I am looking at purchasing a sony dv camcorder. I have noticed that on the Sony website the serial number is followed by the letter "E", e.g. TRV33E. Whereas on other websites the "E" is dropped e.g. TRV33. I have contacted Sony and they tell me that the "E" stands for a European model, but that is all the information I can get. I also know there a no specification differences between each model.

I am wondering is there any difference between the European model and the non-european? Would there be any compatibility conflicts with PAL TV's? Is the European model better quality because it shoots at a greater resolution to accomodate PAL TV's? The reason I am concerned about this is because I can save about 200-400 Euro on a non-"E" model when the prices are compared between Sony Style On-line shop and Amazon.co.uk. But I am afraid I might be sacrificing quality for price??

Also I will be using my new camcorder for the standard family uses i.e. indoor footage, Parties, Christmas, Holidays, Football etc and I am torn between the relative value of the Sony TRV 33E and the more expensive Sony TRV 60E. Is it worth going the extra money (do you get what you pay for) or are you just paying for bells and whistles?

Any guidance or advice would be most welcome. Happy Christmas.

[MarkE19]

The 'E' on Sony camcorders etc does stand for 'Europe'.
If buying from Amazon.co.uk I would expect that this would be a European model even without the 'E' being stated, but you could always phone and ask.
The main differences I would think between the differing versions would be the TV standards ie USA = NTSC, most of rest of Europe PAL. PAL could also come from Far East/Australia. The other difs being power, ie voltage of 110V USA etc and the plug on the lead.
I Would expect that other than the above all TRV-33's would have the same basic specs/quality.

Mark.

Thanks Mark

That's eased my worries about the lack of "E". Sony Style just not very price competitive then.

Anyone got any advice on the whether to go for the Sony TRV33 or TRV60. I'm willing to spend up to £800 on a DV Camcorder. Come to think of it if anyone has any recommendations on other models in this price range, my eyes & ears are open.

Torn between these 3 cams any advice?