->Deal

Picture are nice (depends how steady your hand is). The video is beautiful, once again the steadier the better. Big improvement over my old JVC in every aspect. Low light is not very good, but then again what is. I am satisfied.


->Cheap

Although i chose this camera after a comparison with Canon's and JVC's HD cameras, my item was defective "the cassette compartment won't retract back automatically when closed".

Amazon said they will replace, then they sent an email today saying they can't because it seems a lot of cameras are affected. I'm not sure why do they allow people to buy it if there was a widespread problem.

The 1 star rating is due to defect, not performance.

Shadi


->Deal

It's a great camcorder. My last one was a JVC DVL-720, this one far more superior. Not because it's a HD but the features in general are way better. I like the various output options that are available. There's the USB jack (but not USB 2.0),composite, component jack, HDMI, and firewire. That's a good variety to suit different scenarios for both HD and SD output. There's the Easy Shot function, and scene selection functions that work great. For example, the twilight scene actually makes the shot look nicer when the sun is setting. My old camcorder, it made it look worst!

That said, it is an HD camcorder so don't bother buying this until you have an HD television. You can watch the video shot on this via connection to your PC or on the LCD display. But it's not the same as viewing it on a large widescreen television. I'll break out the pro and cons below but in summary, I would definitely recommend this camcorder.

PROS:
Super crisp and clear video.
Fast yet steady zoom.

I like the manual focus. My old JVC, if I film through through a wired screen. It focuses on the screen and everything is out of focus. With this camera you can manual focus and actually focus past the screen getting the shot that you want.

Nothing can beat Super Nightshot. My old JVC all I see is the campfire, the people are dark and you can't tell what's going on. With this camcorder I can go out 11 pm at night and still capture the moment.

I like how the video export to computer. When you videotape each scene is it's own file. For example, each time you press the record button on the camcorder a new file is started. So you don't end up with one gigantic bulky video file. Instead you get many smaller files that you can scan through to remove unwanted scenes.

CONS:
LCD Display is wayyyy too small. It's only about 2 3/4 inches. So the video that's displayed on the screen isn't really true to what you recorded. And when you watch the video, the screen's so small that you don't experience the effects of HD.

Also, it's a touchscreen. Great idea. But in reality you just end up getting fingerprints all over the screen making the camcorder look dirty and the screen is so small that you have to be extra careful to avoid pressing the wrong button.

No built in camcorder light. There's a flash bulb for taking snapshot pictures. But no camcorder light. You have to buy a separate light to attach to the hotshoe interface.

That's all I can think of now. There are some items that I don't like but in general a good camcorder.


->Purchase

I bought the HDR-HC7 over the weekend after several years of longing to own a HD camcorder. I didn't really debate the differences between the Canon HV20 and the Sony - all my camcorders have been Sony Handycams. My previous Sony Handycam, the DCR-HC1000, has been half way around the world with me and performed flawlessly throughout.

So imagine my excitment at having this new HD camcorder from Sony in my hands!! It's a small camera and very easy to hold and use. It has enough manual controls to give a long-time Handycam user like me choices I may need to make now and then when setting up a shot. But mostly, I shoot in auto mode and this camera, like my previous camcorder, has excellent auto focus, exposure, and white balance.

My first few minutes of video taken with this camera gave uneven results. I tried shooting outside in bright sunlight, and indoors with both natural and artificial lighting. Some of the color accuracy seemed a bit "off" on several scenes with a bit of oversaturation. I found, however, manual adustments to exposure corrected some, if not all, of these issues.

But today was a different story altogether. On an overcast day, I visited what is the largest Buddhist Temple in L.A., and probably the country, in Hacienda Heights, California. The video this camera produced was absolutely stunning when I hooked it up to my LCD display at home. Color fidelity, focus, detail - it was all there!! I could swear I was watching footage from Discovery HD Theatre, it was that good. BTW, I'm not a novice when it comes to HD - I have been watching it since the early days when only one or two channels (on DirecTV) were available.

So when I say you will be impressed with what this camera will do, you better believe it!! I can't wait to hook this baby up to the MacBook Pro and start editing in glorius HD!!


->Deal

I purchased this camcorder in early May after many months of debating and shopping around. We just had our first child in March and I'd been trying to figure out if I should replace my practically unused Sony DCR-TRV310 camera (circa 1999!) with something HD and the cheap voice of reason in my head just couldn't justify spending a grand on a new camera when my older one was in fine working order. I was planning on just dropping $300 on a newer SD camcorder that would be smaller and more convenient than my old Sony, but I kept hearing the call of high definition...can't you hear it?

Eventually my lust for HD won me over and I broke down and bought the HDR HC7 - what an excellent choice this has turned out to be!! The difference between SD and HD home video is simply stunning and I absolutely regret not purchasing this thing before my kid was born so that all of our videos of her could be in HD. Whether watching the tapes back through the camcorder via the (included) component cables/via my HDMI cables, watching the raw footage on my computer or watching the 16x19 low compression DVD's I've burned after transfering and editing footage on my computer, everything we've shot with this thing just blows us away. Of course, low light situations result in grainy footage, but this is almost always the case with any consumer camcorder and this one performs better than most in those circumstances.

With HD being the accepted standard for the foreseeable future, and my growing disdain for SD elevating every day I'm forced to watch a show or channel that's not in HD, I'm quite content knowing that the tapes and raw files I'm archiving will be in the highest quality available in a non-pro camcorder at this time. Ultimately, this camera is worth every penny and I'm thrilled that I bought it. Now I just need to wait for HDDVD or BluRay burners to get affordable so I can kick out my 1080i discs! :)

Pros:
*Amazing image quality so long as you have somewhat decent lighting
*Convenient transfer to PC's/Macs via firewire and Sony's included software
*Transferred .m2t format files are easily editable in phenomenal quality in a multitude of free and low-priced editing software and can be transcoded to 16x9 DVD beautifully
*MiniDV tape medium is relatively inexpensive (~$2 each for regular tapes and ~$8 each for the supposedly better HD tapes), convenient and very reliable - I personally believe moreso than HDD if you shoot them, then store or transfer them. I've had countless hard drives fail me over the years, but very few of my Digital8 or MiniDV tapes have failed me when I use them infrequently (shoot, transfer to computer, store).
*Very compact design with a nice, big, clear widescreen LCD and very comfortable feel. Sony quality and attention to detail abounds.
*Auto lens cap. If you're like me and have an older camcorder you'll be replacing, you'll appreciate the integrated automatic lens cap. It's amazing how many times I was frustrated by my dangling lens cap back in the day and this logical evolution is a nice touch (and is on most new camcorders nowadays, but I still dig it)

Cons:
*Battery life - while the supplied battery is one of Sony's solid InfoLithiums, the ~100 minute capacity will probably make you want to spring for one of the optional high capacity batteries if you shoot outside of your home frequently or like to record/replay footage in big chunks without the DC cable. This is true of any camcorder, though, and is kind of reaching for a con
*Manual focus location is inconvenient. It's behind the viewfinder and in many situations you cannot easily access it because the LCD will be in the way. Thankfully the auto focus works great for most situations.
*Touch screen controls. Some people seem to like this and it certainly works well technically, but I find it annoying on a few fronts. First, I don't like using my left hand to access the menus - older cameras had menu buttons you could access with your right thumb while operating the camera and that felt good to me. Then there's the whole touching the screen you have to look at - perhaps I'm just grungy, but the screen gets dirty pretty quickly when you're constantly touching it. Again, small gripes that other people seem to totally disagree with.

Overall, I'd rate this as the best electronics purchase I've made in the past 10 years. My wife and I are in awe of every video we've shot so far and every person we've shown the videos to can't believe that they came from this little home camcorder. If you have kids and want to capture memories in incredible quality, this camera will do everything you need and then some.

**I didn't rate or review the digital still feature of this camera because I'm not using it. I have a small 10.1MP camera that we use for stills already and I hate that Sony forces its proprietary memory sticks on us for 2-3 times the price of SD cards.**


->Deals

I ordered this from Amazon and it came as planned. As any proud purchaser who just received his new toy, I started using it right out of the box. I purchased the video light and flash model hvl-hfl1. It works great because you don't need to worry about turning the light off and it comes on when you need it. I also purchased the bluetooth microphone which is a great addition. The only problem is that you can't have both on at the same time because of only one hotshoe. The pictures look great with the flash. I went to a wedding and took awesome photos. Great stuff. I recommend it.

On the business side of things, I used the existing telemacro feature and it has worked great. I took a video of my own teeth and mouth while working on phonetics. I use this video on my dental advice website to show people the importance teeth position and lip position when speaking. Really cool feature.


->Buy Online

Es una excelente camara. Su tamaño es ideal para el trabajo y para las vacaciones. Su resolucion es impresionante y todos los aditamentos que trae son muy completos.


->Best Price

Trying for the best in Video quality, is easy or difficult. To achieve it on a budget I've gone to High Def the Sony Hc7 allows me to turn out 16x9 Dvds that are as sharp as Commercial Quality. The Low point is the quality is great. To achieve it you're probably going to have to buy a new computer for editing. My old machine would capture perfectly my Digital 8 data, & the Dv stream from the HC7. High Def no way it stuttered and dropped portions of the image. The controls with the Hc7 allow you to control exposure easily. my only wish would be a ring around the barrel of the lens to allow a easy manual focus. They do have a multipurpose wheel on the side, for focusing it is not convenient. I use it set for Exposure compensation.


->Lowest Price

I purchased this camcorder in anticipation of the birth of my son last month. This is my first camcorder purchase and I am extremely impressed and happy with my purchase.

My goal was to make videos that I could watch in HD on my TV and also quickly edit on my macbook in iMovie and then burn to dvd or upload to youtube.com to share with family. In this regard it works flawlessly. The camcorder and my macbook play together beautifully and it is simple to get the footage off of the camcorder and into my macbook and then burned onto a dvd or uploaded to youtube.com. The footage is automatically adjusted to standard definition by iMovie but the tape in the camcorder retains the 1080i HD footage. This means that I can play it back on my TV in HD whenever I want and also save it for the future when I have an HD disc burner to make HD discs.

By the way I have never done ANY video editing of any kind prior to buying this camcorder and macbook. I am a complete amateur and the ease of which I can make decent home movies with titles and effects and then share them with family is nothing short of astounding!

The bonus is that I can also play the footage directly from the camcorder to my Sony XBR2 1080p TV using an HDMI cable and the picture quality is breathtaking, as clear and sharp as some of the network HD feeds I get through Comcast cable.

Video Quality: The color is very lifelike although tends to be a bit oversaturated. Some may prefer more subtle true lifelike colors that the Canon camcorders are known for. I like the Sony color however, because the colors seem to "pop" a bit more while still seeming natural. This camcorder utilizes Sony's new x.v. color which promises nearly twice the viewable color currently available. My HDTV does not support x.v. color so this feature is useless to me. From what I understand, very few HDTV's support x.v. color so for now this seems to me like marketing hype. The sharpness is absolutely amazing. When watching on my HDTV via HDMI cable, the image is in my eyes comparable to the prime time network HD shows through my cable provider.

Low light performance: When researching this camera, I read the camcorderinfo review which stated that this camcorder suffers from poor low light performance. I find that to be simply untrue. Based on that review I expected the low light footage to be bad and was delighted to find that the low light performance was quite good and more than adequate for my needs. I tested the low light ability at night in my living room with the 60 watt ceiling bulbs dimmed halfway and the video came out fine. The colors were a little muted which was expected but there was no graininess and the footage was sharp and detailed. For my needs I will be filming low light indoor scenes such as candle-lit birthday parties and Christmas morning present openings and I am quite happy with the camera's abilities in these types of low light situations. In outdoors in sunlight, the picture and color will take your breath away.

Ease of Use: My wife was quite intimidated by the thought of learning to use an HD camcorder. I was thrilled to find that the HC7 has an "easy" button. My wife and I got quite a laugh out of this but it really is a great addition. The "easy" button sets the camera to all automatic point and shoot mode and I have to say in this mode the video comes out amazing with no effort or manual adjustments on your part. Because of the "easy" button my wife is no longer afraid of the camera and is now filming as much as I am. In fact, we both use the camera primarily in the "easy" mode and the footage always comes out sharp and stunning (and I get to be in the footage with my son now that my wife shoots too).

For more experienced shooters, this camera has tons of manual controls which I will probably never use. The menu system is a bit awkward as you have to dig deep into nested folders to find some of the options you want. This is extremely frustrating when you are shooting and want to change something quickly. For example to change white balance or turn off optical image stablisation when using a tripod requires scrolling through mulitple folders to find the option you want - annoying. Although to be fair the instructions do say that you can set your most used manual controls on a custom touchscreen for easy access. I have yet to do this.

Batteries: The Sony Infolithium batteries give real time information on exactly how much time you have left to shoot. This is extremely helpful and I find the estimates to be incredibly accurate. You will have to purchase an additional battery however, as the one it comes with does not give you adequate shooting time before needing to be recharged.

Overall I am extremely happy with this camcorder and would absolutely recommend it. The stunning video quality, compatibility with my Macbook for making videos to share with extended family and incredible ease of use make this camera a winner. Throw in the fact that it has an "easy" button that allows my non-techie wife to take incredibly sharp, beautiful footage and be comfortable using the camera and enthusiastic about shooting, and you have the perfect camcorder for my family. Highly recommended!


->Compare

Nice camera in general, but in my experiece the slow motion feature is very blurry.


->Prices

I'm very much a novice when it comes to video. I have a 3 year-old Sony mini-DV Handycam (DCR-TRV22). I wanted to upgrade to something better. I looked at numerous 3-chip standard definition cameras, and I rented one (Sony DCR-VX2100) locally to try out for a weekend. The video with the 3-chip was clearly better than the 1-chip, but I wasn't convinced it was worth about $[...] for the model I'd selected (Panasonic AG-DVX100B). I stumbled across the HC7 in Videomaker® magazine and became interested. The reviews here on Amazon sounded promising and it was $[...] cheaper!

There is a beautiful 60-foot waterfall near my house. When the HC7 first arrived, I charged the battery and headed out. The video quality was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! It was manifold better than the 3-chip camcorder I'd rented. You could easily make out the texture of the moss growing on rocks near the bottom of the falls, probably over 100 feet from my vantage point. I could count the blades of grass growing around the edge. Stunning! I brought it to Pizza Hut the following night (to film my pizza, of course!) and you could count the anise seeds in the Italian sausage. Weird, but cool! I displayed the video on my MacBook Pro and on a 65" DLP HDTV and I was majorly impressed. The TV displayed that the input was 1080i and it looked the part, too... sweet!

I took a few still photos with the HC7. I was comtemplating purchasing a Nikon D200, but the quality of these stills is probably good enough for me. I'm not in any way saying the HC7's stills are comparable in quality to that of the D200... I'm just saying the HC7 stills are nice enough for my needs (for now).

I've read elsewhere that the low light performance of the HC7 is not good. I tried it in low light and it doesn't seem any worse than the DCR-VX2100 or the DCR-TRV22 and maybe a little better.

One of the features that appealed to me was an accessory mentioned by an earlier reviewer, the SPK-HCB marine pack. This allows you to use the camcorder while snorkeling or just around the pool or beach without worrying about water damage. The SPK-HCB (about $[...]) doesn't list the HC7 as a compatible model, but the $[...] (and otherwise nearly identical) SPK-HCC did, so I purchased the latter. I have not tried this out yet, but it looks to be well-made and will likely work adequately.

The audio quality is lackluster, like all consumer camcorders. To add insult to injury, the Sony external camcorder microphone I purchased on Amazon 2 weeks ago for the DCR-TRV22 won't work with the HC7. The "intelligent" shoe, found on the DCR-TRV22, has been replaced by the "active interface" shoe, found on the HC7. The dang thing won't fit this shoe... $[...] down the drain! This destroys the value of Sony's accessories! A two-week-old mic is worthless! Because of this, I give the HDR-HC7 a 1-star rating. Advice to Sony: quit raking your loyal customers over the coals, and we'll do a better job of promoting YOUR products!

CONCLUSION: 5-star camcorder by a 1-star consumer-unfriendly corporate giant


->Best Price

It is a nice camcorder.
But it would be nicer, if it is HDD (hard disk drive) based. The miniDV tape just not able to record the whole event I like to record. transfer file from tape to computer is also taking a long time. Wish they have a HDD version so that I can get the capture through USB port like their other HDD version camcorder!


->Compare

Just came back from Orlando vacation with it. I am very impressed with the video and still picture quality. As a non-pro consumer, I think it is a perfect product.


->Lowest Price

Pros:
1. Great video quality in good to great light. Colors are "punchy".
2. Doubles as a still camera. Even though the still quality is not great, it could still come in handy.
3. Down-conversion to standard definition seems pretty good. Can easily record hi-def to DVD using a down-converted digital connection from the camera to a DVD recorder.
4. Handling seems good. The size of the camera is fairly small. It's amazing what they can pack into things of this size.
5. Uses HDV format on MiniDV tapes.

Cons:
1. USB interface is not USB 2.0! This is 2007! Downloading still photos takes much longer than it should. I don't intend to buy a proprietary memory card reader.
2. Uses Sony proprietary memory.
3. Still camera functions are mediocre. Probably equivalent to today's $200 and less digital still cameras. I have a Canon 20D digital SLR and the difference is quite clear! The Sony still photos are noisier and just not as good looking. The flash photos in low light are poor to fair.
4. Don't like the menu system. Seems harder to use than it should be.

Neutrals:
1. Fair battery life with the included battery.
2. Video quality in low-light could be better, but it's not poor. I'd say it is fair.
3. Audio is good but it picks up the camera's motor noise and that can be a bit annoying. It does have a MIC jack though.


->Deal

What a great camcorder! The resolution is excellent and the 6MP pictures are sharp and clear. This is one camcorder that really does an excellent job as a combination camera/ camcorder. Motion artifacts are minimal and the colors are bright even in dim light. All in all, an excellent buy.


->Buy

I got an HC7 a couple of weeks ago and am really impressed with the image quality. I originally tried the Sony HDR-SR1 but was put off by its dismal low-light performance. The HC7 is much better on that front. Color tends to wash out a bit, but noise is not overly prounounced. However, in bright outdoor lighting, the picture quality is absolutely stunning.

In regards to photos taken by the HC7, I haven't printed any out yet, but I've viewed some on my 1080p and they look very good.

Overall, I am a happy camper. Perhaps unfairly, I gave this a 4 star only because it lacks 3 CCDs.


->Buy

This just arrived Thursday so these comments come with minimal time on camera so far. I am also absolutely an amateur user of camcorders so I won't be able to comment on the quality of the manual controls, etc.

I agree closely with the other two reviews so I won't repeat their details. I'll try to hit a few other topics and also compare the HC7 to the Sony HC90, an earlier model that took 16:9 standard definition video with 3 MP stills.

I have taken about one hour of HD video so far, and have viewed it through an HDMI cable on a Sony 46" XBR LCD TV (1080p). I captured a few indoor scenes, a few neighborhood outdoor scenes, and some footage at Harper's Ferry in West Virginia - river, mountain, and two trains passing by at close range while I was at the railroad station there. I can say comfortably that you won't confuse the video from this camcorder with Standard Definition camcorder video - when they say High Definition, they aren't kidding. If your TV can show the video off to advantage and you've grown fond of HD, I think you'd be pleased with this camcorder. In my case, the overwhelming reason I upgraded camcorders was to get the HD video, so this has made it worth the steep expense. My second requirement is to have a camcorder that took decent stills so I only have to carry one piece of equipment around. I already had this in the Sony HC90 at 3MP, so going up to 6MP was desirable but not enough to make me buy something this expensive in itself.

My only output criticisms so far are that the West Virginia footage looks a little brighter and the water a little greener than I remember. I didn't play with any settings so take that with a grain of salt. These camcorders have a lot of manual adjustments you can make which I have not explored. One or more of them undoubtedly would have given me improved footage, and I'm not unhappy with what I think I noticed in the slightest.

The stills look very good to me so far, but I've only taken about 20 and viewed them on the TV. I normally view stills on a PC.

I don't have a telephoto lens yet so I can't report on the quality of the stabilization. I used a tripod today and that was readily apparent in the stability of the video. I was very pleased, by the way, with how well the camera did with the moving trains. Very crisp where I expected a fair bit of motion blur.

LCD size and controls have been mentioned in First Looks. I'm perfectly happy with a 2.7" LCD instead of the larger one in the UX7. So this wasn't a negative for me personally. The controls (menus) are highly similar to those of the Sony HC90 I already have. If you haven't seen them before, there's a learning curve. If you have the HC90 or another camcorder with those menus, you'll be right at home with the HC7. One note: you can configure P[ersonal]-Menus to include the things you use the most in your own order, in addition to the camcorder's menus. One thing I forgot is that each mode (video, camera, play/edit) has its own configurable personal menu. So I was looking for things to add to the Play/Edit personal menu that I was sure should be configurable, but couldn't find them. That was because they belonged only to the filming side, not to the playback side. So you've got three personal menus you can create, not one.

Battery: check the sizes on the batteries. The HC90 batteries were very thin. I think three of the batteries for the HC7 fit entirely within its case. The fourth and largest battery looked to be much bigger in one dimension such that I thought it would extend past the end of the camera 1/2" or so. The other three will fit flush into the back of the camera, though they're not behind a door or anything.

Battery life: my impression so far is that the battery life statements are accurate, but the batteries drain faster than that of the HC90. This is almost certainly a function of increased power load instead of the older batteries being better than the newer ones. The CCDs and the stills and everything are all "more" than in the HC90. So I think I'm fine with the battery life, but you'll need to watch it and definitely have more than one battery.

Size compared to the HC90: this struck me as being about 10-15% bigger overall than the HC90. It's maybe 1/2" longer front to back, and wider as well. I think the HC7 is one notch up in size from the average camcorder I see in Best Buy. But it's noticeably smaller than last year's SR1 Sony hard disk camcorder, say. I don't see dropping this one in a coat pocket like I did with the HC90, but it's pretty light and still fits in the case I used for the HC90 if I don't load other stuff in there.

Fit in the hand: I found a Best Buy with an HC5 and UX5 on hand and played with both at the same time. These have the same footprint as the HC7 and UX7 as far as I can tell. The HC5's tape case is maybe 3/8" wider than the UX5's DVD case. The UX5's DVD case is maybe 1/4" higher. So I found that my right-hand fingers curled nicely around the smaller but taller UX5 and it felt slightly more comfortable. However, I found that the HC5's extra width made me curl my palm slightly such that the base of the camcorder fit solidly on top of the ball of my thumb. As I played with this in the store, I realized it seemed like the HC5 actually was easier to hold stable because of this. Absolutely try these two out on your own instead of assuming this will be true for you. Just wanted to say that the two cases do differ a bit and will probably feel different to you at some level.

Tape vs DVD (really HDV vs AVCHD): I spent a lot of time wondering if the noise reported in last year's AVCHD UX camcorders would still be present, and if I would care in any case. The detailed reviews still aren't out, so I don't know whether there will be a noise problem there. But I can say I noticed nothing in the footage so far that I'd call noise, so my decision to go with the tape and HDV format looks very good to me right now. I have never had the problems people report with Mini-DV tapes, so that whole transport discussion (tape vs DVD) didn't weigh on me much. The noise discussion did have an effect on my decision, though.

Getting the video to your TV: "how much money do we have?", apparently. I played the tape back to the TV directly, but that's not a long-term solution. I have heard that you can capture the HDV video and then will be able to transform it on a PC to formats suitable for Blu-Ray or HDV burners, if you have the money. Then you need a Blu-Ray or HDV player attached to your TV. For now, it sounds like many people are archiving the HDV video to DVDs as data files. Then they burn playable DVDs where the HD is down-converted to standard definition video. So they get to see decent versions of the video now and can produce HD versions for playback in the future as technology changes and prices drop. One other HC7 reviewer also implied that HD files captured by Ulead software could be moved to a PS3 hard drive and played back to an HD TV from there. So far, the easy and cheap path we have for SD video to DVDs to TVs is not quite there for HD based on what I've read.

The one extra feature I wish the camcorder had was a built-in 20X optical zoom. I'm sure this would affect both the cost and the size of the barrel negatively, so I "understand". But that would be #1 on my wish list.

Overall, I am amazed at what camcorder manufacturers can pack into these shells now. I know we're talking computers that are way more powerful at image processing than anything that existed ten years ago. But it is still almost like magic to drag a camcorder of this size around, take some video, and then have play it back on a high-quality HD TV looking to me like it was taken with broadcast-level equipment. I know better intellectually, but it's really great to have a camcorder like this that marries up with the new TVs so beautifully.




->Wholesale

This product, so far as I know, has not been available from Amazon since Jan. 8 as a comment claimed. It wasn't available on Feb. 19 when I ordered it from an Amazon competitor. It's now available (about March 1) at a very competitive price.

It is a fabulous video camera. Colors are accurate, low-light performance is amazing, video noise is non-existent, resolution will blow you away. The 2-hr battery provides a full 2 hours of recording. The camera is light, flexible, and intuitive to use.

The Sony miniDV tapes cost a reasonable $10 ea., and there are zero dropouts. Loading couldn't be easier. It'd be nice if Sony would stick to optical zoom specs (10X), since digital zoom can be anything (why stop at 20X? - go for broke, 1000X! Idiots.) Steadycam - optical stablization - seems to work very well. You can shut it off if you're using a tripod.

Audio is okay, but it could be much better. They provide a jack for an external mike and a powered shoe for a lamp. Video output is flexible - USB, iLink, component, S-video. Speaking of flexible, the user guide runs over 100 pages! There is useful content on every page - it'd take months to try all the options available!

Image quality is stunning, esp. considering the reasonable price. I've not tried the included software, but HDMI playback to my Panasonic 50" plasma is just like network HD! Fantastic! You won't be disappointed. (Okay, there is one little glitch. The zoom speed (rate) is not menu adjustable. There's variable zoom speed provided via a little lever, but you'd better be r e a l l y steady.)

Great camera overall.


->Comparison

I received the Sony HDR-HC7 over two weeks ago. This HD camcorder is the 3rd and final piece of my HD makeover. The first component is the Sony KDS-R60XBR2 1080p TV, the second is a PS3, and now the new camcorder. One thing I noticed immediately upon playing my older home-made DV videos is that the big screen really amplifies the lower resolution (which is bad), and that the hand jitter of the home movies is more problematic as well to look at. Both of these deficiencies prompted me to go for this HD camcorder with optical stabilization. Impressions after using this camcorder in different locations (snow, indoor, and the beach):

Pros-
- The video is great, especially filling the 60 inch screen. The images look smooth, not always necessarily eye-popping sharp, but very pleasing. The clip of an arcade at the beach with its many sounds and especially the many bright colors made for a very rich video experience on the big screen.
- The still images are excellent. At 6.1 Megapixels, they are as good as any 6 MP still camera (I did the comparison). My test for still cameras is to print 8x10 glossies. When you do that, it is easy to judge excellent, good, and not-so-good. The 8x10 prints are excellent. Moreover, the camera has a 10x optical zoom, so that is a major advantage for still photography. The flash is surprisingly robust- better than most smaller still cameras. This camcorder truly opens up the possibility of leaving the still camera at home.
- The DV tape is a cost-effective convenience. I popped in a standard Sony Premium DV tape and everything's been fine. So far, I've not seen any evidence of frame dropping after 1 hour of HD videotaping. Everything has been smooth and very eye-pleasing. I carefully considered the other alternatives of HDD and DVD burners, but for overall ease-of-use, the DV is a proven cost-effective way to take a lot of videos and to store them conveniently.
- Sony offers a case for underwater video (Sony Camcorder Marine Case (SPK-HCB)). This case which is listed as an accessory offers good value considering that custom camcorder cases can run in excess of $1K. I bought one and had to custom-adapt a mounting plate because the hole pattern was not quite right. I used it while it was snowing on the beach and it worked very well (the case has its own stereo microphone). I'm planning to use it very soon for some snorkeling. Such underwater home footage should be very cool. The case really protects the camera from the elements. The case is surprisingly sophisticated. For example, it uses a mirror to access the camcorder display. It turns out that once connected properly, the image on the LCD display is backwards, so that it can be seen correctly when looking at the reflected image in the mirror. A well thought-out product indeed.

Cons-
- It is not the most elegant or stylish hardware.
- Does not have a neck strap.
- The audio is not its strong point- nothing bad, but not particularly compelling.
- I like to use the fader feature to separate the different tape segments, but accessing the fade button through the display touch-screen method takes too many strokes. Once I start to tape, it is bothersome to activate the fader function during taping.
- The on-the-fly stills are in 16:9 widescreen so that the overall resolution on printed paper is not as good as the stand-alone stills which are the standard 4:3.
- Naturally, with a substantial investment in the camcorder unit, comes the additional costs for options such as (1) stand-alone battery charger, (2) extra high-capacity battery, (3) better microphone, and (4) external light source for video and stills. I already have the external mike (Sony) and the double external light (still and video). I haven't used these enough yet to provide a proper review.

This early camcorder review would not be complete without mentioning the significant value added by using PlayStation 3. The camcorder video is stored in the DV tape in MPEG2 format. After recording, I simply transfer the video into my Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus which handles HDV files. After that I copy the MPEG2 file into the hard drive of the PS3 using a transportable hard drive. Roughly speaking, one hour of HD recording takes up 10 GB of memory. One can then watch the HD video on the big screen using the handy remote ($25) for the PS3 with fast forward and such so that the overall operation is almost as convenient as if you had burned a BluRay DVD. Also, the fact that the SXRD TV has a 3rd HDMI input in the front makes connecting to the camcorder particularly convenient. Bottom line- the camcorder is very impressive. The picture on the 60" screen ranges from very good to eye-popping. The colors are very rich. I've primarily covered the basic functions so far but there's more to learn and to explore with this unit. The coupling of the 1080p TV and the PS3 with the camcorder results in a most enjoyable HD experience.