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9
stars
Practically flawless
by krishkaman
on
July 19, 2007
Pros: 8 hours recording time, awesome PQ, no tapes, compact...
Cons: Low battery life, mic not great in wind
Summary: The SR7 is definitely one of the best, if not the best, ?affordable? HD consumer camcorders you can buy right now. I?ve been through a few different cameras in ...
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Summary: The SR7 is definitely one of the best, if not the best, ?affordable? HD consumer camcorders you can buy right now. I?ve been through a few different cameras in the past 6 months (various brands and types) and none of them came even close to what I can get out of the SR7. High Definition is sweeping through our giddy little consumer worlds at a breakneck pace. From TV to video games, to DVDs and home movies now, it?s all bigger, better and closer to real life than it?s ever been. In some cases, HD can even make things seem more real than real life. This camera is no exception to that.
I?ve had about two weeks to test the SR7 in a variety of situations and lighting conditions. Took it on a family camping trip last week, and from bright sun, cloudy days, the pitch black of night to the kids playing on the beach, this camera shined in every way. It was also light and compact enough that I barely even noticed much of the time that I was carrying it.
If it were any smaller or lighter, I don?t think it would fit right in my hand. I didn?t get to hold the CX7, but if you want to go as small and light as you can, you might want to consider that one.
Actually, when I was looking into all the different camcorders to buy, I narrowed it down to the SR7 and the CX7. Yes, the CX7 is smaller, a little lighter, but in the end I went with the SR7 because you get 8 hours of HD (at the highest quality) compared to only 1 hour with the CX7. One hour of recording time on a family vacation would never have been enough. Eight, on the other hand, is more than you?d ever need. (If you shoot 8 hours of anything, I can bet that no one would want to watch it - including yourself!)
Editing your video, and making DVDs is pretty simple with the included software. AVCHD in, AVCHD out. Ok, so you get the bare basic editing options (deleting scenes), but for those of you who think you need to buy an expensive, complicated editing program to make DVDs, you don?t. You can edit out scenes on the camera itself very easily. Basically, every time to pause the video, or stop it, you create a new file. These files are then strung together in one long slide show on the camera. You can then highlight any one of these scenes/files and either play from there, or delete them. It?s as easy as that.
When it comes to making a HD DVD (or standard definition DVD) the straight-to-burn function is pretty flawless. For HD DVDs you will need a HD player, keep in mind. Personally, I have a PS3, so I play them on that. The quality of these HD DVDs, by the way, is stunning. In fact, I cannot tell the difference between video straight from the camera and a DVD. It?s that good. I was preparing myself for a downgrade in quality, but it?s not the case at all.
For more editing control, there are a few options for handling AVCHD. Currently, I?m running a free Sony Vegas trial. So far so good, but I?ve yet to play around with it enough to give a favourable review at this time. With Vegas, you can choose AVCHD in and m2t out.
Complaints? I have a couple minor ones. Fortunately, they?re both easily correctable enough. For one, the battery life with the battery you get with the camera isn?t very good. I think it?s only about an hour and a half. Sufficient for taking it to the beach, or a birthday party, and just so long as you have somewhere to charge it up again after, you likely won?t run into any problems. However, if you?re on vacation, and you?re off on a day trip, you?re probably going to need to buy a better battery - or at least a spare.
My other only complaint is the camera?s built in 5.1 surround sound mic. Be warned, it?s VERY sensitive to wind. Much of my beach shots were ?ruined? somewhat because the wind just distorts the audio so badly. Again though, this is fixable. The SR7 allows you to attach external microphones, and there are wind-screen options out there.
Overall, I couldn?t recommend this camera more. I was watching HDNet last night thinking, short of using a tripod, the videos on my camping trip were every bit as brilliant and vivid. Truly a great camera. More quality you?ll ever need for kids? birthday parties and Christmas concerts. This is a camera a professional would take to such things.
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26 out
of 27 users found this user opinion helpful.
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7
stars
amazing camcorder except...
by kewball012
on
June 23, 2007
Pros: Small. Price isn't that bad, bigger disk drive, easy to use.
Cons: MINI HDMI??!!???!!!???
Summary: Ok, here it goes. The camcorder is good, in fact it's great. It does everything I need and more. Only hiccup from sony is this one thing... IT DOES ...
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Summary: Ok, here it goes. The camcorder is good, in fact it's great. It does everything I need and more. Only hiccup from sony is this one thing... IT DOES NOT COME WITH AN HDMI CABLE IN THE BOX. Also, to make things more complicated, stores don't carry the HDMI cable because it's a propriotary cable that's smaller. I get the IDEA that sony was trying to accomplish (for maybe a second), but if they were to make a special cable for this camcorder, why can't they include it in the box? Now I have to use standard old COMPONENT. I
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16 out
of 18 users found this user opinion helpful.
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8
stars
Mostly agree with editor's review
by hvvuong
on
September 24, 2007
Pros: Good quality image, easy to use
Cons: no usb on camera, hdmi mini connector but no supplied cable, sw included is poor
Summary: The quality of the camera itself is very good to excellent with superb picture quality when in good lighting (gets a little grainy in lower light conditions).
So if judging ...
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Summary: The quality of the camera itself is very good to excellent with superb picture quality when in good lighting (gets a little grainy in lower light conditions).
So if judging on how the SR7 performs as a camera - I would give this camera a 9.0 to 9.5. However - it's the whole package that brings the overall rating lower. When you're paying this type of money - the HDMI cable should be supplied (especially since it's a non-standard connection). Additionally - the supplied picture motion browser software is only really adequate for copying the files from the camera to the computer. Be warned! Do not attempt to install the software if you have Vista x64 - the disclaimer is that the O/S is not supported - what it doesn't tell you is that it will leave your computer in a state that will not reboot! Again - for a camera of this caliber - they should really consider shipping it with something like Pinnacle Systems - and not the substandard Picture Motion Browser.
The last piece that really looks like a kludge is that the camera comes with a base. The base provides connections for 4 things: 1) Power, 2) Component Out, 3)AV Out, 4) USB
The only one of those things that's not already on the camera is the USB. The two connectins you will probably use the most are the power and USB. It makes little sense why the USB just wasn't put on the camera - then you don't need a base at all!
So having pointed out all the negatives - I still think's it's a terrific camera - and if Sony were to pay attention - I think the biggest priority to correct would be the software that comes packaged with it. Otherwise - if you plan on purchasing this camera - pad your budget by another $130 and go get the pinnacle software (unless you're on MAC of course).
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9 out
of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Close to Perfect
by Alex_1000
on
August 16, 2007
Pros: Video clarity is fantastic, picture quality is very good for a camcorder, colors are vibrant, small and compact
Cons: No wind protector, manual focus (refer to opinion), are you sure messages
Summary: When I was ordering this camera I was simply looking for a smaller more compact camera for when I take trips since my Canon XL-H1 is quite big a troublesome ...
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Summary: When I was ordering this camera I was simply looking for a smaller more compact camera for when I take trips since my Canon XL-H1 is quite big a troublesome to travel with. So when I went on the search for my new camera I was looking for a Cannon, however I was unimpressed with reviews that I heard about them and decided to try the new line of Sony camcorders. Upon finding the SR7 I thought that it would be the perfect replacement. I ordered the SR7 from J&R. Who by the way is the best bet since they have NO TAX. With other companies such as B&H even though the price may be lower by a little you still have to pay tax.
On arrival I anxiously opened my package to my new delightfully small baby. At 5u1/2 inches in length. The following day after a full night of charging I took the camera outside to film my two pet turtles, amazed at the clarity of the video I brought my lug of a Canon outside and filmed the same thing as I did with the SR7. When comparing the footage I noticed that there was just a slight difference between camcorders. Please keep in mind I did not configure the Cannon for that lighting situation. But nevertheless I was surprised. After experimenting with the camcorder in may different situation I concluded the following:
- The camera excels in well lit areas
- Forget about filming in low light situation (I don't know any non-professional camera that does well in this, if there is, please enlighten me 
- If you are filming with wind either forget about the sound or buy a mic to attach
- If you don't have to try not to zoom in if you want to get an extreme close up, since it seems to get out of focus and won't let you adjust it below 0.8meters (weird bug)
- Colors usually come out very vibrant (part of the x.v.Color)
Overall for the entry level buyer this camcorder is a great buy, and I would defiantly suggest it if you are looking in the market for a consumer camcorder.
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6 out
of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
wow, amazing image quality
by vinniecuk
on
July 24, 2007
Pros: 60gig !, recorded image quality, sound is 5.1 encoded, easy to use, files can be transfered to Playstation3 easely to be watched in full HD.
Cons: no wind filter, no usb on cam, only on docking unit.
Summary: Owned the sr7 for two weeks now, used it to record our holiday in the north of scotland, best picture quality i have ever seen from a camcorder period, using ...
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Summary: Owned the sr7 for two weeks now, used it to record our holiday in the north of scotland, best picture quality i have ever seen from a camcorder period, using a tripod it captures the scene in perfect clarity, when played back using the 'Avchd' files that where transfered to a playstation3 and viewed on a good quality 42inch/1080/lcd hdmi connected TV, it was like looking through a window onto the scene recorded, detail is amazing, almost looks better than when you where there, 10X optical zoom is smooth and really fast if required, makes my old miniDV SD cam recordings look as sad as an old vhs recording, the best camcorder I have ever used with some brilliant features, could do with a wind filter and a USB socket in the actual camcorder would have been good but the docking unit is small and light so no real problem taking it with you if the need is there, a wee bit on editing the footage now if you are interested, i found editing the footage easy using 'vegas pro 7' but you need a fast machine or plenty of time to render the final video file, you can fit around 35 mins of footage on a DVD-R in 25mbps mpg2 hd, this guarantees no loss of quality, the dvd can then be watched on any compatible machine e.g. Playstation 3, blu-ray player, not yet tested on HD-DVD player, if you want full HD quality recording then this is the machine for you.
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4 out
of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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8
stars
great video cam, crap camera
by dannykdannyk
on
December 4, 2007
Pros: pro palm held video cam with high cap HD and FULL HD
Cons: crap pics, image stabilizer not great
Summary: Video camera is increadible. High cap HD top grade as well.
Pretty easy to use.
However beware of following:
- You need a super powerful computer with buckets of RAM ...
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Summary: Video camera is increadible. High cap HD top grade as well.
Pretty easy to use.
However beware of following:
- You need a super powerful computer with buckets of RAM to be able to process the HD files (this holds true with any FULL HD Video cam... but thought this could be useful reminder).
- Forget the digital cam feature, if youŽre in to photography, youŽll be invariably disapointed, quality is really bad, but who care, youŽre buying a video cam, right?
- Get a microphone to hook on to the top of teh cam, wind sound will be a pain otherwise. This is pretty cheap, buy from Sony.
- If youŽre buying online (guess you are if y ou reading this...) then donŽt let the sales guy talk you in to buying any additional lenses, batteries, bag etc... you can buy all that in shops for less AND chose what you really like...
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3 out
of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Awsome camcorder
by akira2
on
November 13, 2007
Pros: IR, flash, 6.1MP camera, touchscreen, pretty good battery, 60GB HDD, MSproDUO slot, etc
Cons: fingerprint/oil magnet for every glossy or glassy surface there is. Bundled with lots of software.
Summary: I personally like the touchscreen interface. Is a change from the old button pressing. Heck, it even has a calibration option that saves the user's touch positions.
Also, the ...
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Summary: I personally like the touchscreen interface. Is a change from the old button pressing. Heck, it even has a calibration option that saves the user's touch positions.
Also, the built-in 6.1MP camera is more than just good, and the price isn't bad either; only 1100 USD in some stores.
There are plenty of room for all the videos, and there's even a memory card slot.
The battery life of the original battery is not bad at all with about 70 minutes. If one would need an upgrade, there are options to choose from that ranges from 140 minutes to 4 hours!
Infrared is pretty cool too, though, useless most of the time for general purposes.
The bundled software isn't crapware, as it's essential for AVCHD format conversion/playing. However, it isn't good either, as it takes lots of space and slows the computer down.
Furthermore, the whole darn camera is a fingerprint and oil magnet. Even the eyepiece attracts oil, from your eyelashes! That was a major down.
Overall, the camcorder is great, and it's even greater, as the Memory Stick Pro DUO prices are going down, as with the HDTVs also. That's a bonus for buying a HD camcorder.
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3 out
of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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1
stars
Can't easily share or edit videos
by gregvi
on
November 8, 2007
Pros: High Quality Video
Cons: Horrendous Compatiblilty
Summary: Overall I am pleased with the quality of the videos and photos. However, the proprietary format makes it very difficult to share the videos.
Sony has decided to use their ...
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Summary: Overall I am pleased with the quality of the videos and photos. However, the proprietary format makes it very difficult to share the videos.
Sony has decided to use their own proprietary AVCHD format which makes it impossible to play the videos on a normal computer without loading their player. This makes it very difficult to share videos with Grandma and Grandpa.
You can not upload your videos to YouTube or MSNVideo without going through a laborous conversion process. The software that they provide with the camera to do conversions and basic editing is absolutely braindead. (You can of course buy their full blown version of Vegas Pro to the tune of $500.) All of my other editing tools are useless. In fact, finding any noin-Sony software that works with their format has proved difficult.
DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA. Sony's attempts to force the market to it's formats should not be rewarded.
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6 out
of 12 users found this user opinion helpful.
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8
stars
fantastic camera, terrible software
by erthquake
on
November 1, 2007
Pros: excellent quality video, easy to use, great if you just want to play back on a HDTV
Cons: absolutley terrible software, no usb connection on camera, no hdmi cable supplied, low capacity battery.
Summary: This camera is great for taking HD videos and using the camera as a player hooked up to an hdtv, however for the price they should include a hdmi cable, ...
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Summary: This camera is great for taking HD videos and using the camera as a player hooked up to an hdtv, however for the price they should include a hdmi cable, and a battery that has a higher life capacity than 80 or so min. I use this camera to record basketball games and just to record one game i have to turn it off at half time just to get the game recorded with one battery. Needless to say I have purchased a higher capacity battery at a cost of over $200. and a special conection hdmi cable for another $100.Too bad it does not have a usb connection on the camera. The bundled software is terrible. It takes a couple of hours to make a dvd in avchd and even longer if you want to make a dvd that you can use on an ordinary dvd player. Fortunatley I have a Sony PS3 that I can play avchd disks on. I give the camera itself a 10 out of 10 for video quality and ease of use etc. but be prepared to spend extra $$ to get everything that is needed. Sony only supplies the basics.
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2 out
of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Always ready to capture HD quality family video
by smokeyy
on
July 4, 2007
Pros: Picture quality, ease of use, size of hard drive and no searching for tapes or discs to record in HD.
Cons: Sony makes you go with their accessories to get full use out of this wonderful camcorder.
Summary: I had the Sony hdr-sr1 for about a month before sending it back to get the sr7. The sr1 had a great picture, but for some reason the sr7 is ...
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Summary: I had the Sony hdr-sr1 for about a month before sending it back to get the sr7. The sr1 had a great picture, but for some reason the sr7 is a little better. I liked the bigger screen on the sr1 and the use of a regular hdmi wire for ease of use. The sr7 has hdmi but you need a mini to regular hdmi wire or adapter which doesn't have many uses that I know of. This camcorder is very light and easy to use. There is plenty of hard drive space to last thru your longest vacation and get the birthday party when you get back. The question is will you have enough battery to get it all. Bottom line...The mini hdmi and short standard battery are the only things keeping me from giving it a perfect score. Other than those two things, I couldn't be happier. It helps to have a blu-ray player as that is how you can play your hd video once on dvd. You can get about 45 min. worth of hd video, in its native format of AVCHD, on a regular DVD. You'll get more on a recordable blu-ray disk. You can put video back on the camcorder even after you have taken it off to use the camcorder as a means to play back in HD. If you like to edit your video, make sure your software can handle AVCHD. I also purchased a Sony tripod that plugs into the camcorder and gives you control via the tripod handle.
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2 out
of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Over 1,000 Sony products. Direct from Sony
