12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

Great Camcorder - Beware Viewfinder, April 7, 2011

This review is from: Sony HDR-CX700V High Definition Handycam Camcorder (Black) (Electronics)

Bought this camcorder to replace HDR-SR11. Had to have viewfinder. Camcorder excellent overall but viewfinder is borderline useless. It has a micro wheel for diopter adjustment (viewfinder focus). This wheel moves anytime you open the viewfinder or move the camera. Result is you must use your shooting hand to manually refocus viewfinder EVERY time you use it. I spoke to Sony and they said I had to mail in camcorder for their techs to look at it. I opted to return first camcorder to Amazon (great, quick replacement). Replacement, brand new, is exactly the same. I keep thinking I can wedge the wheel somehow or tape it. For $1300, Sony should be figuring it out, not me. I may just send this one back and get the 64GB without the viewfinder; or go to a different brand. An interesting note is that last year's top Sony model HDR-CX550V has shot up in price since the intro of this model??

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Sony HDR-CX700V High Definition Handycam Camcorder (Black) B004H8FN6W Sony Sony HDR-CX700V High Definition Handycam Camcorder (Black) Camera & Photo Great Camcorder - Beware Viewfinder Bought this camcorder to replace HDR-SR11. Had to have viewfinder. Camcorder excellent overall but viewfinder is borderline useless. It has a micro wheel for diopter adjustment (viewfinder focus). This wheel moves anytime you open the viewfinder or move the camera. Result is you must use your shooting hand to manually refocus viewfinder EVERY time you use it. I spoke to Sony and they said I had to mail in camcorder for their techs to look at it. I opted to return first camcorder to Amazon (great, quick replacement). Replacement, brand new, is exactly the same. I keep thinking I can wedge the wheel somehow or tape it. For $1300, Sony should be figuring it out, not me. I may just send this one back and get the 64GB without the viewfinder; or go to a different brand. An interesting note is that last year's top Sony model HDR-CX550V has shot up in price since the intro of this model?? MikeM April 7, 2011

Overall: 5

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Showing 1-2 of 2 posts in this discussion

Initial post: Jul 5, 2011 6:28:16 PM PDT

George Eaton says:

Lack of a viewfinder is also a deal breaker for me. If this viewfinder is useless -- still a deal breaker for me. Too bad. I'll have to wait until Sony rises to the level of quality on this item that I have experienced in the many earlier Sony videocams I have bought over the years.

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Posted on Dec 16, 2011 12:55:06 PM PST

Patrick Zhu says:

I just had my CX700 for a week and noticed the same problem with the viewfinder. I have had generations of Sony camcorders in the past and this kind of poor design has never appearred before. I too was thinking of glueing the diopter, but hey, for the $1k spent, Sony shouldn't have missed this!

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