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| Sony HDR-HC7 6.1MP MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom | 
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| Brand: Sony
Category: Photography
Buy New: $1,599.55
Buy New from $1,599.55
Avg. Customer Rating:  (42 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3206
Media: Electronics
Batteries Included: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 10
Display Size: 2.7
Maximum Focal Length: 54
Minimum Focal Length: 5.4
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Shipping Weight (lbs): 8
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0 x 0.1
MPN: SNY-HDRHC7
Model: HDR-HC7
UPC: 027242701458
EAN: 0027242701458
ASIN: B000M3HVLQ
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Sony High Def Camorder May 23, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Trying for the best in Video quality, is easy or difficult. To achieve it on a budget I've gone to High Def the Sony Hc7 allows me to turn out 16x9 Dvds that are as sharp as Commercial Quality. The Low point is the quality is great. To achieve it you're probably going to have to buy a new computer for editing. My old machine would capture perfectly my Digital 8 data, & the Dv stream from the HC7. High Def no way it stuttered and dropped portions of the image. The controls with the Hc7 allow you to control exposure easily. my only wish would be a ring around the barrel of the lens to allow a easy manual focus. They do have a multipurpose wheel on the side, for focusing it is not convenient. I use it set for Exposure compensation.
Stunning Footage...and works perfectly with Macbook! May 16, 2007
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
I purchased this camcorder in anticipation of the birth of my son last month. This is my first camcorder purchase and I am extremely impressed and happy with my purchase.
My goal was to make videos that I could watch in HD on my TV and also quickly edit on my macbook in iMovie and then burn to dvd or upload to youtube.com to share with family. In this regard it works flawlessly. The camcorder and my macbook play together beautifully and it is simple to get the footage off of the camcorder and into my macbook and then burned onto a dvd or uploaded to youtube.com. The footage is automatically adjusted to standard definition by iMovie but the tape in the camcorder retains the 1080i HD footage. This means that I can play it back on my TV in HD whenever I want and also save it for the future when I have an HD disc burner to make HD discs.
By the way I have never done ANY video editing of any kind prior to buying this camcorder and macbook. I am a complete amateur and the ease of which I can make decent home movies with titles and effects and then share them with family is nothing short of astounding!
The bonus is that I can also play the footage directly from the camcorder to my Sony XBR2 1080p TV using an HDMI cable and the picture quality is breathtaking, as clear and sharp as some of the network HD feeds I get through Comcast cable.
Video Quality: The color is very lifelike although tends to be a bit oversaturated. Some may prefer more subtle true lifelike colors that the Canon camcorders are known for. I like the Sony color however, because the colors seem to "pop" a bit more while still seeming natural. This camcorder utilizes Sony's new x.v. color which promises nearly twice the viewable color currently available. My HDTV does not support x.v. color so this feature is useless to me. From what I understand, very few HDTV's support x.v. color so for now this seems to me like marketing hype. The sharpness is absolutely amazing. When watching on my HDTV via HDMI cable, the image is in my eyes comparable to the prime time network HD shows through my cable provider.
Low light performance: When researching this camera, I read the camcorderinfo review which stated that this camcorder suffers from poor low light performance. I find that to be simply untrue. Based on that review I expected the low light footage to be bad and was delighted to find that the low light performance was quite good and more than adequate for my needs. I tested the low light ability at night in my living room with the 60 watt ceiling bulbs dimmed halfway and the video came out fine. The colors were a little muted which was expected but there was no graininess and the footage was sharp and detailed. For my needs I will be filming low light indoor scenes such as candle-lit birthday parties and Christmas morning present openings and I am quite happy with the camera's abilities in these types of low light situations. In outdoors in sunlight, the picture and color will take your breath away.
Ease of Use: My wife was quite intimidated by the thought of learning to use an HD camcorder. I was thrilled to find that the HC7 has an "easy" button. My wife and I got quite a laugh out of this but it really is a great addition. The "easy" button sets the camera to all automatic point and shoot mode and I have to say in this mode the video comes out amazing with no effort or manual adjustments on your part. Because of the "easy" button my wife is no longer afraid of the camera and is now filming as much as I am. In fact, we both use the camera primarily in the "easy" mode and the footage always comes out sharp and stunning (and I get to be in the footage with my son now that my wife shoots too).
For more experienced shooters, this camera has tons of manual controls which I will probably never use. The menu system is a bit awkward as you have to dig deep into nested folders to find some of the options you want. This is extremely frustrating when you are shooting and want to change something quickly. For example to change white balance or turn off optical image stablisation when using a tripod requires scrolling through mulitple folders to find the option you want - annoying. Although to be fair the instructions do say that you can set your most used manual controls on a custom touchscreen for easy access. I have yet to do this.
Batteries: The Sony Infolithium batteries give real time information on exactly how much time you have left to shoot. This is extremely helpful and I find the estimates to be incredibly accurate. You will have to purchase an additional battery however, as the one it comes with does not give you adequate shooting time before needing to be recharged.
Overall I am extremely happy with this camcorder and would absolutely recommend it. The stunning video quality, compatibility with my Macbook for making videos to share with extended family and incredible ease of use make this camera a winner. Throw in the fact that it has an "easy" button that allows my non-techie wife to take incredibly sharp, beautiful footage and be comfortable using the camera and enthusiastic about shooting, and you have the perfect camcorder for my family. Highly recommended!
 Slow motion blurry May 14, 2007
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
Nice camera in general, but in my experiece the slow motion feature is very blurry.
 ABSOLUTELY STUNNING VIDEO; BUT THROW AWAY YOUR OLD ACCESSORIES! May 10, 2007
I'm very much a novice when it comes to video. I have a 3 year-old Sony mini-DV Handycam (DCR-TRV22). I wanted to upgrade to something better. I looked at numerous 3-chip standard definition cameras, and I rented one (Sony DCR-VX2100) locally to try out for a weekend. The video with the 3-chip was clearly better than the 1-chip, but I wasn't convinced it was worth about $[...] for the model I'd selected (Panasonic AG-DVX100B). I stumbled across the HC7 in Videomaker magazine and became interested. The reviews here on Amazon sounded promising and it was $[...] cheaper!
There is a beautiful 60-foot waterfall near my house. When the HC7 first arrived, I charged the battery and headed out. The video quality was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! It was manifold better than the 3-chip camcorder I'd rented. You could easily make out the texture of the moss growing on rocks near the bottom of the falls, probably over 100 feet from my vantage point. I could count the blades of grass growing around the edge. Stunning! I brought it to Pizza Hut the following night (to film my pizza, of course!) and you could count the anise seeds in the Italian sausage. Weird, but cool! I displayed the video on my MacBook Pro and on a 65" DLP HDTV and I was majorly impressed. The TV displayed that the input was 1080i and it looked the part, too... sweet!
I took a few still photos with the HC7. I was comtemplating purchasing a Nikon D200, but the quality of these stills is probably good enough for me. I'm not in any way saying the HC7's stills are comparable in quality to that of the D200... I'm just saying the HC7 stills are nice enough for my needs (for now).
I've read elsewhere that the low light performance of the HC7 is not good. I tried it in low light and it doesn't seem any worse than the DCR-VX2100 or the DCR-TRV22 and maybe a little better.
One of the features that appealed to me was an accessory mentioned by an earlier reviewer, the SPK-HCB marine pack. This allows you to use the camcorder while snorkeling or just around the pool or beach without worrying about water damage. The SPK-HCB (about $[...]) doesn't list the HC7 as a compatible model, but the $[...] (and otherwise nearly identical) SPK-HCC did, so I purchased the latter. I have not tried this out yet, but it looks to be well-made and will likely work adequately.
The audio quality is lackluster, like all consumer camcorders. To add insult to injury, the Sony external camcorder microphone I purchased on Amazon 2 weeks ago for the DCR-TRV22 won't work with the HC7. The "intelligent" shoe, found on the DCR-TRV22, has been replaced by the "active interface" shoe, found on the HC7. The dang thing won't fit this shoe... $[...] down the drain! This destroys the value of Sony's accessories! A two-week-old mic is worthless! Because of this, I give the HDR-HC7 a 1-star rating. Advice to Sony: quit raking your loyal customers over the coals, and we'll do a better job of promoting YOUR products!
CONCLUSION: 5-star camcorder by a 1-star consumer-unfriendly corporate giant
Why not have HDD version of this? May 4, 2007
6 out of 19 found this review helpful
It is a nice camcorder.
But it would be nicer, if it is HDD (hard disk drive) based. The miniDV tape just not able to record the whole event I like to record. transfer file from tape to computer is also taking a long time. Wish they have a HDD version so that I can get the capture through USB port like their other HDD version camcorder!
I was wrong that Sony has a HDR-SR7 and SR8 that is just as nice as this one with 60GB and 100GB HDD. You can find that in Amazon.com!
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