Sony DCR-TRV280 Camcorder 

Sonys DCR-TRV280 Digital8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom offers high quality digital audio and video. The digital format provides three times the color bandwidth of VHS and quality comparable to MiniDV at much less cost.  Digital is the way to go. 

55 Amazon customers gave the DCR-TRV280 an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

Just read what these Amazon customers had to say! 

An infrared night veiwing system produces incredibly clear videos night or day.

"nice picture quality, especially in low light."

" the nightshot is excellent to record fireworks because it keeps the real color."

"Nigthtime shooting mode is excellent to pick up objects even in the total darkness."

The DCR-TRV280 uses a lithium battery power-management system.  An optional NP-QM91D InfoLithium battery lets the DCR-TRV280 record for up to 12 hours on a single full charge.  

"I think Sony makes the longest lasting batteries, and I have done a lot of research on this!"

" the battery lasts and even says how many minutes of recording time you have left (we had problems with other camcorders and short battery life)."

A 20x Optical/990x Digital Zoom delivers the action to you even from far away. An Amazon reviewer had this to say:

"The optical zoom is incredible. I was able to film a drowning swimmer being rescued down on the beach from my 12th floor apartment! "

Picture quality comparable to MiniDV.

" This is easily the best value DIGITAL camcorder out there today, hands down. 'Digital8' is just as good as 'MiniDV' in terms of resolution and picture/audio quality. Why pay more for MiniDV?"

" I purchased a Samsung (JUNK JUNK-AVOID) mini dv camcorder from Sam's Club prior to purchasing the Sony DCR-TRV280 from amazon.com, and I was more than disappointed in the performance of the Samsung mini dv camcorder. "

"Picture quality is great! It downloads easily to computer."

"Very good camera. Excellent video and audio quality"

"Tape quality turns out to be better than mini DV." 

"Sony is quality and I do feel I received a quality product. I highly recommend it."

A few other features include:

1/6-Inch CCD Imager, 460K Pixels Gross
1/6-inch CCD Imager with 290K (effective) pixels.

2.5-Inch SwivelScreen LCD Display (123K Pixels)

Multilanguage Menu
Supports English to Canadian French, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, or Traditional Chinese.

NightShot Plus Infrared System
Allows quality shooting in low light.

Program AE (Auto Exposure) Modes
Program auto exposure modes for filming in different situations.

End Search
Prevents accidental recording over previous recorded videos.

 Photo Mode
Allows to store many still images with seven seconds of audio on the videotape.