Sony Announces 40GB HDR-SR5 and 60GB HDR-SR7 AVCHD Hard Disk Drive Camcorders by John Neely Published on Apr 25, 2007 12:00 PM
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Comparison Chart: HD Camcorder Overview

Sony HDR-SR7

April 25, 2007 – In an announcement today, Sony introduced two new hard disk drive-based AVCHD camcorders - the HDR-SR5 and HDR-SR7. Earlier this year, Sony added two DVD-based AVCHD camcorders to its lineup, the HDR-UX5 and HDR-UX7 which replaced the HDR-UX1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $729.95) released in late-2006.  Until today however, Sony had not announced replacements for the HDR-SR1,their first HDD-based AVCHD camcorder .  TheSR5 and SR7 will be joined by Sony’s first flash memory-based AVCHD camcorder, the HDR-CX7, increasing Sony's AVCHD stable to five models.

The HDR-SR7 has a 60GB HDD, double the size of the 30GB drive on the HDR-SR1 that equates to 22 hours of “full HD” 1080 video in LP mode (the lowest quality). The SR7’s 1/3” ClearVID CMOS sensor has a 3,200,000 gross pixel count, 2,280,000 effective pixels in 16:9 mode, and 1,710,000 effective pixels in 4:3 mode.  The effective still pixel counts are 2,280,000 and 3,040,000 in 16:9 and 4:3 modes respectively.  The HDR-SR1 had a 1/3” ClearVID CMOS sensor with a significantly lower effective count of 1,434,000 pixels in 16:9 mode.  The SR7 also adds the ability to switch between HD and SD (standard definition) formats, while the SR1 and the new SR5 are only capable of HD video capture.

The increased HDD capacity and larger sensor of the HDR-SR7 are significant upgrades over the last year’s SR1. However, two of the features that led us to honor the SR1 as one of the top camcorders of 2006 have been lost.  The Cam Control Ring on the SR1 has been replaced by a smaller and much less user-friendly Cam Control Dial on the SR7. The dial is a multifunction control, but its size makes it much more difficult to make adjustments, especially to focus.  The huge 3.5” LCD display found on the SR1 has also been replaced by a standard-issue 2.7” screen -  a major loss in terms of shot monitoring and touch screen navigation.

	Sony HDR-SR5

The HDR-SR5 has a smaller 40GB hard drive that can store over 15 hours of LP footage, no Cam Control dial, and a 1/3” ClearVID CMOS sensor with a lower effective count of 1,430,000 pixels in 16:9 video mode, 1,080,000 pixels in 4:3 video mode, 1,490,000 pixels in 16:9 still mode, and 1,990,000 pixels in 4:3 still mode.

Both models feature the HDD Smart Protection™ system to safeguard against data loss, and Sony’s x.v.Color technology, allowing users to record HD video using the new xvYCC color standard. xvYCC is new color space designed to reproduce a wider color gamut than conventional sRGB.  Sony is the first company to implement xvYCC broadly in its consumer camcorder line, but support for the new standard on HDTV displays is not yet widespread. 

Like the HDR-SR1, the two new models are equipped with a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 10x optical zoom lens, with a focal distance of 5.1 to 51 mm, and a 35mm equivalency of 41.3 to 485mm in 16:9 mode and 50.5 to 594mm in 4:3 mode. Although the lens specs are unchanged, the filter diameter on the new camcorders measures 37mm versus 30mm on the SR1, so lens adapters purchased for that camcorder will not be compatible with the SR7 and SR5.

Sony is introducing new file browsing and searching functions on the new AVCHD camcorders, including a film roll button that brings up a “film roll index” display of multiple scenes within a single movie file, and “face index technology,” offering scene access according to faces in each clip. An AVCHD-compatible version of Sony’s Picture Motion Browser software ships with the new camcorders.  The new camcorders will benefit from wider AVCHD NLE support, including by Sony’s Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Edition version 7.0e and Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Edition, available in July.  Like other Sony’s other HDD camcorders, the HDR-SR5 and HDR-SR7 include a Handycam Station that supports One Touch Disc Burning for DVD creation and video archiving using a PC and the bundled software.

HD video recorded to standard DVDs can be played back on compatible Blu-ray Disc players, Sony PS3 (PLAYSTATION 3) game units, and PCs with compatible DVD drives that have been updated with the bundled software. Sony has plans to release a DVDirect recorder that will allow high definition DVD creation without the use of a PC.

The HDR-SR5, HDR-CX7, and HDR-SR7 camcorders will ship in June for about $1,100, $1,200, and $1,400, respectively. Online pre-orders will begin on April 25 at 1:01 p.m. Eastern Time at www.sonystyle.com/handycam.