Sony HDR-CX7 First Impressions Camcorder Reviewby John NeelyPublished on May 21, 2007 3:30 PM
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Ease of Use
Even for a Sony, the HDR-CX7 (Specs, Recent News, $1199) is exceptionally easy to use. The Easy button offers novices a quick and easy method for placing the camcorder in full auto mode. When Easy Mode is not enabled, selecting automatic controls a la carte is as easy as navigating to a given parameter in the menu, and selecting the Auto option. The menu system itself follows a design first seen in the SR1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99) and UX1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $729.95) of 2006, and offers some advantages over the traditional scrolling interface seen on many other Sonys. By dividing the Option Menu into five tabs, accessing key manual controls like exposure and white balance is a fast process, and the text-based interface requires no ramp-up time. While the touch screen is a flawed interface for making manual control adjustments, it is nonetheless easy enough for a newbie to operate. For an illustration of a very similar menu, scroll down to the Menu section in the Sony DCR-SR300 review.
The observations above do not distinguish the CX7 from most other consumer camcorders from Sony, but a few other factors do. Most important is the fact that this is a flash-based camcorder, and flash cards are about as trouble-free a media type as we’ve ever seen. Memory Stick PRO Duo cards are amazingly small (though expensive) and a 4GB card will hold a full 30 minutes of XP footage. Several cards should offer even the most liberal videographer a day’s worth of shooting, and they can be stored in a wallet without producing so much as a bulge. In addition, most consumers are familiar and comfortable with flash memory cards because they have been used in digital cameras for years. Flash cards are also weather-resistant, solid-state, and durable enough that a camcorder-shattering drop will likely leave the footage on your card intact. Aside from the risk of loss (try swapping out one of these feather-light cards on the back of a speeding motorboat), flash media offers a number of benefits that make it unusually easy to use.
Handling
Weighing in at 15oz. (450g) with supplied battery, the HDR-CX7 is even smaller than the Panasonic HDC-SD1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99) – and it has a slight edge when it comes to handling. This advantage comes in large part from the exceptionally good balance the CX7 has in your hand, and the placement of the camcorder’s controls. The zoom rocker is excellent, and it extends a little higher from the body than on the Panasonic for better control. Access to the camcorder’s manual controls is fast and convenient thanks to the revamped menu design that places many image settings in the Option Menu. The presence of the AIS (Active Interface Shoe) is another boon, allowing you to connect compatible Sony accessories to the camcorder (though to use third-party microphones, you’ll need to purchase a third-party adapter).
In other ways, the Sony bears some striking similarities to the Panasonic, with no headphone jack, no rotary dial or ring, and a manual control interface that is poor when it comes to adjusting focus. Both camcorders are easy to use, and both are compromised when it comes to higher-end functionality – but the Sony feels like a more coherent package.
Menu
The Sony HDR-CX7 menu is divided into two main interfaces, with some overlap. This design is a departure from the “endless scroll” menu structure seen on many of Sony’s consumer camcorders, and it was first introduced on the HDR-SR1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99) and HDR-UX1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $729.95) in 2006. The chief benefit of this new system is the speedy access to key camcorder controls via the Option Menu. In any recording mode, the Option menu is instantly available via a button at the lower right corner of the LCD screen.
A tabbed display appears along the base of the LCD screen, including 3 tabs identified by a camcorder icon, a tab represented by a screen, and a toolbox tab. Tabs 1-3 contain image control options, including Focus, Spot Focus, Tele Macro, Exposure, Spot Meter, Scene Selection, White Balance, Color Slow Shutter, and Super NightShot on/off. The fourth “screen” tab contains Faders, Digital, and Picture Effects, and the fifth tab contains record quality settings.
The Home Menu, accessed via an ever-present button at the top left corner of the LCD screen includes the CX7’s full suite of options and adjustments, and is also displayed via a five-tabbed interface that includes submenus for Camera, View Images (playback), Others (including Playlist Edit and Print), Manage Memory Stick, and Settings. The Settings submenu in turn contains sprawling nested submenus for Movie, Photo, etc. The tabbed arrangement of this menu, in other words, is just as deep and extensive as the endless scroll found on many Sony’s – but it is a little more manageable. We applaud the change, but we still see room for consolidation and improvement – for example, some options available under the Home > Settings > Movie submenu are also accessible directly from the Option Menu, including record quality settings. An either/or arrangement would simplify things and reduce sprawl.
LCD and Viewfinder
The Sony HDR-CX7 features a touch screen LCD measuring 2.7" diagonally, with a resolution of 211,000 pixels and a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s a good display, to be sure, offering sharp color reproduction and Sony’s non-solarizing technology. However, be forewarned: This display also serves as the CX7’s sole menu and manual control interface, no matter how good your personal hygiene, it will pick up fingerprints. That may sound like a minor consideration but believe us when we say its not. In bright sunlight especially, even a little grease on the screen can dramatically impair your ability to see the image clearly.
There is no EVF (electronic color viewfinder) on the CX7, so the LCD is the only means you’ll have to monitor your image. The omission of EVFs on many new consumer camcorders in an effort to save space (and cost) is a trend that we find disturbing. In cases that make LCDs difficult to use, such as bright sunlight, an EVF can be a much better option, not to mention the fact that they consume less power and can slightly extend the battery life of camcorder.
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