Sony HDR-CX7

The Sony HDR-CX7 camcorder is very well designed with plenty of features and records in high definition. The camcorder has a black outer shell with lines that add an executive look to it. The look will easily let people know you have an expensive and top of the range kit in your hands.

The camcorder is amazingly compact taking into account all the features it has. It's actually 2.75" (W) x 2.75" (H) x 5.25" (D) and ...
...the highest resolution. Unfortunately the Sony HDR-CX7 camcorder is not supplied with the memory stick pro duo so you have to purchase it separately. Saying that some shops may give you a card free with the camcorder or do what I did and hustle, get them to give you one free with it anyway, I managed to get a 4GB card free with mine, if you don't ask you won't get!

On the camcorder when the LCD is closed there is quite a few logos ... more

The Sony HDR-CX7 camcorder is very well designed with plenty of features and records in high definition. The camcorder has a black outer shell with lines that add an executive look to it. The look will easily let people know you have an expensive and top of the range kit in your hands.

The camcorder is amazingly compact taking into account all the features it has. It's actually 2.75" (W) x 2.75" (H) x 5.25" (D) and only weighing around 15 ounces including the card, battery and strap. I personally found the look of the camcorder very appealing to me and the front portion is dedicated to the beast of a lens, by the 10x Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T Star lens. The lens is capable of 20x digital zoom, but I found by keeping the digital zoom turned off it doesn't degrade the picture quality. Close by to the lens is the flash for photos as the camcorder doesn't have a enhance light, though you can simply connect an optional light because there's an accessory shoe on the top of the camcorder. On the top there is also a 5.1 channel surround sound microphone, zoom toggle switch and a button for taking separate photos. On the left side of the camcorder is the 2.7 inch LCD touch screen at 211k pixels, which uses Clear LCD PPT (Photo Plus technology) and is pretty impressive. The camcorders menu system is very simple to use and has quick access for changing all parameters you want, including nine cool scene modes. On the left of the screen are conveniently placed four buttons for, home which gets you to the main menu, wide & tele button to adjust the zoom and a start & stop button. On the outer shell of the camcorder are a range of buttons for engaging backlight compensation, a Display key to change the amount of clutter on the LCD and another one for quick access to the scenes you have shot. The camcorder also has a playback button and switch to set the NightShot option which lets you record in almost pitch black but the video is a greenish colour. The final control is the easy button which puts the camcorder in full auto mode, the setting most people would use including me. Simply because the camcorder does all the work and you just press record and adjust the zoom.

The camcorder also has a slot for the memory stick pro duo which is were everything is recorded to. A 4GB card holds around 30 minutes of recording at the highest resolution. Unfortunately the Sony HDR-CX7 camcorder is not supplied with the memory stick pro duo so you have to purchase it separately. Saying that some shops may give you a card free with the camcorder or do what I did and hustle, get them to give you one free with it anyway, I managed to get a 4GB card free with mine, if you don't ask you won't get!

On the camcorder when the LCD is closed there is quite a few logos with one that sticks out the most stating the camcorder is an AVCHD model which simply means it records 1440 x 1080 video using MPEG-4 H.264 format. On the right side it has a comfortable strap and the Handy cam logo on the outer shell. The back has a slot for the rechargeable lithium ion battery. This overall design is becoming common with other manufacturers too, and is quite good. On the left of the battery are compartments for DC-in and HDMI/AV out. There is also the main mode dial (movie, still, on/off) and the record button situated nearby. The camcorder has three lights on the back edge that show which mode you are in and also a charge indicator.

The HDR-CX7 comes with a dock that has connections for A/V, USB, component outs and DC-in to recharge the battery. It doesn't have Firewire connection; the dock has a disc burn button. The disc burn button works with the picture motion browser to create discs on your PC but there only SD quality.

The HDR-CX7 comes with the basics including:
- The dock
- Battery
- Power cord
- USB
- Component and A/V cables
- Remote
- Basic 40-page Operating Guide
- In-depth manual on the supplied CD-ROM

Overall the Sony HDR-CX7 camcorder is very good and capable of doing what you want. The video quality is amazing and the camcorder focuses quickly, takes out the shakes due to OIS and is a lot of fun to use. I must say though Sony has screwed up the compatibility issue with its flat panel TVs. With most SD card HD camcorders you can simply put the card into a compatible plasma TV and instantly watch videos, which is excellent. But with this you have to connect the camcorder via HDMI. I can't see why Sony missed this out on there TV's as it would of made a perfect package. As for the photographs, don't expect the best quality. Your photos will be fine as 4x6 if you're using the flash. Other than that Sony has introduced a high-quality HD camcorder that records to the memory stick pro duo card, cost me £649 plus free 4GB card and I would recommend it. 

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