Sony DCR-TRV70 First Impressions Camcorder Review

by Robin Liss
Published on Feb 10, 2003 12:00 AM



Sony's MiniDV DCR-TRV70 with a street price of $1,300 is the world's first two Mega Pixel MiniDV camcorder. Boasting a 2.1K 1/3.6 in. CCD, a 10x optical zoom, and a very neat form factor - the DCR-TRV70 will certainly catch your eye. The camcorder is aimed at the shopper who wants the ultimate camcorder / digital camera hybrid. However, with a price point $300 above the next cheapest model, it's very hard to tell whether or not the DCR-TRV70 is worth the price - considering it all banks how much better the video and still quality really is.

Video Performance
The DCR-TRV70 comes with a 1/3.6 in. 2.1 Mega Pixel CCD, although I feel comfortable saying that the video produced by the DCR-TRV70 was better than that of the DCR-TRV38/39 - based on side by side comparisons at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) - I can't really say much more about the video quality. The conditions under which the camcorders were shown at CES made it impossible to make any major judgments about the video quality of the DCR-TRV70 or any of the other Sony camcorders displayed at CES.

The Front
The front of the DCR-TRV70 is covered mostly by the relatively large 37 mm lens. The lens protrudes outwards from the camcorder slightly (as you can see from the side shots. Above the lens is the pop-up flash and below it is the stereo microphone. The lens which extends a good two inches out from the wider part of the camcorder in the back is surrounded by a focus ring. To the left of the lens is the IR receiver. The DC power plug is located in the front of the camcorder right below the lens.

The Right Side
Towards the front of the camcorder, located on the extended lens is the S-Video, RCA Mini Plug, and the microphone in and headphone out ports, covered by a hard piece of silver looking plastic. Above the ports is the flash button, which toggles between automatic, forced and no flash for still photography. As you move towards the back of the camcorder, you hit the Memory Stick slot, which is shaped differently than on any previous camcorder model. The Memory Stick slides in front the front of the camcorder, instead of the back. The Memory Stick is ejected using a spring mechanism. Moving further back, but at the top of the camcorder are the USB and Firewire ports - covered by a rubber piece. At the way back of the camcorder, about middle height, is the mode dial. You can switch from off, camera, VCR, or Network / Memory mode. The hand strap covers the entire back portion of the camcorder, the 'recorder portion'.

The Back
The back of the DCR-TRV70 is very simple. At the top, slightly aligned to the left is the color viewfinder. Below the viewfinder is the battery slot, which takes up the majority of the space on the back of the DCR-TRV70. To the right of the battery is the recording mode lock button, and below that is the actual record button.

The Left Side
The left side of the camcorder is much less busy than the right. Towards the back is the 2.5 in. color touch screen LCD. Located towards the front, on the lens is the focus button and the backlight button.

Manual Control
Focus
The focus on the DCR-TRV70 can be controlled via the focus ring on the extended lens. The combination of the focus button and the large focus ring gives you really great control over the focus on the camcorder. If you want you can always but it in full auto however Sony has included the Spot Focus feature as a nice in-between. Utilizing the touch screen, the Spot Focus feature allows you to touch any area of the screen and the camcorder will automatically adjust the focus to that area. It's a really great middle of the road feature for people who feel that the camcorder isn't focusing correctly while in automatic mode but don't want to bother with the full manual focus ring. Another neat feature of the DCR-TRV70 is that when you are manually adjusting the focus, the camcorder automatically (though not recorded onto tape, just shown on the LCD screen) zooms the image in 2X so that you can get a more precise focus.
Zoom
The DCR-TRV70 includes a 10x optical 120x digital zoom. The zoom control on the DCR-TRV70 isn't as great as it could be. Sony decided to use the smaller zoom control (the one on the DCR-TRV19 (Review, Specs, $372), DCR-TRV22 and DCR-TRV33) instead of the larger zoom control (the one on the DCR-TRV38 and DCR-TRV39). You still can get variable zoom speeds however the small zoom control makes it very hard to get a specific speed (anything other than really fast) and hold that speed. I think it's a significant downgrade that's worth noting.
Exposure
Sony made the mistake with the DCR-TRV70 of moving the exposure control into the touch screen LCD. You can't adjust the exposure with out swinging open the LCD screen. When you do that, or when you even touch the LCD screen if it's already open - it's going to create some camera shake, even if the camcorder is on a tripod. On older models there was a jog dial which controlled the menu functions, and the exposure. Even on the first Sony camcorders that had a touch screen the exposure was controlled by an actual dial. It's really too bad they switched it with this years models. Like the Spot Focus feature, the DCR-TRV70 also has a Spot Metering feature which allows you to touch on a portion of the screen and the camcorder will automatically adjust the exposure to that area. The camcorder also includes preset automatic exposure modes.
White Balance
The DCR-TRV70's white balance is controlled through the menu. You can set it manually, set it to indoor, outdoor or automatic mode.

Still
One of the flagship features of the DCR-TRV70 is that it is the first MiniDV camcorder to include a 2 Mega Pixel CCD - able to achieve still resolutions up to 1,600 x 1,200 pixel resolution. The digital stills are recorded to Memory Sticks. The camcorder includes an 8 MB Memory Stick though you can get them up to 128 MB currently. The camcorder includes a pop-up flash for low light situations and you can edit and delete stills that are saved to Memory Stick using the Memory mode of the camcorder. You can also record MPEG videos to the Memory Stick using the MPEGX feature. I can't really judge the still quality of the DCR-TRV70 at this time for the same reasons I couldn't judge the video quality. The conditions at CES made it impossible to make judgments about picture or video quality because we had no control over the lighting or viewing conditions.

Low Light Performance
The DCR-TRV70 includes both Night Shot and Color Super Night shot shooting capabilities - however I wouldn't recommend using these, the video is un-watchable with both features. As for the normal low light performance, I was unable to judge it at CES - however I hope that the 1/3.6 in. CCD, will perform better, when compared to the smaller CCDs on the new lower priced models. Typically larger CCDs do better in low light conditions.

Audio
The DCR-TRV70 does well with audio options. You can plug in an external microphone or use the on camera mic (which I would recommend staying away from). The DCR-TRV70 has a hot shoe for pluging in an exgternal microphone or another accessory, though it is hard to see.

Handling
I really like the extended lens on the DCR-TRV70. In fact, I think the extended lens is a great design achievement, and makes the camcorder in general handle very well. The focus ring is well placed and all the ports seem to be in places where they won't get in the way of your hands while shooting. I am really disappointed however with the small zoom control and with the touch screen LCD. Sony has placed the 'lower end' methods of controlling these two features, the small zoom control and the touch panel exposure control on the DCR-TRV70. It's really too bad. All the controls are placed in good positions, it's just that some are hard to use. In general, the movement of all the features inside the LCD is going to be very problematic. The bottom line is DCR-TRV70 handles great, and the extended lens will be instrumental in getting really stable shots, the camcorder's only handling downside is the button placement.

Other Features
Bottom Loading Tape Mechanism
I guess I wouldn't exactly call this a feature - though it must be pointed out. The DCR-TRV70 has a bottom loading tape mechanism which means if you're shooting on a tripod you have to detach the camcorder from the tripod just to change the tape - it's really problematic.
Analog - Digital Pass Through
An important feature to many, the DCR-TRV70 includes analog to digital pass through. It allows you to plug an analog video source (such as a VHS VCR) into the camcorder, then plug the camcorder into a computer or any other Firewire source and the computer will convert the analog video to digital video on the fly.
Battery Info Feature
A feature new to the 2003 MiniDV models is the Battery Info feature. With the press of one button, the camcorder will display the amount of time remaining on a battery pluged into the battery slot on the LCD screen. Sony advertises this feature as being convenient because you can check the status of any battery with out having to fully power up the camcorder. I think it's a neat feature and I might use it every now and then however in practicality I don't see many people using it very often.
Network Capability
The DCR-TRV70 includes Network Capability like other previous Sony camcorders. You can surf the web, check and send emails with video and picture attachments. You can also post pictures to an online album. Although it's a neat gadget feature - I don't really see the practicality of the Network Capability. It might be fun to play with, but I think it's very unlikely that you will see yourself using this feature any time soon.

Comparisons
The DCR-TRV70's largest upgrade over the DCR-TRV39, the lower model, is the addition of a 2 Mega Pixel, and larger, CCD. The other benefit is the different form factor with the extended lens. However, Sony has downgraded the camcorder by putting on a smaller zoom control, a smaller LCD screen and no outside counter. As for handling, I think each camcorder has it's benefits. I feel the DCR-TRV39 (and the DCR-TRV38 for that matter) has a better overal placement of buttons making it easier for the user to operate and includes all those features which I listed above - all of which are really good and useful. The DCR-TRV70 on the other hand includes the really nice extended lens which will make holding the camcorder still extra easy. Which of these two feature sets is better for which user? It's hard to say - but I would feel comfortable saying that the DCR-TRV70 - only on a handling perspective is better for the point and shoot videographer, whereas the DCR-TRV39 is better for the videographer who wants to tweak their image. If I had too, I would pick the DCR-TRV39 for handling and overal feature set over the DCR-TRV70 and - though I really like that extended lens.

Of course, a comparison isn't all about handling and features - in this case the most important variable is the video and still quality. I feel comfortable telling you that the video quality of the DCR-TRV70 is better than that of the DCR-TRV39 - due to the larger CCD and based on some observations at the Consumer Electronics Show. How much better? Not sure. I'm going to withhold making a judgment on that end. The DCR-TRV70 sells for $300 more than the DCR-TRV39 - and whether or not it is worth shelling out that money all banks on how much better the video and low light capability is. The major selling point on the DCR-TRV70 is the larger pixel CCD, and so this camcorder is targeted at the person who wants a good digital camera / camcorder hybrid. Until I can make good judgments about the still quality of the camcorder - it's also hard to make any conclusions. We're going to have to wait and see until we get loan models to make a decision on that regard. The one step up model over the DCR-TRV70 is the DCR-TRV80. For $200 more the DCR-TRV80 adds Bluetooth capability and a 3.5 in. LCD screen. The Bluetooth at this time isn't worth it. Usually I wouldn't buy a higher model for a larger LCD, but I'm beginning to be convinced that a lot of people really want the larger LCD - and are willing to shell out extra money for it. However, I don't think it's worth shelling out an extra $200 for the DCR-TRV80 - even for the 2.5 in. LCD screen - especially considering other comparable models on the market in the $1,500 price bracket.

Combined with the DCR-TRV80 the DCR-TRV70 replaces last years DCR-TRV50, which sold for about $1,500. In my opinion the DCR-TRV70 is a downgrade, however it should be because it costs $200 less. The DCR-TRV70 includes a smaller LCD, no Bluetooth (not really important) and does a much poorer job of providing manual control. However, I don't feel it's bad to rag on Sony for those 'downgrades'. What they really did is updated the DCR-TRV50 with the DCR-TRV80 and then produces a less expensive version with the DCR-TRV70. If the still quality and video quality pan out to be really fantastic, it might mean that the DCR-TRV70 beats even the DCR-TRV80 - because of the cheaper price.

Conclusion
It's very hard to make a conclusion about the DCR-TRV70 at this time. So much of my conclusion on this camcorder is dependent on the CCD, both the video and the stills it produces. At 2.1 Mega Pixels and 1/3.6 in. it has the specs to be a real winner. The feature set in my opinion on this camcorder is slightly downgraded from other models - however if the video and still quality is stellar - they will out weight those.

In the end. The DCR-TRV70 is only going to be a viable choice for you if you are interested in shooting stills with your camcorder or if you are fixated on having the best video quality possible. We'll have to wait and see how good the video quality really is - however it's going to be held up to some tough standards. Once you get in the above $1,250 price range - you begin to compete with the three chip camcorders which will any day knock out any one chip camcorder like the DCR-TRV70. Although the price points aren't the same, Panasonic's PV-DV953 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $899.88) gives you three chips for just $200 - and anyone shopping for a camcorder in this price range is going to have to look at the PV-DV953 which certainly beats both the DCR-TRV70 and DCR-TRV80 on handling and overal feature set (providing great manual control and real useful features) - and will 'most likely' (though not 100% positive at this time) beat the two on overal video quality. Let's wait and see though before we make any major judgments.