Sony HDR-CX7 First Impressions Camcorder Reviewby John NeelyPublished on May 21, 2007 3:30 PM
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Conclusion
The Sony HDR-CX7 is among the coolest-looking camcorders we’ve seen in a while, and its appeal extends beyond its sleek, black skin. With Sony’s top-of-the-line 6.1MP ClearVID CMOS sensor, the image quality should be close to what we observed from the HDR-HC7. That camcorder records to HDV using the same sensor, and it produced the highest video resolution score of the year in our lab (though its pictures were visually less crisp than the Canon HV20’s). Although the CX7 records AVCHD video, its bright light performance should be close to the HC7’s.
Clearly, there are many options missing from the CX7, including a 3.5” microphone jack, headphone jack, manual shutter speed control, and the Cam Control dial featured on every other Sony HD camcorder ending with the number “7” (the HDD-based HDR-SR7, the DVD-based HDR-UX7, and the aforementioned HDR-HC7). Yet, this seems to be a model that does not aspire to great manual control versatility. Instead, this camcorder seems geared for users who want something light, small, fast and easy to operate – and on those counts, the CX7 has the bases covered. Flash media is weatherproof, virtually indestructible, and familiar to anyone who has used a digital still camera. It is also solid state and silent, meaning this camcorder has fewer moving parts to malfunction than any HDD, disc, or tape-based camcorder.
The only camcorder that offers a similar feature set (and one that’s also stripped-down) is the Panasonic HDC-SD1, that company’s SDHC high definition camcorder. While we appreciate the Panasonic’s joystick controller, some of its other features are cool but not terribly useful, like independent level control over the onboard mic’s 5 channels, and a focus assist feature that is only moderately helpful. The Sony offers much better still capabilities, an AIS shoe, slightly better handling, and a better price ($1200 versus $1500 MSRP), even after the purchase of a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo card (a 4GB SDHC card ships with the Panasonic). The fact that AVCHD editing has finally arrived adds to the appeal of either camcorder – but for now, our nod goes to the Sony.
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