Sony HDR-FX7 HD Camcorder

The Sony HDR-FX7 is a lightweight camcorder capable of delivering 1080i video via MiniDV tapes using the HDV format. This camera bears some resemblance to the Sony HDR-FX1 in both form and function, but boasts a few changes sure to entice consumers, enthusiasts and professionals alike.

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• Reviewed by: TechnoGuru

  08-11-07

  Duration of ownership: 2 Months

  Strengths: Pro level 1080i HD camera in a light-weight, well balanced package. Good manual control, EXCELLENT auto white balance.

  Weaknesses:Low light performance is weak, as is low light focus performance. Manual controls not as well laid out as the FX1 and competitor's products. No 24p/30p modes.

  Overall Evaluation: The FX-7 feels good in your hand, and considering most of my work involves hand held shots, this is very important for me. It's back to front and side to side balance are superb, especially with an extended battery installed. For those who shoot from the hip a lot (as I do), the top handle is also perfectly balanced, you never have to think about keeping the camera even because it just naturally hangs perfectly horizontally from your hand. This is a huge deal for me, and in fact it is the reason I decided against the technically superior Canon XH A1 - the Canon is way off balance, and you constantly have to concentrate on keeping your shot even, or the horizon horizontal. The FX-7 is a real photographer's camera - you can concentrate on your scenes and shots instead of on handling the camera.The FX-7 has all the usual manual control that you expect from a pro level camera. This is the good news. The bad news is that the layout and accessibility of the manual control could have been a lot better. For example, manual shutter and gain are both controlled by the TINY menu wheel multi controller which is way down at the bottom rear of the camera. All other manual control requires delving into the menus, using aforementioned tiny wheel. On a positive note, you can create up to 6 picture profiles (groups of your favorite settings) that you can quickly access from the profiles button on the side of the camera. To compensate for the lack of dedicated buttons for manual adjustments, Sony offers up 6 programmable buttons - however 3 of those buttons are also tape transport buttons under the flip out LCD panel, and thus useless when using the finder (LCD closed), or in VCR mode. To give an example of why this is a pain, lets say you don't like having to go through the menus to access the "end search" feature, so you want to assign it to a programmable button. But because the 3 assignable buttons under the LCD are also tape transport buttons, and only assignable in camera mode, you now have to waste one of the 3 main assignable buttons on the lens barrel for end search. Also, the assignable buttons are not assignable to every manual function in the camera, only the ones that Sony thinks are important.The FX-7 has really, really superb auto white balance. With the FX-7 it is actually quite possible to pass through multiple different types of lighting, and the camera will adjust on the fly with results that are almost as good as stopping to do a full manual white balance for each change in the lighting (yes, even under fluorescent and incandescent lighting!).The upper handle zoom is NOT a pressure sensitive variable speed zoom rocker, can only be set via a switch for a zoom speed of off, low or high. The camera has a full compliment of output jacks, the most important of which are HDMI for viewing, and iLink / firewire for capturing. By design (copyright regulations) HDMI can NOT be used for transferring camera data or capturing footage. The FX7 has a fabulous 3.5" trans-reflective LCD that can be seen under the brightest noon day sun, and gives an excellent representation of you can expect to see on your computer or HD TV.As has been mentioned elsewhere on the web, the FX-7 is never going to win any awards for low light performance. Low light performance could best be described as "adequate and nothing more". Under most indoor conditions, the FX-7 is already starting to "gain up" at a shutter speed of 1/60 and iris wide open at f1.6. This is in stark contrast to the Canon XH A1 which didn't even have the iris (aperture) wide open under the same lighting conditions with the same shutter speed.The FX-7 also tends to start hunting for focus as the lighting falls off, however no more or less than the FX-1 under the same conditions. And both are heads and shoulders above the focusing performance of the Sony consumer HDV lineup. However, when compared to the Canon XH A1 (or even the Canon HV20 for that matter), well, there is no comparison in low light.In conclusion, the FX-7 is a really nice pro level camera. Not perfect, and there's plenty of room for improvement (maybe a FX-9 in 2008?), but at the end of the day, it is a solid product that definitely produces great results. Is it for everybody? Definitely not! A lot of people are going to look at the Canon XH A1, and decide that it is the superior camera, and in some ways it is, especially if it never leaves your tripod or steady-cam brace. But for me, shooting 90% hand held, the unbalanced handling of the A1 was a total deal breaker. I simply couldn't stand shooting with the A1 for more than 5 minutes. The FX-7, well, you might almost forget you've got it in your hand. For me, that makes it the better tool. Your mileage may vary!

• Reviewed by: JamTone

  02-26-07

  Duration of ownership: 3 Years

  Strengths: Great Resolution, Great sound when using a professional boom mic such as Audio Technica 500. Superior Picture Quality

  Weaknesses:No HDMI port for computer interface. Built in filter converters hdv to 16:9 DV.

  Overall Evaluation: This was the sweetest video camera I ever had in my hands.People take you seriously when you are standing there with a high definition prosumer camera. It records true HiDef 1080i. The major drawback is that you can't dump the high definition footage directly on your computer. The HDR-FX7 has a HDMI port, but the HDR-FX1 does not. That is a major drawback for someone who is trying to create film from a digital video because an IEEE 1394 NTSC Firewire interface only supports resolution at 720:480. That makes the HDR-FX7 have better quality video. I think the HDR-FX1 is better because it is anexcelent 3chip prosumer camera, and it makes me look like a serious professional videographer. There are links to several short films that where shot on the HDR-FX1 online at ITCA.TV

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