Sony HDR-HC7 6.1MP MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony HDR-HC7 6.1MP MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
Digital camera Review: HC-7 has been very impressive so far....
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this camera as a companion camera to the Z1U and it has exceeded my expectations so far. Way easy to use, great color saturation and much higher quality on the single chip than I expected.
I shoot both cameras in native DV as most of my product is distributed on the internet, but as a test, shot scenes on both camera and edited them on Avid's Liquid Pro NLE Software. Most shots are indistinguishable in difference. Obviously the Z1U handles low light better but has a higher lux and that's just expected. I ran the same test, this time outputting to DVD and playing back on standard defintion monitor. Got the same results....better than expected quality and little difference between the two cameras.
My only negative is that the 7 cannot receive a line level input, but does have something the Z does not...adjustable headphone volume. I really like adjusting the menu with the touchscreen viewfinder and find it much easier to activate and navigate. High marks from me...It's a keeper.
Digital camera Review: We love it so far
Summary: 5 Stars
We love our new HD camcorder so far. It's pretty easy to operate but here is a hint GO SLOW ON PANNING!!! If you go to fast it makes you dizzy on playback! Great picture but I couldn't get my Samsung HD DLP to recognize the playback straight from the camera using the digital component hookup. It did find on the plain ol analog connect. Wish I had HDMI connection on the tv.
We have not tried to edit tape yet. That will be the next challenge.
Digital camera Review: Home HD at an affordable price
Summary: 4 Stars
An excellent camcorder, SONY quality, neat and compact. Great color, does well in low light too. LCD screen is a bit small, especially since its a touch screen for menus. I don't mind; others have criticized. Because it is small, there are several cons, for me, at least. I like to do manual exposure settings - almost all camcorders have a tendency to over-expose parts of a picture using the "auto" mode. Switching to manual is not something you can do by feel on this camera - the switch is small and so is the "roller" switch. And you can only have one mode available to you at a time - ie, aperture or shutter speed or focus, etc. Understand that I'm 71 years old and not the steadiest and while it does have automatic steadying, I find that it's hard to hold a small, light camera really steady as opposed to a larger, heavier one. That may be just me. Also at higher altitudes (and we spend about 6 months of the year at 7300 ft or higher), my breathing tends to be a bit labored. At least it sounds like it in my movies. The mike is just too close to my mouth. That can be helped somewhat by adding the zoom microphone accessory. But of course that takes away from the compactness a bit. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, it doubles as a still camera using an SD card and does a VERY credible job. You can take photos in both 4x3 mode and 16x9. I have enlarged both modes to 8 1/2 x 11 with no pixalization whatsoever. A good buy if you want to get into HDTV and especially if you're a "point and shoot" kind of videographer. Digital camera Review: Can't beat it
Summary: 4 Stars
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.Digital camera Review: Defective - Amazon couldn't replace
Summary: 1 Stars
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