Tag : 10x optical, camcorder with, cx7 avchd, flash memory, zoom, sony hdr

Company : Sony List Price : $1,199.98 Amazon Price : Too low to display Used Price : Average customer review :

Features

• Record high-definition (AVCHD) video direct to Memory Stick PRO Duo media cards
• 1/2.9-inch ClearVid CMOS sensor; Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens
• 2.7-inch widescreen hybrid touch-panel Clear Photo LCD Plus display
• Simultaneous video and 4.6-megapixel still image capture
• Easy one-touch disc-burn; Handycam Station included

Product Description

The compact size of this camcorder combined with its miniscule recording media make the HDR-CX7 high definition Handycam(R) camcorder a joy to use. Ultra-lightweight and easy to carry, it features a professional-quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens and Super SteadyShot(R) optical image stabilization for stunningly sharp high definition video. Its large, 2.7-inch wide Clear Photo LCD Plus display featuring touch panel SwivelScreen(TM) technology makes it simple to view what you’re recording at almost any angle. Record and play back both high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) video recorded on standard 3-inch (8cm) DVD media. Optical stabilization achieves a higher level of smoothness without the video degradation that mars some digital stabilization systems. Shoot ultra-close ups without the camcorder casting a shadow on your subject in exceptional still pictures and video with stunning detail and clarity (1080 lines of resolution - HD Mode or 530 lines of horizontal resolution - SD Mode). Scene Modes - Beach, Candle, Fireworks, Landscape, Portrait, Sports Lesson, Spotlight, and Sunrise & Sunset InfoLithium with AccuPower(TM) Meter System (NP-FH60) Battery Type 35mm Equivalent Optics/Lens - 40-400mm(16 - 9 Camera Mode), 49-490mm (4 - 3 Camera Mode), 40-400mm (16 - 9 Memory Mode) and 37-370mm (4 - 3 Memory Mode) Shutter Speed - Auto, 1/2 - 1/500 Inputs and Outputs - Analog Audio/Video Output, USB Port, Digital Audio/Video Input & Output, HDMI, Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Output and S-Video Output Dimensions - 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 5 1/4 inch (69 x 67 x 129mm) Weight - 15 ounces (450 grams) with supplied battery

Customer reviews

great camcorder, but…
great pictures.

narrow latitude. it’s almost impossible to keep correctly exposed both highlights and shadows under the sunshine. but still excellent for the price.

the slow motion features really attracted me, but it turned out to be unusable. image quality is really poor and a sharp focus is impossible. if you count on this feature, just forget this camera.

too bad there’s not a progressive mode, but still, deinterlacing the clips is a viable options and the quality remains great.

if you don’t use a mac for editing, avchd is a long long journey through codecs and format translations. i use cineform and it’s ok.

Good camera with some room for improvement
In general I like the camera, it is small and shaped nicely, the quality of the movies recorded under sun light is very good, it is easy to handle and the features are great.

But…,

When recording at night, it requires an external light; it takes ‘forever’ to be ready for recording after you turn the power on; and the software that comes with the camera should be a little bit better considering the price you paid for the camera.

Note: Movies burned directly to DVD do not play in your DVD player at home. Needs to convert to mpeg before burning your DVD.

not compatible with mac
the image quality is amazing, the audio is not great , it is not meant to be used with Mac computer which is very surprising with today’s technology!!

Great with a Mac!
This camcorder is great. The picture quality is very good and even takes great stills! The best part is how well it works with the my mac and the new imovie.

Don’t expect great quality and you’ll probably be happy…
Having not seen any HD video from a camcorder I was expecting something more than I got… In the right lighting it is very sharp and nice, but in anything other than perfect lighting the video is *very* grainy… This is not HD video of the kind you see on t.v… it’s sharp, but has extremely poor color depth. The “X.V Color” that they advertise seems to mean “crank up the saturation artificially to a ridiculous level”… which sometimes is ok, but really just overcompensates for the poor color depth… People’s faces are flat pancakes of orange tone… and in general colors are only passable when lighting is great.

The features are nifty and overall the form factor is nice. I’m just not sure that the image quality is worth giving up a 3CCD minidv standard def for… it’s a really tough choice.

One more minor thing - the “240 fps” super slow mode is neat, but they don’t mention that it records in very low def for some reason… not terribly usable on a hi-def output.

Again, I am not comparing this to other HD camcorders because I have not seen the output of those… And everything I”ve read about this cam says that the HD quality is good or great. But from an objective viewer who’s not used to anything but t.v. HD the quality is borderline at best…

I’ll probably keep it until something better comes along and then upgrade. I’d be very curious to know if the quality is a limitation of AVCHD or just this camera.

thanks,

Pat