The Indie Dispatch - Sony HDR-FX7 Special Edition

The DCR-VX1000 Rises from DV's Ashes in the New Sony DCR-FX7

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Sony's announcement today of its new HDR-FX7 camcorder is another major volley in the war for the hearts and minds of indie producers - a battle that seems to get hotter by the day. In terms of form and function, this camcorder looks like the first HDV descendant of Sony's venerable VX camcorders, represented today by the DCR-VX2100 (Review, Specs, $1980). The VX2100 itself is a direct descendent of the MiniDV camcorder that literally sparked a revolution in low-cost high-quality production, the DCR-VX1000. The VX1000, released in 1995, was the first MiniDV camcorder, and is still legendary in the indie film world. Not only have numerous well-known productions been shot on the VX1000, like the Academy Award Nominated film Daughter from Danang, it is also the first camcorder that many of today’s working filmmakers used back in their film school days. I count myself as one of the many who cut my teeth on Sony’s original DV workhorse.

 

Since the dawn of the DV era, Sony has continued to cater to producers who want portability, high-performance, and accessibility bundled in an affordable package. Manufacturers like Panasonic, Canon, and JVC who long ago ceded the fat middle of the prosumer market to Sony have (with a few notable exceptions like the Canon GL1/GL2) pursued more discerning, manual control-oriented users. Some were maturing filmmakers who longed to venture beyond Sony’s walled garden. Others were seasoned pros who wanted to take advantage of MiniDV, a format that served up impressive performance at a fraction of the cost of their Betacam. Panasonic’s AG-DVX100, Canon’s XL2, and JVC’s GY-DV5100 camcorders all found their niche – and more often than not, they were folks who just wanted more than Sony camcorders offered.

 

Sony’s other big MiniDV success story deserves a mention here. The DSR-PD150 and its successor, the DSR-PD170 (Review, Specs, $2579) competed for shooters who wanted more than the VX camcorders could offer, with XLR inputs and added manual controls. The DSR-PD170 in particular has seen wide adoption among on-location ENG’s, and is the camcorder used by CNN in Iraq and many Frontline producers. The reasons for wide adoption of the PD-170 in the world of TV news are many, but they include Sony’s unrivalled global reach in terms of service centers and support, and ease of use. Give a reporter a few hours of training, put a PD170 and Mac Book Pro in their hands, and voila! You’ve added a mobile production unit to your news gathering arsenal.

 

With the introduction of the HDR-FX7, Sony has further expanded their already formidable HDV line, and at the same time returned to their prosumer roots. This is a camcorder that combines HDV resolution with the svelte lines of the VX2100. Many will find its feature set lacking. There are no XLR inputs, no onboard audio mixing capability, and it only records video in 60i in both HDV and MiniDV modes. Without 24P and a full set of manual features, the HDR-FX7 might seem doomed to being little more than a footnote in the annals of camcorder history. The AG-HVX200 records in true 24P and utilizes the revolutionary, if very expensive, P2 recording format. The Canon XH A1 is replete with manual controls and Canon’s optical refinement. The JVC GY-HD110U records in 24P (at the lower resolution 720 HDV standard), and can accommodate interchangeable lenses. And all of these camcorders have XLR inputs, considered a must by many in the prosumer world of indie filmmakers, ENGs and event videographers. But despite their superiority over Sony’s latest prosumer camcorder in numerous performance areas, the HDR-FX7 has something no other manufacturer can impart: that Sony feeling.

 

What I mean by “that Sony feeling” is the combination of all those qualities that have built the company’s brand into one of the world’s most valuable. Despite Sony’s marketing machine's claims to the contrary, the company’s prosumer camcorders are not the best on the market - but they are pretty much guaranteed to give the majority of users the tools they need to get the job done - no more, and no less. The company also excels at delivering those tools in an aesthetically pleasing and accessible package. For many users and organizations, that’s enough. While the Canon XH A1 may knock your socks off with its vast array of manual controls, and the Panasonic AG-HVX200 is the hot camcorder among the video-to-film crowd, the Sony HDR-FX7 will likely be the kind of journeyman camcorder that simply delivers.

 

Let’s face it folks. We live in a world where most productions will never be transferred to film and most shooters can do without the bells and whistles. It’s a world where the people making a living from their camcorders often decide that qualities like security, dependability, and familiarity trump those attributes that may make another product “better” on paper. For these reasons, I suspect Sony is headed for another big hit with its latest product announcement. And as the heir apparent to the VX line, the HDR-FX7 may just be the "journeyman" camcorder to emerge from an increasingly crowded HDV pack.