Sony HDR-SR7 First Impressions Reviewby Michael PerlmanPublished on May 23, 2007 1:55 PM
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Ease of Use
Easy. Button. Need we say more? Sony’s autopilot function is the talk of the town amongst consumers. One press doubles the size of the touch screen menu and eliminates the need to make manual adjustments—the SR7 (Specs, Recent News, $1399) will do it all for you. This is true idiot-proofing. No fiddling with exposure, white balance, or focus—Sony’s here to cover your behind. If you opt not to cheat, you’ll be welcomed into the touch screen menu world, a world in which vexation may run rampant. We’re talking about the 2.7” LCD screen housing wee little buttons that are half the size of an average pinky. You’ll be pressing away until you realize that a pen cap or stylus is the way to go, and on the road, that’s just another thing to worry about. The menu is easy to navigate though—everything’s right at your fingertips. Those who frequently use the touch screen menu will begin to notice a cloudy barrage of fingerprints engulfing their LCD screen. It basically negates the whole purpose of the spot focus. Panasonic’s rear-mounted joystick currently resides in the throne. Sony has delighted us with their port configuration on the SR7—most of them have all been moved to the right side! No wire clusters, no obstructed field of view. This is the way a camcorder should be designed, and Sony is setting an example here.
Handling
When you first slide your hand into the HDR-SR7 (Specs, Recent News, $1399), you’ll notice the same hand strap found on the DCR-SR300 (Review, Specs, $761.95). It’s equivalent to the Canon HV20 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $903)’s: thin, firm, and devoid of proper padding. Nevertheless, the SR7 feels bulkier than the SR300, weighing in at 610g. The SR7 ranks amongst the HC7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56) and HV20 in the weight department, but it is on a slight diet compared to the two HDV titans. It measures 3” x 3 1/4" x 5 7/8” (75 x 81 x 149mm), almost the identical dimensions of the HC7. The SR7 is rectangular as well, providing more grip for the fingers with a small valley between the top of the camcorder and the HDD. This is a camcorder that will fit inside a small camera bag with ease—as long as you leave room for its HandyCam docking station, supplied cables, and extra batteries. Based on the SR300’s battery life, the SR7 will be in the same boat since the two share the same NP-FH60 rechargeable battery pack, which means a maximum of 113 minutes of continuous recording time, and 45 minutes of typical recording time. Now let’s talk durability.
The HDR-SR7 is crafted from smooth and sleek 007-like black plastic, and it feels solid and unwavering in the hand. The only apparent issues were with the port cover. Though they inconspicuously camouflage themselves upon the SR7’s curvaceous body, the port covers are relatively flimsy, held by two thin plastic strips. Keep this on the down low, but we actually pulled one out and frantically scrambled to shove it back in its slot—and that was just a light tug! Football players beware: The SR7 needs a lot of TLC. Then you have the touch screen LCD screen, which is about as big as a football player’s index finger. Imagine LT trying to hit the home button 67 times before tackling the SR7 to the ground. Bigger LCD screen, Sony. Remember the SR1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99).
Menu
This the Magical Mystery Menu. It’s an idiot-proof interface with soothing button selection beeps, yet it does not have an entirely logical design. You’ll find that on Sony’s HDR-SR1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99), UX1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $729.95), CX7 (Specs, Recent News, $1199), SR5, and DCR-SR300. There are three buttons located on the main video screen: home, playback, and options. The home button, located in the top left hand corner, brings you to a screen that includes camera, view images, others, manage HDD/Memory, and settings. These controls are located in a series of tabs that run horizontally along the bottom of the screen.
The options, or function menu button, is located in the bottom right hand corner of the screen and cues a menu that includes all automatic and manual controls. Most manual controls can be accessed by the manual control button underneath the cam control dial on the lens barrel. On the HC7, you can scroll between focus, exposure, AE shift, and white balance shift, and the SR7, sharing the same cam controls dial, offers shutter speed in place of AE shift. (See the screen captures from the DCR-SR300. It's almost identical.)
LCD and Viewfinder
The HDR-SR7 features a 2.7” wide LCD with a 211K pixel count. Sony, what happened after the HDR-SR1’s prodigious 3.5 incher? A 2.7 inch LCD is compact, but that’s about it. And a touch screen interface with buttons the size of beetle heads. Anyone who doesn’t have styluses for fingers will feel the wrath spurned by the difficulty to accurately press a menu button. Of course, in Easy mode the buttons eat a mushroom ( a la Super Mario) and double in size, but that singles out those who wish to take control over their shooting experience and not coast by in auto pilot. The LCD hinge is thin and flexible, not unlike the Canon HV20’s, or most camcorders in this price range. On the LCD panel, you’ll find a horizontal strip of flattened buttons: record start/stop, zoom in, zoom out, and home. You’ll also notice a chunk of extra plastic on the left that could have forfeited its real estate for a larger LCD screen.
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The SR7’s color viewfinder has a resolution of 123K pixels and extends upwards to about a 60 degree angle. There is no rubberized eye cup, and the dipotric adjuster is located right underneath the bottom lip.