Sony HDR-CX7 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Sep 10, 2007 10:00 AM 
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Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (8.0)
The Sony HDR-CX7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $882.95) automatic controls are good, overall. The company prides itself on being the preeminent point-and-shoot leader, slapping the ubiquitous blue Easy button on every consumer camcorder they produce. When in Easy mode, the HDR-CX7 goes into full idiot-proof mode, screwed down more tightly than any other manufacturer’s Auto mode. The touch screen menu buttons increase in size (Sony assumes your hand-eye coordination has also suffered when in Easy mode), and the manual controls are severely limited.
The auto exposure is the one of the best auto controls. The transition time from one exposure to another is slower than Canon’s and Panasonic’s, but some people prefer it that way, as pro camcorders tend to a have a slower, more gradual response. Of course, pro camcorders often let you control that speed. With the HDR-CX7, it’s a fixed speed of slow. Also, be aware that the camcorder tends to overexpose slightly, blowing out the highlights. This is standard practice for most consumer camcorders. You’ll get more accurate colors and less blow out if you manually roll back the exposure a notch or two.
The auto white balance works great, under most conditions. Outdoor shooting posed no problem. Indoor shooting with a consistent color temperature was no problem. But shooting in mixed lighting conditions, that was a problem. For instance, shooting in our office, which is a mix of fluorescent overheads and windows, seemed an impossible feat for the HDR-CX7. Neutral tones took on a sickly green pallor. Results like this beg the user to take things into their own hands via manual adjustments. But how many beginning point-and-shooters know how to actually perform a manual white balance? If Sony hopes to hold onto their crown, they better get working on this problem.
The auto focus also presented some problems, as it did in the HDR-HC7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56). When shooting subjects within a few feet, the focus tended to bounce all over the place if the subject didn’t stand perfectly still. It looks as if the auto focus puts too much weight on the center of the frame, rather than averaging out the whole frame. Unfortunately, there is no option to change the auto focus method. What’s worse, the manual control is worthless, because we couldn’t even see these focus errors on the LCD while shooting. It was only later, when watching the footage on the monitor, that it became clear how much of a problem this was. Good focus in high definition is critical because the mistakes become that much more noticeable. You should expect better for your money.
The Sony HDR-HC7 also features a number of simple one-touch correction tools to help you get a better image without being a camcorder expert. Unfortunately, none of these can be performed from the cloying confines of Easy mode. Once exited from Easy mode, the Camera menu (lower right button) has several controls. Page one has the telemacro feature that automatically pushes the zoom to 10x and refocuses to help you with tele macro shots like bugs on flowers, flowers on water, water on bugs, and other tiny things. Page two of the Camera menu has the popular and easy Scene Selection tools (called “Program AE” or “Scene modes” by other manufacturers). Options include Twilight, Candle, Sunrise & Sunset, Fireworks, Landscape, Portrait, Spotlight, Beach, and Snow. Page three has Color Slow Shutter, which allows the camcorder to drop the shutter speed down very slow. The result is an image sorely prone to motion blur, but still life scenes in low light will have a lot of color. Page four of the Camera menu has Picture Effects and Digital Effects. Why they split these into two submenus is puzzling, as all the effects are cheesy and digital. They include Sepia, Black & White, Pastel, and Old Movie, which is a combination of sepia tones and a slow shutter.
Overall Manual Control (5.5)
The Sony HDR-CX7 is designed to be a point-and-shoot camcorder. Its manual control suite, as well as its interface, is significantly stunted compared to the other HD camcorders in the line. Every model this year, with the exception of the HDR-SR5 and the HDR-UX5 (Specs, $1128.56), has some sort of interface control, either a dial or a knob, that offers faster, better access to the key manual controls. If nothing else, this physical dissimilarity would indicate the CX7 is different from other camcorders.
If that were the only difference, we could give this camcorder a pass. But Sony cut off more than its knob. Both of Sony’s HDV models offer manual shutter speed. The AVCHD models, including the HDR-CX7, do not. The HDR-HC7 also provides great controls over sharpness and color strength, as well as a histogram. The HDR-CX7 has none of these. Sony is clearly pegging the HDV models for the enthusiast market. With so many camcorders on the market (well over a dozen when the sub-$10,000 professional models are factored in) they’ve always been tight-fisted about including certain manual controls on one model but not another. It seems however, that if they want the enthusiasts to buy into AVCHD, they might spread the features around a little more liberally.
The remaining controls on the HDR-CX7 are spotty. The exposure control is simple, but poorly conceived. It lacks actual aperture control, as do all consumer Sonys. The manual white balance is great. The manual focus is abysmal. As we said, this is a point-and-shoot camcorder. The sad fact is that the auto controls are not going to work 100 percent of the time, and you may be left wishing the manual controls worked a little more in your favor.
Zoom (5.5)
The HDR-CX7’s zoom rocker seems oddly positioned, perched at the exact center of the top. Once the camcorder is in hand, however, it’s clearly the best place for it. The body is so small that pushing it to the right side (its traditional place) would have made for cramped handling. The control is a raised toggle, low to the body with a wide, textured grip. It’s a really good design that allows for precise control. We were able to get three distinct speeds depending on finger pressure.
One thing sorely missing here was on on-screen display that indicates the exact zoom power. When zooming, a small progress bar appears in the upper left hand corner to give a rough idea of where in the zoom range you are. But without an exact number, it can be hard to set up a shot. When the digital zoom is extended, the bar actually extends to twice its normal length, which helps. Most other camcorders simply color in a portion of the existing progress bar.
Zoom Power Ratio (10.0)
The Sony HDR-CX7 has a 10x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom. Yes, you read that last number correctly. In some strange turn of events, a manufacturer decided not to inflate the digital zoom to some absurd number. A 20x digital zoom is merely a doubling of the pixel size from 10x, which still results in a decent looking picture. Smart, practical decisions like this should be applauded. Well done, Sony.
Focus (4.0)
As mentioned earlier, the focus control on the Sony HDR-CX7 is very poor. This is all the more problematic for two reasons: first, the camcorder is high definition, which means that focus errors are much more noticeable; and secondly, the auto focus is weak, which means the manual focus may be called on more frequently.
Manual focus is engaged from page one of the Camera menu (lower right button). Our complaints with this control read like a laundry list. First of all, touch screens get blurry from all our greasy fingers, making it difficult to see whether anything is in focus. Second, the LCD is only 2.7 inches and 211,000 pixels, which is too small and low res. That may be good for camcorders, but is pittance compared to a lot of still cameras. Third, this LCD is the only way to check the focus. If it’s sunny or there’s a screen glare, there is no viewfinder to fall back on. Fourth, could Sony have crammed any more junk on the screen when all we want to see is the picture?! In total, there are seven graphic elements cluttering up the screen. Fifth, while you can push and hold these buttons to traverse the focal range, for really tight control, you’ll want to tap them until just the right focus is achieved. But tapping them shakes the whole camcorder, and if the focus is going on during live recording, the scene is ruined.
There you have it: five reasons not to buy the HDR-CX7 if you plan on needing focus control. There is one thing we do like, however. Unlike most manufacturers, the camcorder provides data on the focal length in metric units. They’re not terribly exact, but they may be helpful to some users.
Like most Sonys, the HDR-CX7 also offers Spot Focus control. When activated, a box appears on screen, framing most of the image. You simply push the area that you want focused. While extremely user-friendly, the Spot controls only work if you’re tapping a broad area. For fine areas of focus, you’ll have to (ugh!) rely on the manual focus control. Also, if the area doesn’t have enough contrast, Spot Focus will struggle then fall back to its previous focal point.
Exposure & Aperture (5.0)
The Sony HDR-CX7 comes equipped with a simple exposure compensation tool that lets you brighten and darken the image. Though the interface is clearly having an effect on the aperture and shutter speed, the actual values of those settings are hidden. It’s the deliberate masking of information like this that steers pros and enthusiasts away from Sony.
Conversely, it’s the ease with which exposure can be altered that makes Sony so appealing to point-and-shooters. When activated, via the Camera menu, a scale appears in the middle of the screen, with a plus sign on one side and a minus sign on the other. Just tap until the picture is exposed properly. The control is easy to access and simple enough for pretty much anyone to use, provided the LCD can be viewed properly. Sunny outdoor shooting might cause some problems in that regard.
Conversely, it’s the ease with which exposure can be altered that makes Sony so appealing to point-and-shooters. When activated, via the Camera menu, a scale appears in the middle of the screen, with a plus sign on one side and a minus sign on the other. Just tap until the picture is exposed properly. The control is easy to access and simple enough for pretty much anyone to use, provided the LCD can be viewed properly. Sunny outdoor shooting might cause some problems.
The camcorder also include Spot Meter, which works just like Spot Focus. When activated, a frame appears around most of the LCD. Just push where you want to exposure and … voila. It’s exposed. This works a little better than the Spot Focus tool because it’s more likely that you’re exposing for a wide, general area rather than a pinpointed spot.
Shutter Speed (0.0)
The Sony HDR-CX7 has no shutter speed control. On a $1,000-plus high definition camcorder, this is just plain terrible. Sony saw fit to equip the HDV camcorders – the HDR-HC7 and HDR-HC5 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56) (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00) – but not the AVCHD camcorders, a capricious pigeon-holing of likely users. We firmly believe camcorders should come equipped with every available manual control. It’s up to the user to decide what controls they want and when they’re ready for them.
White Balance (5.5)
The HDR-CX7’s white balance options are located on the third page of the Camera menu. The list of options is quite small: Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, and “One Push” (Manual). Given its status as a beginner-friendly camcorder, we’ve always been surprised by the lack of one-touch options here. Granted, while the auto white balance is good under a lot of lighting conditions, mixed lighting gave it some problems. A few more variables, like “indoor fluorescent” and “indoor incandescent” would be appreciated.
Making a manual adjustment is fast and accurate, and certainly the most accurate way to get around mixed lighting hang-ups. Simply tap the One Push button, then the button underneath it (with the universal white balance symbol).
Gain (0.0)
There is no manual gain control on the Sony HDR-CX7. The only manufacturer that offers manual gain in its consumer line is Panasonic.
Other Manual Controls (3.0)
x.v Color - The xvYCC color space is a relatively new system that offers about 1.8 times the color space of traditional sRGB, which is what most TVs display. Color space, for those unfamiliar with the term, is a way of describing how many colors and which colors are used for an application (i.e. sRGB, Adobe RGB, etc.) These things can always be improved upon, and so xvYCC was developed for improved color display. Sony has a history of taking existing technology, slapping a propriety brand name on it, and passing it off as their own (like when the IEEE 1394 connection became “i.Link” on Sony products when most people simply called it “Firewire” or “DV”). Thus xvYCC became “x.v.Color.” Of course, Sony manufacturers a select number of televisions that also support xvYCC, so a happy family of products is being created. Most people don’t have that support on their TVs, however, making this a very, very forward-looking technology that you may never use.
Guideframe - The Guideframe option is buried deep in the fifth page of the Home Menu under Movie Settings. There are not many options here, just a simple on/off. When activated, the screen is segmented into nine portions to help you frame your shot. Panasonic and Canon both offer more options, like fewer lines, more lines, or different colors for the lines.
Zebra Patterns - The HDR-CX7 offers the ability to see zebra patterns appear in areas that are overexposed. There are two settings, 70 and 100. These numbers refer to IRE levels, which are exposure levels as defined by the experts. All broadcasters have legal limits on how bright your IRE levels can peak, and if you were producing something for broadcast you’d monitor for hotspots. For everyday use, it’s helpful to keep them on so you don’t expose your shots incorrectly.