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Home  Camcorders |
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Sony DCR-TRV22
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Last update: 11-29-2003 |
Submitted by
Kenny Ngo |
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Like a striped button-down oxford shirt, Sony's DCR-TRV22 MiniDV camcorder is basic, competent, and useful, with just a touch of pizzazz. More than 20 percent smaller and lighter than its predecessor, the DCR-TRV18, the DCR-TRV22 combines a decent feature set with a 680,000-pixel CCD, a 10X Carl Zeiss zoom lens, and a Memory Stick slot for still photos and MPEG video. A touch-screen LCD with selectable spot metering and spot focusing adds the pizzazz. Though the DCR-TRV22 lacks some of the features of competing models, such as a microphone wind filter and a broader focal range, its night-shooting prowess elevates this model to a solid value for a capable, highly portable family and travel camcorder.
On the surface, at least, the latest entry-level Sony MiniDV camcorder is a significant departure from its ancestors. Most significant, the DCR-TRV22 tips the scales at only 1 pound, 5 ounces with battery and tape installed. That makes it one of the lightest MiniDV camcorders available. Though the two-tone, blue-silver-and-gray body is mostly plastic and boxy-looking, the camcorder doesn't feel flimsy. Its construction quality matches that of other good entry-level video cameras, and it should fit well in the average-sized hand. Unfortunately, as with many of the DCR-TRV22's competitors, tapes load from the bottom, so you can't change them while the camera is mounted on a tripod.
Most of the controls are in the same position as on preceding models; the zoom switch and still-photo button fall under your right index finger, and you control power and recording with dials and buttons under your left thumb. To attain the more compact size, Sony has introduced a pull-out, tilt-up viewfinder. And one of our favorite touches is the flip-open plastic lens cap that stays mounted to the lens; since the lens can't show a very wide angle of view, the cap doesn't interfere with the scene.
Though Sony has changed the basic design of its entry-level camcorders, the controls stay the same. | 
A very nice touch: You won't have to worry about losing this lens cap. |
You control most of the DCR-TRV22's functions using menus accessible through the touch-screen LCD. The menu logic is nothing special, but we found the touch screen quick and convenient to use. If you can point, you can master it, and pointing, we're proud to say, is one thing we can do. However, if you're trying to shoot discreetly in the dark--during a performance, for example--or simply want to conserve battery life, you don't have the option of using the viewfinder and buttons to adjust exposure or change most other settings.
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