- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 5 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Magnificent camera in a very manageable package."
Pros: Brilliantly crisp images, easy handling, far reaching audio.
Cons: A bit grainy in low light.
Summary: I am not one to change with the times, until those times finally present exactly what I'm anticipating. Sony has finally brought out an HD camera that allowed me to toss aside my VHS camcorder, the HDR FX7.
Initially I was torn, on paper, between the HDR FX1 and the FX7. However, when buying directly from Sony, they offer the very nice feature of a 30 day trial on any of their products.
So, I ordered both cameras and literally did a side-by-side comparison for a month. The result was that the FX7 won hands down.
The only situation the FX1 outperformed was in extremely low ambient light, like you would find in a living room with a couple of incandescent bulbs burning; the CMOS of the FX7 produced a grainier image than the CCD of the FX1. The FX7 is much more comfortable to use as a handheld, being much shorter and 10 ounces lighter. When holding the FX1 for an hour, shooting the kids' hockey games or swim meets, resulted in a very fatigued and aching hand. The FX1 is just too heavy and bulky to comfortably use over an extended period of time. It's really better suited for tripod shooting. The FX7, however, is a very tight little package, relatively speaking, and is quite comfortable and maneuverable. In bright light and outdoors, both cameras recorded equally crisp pictures with excellent color reproduction. The 20X lens of the FX7 that was criticized in other reviews as a sales gimmick is actually quite useful, as in allowing me to shoot from the stands the wide shots required of team sports, yet allows me to zoom in to a full frame of my son's face in his hockey helmet...nice to clearly see the big grin after a goal! The 12X of the FX1 just didn't allow for that tight of a shot from the same distance. The battery life of the FX7 is not qute as advertised, but 4 hours of continuos shooting is plenty for me. Though the FX1 does allow for a lot of customization of settings, this feature was way more than I ever need. The FX7 keeps this to just enough to not be overbearing. Relative to audio, for me, the onboard mic is wonderful...gives excellent stereo response, yet can pickup conversation from images I'm zooming in on 60 feet away. As far as playback, both cameras demonstrate very clear action shots, with no blurring or bleeding. The firewire feature lets you control all of the playback features directly through your Sony HD TV.
So, for someone who definitely wants beautiful, true HD prosumer recording, the FX7 is the camera for you.
Where to buy
Sony Handycam HDR-FX7:
$1,749.00 - $2,199.00
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$1,999.99 | Yes |
|
|
$1,999.95 | Yes |
|
|
$2,199.00 | Yes |
|
|
$1,999.99 | Yes |
|
|
$1,999.00 | Yes |
|
