
Sony DCR-HC32 (Review, Specs, $490.7) (Review, Specs, $490.7) 20 X
$500.00
Panasonic PV-GS35 (Review, Specs, $359.95) (Review, Specs, $283.25) 30 X
$499.00

Both of Sony's new Digital8 camcorders include Sony's SteadyShot electronic image stabilization system. Each also includes a USB jack, enabling use as a webcam. The USB jack on on the DCR-TRV480 allows for the option of connecting to a computer to transfer digital stills. The new Digital8 camcorders also include Sony's NightShot Plus low light shooting technology, an easy handycam button, a built-in light, and Sony's Easy Dubbing technology which allows the camcorder to control a VCR when making a tape dub.

Both camcorders include Firewire jacks for transfering the video from the camcorder to a computer. While both camcorders include an RCA audio and video output, only the DCR-TRV480 includes an RCA audio and video input. Neither camcorder includes an S-Video jack. Sony has made the Digital8 camcorders incapable of taking any microphone input besides the built-in microphone with no accessory shoe on either model, no microphone input, and no headphone out. Users will have to completly rely on the built-in microphone of the camcorders, which often produces poor quality audio.

The DCR-TRV280 and DCR-TRV480 will be available in February for $300 and $350 respectively.