Sony DCR-TRV38 First Impressions Camcorder Review

by Robin Liss
Published on Jan 28, 2003 12:00 AM



The Sony DCR-TRV38 is located in the exact middle of the line for the new 2003 MiniDV camcorders - and being positioned exactly in the middle has it's advantages. Priced at $900 this middle camcorder includes all the quality features of the Sony line with out any questionable add-ons. The DCR-TRV38 comes in a different body than the models that cost less - including the addition of a focus ring and a larger zoom control. The camcorder handles great and the ports are placed well, besides almost perfect manual options, the camcorder includes great automatic and half automatic half manual features. The DCR-TRV38 is a great buy that I would strongly recommend and going to be a very serious and popular camcorder in 2003.

Video Performance
Because this is a first impressions camcorder review based on my observations of the Sony DCR-TRV38. The settings that the camcorder was displayed in were not conducive to making judgments about the video quality of the camcorder. The lighting varied and the montior's were relatively small. It would be unfair to make any judgments about the video performance of the DCR-TRV38 at the point.

The Front
The front of the DCR-TRV38 is less square like than the other lower models. Located at the center top is the 30 mm lens. Right below the lens is the internal microphone, and below that is the IR port. Surrounding the lens is a zoom ring, a nice 'step-up' feature that was not available on the lower priced new Sony MiniDV models for 2003. There is a recording tally lamp at the bottom center of the IR lens.

The Right Side
A lot is going on on the right side of the DCR-TRV38 - in fact pretty much everything is going on on the right side of this camcorder. Located towards the back of the camcorder is the Off / Camera / VCR / Memory function dial. At the way front of the camcorder are practically all the in / out ports. At first I was unhappy with the placement of practically every port on the side of the camcorder where your most likely to hold it - however after placing my hand, and the someone else's much larger hand in the camcorder strap, I realized it's not really a problem. I'm actually very happy that Sony decided to place virtually all the ins and outs on the DCR-TRV39 in one central location. The S-Video, A/V in / out, Firewire, USB, Lanc / Control-L, Headphone out, and Microphone in port are all located in one 'patch bay' area, covered by a hard piece of plastic. This is probably the best port placement that I have seen on a camcorder in recent memory. Although it may seems like an inconsequential issue, often, like the the Optura 200MC, the manufacturer will place a crucial port right where you naturally would place your hand - rendering it useless.

The Back
Located at the top of the camcorder center in the back is the color viewfinder. To the right of it is the battery eject button, below the two is the battery slot. Below the battery slot is the AC adapter in port. On the right side of the back is the record button, which is a thin silver piece of plastic. To the right of the record button is the mode switch, which is explained in the section on the right side of the camcorder. Below these two buttons is the Memory Stick slot which is spring operated. You push the memory stick in and it locks into place. Pushing it in further will make it pop out. On the left side of the back of the camcorder, located towards the bottom are two push buttons. The to p button is to toggle between auto and manual focus and the second button is for turning on or off backlight compensation.

The Left Side
The left side of the DCR-TRV38 looks really pretty. Sony put a very shiny finish on the outside of the 3.5 in. LCD screen. The entire left side is taken over by the LCD screen, so nothing is really going on unless you open it up. There is a external counter on the LCD screen, a feature that was taken of the lower end model. The external counter can give you various information including current tape time and available battery time. It's fit into a space age looking oval. When you pop open the LCD there's not a ton going on - because Sony had decided to move the camcorder functions inside the LCD touch screen with the DCR-TRV38 and all their new 2003 MiniDV camcorder models. The only features that exist in the 'hidden LCD area' are a button for toggling what information is displayed on the LCD screen and an external speaker.

The Top
The top of the DCR-TRV38 includes a lot of buttons. Located towards the lens is the hot shoe for adapting a microphone or a flash. On the right side of the camcorder moving from the lens to the back is the night shot on off slider button. Behind that are the edit search buttons, the zoom controller, and the photo button.

Manual Control
Focus
The DCR-TRV38 has better than less expensive models- though not great - manual control. The major addition of the DCR-TRV38 over lower 2003 Sony models is the addition of a focus ring. A really great feature - considering that the alternative on the DCR-TRV19, DCR-TRV22 and the DCR-TRV33 is controlling the focus with a touch screen. In tandem with the focus ring is the external focus button located on the back of the camcorder.

Of course, if you want you can put the DCR-TRV38 in full auto control - but Sony has a nice in-between which I'm a big fan of. The spot focus feature utilizes the touch screen LCD to make quasi manual focus adjustments. When you put the camcorder in spot focus mode, a box appears on the screen. Using your finger you can select an area of the screen and the camcorder will automatically adjust the focus to that area. It's a great in-between feature for the user who knows that the camcorder is not doing a good job of focusing in auto mode but can't quite adjust the focus manually and shoot at the same time. It's point and click shooting.
Zoom
The zoom control on the DCR-TRV38 is pretty nice. It's much larger than on the lower priced models and than on older Sony camcorders. It's large enough where you can get really good control over the zoom. It is very easy to achieve multiple zoom speeds with the camcorder. The zoom slider gives you enough movement of space and enough surface area on the actual button to get really good control. I really like the zoom control on the DCR-TRV38.
Exposure
Sadly, Sony has moved the exposure control inside the Menu with the DCR-TRV38. This is the only major downgrade on the camcorder when compared to the DCR-TRV25, the model that the DCR-TRV38 is replacing. Exposure control is accessed using the touch screen menu. You still get the 22 steps of exposure control, however you can only adjust it by opening up the LCD screen. I really feel that this is going to create a major dilemma in certain shooting situations. If you can only adjust the manual exposure with the LCD screen it means you're either going to have to always keep it open (draining battery life) or open and close it (shaking the camcorder). It's a loose - loose situation. I really wish Sony had included an exposure dial on the outside of the camcorder and given the user the option of either using a hard button or the touch screen LCD. Sony also offers a great spot metering function for adjusting exposure using the touch screen - just like the spot focus feature.

White Balance
As they do with all their other MiniDV camcorders Sony offers you four white balance options accessible through the menu. They are auto, hold (where you set it), indoor and outdoor.

The manual exposure on the DCR-TRV38 is pretty good - certainly improved over the lower models. The addition of the focus ring and the larger zoom control are great upgrades - I just wished Sony had provided an external control for exposure. Of course, it would also be nice if they included manual control over picture gain, however that is not a standard feature on camcorders in this price range.

Still
Sony's included a one Mega pixel CCD with the DCR-TRV38 to produce 1152 x 864 pixel resolution stills - which are saved to Memory Stick. The camcorder includes an 8 MB Memory Stick which can hold a few digital stills. The camcorder can also record moving MPEG2 video using the MPEG EX feature. The actual photo button is well placed, close enough to the record button so you can access both with the same finger - but far away enough that you won't hit one by mistake. At this time I can't make judgments about the still quality of the DCR-TRV38 for the same reasons I couldn't make judgments about the video quality. The conditions the camcorders were shown under just made it impossible to judge picture or still quality.

Low Light Performance
I'm going to pass on judgment of the DCR-TRV38's low light performance because it was impossible to test it under the conditions the camcorders were displayed in at CES. However, Sony has included their Super Night Shot and Color Slow Shutter for shooting in low lux situations. My judgment on these two features remains the same - that they are cool and might be great for those emergency situations but I would never choose to show them just because they make the video look terrible. I am a little weary of the low light performance of the DCR-TRV38, just because of the CCD size. Usually there is a strong connection between small CCDs and bad picture quality. The CCD is just 1/4.7 in. - the same as the lower model the DCR-TRV33 but not as large as the 1/4 in. on older Sony camcorders (the 2001 models).

Audio
Sony does a great job of giving you options in the audio category. You can use the on-camera microphone, or you can attach a microphone to the hot shoe on the top of the camcorder and plug it into the microphone in port on the right side. If you would like to (and you should) you can monitor your audio by plugging in a set of headphones into the headphone in port on the right side.

Handling
Although I didn't get to run it through all the usual handling tests because the DCR-TRV38 was on a tripod, I think it's going to handle well. The camcorder is large enough that you can get a good grip on it. The buttons and dials are very well placed. As has been a problem on previous models - there are no ports located in a place where they obstruct your hand and the manual focus ring and the zoom ring are well place. My only complaint with regards to handling is that if you want to adjust exposure or white balance you have to open up the LCD screen - this creates a handling nightmare both on and off the tripod. Whenever you open up the LCD screen it's going to create a little camcorder shake and a little shake can turn into a big problem and create unwatchable video. Hopefully in next year's model Sony will keep the touch screen LCD but also bring back the exposure wheel which was a much better solution.

Other Features
Bottom Loading Tape Mechanism
I certainly don't think Sony would advertise this as a 'feature' - it's a terrible part of this camcorder. You are forced to load tapes from the bottom of the camcorder which means that if you are shooting on a tripod you have to detach the camcorder, unload the tape, put the new tape in, and reattach the camcorder to the tripod. It creates more steps, which will take longer, which will mean more lost footage if your shooting a long program. It's a move that Sony has made in order to consolidate the size of the camcorder but I don't believe it's worth it. Of course I should note that this isn't new to the DCR-TRV38, Sony has been putting bottom loading tape mechanisms on their camcorders for years.
Analog - Digital Pass Through
A feature that became all the rage about two years ago and now is standard on most camcorders (except for the DCR-TRV19) is analog to digital pass through. It allows you to use your camcorder as a digital camcorder. You can plug an analog source into the S-Video or A / V port, say a VCR, and record it to MiniDV tape as a digital signal or route it through the camcorder into a computer.
Battery Info Feature
Sony's latest feature add-on is the new Battery Info feature which allows you to check the battery life of the camcorder with out turning it on - or rather with out turning it on completely. You just press the battery info button and the total remaining battery life, both using the LCD and the viewfinder is displayed on the LCD screen. It's a neat and useful feature however I won't exactly describe it as point to make your decision on - in fact I doubt you'll use it often.

Comparisons
The DCR-TRV38 is a huge improvement over the lower priced 2003 model the DCR-TRV33. I can't even begin to explain how much value I think you get for just $100, and the added features are really useful. The first is the larger 3.5 in. LCD screen, compared to the 2.5 in. LCD screen of the DCR-TRV33. The DCR-TRV38 also adds a manual focus ring and a larger zoom control - critical features in the practical usage of the camcorder - these features alone make the DCR-TRV38 worth it. The general placement of buttons and in out ports is really improved on the DCR-TRV38 and I like how Sony moved the Memory Stick to the back of the camcorder. I really think the DCR-TRV38 is the sweet spot in the Sony line - the best deal for your money in the new 2003 line, it's mainly because of all these added features.

The DCR-TRV38 replaces the DCR-TRV25, both selling for around $900. It's a tough judgment whether or not the DCR-TRV38 is an upgrade. Both camcorders include a Mega pixel CCD of the same size. The only downgrade I can see with the DCR-TRV38 is the movement of exposure control to the LCD screen, yet the DCR-TRV38 includes a larger LCD screen than the DCR-TRV25 did. However with this 'causality' you also get the Spot Focus and Spot Metering control which make the camcorder much more usable for the beginning user. It's close, but I would give a slight edge to the DCR-TRV38 over the - not enough to upgrade - but enough to buy it over the DCR-TRV38 over the DCR-TRV25 if they are priced the same. Of course, if you can find the DCR-TRV38 for significantly less ($200 or more) I would go with the DCR-TRV25.

Conclusion
I'm very happy with the Sony DCR-TRV38. Priced at $900 I think it's the true sweet spot in the Sony camcorder line. It doesn't include any 'Network' functions which I don't think you really need and the upgrades of the DCR-TRV38 with a new body over the DCR-TRV33, DCR-TRV22 and DCR-TRV19 are significant. You are given a lot more manual control and in general the camcorder is much easier to use. I certainly would recommend the DCR-TRV38, over the lower DCR-TRV33 and probably over the more expensive DCR-TRV39.

Sony made a mistake by forcing the user to use the touch screen LCD to control the camcorders with the 2003. The DCR-TRV39 fixes that problem with the focus control - certainly the most important one. It's a really good buy for your money. If you are considering the higher models, such as the DCR-TRV70 or DCR-TRV80 just for their still capability I would recommend saving a few hundred dollars and going with the DCR-TRV38, and buy a digital still camera (even one from Sony). Withholding judgment on actual picture quality - which I promise you isn't terrible - the DCR-TRV38 is a great buy, maybe the best deal in the Sony line and I would recommend it to all consumers.