Sony HDR-SR7 First Impressions Reviewby Michael PerlmanPublished on May 23, 2007 1:55 PM 
|
|
Conclusion
What can we say? Sony has produced a solid camcorder. Architecturally speaking, the HDR-SR7 (Specs, Recent News, $1399) should be marveled. The migration of the majority of ports to the right side of the body prevents cable clutter and provides LCD-related breathing room. The cam control dial is identical to the HDR-HC7’s, and it blows touch screen menu-operation out of the water. On top of that, the SR7’s 60GB HDD offers plenty of recording time and allows for simple drag and drop file operation—no capturing needed here. So what’s the catch? In our eyes, based on Sony imagers of yore, the HDR-SR7 will suffer in terms of video quality. We witnessed firsthand the AVCHD's tendency towards noise, even in moderate low light. It’s too bad. Sony’s design of the SR7 knocked our socks off. The wrinkles of any AVCHD camcorder’s image need to be ironed out before a reliable model can be produced. But for now, the SR7 appears to be a stellar piece of machinery for those who will not lose sleep over a barrel full of noise in a dimly lit Italian restaurant. Let’s just see what happens in the testing room next month.