Sony CCDTRV318 Hi8 Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and Steady Shot

I bought CCDTRV318 for about 18 months and the camera has performed very well. Just 2 weks ago suddenly it didn't work after 5 months of last use.The picture on the LCD screen and in the viewfinder was all blurry and distorted. The picture is getting clear little bit after half hour. I tried changing every setting and every adjustment I could think of. I couldn't fix it.

I did not buy warranties so I don't know where to go and how much is going to repair.

I bought canon Digital 8 camcorder 6 months ago to give present to my friend. Its working really nice. I think there is nothing in name brand. I would prefer small brand with warranties.

I have owneds my CCDTRV318 for about 18 months and I think the camera has performed very well. Or, I did until I tried to use it at the first high school game this fall. It didn't work. The picture on the LCD screen and in the viewfinder was all blurry and distorted. I tried changing every setting and every adjustment I could think of. I couldn't fix it.

So, I took it to the local Geek Squad and they sent it out for analysis. The result? Sony would have to replace the CCD and other gizmos for a total of $196! After 18 months.

No, I did not buy warranties or anything - c'mon be serious.

So my question: do I spend $200 for repairs? Do I buy a new camera for $300-$400? Should I buy a Sony ever again?

I'm off to try to wrangle Sony customer support and perhaps will post the results of that wrangling here.

EDIT UPDATE: Sony ended up fixing this for NO charge and now it works like a champ. If I could I'd change my review to 4 stars now.

I purchased this "factory restored" camera and it was very dissappointing! The focus is terrible. There are only two spots with the zoom that are actually in focus. Even when it is zoomed all the way out it is blurry. I just had my first child and I bought this to record his first years and because of this camera I have already missed recording two months! This was such a waste of money!!!!!

I got this camera because the moment i saw it, i knew it would rock

........ I WAS RIGHT!!!
it is such an awesum camcorder with great quality and wonderful zoom.
The sound does not go up very high when you listen to recordings strait from the camcorder and it is a PAIN to try to plug it into the television BUT... other than those 2 minor problems this camcorder is THE BEST!!!

it rox (<:

if i could have given it 4.5 stars i would have.

I really believe this is the best camcorder.It is very cheap and really easy to use. I'm 14 and I just used it to film my spring break and I still haven't even touched the instructions, if I can use this camcorder anybody can. I highly recommend buying this camera it has so many features like nightshot, steadyshot,a really powerful zoom, a really long battery life, and many more. It can even play back those old 8mm tapes you have lying in your closet. So if your looking for your 1st video camera or a camera to bring on all of family vacations this is the camera for you.

Problems just out of the box!

1st camera we received did not charge the battery. We returned and got another one that after 5 months of storage and perhaps 2-3 hours of TOTAL use (recording time), it went back to "Not charging the battery" since it is out of warranty (30 days - Amazon will not exchange it) and under the (1 year Sony warranty), we called, they said the camera needs to be repaired and it is $166 plus shipping which is about $190, for a camera that we purchased for $260

JUNK!!

It is all I have to say about this camera, I got to use the camera for a total of 3 hours.
I paid about $90/Hour to use this junk, went for the name brand and GOT Burned.

I do not know why I was talked into buying a Sony it is overpriced and now the quality is JUNK, we have had Panasonic electronics all our lives, and they just get old and outdated, but they keep in working! Guess what my next camera will be? - Panasonic-

The choice was pretty difficult. Either an entry level digital, or this higher-end Hi8 unit. I picked this one because I like the zoom, the night vision, and all the other great features I could not get in a digital at the same price. I also own an analog to digital box for my PC, so I can plug this Sony into my Firewire port anyway.
The digital would have been nice, but I know I would have lusted after the bells and whistles after a while. This buys me a few years until the digitals improve and come down in price.

This camcorder is a great Hi-8/8mm camera. It has all the features of a more expensive camera, for a good price. I would tell anyone who wants a good basic camera to definately look at this one.

I bought htis for my finacee for xmas and I can't stop playing with it! Besides being uder friendly and not needing a book to understand it, it is the best camera I have ever seen. Youc an add effects, change colors, add titles and much more. It has a nice big screen for viewing and I love the battery life. It is light and so fun to use. I reccomend this camera also because of the infared it has for night shots and it amazing picture quality. This is a winner hands down!

Personally I think you should get a MiniDV digital camcorder. Namebrands like Sharp and JVC now have very inexpensive MiniDV models, so it's time to move to that format.

If you really need an 8mm/Hi8 camcorder -- for example, in my case I needed one to play back my large library of 8mm tapes -- then this Sony is simply the best. It costs a bit more than a couple other Sony models as well as some offerings from lesser companies, but you get what you pay for. This Sony is not only high quality but has tons of features, such as image stabilization, NightShot, and 20x optical zoom. You can hook it up to your PC as well. You should also know that its CCD sensor is 460k pixels, more than any other model in this price range. The result is vibrant images.

There is not much I can say about this. It works just exactly as expected. No, it is not the fanciest model on the market but weighing cost/benefit I chose this model and it performs exactly as expected. Good picture. Easy to use. Commonly available tapes and accessories.

This camcorder is one of the best camcorders I have ever seen. It has great features such as titleing and a lcd screen 2.5 inch. I went to best buy one day looking for a camcorder. So I asked the guy working there if I could get a camcorder [for a certain price range]. ... So I saw the sony model below mine for [a price]. He said your best bet is to buy the sony ccd-trv318. So I said show it to me. So I looked at the camcorder and really knew that I was going to get that one. So the guy showed me how to use it. Then when he was done i said I will take it. So I brought it home and gave it a try. It worked great. It was very easy to use. So from then on I still use this same camcorder.
Thank You!

The SONY CCD-TRV318 I bought a month ago has surpassed my expectations. It is very compact, but with the Steadyshot feature, is easy to stabilize even at 20x zoom. The clarity of the image is excellent and the color reproduction is outstanding in a wide variety of lighting situations. The only enhancement I have indulged in is a wide angle lens which, although inexpensive, works remarkably well and adds to the versatility of this camcorder. I am extremely pleased with the size, convenience and performance of my TRV318!

had it about a week now, best camcorder i've used in a while. next best thing to digital

Buying a camcorder can be difficult. Do you want VHC? 8mm? Hi-8? Digital 8? Mini-DV? Then there's whether or not you want to be able to take stills, have firewire output to a computer, image stabilization, etc.
One can easily find themselves saying, "All I wan't is a basic camcorder to record random things." If that's you, this is your camcorder.
Though the picture is not digital, Hi-8 offers a nice clean picture that gets the job done. And since you can plug right into your TV or VCR, transfer to video is simple without having to store all your old tapes like you did in the VHC and VHS days. Being a Sony, you can expect a great zoom that let's you get nice detail from a good distance away. Add Steadyshot, probably the best image stabilizer out there, the ability to manually adjust your lighting, nightshot, and you have the ability to record in any situation.
Having sold Sony's for over a year, I can tell you the number returned due to dissatisfaction was minimal. Same for broken or damaged camcorders.
Bottom line is this. In the TRV-318, Sony makes a great camcorder that's not only easy to use, but able to take a nice clean video. And as long as you don't care about capturing the light flicker off a snowflake, you'll love it too.

I've had the camera for 5 hours and I've recorded several scenes and already transferred some to VHS. No problems! The power of the zoom is very good and the quality is average to above average. The best part of this model is the steady shot -it's a life saver for shaky people like me. :-)

I highly recommend this camera to someone who just wants to play around with it or use it every once in awhile. If you are a major camera user then you will want to go to a higher end model with controls that are slightly more user friendly and even better picture quality.

My Daughter saved up for this camcorder for a long time, so it was a big deal when we finally picked up a new unit. The first unit was junk right out of the box as it would not play back on the lcd screen. I exchanged it for another unit which worked for less than 8 hours before it to quit. Very disappointed in the quality of this unit. I would imagine that I ran into a quality batch problem but it was a bummer and has caused me to have to reconsider going back to Sony for this next unit.

This camcorder is great for family vacations or playing around and getting those great moments on tape.