Sony Handycam HDR-HC7

4.5 stars

"Remarkable - Not perfect but close." on March 4, 2007 by PrestigeV

Pros: Great stills especially while shooting video. Amazing HD video quality and Optical Image Stabilizer is effective without compromising quality. Great size and ergonomics. Automatic lens - nice!

Cons: CMOS image sensor is still not a strong performer in low light. Wide angle is not very wide. Power / mode switch not as easy to use as on older models.

Summary: Let me give you my background. I own a video production business. I operate a wide range of cameras and editing platforms. I am not an engineer so I can't break down performance by numbers by I can give you an experienced opinion in plain language.

I owned a Sony HDR-HC1 which I sold on ebay the moment I read that the HC7 was coming out and had restored many of the features removed on the HC3 - mic jack, manual focus, etc. First observation, manual focus and exposure controls are present but not quite as accesible as on the HC1. But for my uses this is a minor, if not a non-issue.

I purchased this camera as my personal camcorder which will be used occasionaly for work when it's size / HD advantages are required. I own a couple of Sony FX1s (3 chip HDV cameras) for the majority of my HD work.

You have to admire the technological accomplishment of fitting this much horsepower into a package as small as the HC7. I have not actually seen a HC3 so my comparisons are with my HC1. Even the higher capacity battery is fully within the camera's body. The largest battery will likely stick out of the back but I can't imagine your average consumer needing that much shooting time. I mention this because when you turn the camera over without the battery in it you realize just how little space is used for the real mechanics. Frankly, it's amazing.

Okay, performance. The video quality is stunning in decent to strong lighting. If you've ever watched an HD football game on CBS (they broadcast in 1080i) on a really good HD set you'll get an idea of how good the picture quality looks from this camera. I find the image indistinguishable from the FX1s which cost roughly three times as much.

However, in low light the quality drops off. In fact, at first blush I don't see any real improvement over the HC1's realitively poor performance in low light. Of course you have the night shot feature but that makes everything look like night footage from Survivor. Again, as my personal camcorder this isn't a huge issue.

Sony is selling a feature called X.V. Color as something that will give you more life like color performance. I never had anything but raves for the color performance and accuracy of the HC1 but I'm all for more of a good thing. But when you read the manual you find out that if you playback video shot in X.V. Color on a tv that doesn't support X.V. Color you may get undesirable results. So, the default mode is X.V. Color is off. Why promote a feature then reccomend you don't use it?

Lastly, I like a wide angle to be a wide angle. Perhaps the optics required to support the HD video and shoot quality still
photos requires a compromise. I find that, like the HC1, the wide angle setting on this camera isn't quite wide enough. I can speak from experience when I say that if you take the camera on a cruise don't plan on shooting any tape in your cabin. I purchased a wide angle adapter but I wish I didn't have to.

There were two reasons I upgraded to this camera over the HC1 - Smaller physical size and better stills. It is small. How are the stills? First let me say that even though they were taken at a small 2.8 megapixels, I was never disatisfied with the quality of the stills that came out of the HC1. In fact, because of the advantage of the bigger zoom lens, I'd frequently use my HC1 over my 7 megapixel point-n-shoot. Of course you didn't want to blow those shots up too large.

The big short coming of the HC1 was grabbing a still WHILE shooting video - it was limited to 1.3 megapixels. Still, it's a such a great feature. On vacation I was taping a rural Mexican horse race. As they crossed the finish line I hit the "Photo" button and grabbed a still that was one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip.

So, when I read that the HC7 shoots 6 megapixel stills and 4 megapixels while shooting video I was sold. In my limited experience with this camera I find it delivers on the promised improvement on still quality - and then some. In addition to the improved resolution, the flash retains it's strong balanced performance and that occasional "still video frame look" is even less present.

Here's a trick I hadn't read about and I don't know if it's been present on previous units. But I figure if I didn't know about it most others won't either. While PLAYING BACK video you've already shot you can press the Photo button and grab digital stills to the memory stick. It's like saying "Damn, I wish I could've taken a picture of that moment" and then being able to go back in time and take it. These pics are back to 1.3 megapixels but you'd be amazed how really good they look. Forget any experiences you may have had with standard def freeze frames - these look beautiful.

I don't like the position and operation of the power/mode switch. On the HC1 turning the camera on was a simple thumb movement. It's now more of a two handed procedure.

They put a quality hinged access door over the video / firewire / lanc/ headphone ports. But there's still the flimsy tethered covers for the mic jack, power / charge port, HDMI, and the accessory shoe that feel like even if they're handled with TLC, they'll eventually break free. Those are really the only complaints I have about the camera.

I love the automatic lens cover. I appreciate the top loading cassette mechanism. Both the viewfinder and LCD screen are bright and have adequate resolution.

There's an intangible negative to this camera. If you're a status snob the camera, due to it's larger than palm size, can look a little old and low tech to the unititiated. Believe it or not, with it's wide lens hood, despite it's larger size, the HC1 looked a little "cooler".

A small price to pay for all of this amazing functionality. Speaking of price, I paid full MSRP to be the first kid on the block and I feel like it was worth every penny.

I hope this review was helpful.