Sony HDR-HC7 Camcorder Reviewby John NeelyPublished on Mar 19, 2007 2:00 PM 
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Comparison
Sony HDR-HC5 (Review, Specs, Recent News, ) (Review, Specs, Recent News, $0.00)
The Sony HDR-HC5 ($1099 MSRP) is the next step down from the HDR-HC7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56). It loses out on a lot of features, like the manual focus wheel and mic and headphone jacks. The HC5 must also cope with the fact that it has a slightly smaller 1/3” imager that produces 2100K gross pixels vs. the 1/2.9” chip found on the HC7, cranking out 3200K gross pixels. This may actually aid it in low light performance, though. We’ll have that review soon. Both camcorders share the 2.7” LCD panel, 10x optical zoom, and rugged body construction. The other major element is price. For $300 more, the HC7 gives you the higher res imager (which we saw produce terrible low light performance), mic and headphone jacks, and manual focus wheel. Are those truly worth three additional Benjamins? The real test won’t be known until we can get a unit in our labs. But if last year’s camcorders have anything to say about it, the HC5 might actually be the better buy. See specs comparison.
Canon HV20
Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s get ready to rumble! Welcome to the ultimate HDV camcorder battle of the year: The Canon HV20 ($1099 MSRP) vs. the Sony HDR-HC7. The HC7 unsheathes its 1/2.9” CMOS chip and spews out 3200K gross pixels, but is countered by a blast from the HV20’s 1/2.7” CMOS chip, which hurls 2960K pixels in the HC7’s direction. The HC7 flings a slew of features at the HV20: manual focus wheel, mic and headphone jacks, and a touch screen LCD. The HV20 answers with its own manual focus wheel and mic and headphone jacks, but twists the knife deeper with a rear-mounted joystick and 24p mode! The HC7 has a simulated digital cinema effect, but will likely not match true 24p video recording. The HC7 has an Active Interface Shoe (which is a Sony proprietary fit) and Memory Stick Duo slot at the HV20. The HV20 counters with a hot shoe and SD card slot, two features that are universally recognized. And now the HV20 is going for the jugular! The HV20 flips its price tag and the crowd goes wild! For the price of an HC5, you can have the HV20 with its 24p recording with tried and true Canon imaging. The HC7 weeps in the corner, plotting for next year. The full review is coming very soon, where we will put the HV20’s feet to the fire to see if it can top last year’s poor low light showing. See specs comparison.
JVC GZ-HD7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1529)
The JVC GZ-HD7 ($1799.95 MSRP) is a bit out of the HC7’s price range, but will pique the interest of the avid HDD camcorder enthusiast. With a 60GB hard drive, 3 CCDs with a gross pixel count of 570K each, and a focus ring, the HD7 is a warrior. The most notable feature on the HD7 is its MPEG2 streaming with pixel shift technology. Although no much is known about MPEG-2 yet, it transfers at a variable bitrate as high as 30mbps, compared to DV’s 25mbps. This should prove to be a quality jump, though the first owners of an HD7 will most likely be guinea pigs in the workflow lab. The HC7’s single CMOS chip still produces a significantly larger amount of gross pixels than the HD7, and records to high quality HDV tape. If you are a fan of HDD camcorders, and you have an extra $400 to spend, it would be worth testing the HD7 before making a decision. For those whose main objective is high quality video via the HDV format, the HC7 will not let you down.
Panasonic HDC-SD1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99)
The Panasonic HDC-SD1 ($1499 MSRP) is a bit of a different bird. It is an AVCHD camcorder that records to SD cards. Although AVCHD models in the past have been grilled for their minimal recording time, the SD1 boasts 90 minutes of HD recording on a 4GB SD card (which is supplied). It has 3 CCDs, a massive 3” wide LCD screen, 5 built-in microphones, and looks like a glistening bullet from the future. This camcorder looks hot. One of the things that makes it not as hot is that it transfers at a maximum bitrate of 13Mbps while the HC7 has a max of 25Mbps. You’re probably going to get a better image with the HC7, but the low light tests remain to be seen on the SD1. Gadget freaks, the SD1 will find its way into your heart for only $100 more.
Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters
Point-and shooters will enjoy the HC7’s company, but will never fully understand all that it has to offer. They will use it to record beautiful, hour-long shots of Mt. Rushmore and hook it up to their oversized HD TV, explaining to the extended family that the footage was “filmed” using an “HDTV” video camera from Sony.
Budget Consumers
If you don’t have that much cash to front, $1400 is not going to lure your wallet. The HC7 is a bang for your buck, but for quite a pretty penny.
Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid
Not much going on here in the realm of hybrid camcorders. There’s the Memory Stick Duo Pro slot, but that is not what the HC7 was designed for. Sorry hybrid fanatics.
Gadget Freaks
Gadget freaks will rally over the HC7’s sleek design, deep battery chamber, and HDV recording format. However, for those looking for the latest in “cool,” the Panasonic HDC-SD1 will wow your pants off.
Manual Control Freaks
Manual control freaks will feel at home here with the HC7’s manual focus, white balance, exposure, spot meter, and shutter speed.
Pros / Serious Hobbyists
For the pro on a budget, the HC7 will provide decent video quality coupled with a respectable gamut of manual controls. However, the HV20 looms in the distance with its 24p. Nevertheless, these are still consumer camcorders and the pro will seek out more advance features like 3 CCDs and zoom and focus rings found on the Canon XH A1 (Specs, Recent News, $3279.99) or Sony HDR-FX7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $2599).
Conclusion
It’s impossible for us to conclude our review of the HDR-HC7 without thinking about what could have been. This is an excellent consumer camcorder that has the performance and features to make it a reasonable option as a backup for pros who need an inexpensive fallback or second cam, or a low-profile unit for tight spaces situations where a larger camcorder would attract too much attention. Yet Sony’s decision to go with a tiny, difficult to operate Cam Control dial rather than a ring places some real limitations on its appeal to pros. When it comes down to getting a shot or not, the dial is simply inferior to a larger ring that allows for faster and more refined manual adjustment.
Even worse, Sony has left shooters who want an HDV camcorder for under $1500 with respectable manual controls no options. The HDR-SD1 has a good Cam Control ring that offers the same functionality of the dial on the HC7, but that is an AVCHD model, and AVCHD is not yet a suitable format for professional production. For better manual controls and video performance in an HDV cam, you’ll need to jump all the way to Sony’s professional line of camcorders – which means about an $800 jump in price if you spring for the “low-end” prosumer HVR-A1U. Surely the A1U is a terrific camcorder, adding XLR inputs and onboard audio mixing, a focus ring, and a host of professional image controls lacking on the HC7.
Your guess about Sony’s motivations for going with an infuriating little dial is as good as ours. If the intention is to force pros to shell out an extra $800 for better manual controls (and a slightly inferior image), the company may have shot itself in the foot: the Canon HV20 includes a slightly better focus (not multi-funtion) dial, 24p recording, and focus assist, all at a current street price $150 lower (about $1100.) We almost loved this camcorder, but the Cam Control dial was a thorn in our side we couldn’t overlook.
The other big disappointment was low light performance. This was an area in which Sony was excelling. The fact that they were willing to sacrifice low light performance on their top-of-the-line camcorders for a boost in pixels (which reads a lot better on a specs sheet to the average consumer) is not a good auger of things to come. Oh well, there’s always next year (or better yet, last year).