From: iggy@uts.amdahl.com (Igor Braslavsky)
Newsgroups: rec.video
Subject: Re: TR81 shortcomings
Date: 8 Apr 92 00:12:09 GMT
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

In article <29DE0FBE.1298@orion.oac.uci.edu> ggiergiel@vmsa.oac.uci.edu writes:
>
>Somebody asked for:
>
>TR81 shortcomings (in an arbitrary order)
>
>- "fully functional" remote is everything but fully functional.
>  Approx. 50% of functions aren't accesible from remote.
>  For example: fader.
>
>- unacceptably narrow remote field of view and the lack of positive 
Agreed to a large extent, but is there a comparable price/performance
camcorder on the market that has a better remote?  I am sure the
lack of some of the features on the remote is no more an oversight
on Sony's part than any other apparent oversights.  IMO Sony is 
simply giving you a great little camcorder for a fairly reasonable
amount of money compared to A1 let's say and Sony knows if you really
get hooked on this baby you will be willing to shell out all
sorts of money for nice accessories, like a wired remote commander,
telephoto, wide-angle, S-VHS VCR (probably R5 since you'll want
L-control) etc. etc.  I doubt that they leave things out for
technical reasons.  I would bet it's a marketing reason.

>  feedback on most operations makes remote operation quite a
>  frustrating experience. 

More or less, depends how you use it, I guess.

>
>- lack of character titling. This is serious; stand alone titlers
>  are $250 and more plus they require an editing deck. Somehow, 
>  cheap 8mm Canons have one built in without significant price 
>  penalty. Sony doesn't really know how to make one, those on CCD F/V 
>  series are real cheap. 

Same as above, marketing reasons I'm sure.  What good is the nice
cheap Cannon if it does not give you Hi8 picture quality? 
If I wanted a text superimposed in the picture, let's say a title
at the beginning of a tape, I use MS Windows to create the title
in a few seconds.  Store the image in the TR81 and later 
superimpose it on the footage.  Works better than any character
generator I can think of.  Of course you can't drag Windows with you
unless you got a laptop :-)
It would have been nice to have
multiple superimpose buffers, but I am sure marketing stepped in
again.

>
>- Most of your footage will have time/date superimposed because
>  of easy to trip date/time buttons (poor placement).

Only if you got fat fingers :-)
I've had a TR81 for about 6 months and use it very heavily and
have yet to trip either.  I usually find myself wanting to
have had a date or time set when I later view something, but
I am just to lazy to use them.

>
>- no intelligent exposure program, meaning the camera is unable
>  to adjust shutter speed automatically. Bright sun footage will
>  be overexposed unless you remember to change shutter manually.

Can't comment, never seem to have this problem.

>
>- lack of simple backlighting mode. Again, this is serious. 
>

How about the fact that it gives you a completely variable 
backlighting control? How many camcorders in its class give you
that any better?  I find this one of the few whistles and bells
that is really useful sometimes.  Usually I let it do it's own
thing, invariably with great results.

>- hard to see recording lights.
>

You mean the little red lights?  Why would you care to see them
in the first place most of the time?

>- poor design of the viewfinder. Gets dirty in no time at all.
>

Poor relative to which other Hi8 or 8mm or VHS or S-VHS viewfinder?

>- no stable stills. 
>

Of course, a marketing ploy to get you to buy the Sony SLV-R5
S-VHS VCR which offers excellent stills, and only for $800.

>- no manual gain adjustment on sound input. 
>

OK, so?

>- very bad manual (they don't even say the zoom is two-speed).
>

I think they do say it.  But it is not a great manual. Is any
camcorder manual good?

>- no built-in interval recording. To get one you must buy an
>  expensive and otherwise useles remote.
>

Expensive relative to what?  It costs about $80, compared to the
$1300 retail price of the camcorder.  Again a marketing strategy
I am sure.  If you really want it and need it, you just buy it.
If you don't, don't.

>- that of being Hi8, which means that there's no way to economicaly>  edit your tape without losing quality you paid dearly for.

You are losing me big-time on this one.  You mean no way to
economically edit or copy the Hi8 tape?  
Why are you going to invest a $1000+ in a high quality camcorder
and expect that your copy to a VHS should not lose quality?
There is no need to run out and grab an $1800 Hi8 VCR from Sony.
An $800 SLV-R5 does great.  My eyes are very sensitive to video
quality, i.e. I can tell the hard to see difference between the
Hi8 ME and Hi8 MP tapes, but I sure could not tell the difference
between the Hi8 source, and the 1st generation S-VHS on my R5.
Sure R5 is expensive, but what do you expect?  You get the 
quality you paid for.

And BTW, if you want an economical source of high quality tapes
you perform a 2-second "surgical" operation on the 8mm MP tape,
and turn it into a Hi8 MP tape at 1/2 cost. Which is roughly 
equivalent to a cost of a high-quality VHS tape.

>
>- no table tripod/handle combination included. see: FUJIX H-80
>

Marketing bastards strike again :-)

>GOOD POINTS
>
>- too many to list here. 

Perhaps you should start with this statement.

>
>In summary, SONY needs to make TR91.

Kind of like GM, Chrysler, and Ford need to start making
quality cars as opposed to talk about how they make them.

In summary, TR81 is a hell of a camcorder, and most of
its shortcomings originate probably with Sony's desire 
to sell other accessories for it.  You did not mention the
shortness of the original warranty for instance.  Sony is
very happy to sell you an extended one at a fairly high
price, while Ricoh probably gives you a 3-year warranty on
its TR81 clone.

BTW, I don't work for Sony, just a very happy TR81/SLV-R5/KV-
something owner.  
- igor
Newsgroups: rec.video