Camcorder Review:
Sony Handycam HDR-CX7 AVCHD Camcorder (page 2)

The AVCHD format's problems with motion artifacts seems to be a thing of the past, and the HDR-CX7 is evidence of this new direction for Sony camcorders. Testing the CX7's motion compensation turned out great results with very few compression artifacts and little ghosting. Under daylight conditions, the CX7 showed very sharp and smooth images. We were very pleased with color reproduction. Under indoor lighting conditions, the CX7 still performed fairly well, with a slightly slower auto focus and increased digital noise. Low-light conditions will definitely be your biggest enemy in maintaining pristine images. Overall, we were pleased with the smooth motion of our recorded images under indoor conditions. We tested the CX7's image capabilities in a more difficult task with an ocean sunset, moving along a freeway, and found the motion to be very smooth with no visible artifacts, the auto focus quick and sharp and the color vivid and accurate.

The HDR-CX7 is the first AVCHD camcorder to record to a Memory Stick. The Memory Sticks we used were each 1GB and stored 7 minutes of HD video. While the docking station makes it relatively easy to transfer and store video and images to a computer, changing tiny Memory Sticks becomes a bit cumbersome. The immediate option is to purchase a Memory Stick or two of a larger capacity. This seems to be the best option, unless you want to change Memory Sticks every few minutes or download your footage after each use. Recording to a Memory Stick saves time and money if you frequently purchase tapes and spend hours capturing your footage to your computer.

With a positive step in the tapeless direction, Sony has produced a good-looking and super-compact first-of-its kind consumer-level AVCHD camcorder that is relatively user-friendly and produces great-quality HD video. This would be a great camcorder for anyone who wants to do handheld video of almost any kind and great for a vacation or traveling where space is limited.

Format: AVCHD(HD), MPEG2-PS (SD)
Number of CCDs: 1
Size of CCDs: 1/2.9" ClearVid CMOS sensor
Pixels on CCD: 3200(k)
Video Effective Pixels: 2,280,000k
Focus: Full-range auto/manual (dial, touch panel)
Shutter Speed: Auto
Maximum Shutter Speed: 1/500
Minimum Shutter Speed: 1/2
Lens f-stop: f1.8-2.9
Program Exposure Modes: Touch panel (24 steps)
Program Exposure Modes: Touch panel (24 steps)
Optical Zoom: 10x
Focal Length: 40-400mm
Image Stabilization: Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization system
Viewfinder: N/A
LCD Monitor: 2.7" (211k pixels) wide (16:9) Touch Panel-ClearPhoto LCD Plus
Progressive Scan: N/A
HD Modes: 1080 (60i) AVCHD
Video Out USB 2.0 (dock only), Component (dock only), 1HDMI, composite
Mono/Stereo Recording: 5.1 Stereo
Microphone In: No
VU Meters No
Manual Audio Level Controls: No
Headphone Jack: No
Speaker: Yes
Still Shot Media: JPEG
Memory Card Included: No
Flash: Yes
Wireless Remote: Yes
External Battery Charger Provided: No, camcorder only
Battery Type: InfoLiTHIUM
Tape Loading Configuration: N/A
Onboard Video Light: No
Accessory Shoe: Active interface shoe

• Record AVCHD to memory stick
• Capture stills while recording video
• Smooth Slow Record mode
• Compact and lightweight
• High-quality HD video with accurate color

• No viewfinder
• Manual controls embedded in touch screen navigation system

A sleek and compact AVCHD camera that records great-looking video/still images directly to Memory Stick, is relatively easy to use and includes features that will appeal to the consumer-level videographer.

Brandon Pinard is Videomaker's video production assistant.

Sony Electronics, Inc.
1 Sony Drive
Park Ridge, NJ 07656
www.sonystyle.com

$1,200

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