Sony HDR-SR7

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control
Sony’s saving grace is its classic Easy button and the HDR-SR7’s is located in the LCD cavity, like almost every other model. The Easy button has a reputation within the consumer circuit and is one of Sony’s major selling points. When pressed, the camcorder shifts into full autopilot—the LCD menu buttons double in size, and all manual controls flee the country. Another near-standard Sony feature is the spot focus and spot metering, which allow the user to press certain parts of the LCD screen in order to make adjustments. With a crammed 2.7" wide LCD screen, spot focus and meter are difficult to access. Also, if your screen is exceptionally smudged and clouded with fingerprints, then both controls are rendered essentially useless—how can you tell the difference between n unfocused area and a smudge?

Overall Manual Control
The SR7 is the only new AVCHD Sony in the bunch to incorporate a multifunction cam control dial into its manual control suite. The dial is almost identical to the HDR-HC7’s, and those who read that review know that making manual adjustments with the cam control dial is no picnic. By pressing the manual button, a small menu appears allowing you to choose between focus, exposure, shutter speed, and white balance shift. You can also choose to reset the control dial, which will come in handy when all of your manual controls are activated at once and certain ones become defunct because they can’t work with one another (Exposure and AE shift).

Focus
Focusing the SR7 will be a near-identical experience to focusing the HDR-HC7. You’ve got two adjustment options: the cam control dial or the touch screen menu. Our vote goes to the cam control dial, despite its one centimeter length and slippery surface. Even though it’s no multifunction control ring, it beats the pants off the touch screen.

Shutter Speed
The SR7 does have the SR1 and UX1 beat in one department, and that’s shutter speed. While the latter two models are missing a critical manual control, the SR7 is capable of shutter speed adjustment operated by the cam control dial. The HC7 had a strikingly broad spectrum of shutter speeds, from 1/4 of a second to 1/10,000 of a second in 20 intervals. The SR7 should be capable of a similar, if not identical range. You can also adjust the shutter speed by using the touch screen menu, which operates just like exposure.

White Balance
The SR7 does not offer white balance adjustment with the cam control dial but rather a white balance shift. White balance shift enables you to finely tweak a white balance setting, allowing you to warm or cool the color temperature by a few degrees. This is a good control to have close at hand with the cam control dial rather than having to go into the menu and change the white balance mode.

 

The standard white balance settings are found in the tab menu. You can choose between Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, and One Push (Manual) modes. The manual setting is faster in Sonys than any other manufacturer, taking only about 1-3 seconds. Some camcorders can take up to 10 seconds.

Gain
There is no gain on the HDR-SR7. Seek Panasonic camcorders for this option in the consumer price-range.

Other Manual Controls
Zebra Stripes- If you are a freak about monitoring overexposed whites, then zebra stripes are for you. Anything that is blown out will display moving zebra stripes that disappear when the exposure has been properly set. You can choose between two different sensitivity levels—70 IRE and 100 IRE. Zebra stripes can be turned on and off in the last tab of the function menu.  

Guideframes- Guideframes form a grid that splits the screen into nine different sections and is useful for those who aim for symmetry and distinct composition in their shots.