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: Good camcorder. LCD screen too small
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Digital camera Review: Finally, this camcorder shines through!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
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!!
Digital camera Review: Superb image quality in a tidy little package.
Summary: 5 Stars
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.**
Digital camera Review: Just Got it and it does everything I wanted
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Digital camera Review: Excelente
Summary: 5 Stars
Es una excelente camara. Su tama?o es ideal para el trabajo y para las vacaciones. Su resolucion es impresionante y todos los aditamentos que trae son muy completos.