Analog-Camcorder Reviews

Related Subjects: Camcorder Analog-8mm Analog-Hi8 Analog-VHS-C
Buyer reviews for "Analog-Camcorder" sorted by average review score:
STUDIO AV V8 VIDEO EDITING FOR ANALOG CAMCORDERS CARD INCL
Made by Pinnacle Systems
    Amazon base price: $83.99
    Average review score:

    waste of money
    stay clear. it is the worst software I have ever purchased.

    Lots of potential, little results
    I was really excited to try this product, but after hours and hours of frustration, I finally gave up. On the surface, the GUI interface is very slick and it seems like Studio 8 could do everything I wanted (record analog video, edit, and create VCD's). It has nice editing features that are fairly intuitive. However, the application locked up or crashed regularly (I installed v8.8). You can use the auto-save feature to help minimize loss of work. When it was running, I was constantly encountering little quirks and made the user's experience frustrating. Plus, it was painfully slow on my PC (P3, 1GHz, 384MB RAM, WinME). Pinnacle should reduce the GUI 'fanciness' and work on making it run faster and smoother. It seems that it would be a great product, if it worked as promised. My recommendation: Wait for Studio 10!

    Works for me
    The card and software installation went smoothly. I burned my first test cd within 30 minutes. (about 10 minutes in length)
    There is a few seconds pause when I click on a drop-down box, but other than that everything worked fine. My machine is a 1.73 ghz Athlon, 640 mb ram, Windows XP Home. I would suggest reading the manual and using a pretty fast computer.

    Sony UNAPSTN Analog Phone Line Adapter for DCRTRV70/80 Camcorders
    Made by Sony
    • Makes sharing easy with maximum communication of up to 56 Kbps
    • Allows transfer and upload of images directly to the internet without a PC
    • Small and lightweight
    • Modem adapter enables connection of USB network
    • Easy sharing of pictures and movie clips
    Amazon base price: $99.99
    List price: $119.99 (that's 17% off!)
    Sony CCDTRV328 Hi8 Analog Handycam Camcorder
    Made by Sony
    • Compact Hi8 Handycam camcorder with 320,000-pixel CCD
    • 20x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 990x) with manual focus and image stabilizer
    • 2.5-inch rotating LCD and black-and-white viewfinder
    • Low-light recording settings and built-in white LED light
    • NP-FM30 InfoLithium Rechargeable Battery
    Amazon base price: $279.99
    List price: $329.99 (that's 15% off!)
    Used price: $259.95
    Buy one from zShops for: $238.88
    Average review score:

    Very happy with it
    When our 8mm stopped working that we had used for nine years, I found it overwhelming to research and find a new camera.
    I knew I didn't want digital because I don't even use my digital still camera very often, other than to e-mail pictures.
    I knew that I wanted another 8mm, so that we could play our tapes we have now. I didn't want to spend too much money. We received this camera a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't be happier. It even has more options than I really need. We charged the battery when we got the camera and for 2 weeks we have been filming the kids occasionally and the battery is still full. I never thought I would use the night vision, but have found it is fun to film the kids when they are asleep and I don't have to turn a light on to film. The zoom works well and the color looks good. For the price, I don't see how you could get a better camera. I don't think you could find a better analog camera even if you did spend more money. I obviously can't comment on how well it will hold up in the future, but as far as its performance now, I love it.

    Sony CCDTRV218E PAL-Format Hi8 Analog Camcorder
    Made by Sony
    • Built-in light
    • NightShot 0 Lux technology for effective shooting in low light conditions
    • 20X Optical Zoom
    • 560X Digital Zoom
    • 2.5-Inch LCD Screen (61,000 Pixels)
    Amazon base price: $379.88
    Sony CCDTRV128 Hi8 Analog Handycam Camcorder
    Made by Sony
    • Compact Hi8 Handycam camcorder with 320,000-pixel CCD
    • 20x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 990x) with manual focus
    • 2.5-inch rotating LCD and black-and-white viewfinder
    • Low-light recording settings and built-in white LED light
    • NP-FM30 InfoLithium Rechargeable Battery
    Amazon base price: $249.99
    List price: $299.99 (that's 17% off!)
    Used price: $225.99
    Buy one from zShops for: $225.95
    Average review score:

    Sony customer
    Amazon recently raised the price on this camcorder as well as the Samsung SCL906. Each was raised approx.10.00 Shop around.

    Good out of box performer
    This is my third video camera. I have previously owned VHS-C cameras that perfomed well. I needed the Nightshot feature for the investigations I do. The first time out, knowing general camera operation, I found this camera very easy to use. The flip out viewer is very sharp and the sound playback is good for instant review of videos. The compact size makes it easy to handle. I have yet to use all features, but I am confident that they will be satisfactory also. If you need a video feed to a computer, you'll need a capture device or get one of the digitals that have the USB/Firewire hookups. Basically, it seems to be a durable easy to operate camera.

    Great first-timer

    I had been kicking around the idea of buying a camcorder for a couple of weeks and bought this model just two days before going on vacation. I didn't do a whole lot of research, I just liked the look and the price. It is small and sleek and super easy to use. It can use regular 8MM tapes, Hi8 or Digital8. I used it for recording live music performances in Nashville and was happy with the quality of the video and audio on playback. There are 8 effects for shooting (sepia, stretch, etc.), along with three fade-ins/outs. So I have more options than I really know what to do with at this point but I'm sure I'll get into them as I use it more. The display is sweet and can rotate around.

    My one complaint is the battery area. The battery clips on the back, but there is no cover - my Sony digital camera has a locking compartment the battery slides in. I'll probably also be picking up a spare, even though it seems to hold a charge well. I really like the size because I have small hands and short fingers, but I can still use the strap and reach all the buttons.

    Sony CCD-TRV208E PAL-Format Hi8 Analog Camcorder
    Made by Sony
    • Camcorder uses 8mm and Hi8(TM) videocassettes
    • 20x Optical Zoom Lens
    • 560x Digital Zoom Enhancement
    • Built-in color enhancing video light
    • Ultra sensitive for monochrome imaging in dark areas with NightShot(R) capabilities
    Amazon base price: $399.88
    Pinnacle Systems Studio Deluxe Version 8 Video Editing
    Made by Pinnacle Systems
    • Capture and edit DVD Quality MPEG video from your DV or Digital8 camcorder
    • Import and edit MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 files
    • Easy drag and drop editing lets you assemble your masterpiece
    • Includes Studio version 8 software, Hollywood FX plus for Studio, and a fully professional video capture card
    Amazon base price: $172.99
    Average review score:

    OK at video editing, awful for DVD burning
    I was OK with Studio 8 for the first few months I had it, I made simple VCDs and DVDs of my friends, it was amusing.

    Then I tried to make some more complicated things, with multi-level menus, and a number of different file types, and fill up the whole DVD. I ended up with about 5 coasters. The pinnacle tech support was no help at all.

    Then I found TMPG DVD Author, used to make DVD files which are then burned from within the program or burned with Nero. TMPG has not produced any coasters yet. Now I do all my editing/transitions with Studio 8, render it, and use TMPG to actually make the DVD.

    So all in all, I had to spend an extra $90 for a REAL dvd authoring progam to go along with Studio 8.

    Patience and diligence required
    Robust equipment is needed for this product. I have a fast new Dell with lots of memory and a big harddisk. Once you get Pinnacle working, the results are terrific. But it did take me several weeks to get the performance I was looking for. Tech support is slow, but in my case proved helpful. Don't count on Pinnacle working out of the box. You have to download the latest patches. The software is powerful and complex (not to mention quirky), and needs much better documentation. It turned out that all of my problems could have been solved with better documentation. The main problem I had was getting a project to fully render (a process that can take several hours, depending on the project size). The solution required a system tweak and a product tweak. Initially I was doing things over and over, and failing everytime, simply because the correct information was lacking in the User Guide, which has been simplified to the point of near-uselessness. Bottom line: no other product for the money can do what Pinnacle does; unfortunately, it's not always smooth sailing.

    Not too bad for the price
    Had trouble getting it to work, initially my whole computer froze. My recommendation: First, get ALL the patches from Microsoft that are available and in any way relevant to audio/ video/ security/ performance. Consider updating the BIOS. TUrn off background processes such as virus check etc. Could not get my integrated soundcard to work, deactivated it in bios and put in a thirtysome dollar soundblaster card. that helped.
    Initially I also experienced the sound synchronization problem experienced by others, but changing the settings of the sound card (advanced audio settings, hardware accelleration) to standard I was able to capture 20min videos without problems.
    I have a AthlonXP1800 w/ 512MB RAM and two 80GB 7200RPM harddrives, not too shabby, but to it still takes about an hour to "create" the raw file for video output.
    I was able to create both an analog VHS video tape as well as a digital VCD (using my old 16x CD-R burner). My DVD player chocked a little, but was able to play it after a few attempts.
    Software is easy to use, at the end of the first day I had assembled my first "MTV style" video (about 20 clips taken from various videos mapped to a soundfile that one can rip from CD).
    Bug here - had to frequently re-rip the soundfile when changes to video size were made (takes about 2 min).
    Very few crashes - overall once it was running it was not bad at all. Love the results, my friends were deeply impressed, too.

    Panasonic PVL454 VHS-C Analog Camcorder
    Made by Panasonic
    • Compact Palmcorder VHS-C camcorder with 270,000-pixel CCD
    • 20x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 750x) and image stabilizer
    • 2.5-inch LCD and color viewfinder
    • Full-size video head cylinder and built-in light
    • Rechargeable Ni-Cad battery pack lasts for up to 2 hours
    Amazon base price: $249.99
    Used price: $265.73
    Buy one from zShops for: $256.43
    Average review score:

    Mislead & Disappointed
    The camcorder does not have the built-in SD drive, nor the digital still photo capabilities that are listed as included features in the product description.

    No built-in sd memory card or picture in picture
    It's all that except the picture in picture and image capture feature.

    Great inexpensive holdover until the DVDs mature
    The PV-L424 is a pretty cool piece of gear. (With virtually no reviews)

    We just got it yesterday for $419. It can be found a little cheaper, but check store reviews...

    We almost bought the PCV-L552 for its big view finder and 27x optical zoom, but after a lot of digging on obscure web sites, we found that older camera suffers from a dew detector light that goes off too easily, shutting down the camera for hours. The PV-L424 just came out in 2004.

    The 20x PV-L424 optical zoom is amazing. Things still look good at 40x digital, can read a UPC bar code from across the room. Things look tolerable at 120x, but ridiculous at 750k. There a single digit from the bar code fills the screen and is almost unreadable due to pixilation.

    It's kind of slim, better looking than the photo.

    Menus and controls seem intelligently laid out. What's used most seems to have a single button for it.

    I like the way the LCD screen swivels around so that you could actually dictate into it and see yourself. It's smart enough to know to flip the image right side up when I do that.

    I can't say anything yet for the durability.

    We chose this VHS-C thing because I think all playback equipment for formats other than this and DVD will be difficult to find in 50 years. And the DVDs suffer from $10 disk costs (for 30 minutes) and the resolution won't match the MiniDVs until they change the image format to MPEG2. The PV-L424 seems like a great inexpensive holdover until the DVDs mature.

    Panasonic PV-L354 VHS-C Analog Camcorder
    Made by Panasonic
    • Compact Palmcorder VHS-C camcorder with 270,000-pixel CCD
    • 20x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 700x) and image stabilizer
    • 2.5-inch LCD and black-and-white viewfinder
    • Full-size video head cylinder and built-in light
    • Rechargeable Ni-MH battery pack lasts for up to 1 hour
    Amazon base price: $229.99
    Used price: $182.99
    Buy one from zShops for: $239.93
    Panasonic PV-L352 Analog Camcorder
    Made by Panasonic
      Amazon base price: $279.94
      Used price: $199.95
      Average review score:

      Doesn't work for long
      I purchased this model in March 2002 and in May 2003 - it just quit working! I thought the battery had run out - recharged it -nothing! Bought a new battery - still nothing. All it'll do now is make a click noise when you switch to camera or vcr. Cant even get my tape out of the damn thing now! Call Panasonic - what a joke! They wanted $149.00 for a diagnostic test and $102.00 service charge - I only paid about $300 for it new. I'll never buy another panasonic again - the service was terrible and they are not helpful AT ALL! Good luck if you buy one - get the extended warranty! They should sell them for $50.00 and just make them disposable!

      A good camcorder but........
      I purchased one of these last year and although I can't complain about the quality of the picture, the service from Panasonic leaves a whole lot to be desired.

      My camcorder was accidently bumped about 8 months after I purchased it which caused the deck assembly and loading assembly to become unworkable. Even though the fault was mine, Panasonic doesn't seem to want you to have their products repaired, they would rather you buy another one, as the repair technician stated to me. The parts cost more than the camcorder did new.

      Needless to say I will never buy another Panasonic product again and neither will my friends and family.

      It worked great until it stopped working....
      I baught this camera around october and it is now august, and for some odd reason a couple weeks ago, it broke. i have no idea why, i wasn't being rough with it or anything, i'm sure i didn't bang it.

      for one, the loading part would'nt work but my dad somehow managed to shove the tape in (i have no clue how because he can't do it anymore) and when he did it wouldn't record, play, or anything else!

      other than the fact that, its a nice camera.

      Related Subjects: Camcorder Analog-8mm Analog-Hi8 Analog-VHS-C