Customer Rating: 
Summary: It's a GOOD, a BAD and an UGLY digital camcorder.
Comment: I chose
Sony HDR CX7 over Panasonic HDC-SD5, Samsung HMX10A and Canon HG10 after an extensive research. I want a camcorder that can record both in HD and SD format, using Flash memory card, and taking decent still pictures. The reasons why I bought it are listed in THE GOOD section.
After using it for 3 weeks, I hate it in some areas. They're listed in THE BAD and the UGLY SECTION.
THE GOOD
BEAUTIFUL VIDEO QUALITY
It records beautiful and sharp video even in SD format. The color is vivid and attractive.
BEST STILL PICTURES
It takes pictures in 6 and 4 mega pixels. The color are lively and bright. All the competitors take pictures in only 2 mega pixels. They look very bad compared to
Sony's. Still, these pictures do not look as sharp as a digital point and shoot camera. No pictures taken by any camcorders look as good as the ones by cameras.
NIGHT SHOT FEATURE
You can shoot video in the dark by turning on the built-in infrared light. No competitors have this feature.
SHOOTING VIDEO IN BOTH HD AND SD FORMAT
Only
Sony and Panasonic camcorders have this feature.
I want mine to be able shoot movies in both HD (AVCHD) and SD (Mpeg2) formats. It's because I and the majority of my friends have regular TVs and DVD players. We think the price of HD equipment is still too high.
HIGH-CAPACITY EXTRA BATTERY
The battery that comes with my camcorder lasts only 1 and 1/2 hours. I bought an extra one, NPFH100 H Series Actiforce Hybrid InfoLithium Battery. It lasts approximately 7 hours. That's more than enough for me.
NOISELESS RECORDING
Because it uses flash memory card, the camera makes no noise. As a result, my video recording does not have any sound made by the camcorder. The same thing goes for any camcorder that uses the same technology
AFFORDABLE PRICING
At $700, it's cheap for a high definiton, flash card camcorder. You can't go wrong with that
THE BAD and THE UGLY
SUPPORTING ONLY 8 GB of FLASH MEMORY
The highest capacity of the memory sticks supported is only 8 GB. If you're recording in SD format, it will record for 4 hours. That's good enough for casual users. If you're recording in HD format, it lasts only 2 hours. That is short. I resolve this problem by using 2 memory sticks of 8 GB each. That gives me 4 hours of HD video or 8 hours of SD video. This is good enough for me. I wish it supported 16 GB memory stick.
PROPRIETARY INTERFACE AND HARDWARE
This is one of the reasons I don't like
Sony merchandise. It's because it costs me much more in the long run. Further more, I'm not able to use many better accessories made by other companies. For example, if I could use Sandisk Compact Flash card, it would cost less.
SLOPPY ACCESSORIES
Sound quality is not good unless you stand about 1 feet away from the object. It has too much echo. This is typical problem of all consumer camcorders made by all companies. So, I bought an external microphone, ECM-HGZ1 Shotgun Microphone. I ended up returning it to the store. It's because it's not better than the built-in one. It also looks and feels like a toy. If the camcorder did not use proprietary Active Interface Hot Shoe, I would be able to use pro external microphones made by other companies to produce excellent sound.
Now, there's no way to record better sound with this camcorder. It does not have a line-in for microphone. If I want it, I'll have to buy pro -level camcorders which cost minimum $6500!
BAD SOFTWARE SUPPORT
I misplaced the software disc that came with the camera. So, I could not install the software browser to view HD video and picture files. I could not find full version of the software on
Sony website! They have only the upgrade version. Luckily, I just found the original disc.
In short, this is the best camcorder in its class which meets my needs. If only it used standard interface, then it would be an excellent equipment.
