29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
The Sony HDR-fx7 Camcorder meets all my needs.
I purchased the Sony HDR-FX7 to replace my eight year old Sony DCR-TRV900 Camcorder. The image colors are excellant and the picture quality is even better because this camera can record in HD or mini DV. The microphone is also better and you can see the stereo levels in the view finder. You can set Zebra Lines to manually control exposere. You can even take still pictures...
a little underwhelmed
i compared this camera on auto with my ux5 shooting the same sunlite scene and to my surprise the consumer grade camera had a brighter picture. in low light the fx7 was dazzeling. but for the difference in price(5 times higher) i send it back to amazon for refund really really surprised amazon service superb
This review is from: Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
I purchased the Sony HDR-FX7 to replace my eight year old Sony DCR-TRV900 Camcorder. The image colors are excellant and the picture quality is even better because this camera can record in HD or mini DV. The microphone is also better and you can see the stereo levels in the view finder. You can set Zebra Lines to manually control exposere. You can even take still pictures on a memory card while shooting video. You can press a button and see the last few seconds of your last shot. I am a retired professional video cameraman and this camcorder meets all my needs.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
This is an amazing piece of equipment. Get the large battery for better balance and OVER EIGHT hours of taping. Broadcast quality. You will rarely NEED to go off "auto" unless you have special needs or are in a totally controlled studio situation where you can control lighting and movement. Pricey but worth every penny. The HD is as good as Discovery HD Theater's, and the std. DV recording (due to the new chips) is better then other 3-chip cameras I have owned.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
I have had this camcorder for two months now and I could not be happier. The camera is great indoors and out, including low light conditions. The high definition quality is incredible, the best I have seen. I also like the small size and light weight, a definite improvement over the fx-1.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
I bought this item for a Church looking to do it's own production. We tape both services and do more produced and edited media for use in services. The camera is in use alot. If you are buying it for indoors filming, invest in a good set of lights. This camera gets grainy on high zoom in low light. I don't know any camera in this price range that does not. Other than that, I have not found any problems that will jump out and surprise you. But the quality will.
You can complain about what this camera does not offer (XLR ins, and it is menu driven), but those are advertised. Don't buy this camera if those are deal breakers for you. What it does do it does well. And the battery life with the cmos chips is worth some of the trade offs with ccd cameras. I easily shoot two and a half hours without plugging in (on the OEM battery that comes with it). That is amazing to me. I can position for best shot of the event, instead of hanging with the others by the plugs.
I have been happy that I made the technology jump to this camera instead of playing it safe with a more industry standard camera. I would recomend this to anyone who is looking for an entry level production camera. It is a bargain at its price.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
I bought this camcorder to replace a damaged 2100 Sony camcorder (which I really liked!) and I wasn't so sure about the HDV. After all, most of my customers/clients aren't buying HD products yet.
Well, my first job was a shoot at a convention, doing a celebrity "roast" for one of the guest writers.
Can you spell 'flawless'? Sure you can!
Can you say 'beautiful imagery'? I figured you could.
Can you hear the GIANT SMILE on my face when the director complimented my shots?
Even a near-idiot like me can look good with a camera like this one. Smooth zooms, effortless focusing (it could be a little faster on autofocus, but considering the low-light in that auditorium, not so bad after all) and the light weight and balance were great on the end of my jib crane! And considering that I hadn't even practiced with it (I wasn't expecting to be using it until 2 days before the shoot; my plans were for my cameraman to be shooting on Sunday while I was directing!), this camera was FANTASTIC!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
We needed another camcorder didn't really want a HD because of the problems of no software out there to create HDDVDs. We bought this because our other sony is 10yrs old and didn't want to buy what we had. We are very glad we did. Even regular tapes look stellar in the 1080i format. The 20x zoom is to drool over. It is wonderful we use it for birding only now they are moving. All the techie stuff should come from my husband, but I am writing this so you won't hear it from me. I do not hear him swear or crank about difficult maneuvers. He likes the programable buttons. I found the change to Final Cut HD easy. You edit in HD and made the non HD DVD (we use a MAC) record it back to HD tape and wait till the software is written. Broadcast wants tape anyway. Ease of handling cam great, additional sound source easy to deal with. Mike on cam improved over our other camcorder. Easy to carry with handle. Need to use manual focus at times. Lots of buttons if you want a point and record not a good choice.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
I purchased this for my business to film our CEO's toast for our 40th Anniversary as a firm. The initial results were stunning. With a bit of lighting and a nice backdrop - all of the sudden we were our own little film studio.
This has resulted in the filming of a series of shorts for a viral marketing campaign. It is amazing to see the level of quality that we are able to work with.
Battery life on the original is not the best, but I have not used in a portable fashion for more than a few hours, so the impact has not been a factor in my amazement at the device itself.
The manual iris settings are incredibly flexible and combined with studio lighting - allows you to create a rich filming environment. Even the factory microphone has worked well for us, though using external microphones has been a cinche too. Maybe another small complaint is the lack of an unbalanced mic jack - but at this price point - is to be expected to be absent.
Overall a 4.5 out of 5, so I'll give this device the benefit of a generous rounding to a 5. If you are looking for more than a point-and-shoot HD cam and feel like a budding DP, this is your camera. Enjoy!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
I purchased this camera and I do a lot of highlights for High School football. This has been a great purchase. Easy to switch between HD and SD and the picture quality is OUTSTANDING. The drawback was no XLR connections but it does have a basic mike jack and the shotgun mike attached is pretty good. I have no problems with it. It is easy to use, I haven't even switched it off of the auto settings and it does everything I want. And it shoots well in low light situations. When I go to slo mo clips in editing, the clips I shot with this are better than good. If you are a sports guy, this camera is a good buy.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
I am in love with this camera! It looks superb! Extremely easy to use! Camera has on board mic which picks up well or you can pickup the Rode VideoMic for it- also you can get a XLR Box if you prefer for these ports. I use the HDV tapes and this camera runs for a long time. Works very well with Sony Vegas... well of course it would, it's Sony. I'm extremely happy! You can see the video quality (though only 720p on youTube) here [...]- The camera records in 1080i but until youTube let's me load those this is all I can show. I love the remote control that comes with it and the lcd screen can flip all the way forward so I can watch it when I am in front of it... which is awesome!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Sony HDR-FX7 3-CMOS Sensor HDV High-Definition Handycam Camcorder with 20x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
This camera has tons of features that I haven't tried yet. I taped a hockey tournament and banquet and found the camera very easy to use. I like the dual zoom feature-the zoom on the side goes slow/fast depending on how far you push the bar. On the handle you can select slow or fast zoom and thats nice for doing music videos as it pans in and out at a fixed rate regardless of how far you push the bar. The sound recording is great but it picks up voices in back of the camera too so I'm going to invest in a directional mic. The viewfinder swivels almost 90 degrees so you can tip the camera almost straight up such as filming the release of balloons. You dont have to bend your head all the way back as you do with fixed viewfinders. All the controls are easy to use with your hand under the grip strap. The lens hood has a built in lens cover which is a nice touch. This camera does the 1080i HD and uses iLink to download to your computer. I use Studio 12 to make my movies but studio 12 requires 2.66 GHz of processing power for HD and I only have 1.8GHz. The camera can convert your HD to standard def with a built-in setting on the iLink screen.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
(
Saving...
