Performance

The HDR-SR7 is equipped with a 1/3" ClearVid CMOS sensor. Sony is offering three distinct imagers in its $1000+ consumer models this year - a 1/3' CMOS with a 2100K gross pixel count, a 1/3' CMOS with a 3200K gross pixel count, and a 1/2.9' CMOS with a 3200K gross pixel count.  The SR7's imager is the middle one (1/3' and 3200K) with an effective pixel count of 2280K. This is similar in pixel count to the imager found in the HDR-HC7, Sony’s HDV warrior we tested earlier this year, but the size is a touch smaller. In bright light conditions, we don't expect to see much of a difference. The HC7 performed well in bright light (3000 lux), with an image that was rich in color and rife with sharp lines. Sony’s two previous AVCHD models, the HDR-SR1 and UX1 offered less color and more noise—a characteristic that will most likely translate to the SR7’s image. We’d expect the SR7 to handle color well but suffer the slings and arrows of AVCHD’s motion trailing and increased noise levels. The SR1 and UX1 both had noise issues, but that’s a characteristic of the AVCHD format. Even the Panasonic HDC-SD1 had trouble with noise and motion artifacting, despite its three 1/4' CCDs. AVCHD is more efficient than HDV, but the current maximum bitrate of 15Mbps is furiously roosting its tires in the mud, attempting to barrel out and reach that coveted 24Mbps plateau we’ve been waiting for.

Low Light Performance**

Sony reports that the HDR-SR7’s minimum lowlight sensitivity can reach 2 lux, but you should expect a farm of noise. We shot some footage inside a dimly lit night club with the HDR-CX7 and then connected it via HDMI to a widescreen monitor. The picture was pelted with noise and motion artifacts. Graininess ran rampant. We experienced a similar situation with the HC7, however, the HDR-HC3 did not cause such a commotion. The reason is because Sony pumped up the gross pixel count of last year’s HC3 from 2100K to 3200K. Yes, you can expect more definition, but the sensitivity typically decreases due to the smaller pixels. The downward trend between the HC3’s low light performance and HC7’s lead us to believe that the SR7 will perform worst of all - combining the small pixel size with a smaller chip, *plus* the noise and motion issues inherent thus far in the AVCHD format. 

Format

Compression

Like the Sony HDR-SR5 and MemoryStick-based CX7, the HDR-SR7 uses AVCHD compression, originally developed by Sony and Panasonic. The first glimpse of AVCHD was introduced on the Sony HDR-SR1 and HDR-UX1, and the format has exploded on the scene ever since. The reason is that AVCHD allows for HD video encoding that is 50% more efficient than MPEG-2 HDV compression. This is not to say AVCHD yields the best picture—currently, the highest bitrate available is 15Mbps, but the format is capable of reaching 24Mbps.

 AVCHD is compatible with DVD, flash, and HDD camcorders, which could be a definitive selling point compared to HDV’s tape media. Consumers are drifting toward ease of use more gradually as time goes on, and a camcorder that allows you to hookup, drag and drop, and export on the fly is more alluring than manually capturing HDV footage that creates mega files sizes. The problem with AVCHD is that it’s still only recognized by a few NLEs: Sony Vegas 7.0e, Ulead Video Studio 11, and Pinnacle Studio 11. Though this is a nice foray into the land of AVCHD compatibility, we are still waiting on Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut, and Avid to get their acts together. In addition, editing with AVCHD will cause a strain on most computers due to its increased compression and decompression of the new codec. If you’re looking for optimal video performance and editing options, HDV would be the best bet while waiting for AVCHD’s storm cloud of trial and error to blow over.

The SR7 supports 4 different bitrates when shooting AVCHD: 15Mbps in XP, 9Mbps in HQ, 7Mbps in SP, and 5Mbps in LP. The camcorder can also shoot in standard definition MPEG-2 in three quality settings: HQ - 9Mbps, SP - 6Mbps, and LP - 3Mbps.

Media

What’s easier than a hard drive-based camcorder? At the moment, nothing. You record your footage, hook it up to a computer, drag and drop your MPEG-2 files, and do a dance. The SR7 is equipped with a massive 60GB HDD—that’s up to 8 hours of recording time in the highest quality (XP), 14 hours in HQ, 17 hours in SP, and 22 hours in LP. In standard definition, the SR7 can record 14 hours of footage in HQ, 21 hours in SP, and 41 hours in LP. Thanks to the HDD’s silent design, you won’t get the whirring and buzzing emitted by a tape or spinning DVD. In addition, the SR7 has a drop detection system that automatically shuts the camcorder off mid-fall or whenever it experiences a drastic gravity shift. A MemoryStick PRO Duo slot is located in the LCD cavity for recording stills. On any Sony camcorder, you’ll notice that all accessories will not be universal—they are proprietary, and it'll be Sony or nothing. No SD card like you’d find on a Panasonic or Canon. Just MemoryStick action.

**Editing
**We have good news for those who almost clicked finalize on their AVCHD camcorder eBay listing—AVCHD editing is here! Sony Vegas 7.0e, Ulead Video Studio 11, and Pinnacle Studio 11 all support the new compression. The downside is that you’re going to need a lightning fast computer in order to handle the heavy compression/decompression. The SR7 ships with Picture Motion Browser 2.0, an exceedingly basic video editing program crafted for Sony’s HDD camcorders. Don’t expect fireworks here—Picture Motion Browser 2.0 is merely for those looking to piece together clips and export without flashy transitions and effects.

Tour

The Front

Up front on the DCR-SR7, you’ll be greeted by a colossal 10x Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* lens with a filter diameter of 37mm. The lens bears threads for that fisheye or telephoto add-on, and has a focal length of 5.4mm-54mm with the following 35mm equivalent lengths: 40-400mm (16:9 Camera Mode), 49-490mm (4:3 Camera Mode), 40-400mm (Memory Mode), 37-370mm (4:3 Memory Mode). A digital still flash is embedded in the left side of the lens frame. We generally prefer a top-mounted flash like the one found on the Sony HDR-SR1 because of its even light distribution and compact design. Below the lens to the right is the BLC or backlight compensation button, which is usually placed within the LCD cavity or top ridge of the camcorder’s left side. Mounted the BLC button on the front could add another hoop to jump through for those who look beyond Easy mode. The remote sensor lies to the bottom left of the lens and conforms to the SR7’s curvaceous geometry.  

The Right Side

The right side of the HDR-SR7 is home to a dancing array of logical placements. While we gripe about certain camcorders and their lack of mic and headphone jacks or ill placement of the said coveted connections, Sony has included both on the SR7 and placed them side by side, behind their own personal port cover. Bravo! No fiddling within the LCD cavity or endangering the field of vision with rogue cables—the SR7 houses its mic and headphone jacks in a secluded zone. The only thing you’ll have to watch for is the hand strap’s tendency to pull up, creating strain on the headphone plug, so make sure you buckle up tight. Above the mic and headphone jacks is the HDMI terminal, housed by its own thin plastic cover. The hand strap itself is, well, not cheap, yet not expensive either. It’s the same hand strap you’d find on the Sony DCR-SR300 and HDR-SR5, and you can expect the same level of rigid comfort and thin padding as the Canon HV20’s. Glossing over Sony’s HDD case, you’ll see a small jack cover switch to the far left. When slid open, this mini plastic garage door reveals the component and A/V terminals. Again, Sony’s port placement rocks. Migrating as many cables as possible to the right side of the SR7 reduces the level of LCD and back end clutter. This is how a camcorder should be designed.

The Back

The back of the SR7 can be divided into two sections: the battery and the vertical control panel. Let’s take care of the battery first. Remember the cavernous chamber found on the Sony HDR-HC7? That’s not quite the case here. The SR7’s bulky battery juts out a good 1/3" past the edge of the viewfinder. If you want to upgrade to a larger battery, get ready for, you guessed it, a big old, hard plastic party in your face. Luckily, the color viewfinder extends upward, removing the shooter from the danger zone, but craning your neck for prolonged periods of time will not equate to an ergonomically sound shooting environment. The viewfinder unfortunately has a plastic eye cup and its dioptric adjuster is located on the bottom rim. Now on to the control panel. At the top is the horseshoe-shaped mode dial, resting in an easily accessible location in relation to the index finger. A round black flash button sits below the mode dial, followed by the movie and photo lamps. To the right, just above the end of the hand strap, is the record start/stop button, which is set within a raised plastic plateau, increasing the proximity to the thumb and allowing for easier button access. To the bottom right of the battery is a set of ports housed by two burly plastic port covers that sit flush with the SR7’s body—the remote jack and DC input.

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**The Left Side
**So far, the HDR-SR7 is looking pretty damn fine, but its sexiness would be pumped to the max if it had an HDR-SR1-size LCD screen. Instead of a massive 3.5 inch screen, you get a standard 2.7" wide screen. Think of how badass the SR7 would have been with a whopping 3.5'. Sony’s touch screen interface does not fare well with smaller screens because the buttons are smaller, increasing the dosage of vexation users will experience when they attempt to repeatedly press a button before a attaining a response. The LCD panel contains a horizontal strip of controls on the bottom consisting of record start/stop, zoom in/out and home buttons. There buttons are thin and resemble the same kind of interface as a mini Bose stereo remote control. You’ll notice a grooved cylindrical cam control dial embedded in the lens barrel. Yup, it’s the same one found on the HDR-HC7. A manual mode button is located directly below the dial and enables a quick shift right at your fingertips. The dial is a bit slippery and annoying to control, but it’s better than using the touch screen. Inside the LCD cavity, you’ll see five items (see Manual Control below for more info). Since all of the ports migrated to the right side of the SR7, the well is pretty dry over on the left side. A row of three small buttons span across the bottom and include display/battery info, media, and playback. The life raft of all camcorders sits above in the form of an Easy button, one of Sony’s claims to fame in the consumer realm. To the right of the Easy button is a slot for a MemoryStick PRO Duo, and that just about concludes the LCD cavity’s minimalistic interior.

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***Above, the left side of the HDR-SR7 in profile.

Below, a look inside the LCD cavity.
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**The Top
**5.1 Channel Dolby Digital Surround Sound microphones are found on most higher-end Sony consumer camcorders. The SR7’s sports one,  siting at the bough of the ship, above the lens. The placement is poor. Those with hands larger than an Oopma Loompa’s are likely to scrape against or muffle the mic. Why do manufacturers do this? To rebel against the conventional front-mounted mic? Is it a style choice? Or is Sony attempting to shave as much bulk as possible. Whatever the case, watch your finger placement. Behind the built-in mic is Sony’s proprietary AIS (Active Interface Shoe), or hot shoe. The downside is that the hot shoe is only compatible with Sony products, narrowing your scope of aftermarket components. The hot shoe’s rigid plastic cover sits flush with the lithe lines of the SR7’s top and remains secure when snapped into place. In the valley on the way to the zoom toggle is a NightShot switch, again, another primo placement by Sony—the action is immediately accessible. Toward the back right is the smooth, responsive, HC7-esque zoom toggle accompanied by a wide photo button.

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Auto / Manual Controls

**Picture & Manual Control
***Automatic Control*

Sony’s saving grace is its classic Easy button and the HDR-SR7’s is located in the LCD cavity, like almost every other model. The Easy button has a reputation within the consumer circuit and is one of Sony’s major selling points. When pressed, the camcorder shifts into full autopilot—the LCD menu buttons double in size, and all manual controls flee the country. Another near-standard Sony feature is the spot focus and spot metering, which allow the user to press certain parts of the LCD screen in order to make adjustments. With a crammed 2.7" wide LCD screen, spot focus and meter are difficult to access. Also, if your screen is exceptionally smudged and clouded with fingerprints, then both controls are rendered essentially useless—how can you tell the difference between n unfocused area and a smudge?

*Overall Manual Control
*The SR7 is the only new AVCHD Sony in the bunch to incorporate a multifunction cam control dial into its manual control suite. The dial is almost identical to the HDR-HC7’s, and those who read that review know that making manual adjustments with the cam control dial is no picnic. By pressing the manual button, a small menu appears allowing you to choose between focus, exposure, shutter speed, and white balance shift. You can also choose to reset the control dial, which will come in handy when all of your manual controls are activated at once and certain ones become defunct because they can’t work with one another (Exposure and AE shift).

 We found the dial to be exceedingly undersized and devoid of proper grip for making quick, accurate adjustments, but lamenting the SR1’s and UX1’s buttery cam control ring will not bring it back—unless Sony takes heed to our quibbling requests. We can only invest a certain amount of hope in Sony before wearing ourselves down. 

The SR7 also employs a menu interface nearly identical to the Sony HDR-SR1, HDR-UX1 and DCR-SR300—what we're calling the home menu system. This menu is drastically different from the HC7’s. Basically, the older menu system (still seen on the likes of lower-end MiniDV camcorders) is a long list of options which takes a while to scroll through. It's a deep, narrow design. The new home menu system is shallow and wide. On the plus side, it offers faster access to controls. On the downside, the layout takes a while to learn, and there are some confusing redundancies. (More info on this in the Menu section below.)
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Zoom*
The SR7’s zoom lever is pretty much identical to most Sonys in this price range: smooth, grooved, and powerful. Like the HC7’s, the variable speeds are easy to differentiate between with some practice, and eventually you’ll be able to achieve that slow crawl to pump up the drama. What you get here is worlds beyond what Canon offers with the HV20—a miniscule strip of lame plastic does not prove itself conducive to comfort or optimum control. The zoom lever placement on the SR7 is spot on, falling just below the index finger.

 

The SR7’s LCD screen features two small zoom in and zoom out buttons—wide and telephoto. Those who grasp the LCD screen while shooting will most likely use this strip, but be aware—you can’t achieve the level of control executed with the zoom lever. The LCD zoom controls are mainly for quick shot adjustments.

*Focus
*Focusing the SR7 will be a near-identical experience to focusing the HDR-HC7. You’ve got two adjustment options: the cam control dial or the touch screen menu. Our vote goes to the cam control dial, despite its one centimeter length and slippery surface. Even though it’s no multifunction control ring, it beats the pants off the touch screen.

Pressing the manual button located beneath the cam control dial activates a small menu that appears in the lower right hand corner. Here, you can select manual focus by scrolling with the dial and pressing the manual button again to select it. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but once you acclimate to the finicky nature of the dial’s loose rotation, focusing will become fun.

Manual focus can also be found in the first tab of the function menu. When selected, a screen appears with two buttons that allow you to focus in and out and is measured in meters.
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Exposure & Aperture*
Again, it’s the cam control dial or the touch screen. When you select exposure in the cam control menu, a slider appears allowing you to choose from a range of 24 EV steps (the actual EV stop numbers are undisclosed). Like focusing, the cam control dial will require a steady finger in order to hone in on an exact setting. A larger exposure slider is available in the second tab of the function menu, operated by touch screen buttons. If the SR7 had a 3.5" LCD screen like the HDR-SR1 and UX1, then we could suggest the touch screen exposure adjustment as a venerable alternate to the cam control dial, but with just a 2.7" LCD, making manual adjustments via the LCD screen is virtually pointless and will most likely give you an early heart attack.

*Shutter Speed
*The SR7 does have the SR1 and UX1 beat in one department, and that’s shutter speed. While the latter two models are missing a critical manual control, the SR7 is capable of shutter speed adjustment operated by the cam control dial. The HC7 had a strikingly broad spectrum of shutter speeds, from 1/4 of a second to 1/10,000 of a second in 20 intervals. The SR7 should be capable of a similar, if not identical range. You can also adjust the shutter speed by using the touch screen menu, which operates just like exposure.

*White Balance
*The SR7 does not offer white balance adjustment with the cam control dial but rather a white balance shift. White balance shift enables you to finely tweak a white balance setting, allowing you to warm or cool the color temperature by a few degrees. This is a good control to have close at hand with the cam control dial rather than having to go into the menu and change the white balance mode.

 The standard white balance settings are found in the tab menu. You can choose between Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, and One Push (Manual) modes. The manual setting is faster in Sonys than any other manufacturer, taking only about 1-3 seconds. Some camcorders can take up to 10 seconds.

Gain
*There is no gain on the HDR-SR7. Seek Panasonic camcorders for this option in the consumer price-range.
**Other Manual Controls
Zebra Stripes- *If you are a freak about monitoring overexposed whites, then zebra stripes are for you. Anything that is blown out will display moving zebra stripes that disappear when the exposure has been properly set. You can choose between two different sensitivity levels—70 IRE and 100 IRE. Zebra stripes can be turned on and off in the last tab of the function menu.*  

****Guideframes-* Guideframes form a grid that splits the screen into nine different sections and is useful for those who aim for symmetry and distinct composition in their shots.

Still Features

**Still Features
**The HDR-SR7 can capture stills to the 60GB HDD or MemoryStick Pro Duo at a maximum size of 6.1MP with alternative 4.6MP, 3.1MP, and VGA (0.3MP) sizes. The SR7 includes a flash mounted to the side of the lens that could lead to uneven lighting compared to the Sony HDR-UX1, which has a flash embedded right above the lens. Focus, exposure, white balance, spot meter, and almost every other manual and automatic control found in video mode also applies in digital still mode. You can also set the flash level to high or low and apply a red eye reduction filter.

Handling and Use

**Ease of Use
**Easy. Button. Need we say more? Sony’s autopilot function is the talk of the town amongst consumers. One press doubles the size of the touch screen menu and eliminates the need to make manual adjustments—the SR7 will do it all for you. This is true idiot-proofing.  No fiddling with exposure, white balance, or focus—Sony’s here to cover your behind. If you opt not to cheat, you’ll be welcomed into the touch screen menu world, a world in which vexation may run rampant. We’re talking about the 2.7" LCD screen housing wee little buttons that are half the size of an average pinky. You’ll be pressing away until you realize that a pen cap or stylus is the way to go, and on the road, that’s just another thing to worry about. The menu is easy to navigate though—everything’s right at your fingertips. Those who frequently use the touch screen menu will begin to notice a cloudy barrage of fingerprints engulfing their LCD screen. It basically negates the whole purpose of the spot focus. Panasonic’s rear-mounted joystick currently resides in the throne. Sony has delighted us with their port configuration on the SR7—most of them have all been moved to the right side! No wire clusters, no obstructed field of view. This is the way a camcorder should be designed, and Sony is setting an example here.

**Handling
**When you first slide your hand into the HDR-SR7, you’ll notice the same hand strap found on the DCR-SR300. It’s equivalent to the Canon HV20’s: thin, firm, and devoid of proper padding. Nevertheless, the SR7 feels bulkier than the SR300, weighing in at 610g. The SR7 ranks amongst the HC7 and HV20 in the weight department, but it is on a slight diet compared to the two HDV titans. It measures 3" x 3 1/4' x 5 7/8" (75 x 81 x 149mm), almost the identical dimensions of the HC7. The SR7 is rectangular as well, providing more grip for the fingers with a small valley between the top of the camcorder and the HDD. This is a camcorder that will fit inside a small camera bag with ease—as long as you leave room for its HandyCam docking station, supplied cables, and extra batteries. Based on the SR300’s battery life, the SR7 will be in the same boat since the two share the same NP-FH60 rechargeable battery pack, which means a maximum of 113 minutes of continuous recording time, and 45 minutes of typical recording time. Now let’s talk durability.

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The HDR-SR7 is crafted from smooth and sleek 007-like black plastic, and it feels solid and unwavering in the hand. The only apparent issues were with the port cover. Though they inconspicuously camouflage themselves upon the SR7’s curvaceous body, the port covers are relatively flimsy, held by two thin plastic strips. Keep this on the down low, but we actually pulled one out and frantically scrambled to shove it back in its slot—and that was just a light tug! Football players beware: The SR7 needs a lot of TLC. Then you have the touch screen LCD screen, which is about as big as a football player’s index finger. Imagine LT trying to hit the home button 67 times before tackling the SR7 to the ground. Bigger LCD screen, Sony. Remember the SR1.

**Menu
**This the Magical Mystery Menu. It’s an idiot-proof interface with soothing button selection beeps, yet it does not have an entirely logical design. You’ll find that on Sony’s HDR-SR1, UX1, CX7, SR5, and DCR-SR300. There are three buttons located on the main video screen: home, playback, and options. The home button, located in the top left hand corner, brings you to a screen that includes camera, view images, others, manage HDD/Memory, and settings. These controls are located in a series of tabs that run horizontally along the bottom of the screen.

The options, or function menu button, is located in the bottom right hand corner of the screen and cues a menu that includes all automatic and manual controls. Most manual controls can be accessed by the manual control button underneath the cam control dial on the lens barrel. On the HC7, you can scroll between focus, exposure, AE shift, and white balance shift, and the SR7, sharing the same cam controls dial, offers shutter speed in place of AE shift. (See the screen captures from the DCR-SR300. It's almost identical.)

**LCD and Viewfinder
**The HDR-SR7 features a 2.7" wide LCD with a 211K pixel count. Sony, what happened after the HDR-SR1’s prodigious 3.5 incher? A 2.7 inch LCD is compact, but that’s about it. And a touch screen interface with buttons the size of beetle heads. Anyone who doesn’t have styluses for fingers will feel the wrath spurned by the difficulty to accurately press a menu button. Of course, in Easy mode the buttons eat a mushroom ( a la Super Mario) and double in size, but that singles out those who wish to take control over their shooting experience and not coast by in auto pilot. The LCD hinge is thin and flexible, not unlike the Canon HV20’s, or most camcorders in this price range. On the LCD panel, you’ll find a horizontal strip of flattened buttons: record start/stop, zoom in, zoom out, and home. You’ll also notice a chunk of extra plastic on the left that could have forfeited its real estate for a larger LCD screen.

The SR7’s color viewfinder has a resolution of 123K pixels and extends upwards to about a 60 degree angle. There is no rubberized eye cup, and the dipotric adjuster is located right underneath the bottom lip.

Audio / Playback / Connectivity

**Audio
**The HDR-SR7 records Dolby Digital 5.1 channel surround sound via a built-in stereo microphone mounted to the top of the camcorder. This is an unfortunate design, for most fingers will have a tendency to wander on top of the microphone, muffling hours of splashes and giggles from the weekend pool party footage. 5.1 channel surround sound has become the standard sound recording option on most new HDV and AVCHD models, and to be honest, it sounds pretty good. At tradeshows and crazy events, audio is crisp and does not bleed like a standard PCM stereo electret mic found on older MiniDV and standard definition DVD camcorders. The SR7 had one microphone level setting: normal and low. Based on the performance of the SR300’s microphone, which is virtually identical, there was no real difference.

**Playback
**To enter playback mode, hit the onscreen button in the lower-left corner. You can also press the playback button located in the LCD cavity. Here, it’s just like the DCR-SR300. Up to six icons are visible at a time, representing recorded video and images. Along the bottom of the screen is a horizontal row of tabs including video footage, digital stills, media from the memory stick, and bookending camera mode and options buttons. You can press an icon to play a video or view a still in full screen, and play, fast forward, rewind, pause, next clip, last clip, and stop functions are available via touch screen buttons.

**Connectivity
**Sony’s port configuration should be published and studied in depth by other manufacturers. By migrating 70% of the SR7’s connections to the right side, Sony has eliminated LCD clutter, field of view obstructions, and overall wire mayhem madness. The right side is home to the HDMI terminal, mic and headphone jacks, A/V out, and Component/USB out. To be honest, the port covers are not the bulkiest, held by a pair of feeble plastic strips, so tug lightly. On the back, the remote jack and DC in terminals are covered by smaller versions of the flimsy port covers. The MemoryStick Pro DUO slot sits within the LCD cavity, a characteristic of most Sony models. Sony’s AIS, or Active Interface Shoe rests on top of the SR7, but it is only compatible with Sony brand accessories—a marketing ploy thrown in the same crafty cauldron as the MemoryStick.

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Other Features

Other Features
Smooth Slow Record- This feature is awesome. Instead of having to play with slow speeds in post production, you can use Smooth Slow Record, which allows you to record three seconds of footage and play it back in 12 seconds. How does it work? The number of recorded frames per second quadruples to 240fps, providing a seamless, fluid, true movement. Jumping has never looked so cool. However, this feature will not work for spur-of-the-moment shots, as you have to dig around in the menu to activate it.

Dual Record- With dual record, you can snap a digital still image up to 4.6MP while recording in HD video mode directly to a MemoryStick PRO Duo.

Tele Macro- Tele macro comes in handy when you need to shoot a close-up but don’t need a shadow being cast over your subject. The subject will be focused while the background will remain unfocused, enabling the subject to stand out.

Super NightShot- In NightShot mode, the shutter speed is adjusted to accommodate shooting in total darkness (0 lux) up to 10 feet away. Of course, everything looks UFO green.

Picture Effects- Record your footage in the following filters: sepia, black and white, and pastel. That’s all, folks.

Faders- If you want an in-camera cinematic experience, then use faders. When record start or stop is pressed, the picture will fade in and out. Choose between black and white.

x.v. Color- While x.v. color sounds great, allowing the opportunity to record HD and standard definition footage with nearly twice as many viewable colors (1.8x), there are only a few monitors on the market that support this feature—and they’re not cheap. Sony’s being crafty here with another marketing add-on to woo families across the world.

Comparisons / Conclusion

**Conclusion
**What can we say? Sony has produced a solid camcorder. Architecturally speaking, the HDR-SR7 should be marveled. The migration of the majority of ports to the right side of the body prevents cable clutter and provides LCD-related breathing room. The cam control dial is identical to the HDR-HC7’s, and it blows touch screen menu-operation out of the water. On top of that, the SR7’s 60GB HDD offers plenty of recording time and allows for simple drag and drop file operation—no capturing needed here. So what’s the catch? In our eyes, based on Sony imagers of yore, the HDR-SR7 will suffer in terms of video quality. We witnessed firsthand the AVCHD's tendency towards noise, even in moderate low light. It’s too bad. Sony’s design of the SR7 knocked our socks off. The wrinkles of any AVCHD camcorder’s image need to be ironed out before a reliable model can be produced. But for now, the SR7 appears to be a stellar piece of machinery for those who will not lose sleep over a barrel full of noise in a dimly lit Italian restaurant. Let’s just see what happens in the testing room next month.

Specs and Ratings

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