Sony DCRTRV740 Digital8 Camcorder w/ 2.3" LCD, USB Streaming, Memory Stick, & Mega Pixel Video/ Still

I read the reviews about this camera and was a little hesitant because some of them mentioned it was noisy.
I bought it anyway and was pleasantly surprised that it was not that noisy.
I am quite a picky person about such things and I'm surprised someone could be dissatisfied with the camera because of the whirring.
If you thought about not buying it because of that, don't worry.
I just recieved mine so I still have to put it through its tests with the computer and so on. I just thought I would respond to the issue of the whirring noise.

TRV740 claims to have meagpixel. However, it sure is not showing
it in digit still. I was looking for a unit which can double
up as digit still camera. All I can say is TRV740 disappointed
me in that department. Also weak is in the manual. I think it
expect people who own trv740 is also a computer expert. As I
follow the instructions to install USB device driver, I end up
spending a solid hour on guessing exactly what went wrong or
did I miss any step. According to the manual, all the installation is suppose to happen the same way regardless which
Window OS you are running. Unfortunately, there are differences
among them and they do respond differently.

This unit comes with just about all the accessories you need with
one exception, a tape. You can't test this unit without paying
extra for tape(s). Now, if one don't like this unit, you can
probably return the unit (may be with a restocking fee) but
what about the tape(s).

As you can see now, I don't have a good experience with this
unit. TRV740 may be is a good machine. For above reasons,
I have a tough time recommending it.

I just upgraded from a Sony TRV95 (Hi-8mm) to the TRV740. I was deciding between the TRV240 and the TRV740 then ended up selecting the TRV740 for its higher resolution (520 line vs "up to 500"). I don't have the TRV240 to compare it against, but I am very please with the picture quality of the TRV740. Definitely a step up from the Hi-8. In addition, I look forward to editing my DV and my Hi-8 tapes on my new computer without a generation loss.

I would have given the camcorder a 5 star rating except for these annoying things that I hope Sony will fix in future models:

1) The tape mechanism IS as noisy as folks say. It IS detectable in the playback IF you listen for it. I can live with this is since the audio record quality is so nice and sharp. My guess is that this noise is due to the tape been driven at 1.5x to 2x the speed of Hi-8.

2) The supplied battery's life is about 60 mins with LCD usage so this will drive most people to buy an additional power pack. This is common across camcorder lines, but still annoying.

3) The 2.5" LCD is not as detailed as the Sony's MiniDV version. While it is acceptable, realized that this 2.5" LCD has 61K pixels and the Sony MiniDV line has almost double the number of pixels.

4) Megapixel or no megapixel, a camcorder's digital stills are rarely as good as a "decent" digital camera. Since I have a 2.1 mega pixel digital camera, the quality of digital stills on the TRV740 is useless to me.

5) Wide angle shots are not as wide as the old TRV95. One would almost need a wide angle lens to properly capture an indoor gathering. However, the wide angle lens is another $$. Again, due to the limited zoom on DV camcorder these days for preserving picture quality (lens), this may be common across other camcorders. I can only wish for 28mm by default.

Okay, I feel bad ripping on the camcorder for so long, overall, I am happy with the TRV740 and I look forward to using it to preserve years of memories.

After looking at what Sony had to offer on their digital camcorder line, I decided to buy a TRV740. I was impressed with all the features it had to offer. After playing with the shelf model for a while I purchased the TRV740. Once I opened the product at home and inserted the tape there was a hum or buzzing noise while recording or playing back a recording. In a quiet environment, this buzz is also picked up in the recording. The location of the buzzing sound came from the tapes drive mechanism. I returned the product two times and all subsequent camcorders aired this buzz. If you are looking to buy this product play with a shelf model WITH THE TAPE IN. This way you can judge if this will be a problem for you.