The lowest end of Sony's Hi-8 line, the TRV108 contains some excellent features for the price. Its NightShot infrared capability lets you film in total darkness--a feature missing on some more expensive competitor cameras.

The swiveling 2.5-inch color LCD makes it easy to frame your shots, and the 20x optical zoom (with 460x digital zoom) lets you bring the action in close. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery allows for a decent recording time of up to 160 minutes. For the long haul, the optional NP-FM91 battery pack promises over 15 hours of life on a charge.

Sony also includes a variety of basic effects tools, so you can slim or stretch the image, add fade-in and fade-out effects, and insert titles directly into your videos. The camera's dubbing feature controls 59 different brands of VCRs for fast and simple transfer of the video to VHS tape.

While analog quality can't compare to digital, the TRV108 still captures sharp video. The average user will be pleased with the picture for scenes such as a family reunion, but for more detailed subjects like distant nature shots, or if you plan to edit video on a PC, digital would serve you better but cost you more.

This camcorder would make a great gift for parents or other users simply wanting a way to record their memories in respectable quality. --J. Curtis

Pros:

• Good quality for analog.
• Very inexpensive
• NightShot mode

Cons:

• No light or accessory shoe
• A bit bulky