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| Brand: Sony
Category: Photography
List Price: $1,399.99
Buy New: $989.00
You Save: $410.99 (29%)
New (4) Used (2) from $750.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  68 reviews
Sales Rank: 2188
Media: Electronics
Batteries Included: No
Optical Zoom: 10
Digital Zoom: 20
Display Size: 2.7
Maximum Focal Length: 54
Minimum Focal Length: 5.4
Maximum Resolution: 3.2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 8
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: HDRSR7
Model: HDR-SR7
UPC: 027242719682
EAN: 0027242719682
ASIN: B000PQJGFO
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 EXCELLENT CAMERA November 13, 2007
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
i have the hdrsr7 for a couple of weeks and im so very happy with the camera. Im writing this mainly to talk about the low light on the hdrsr7. I have read reviews saying the camera is terrible in low light. i guess they must have a difective model because this is the best low light camera i have owned. people make it seem that you cant even go out at night and film, well I enjoy taking video of the city at night and this camera is absolutly wonderful, It performs wonderfully in low light, and at home with just 1 lamp in the room the cam is terrific practically no graininess at all, it works great. Also I have never owned a cam with a docking station people make it seem so difficult to take this along.Well the docking station is just a very thin, small piece and no big deal to log around, i like the docking station alot. Hdd is the way to go no worries on changing tapes so you can concentrate on taking videos lots of videos.This to me is the perfect camera to own. the only thing is you have to go to menus to do almost everything, but the good news is the menus are so simple and everything is just so easy to get to.I hope this review is helpful and for those who are skeptic about the low lighting, this cam is a GEM!
The best camera! November 2, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
The built in digital camera is not bad thought far from my Canon 40D camera. For quick convenient quick shots it is pretty decent. It is 4 megapixel while in video mode and 6.1 otherwise.
PROS:
Awesome video in Blu-Ray AVCHD
Excellent zero light mode
Fast focus
Large hard drive
Large LCD screen
CONS
Poor after market software support-only Nero so far
Drains batteries quick
Very pricey so don't drop it
Mini HDMI port vs full size HDMI port on my HDR-SR1
Well worth the price in my book an the excellent video of my son are well worth the admission price.
Excellent All Around October 30, 2007
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I was a little concerned about the software issues, but upon connecting the camera to my MAC, iMovie and iPhoto is able to import directly from the camera without installing a thing. It just works! I didn't install any of the Sony software that came with the camera. Looks like software issues are Windows issues. Solution: switch to MAC! The video and stills are excellent quality. The touch screen is easy to use (and I have big fingers). Manual focus works great. Night Shot is fantastic! Low light shots are good. I would highly recommend this HandyCam!
Blu Ray AVCHD for the best in memory retention October 27, 2007
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I first purchased the first HiDef HD 30gb version of this camera (HDR-SR1) when it was released last year. As my son was born I wanted the absolute best video we could obtain as we only have one chance to film these wonderful early years.
Sony also has a HDR-SR5 camcorder which is basically a HDR-SR1 (same sensor) but with less features such as no view finder and no manual focus so the HDR-SR5 was not in contention for my next camera.
The camcorder itself is very compact and sturdy; very portable for such a powerful little camcorder. The item is pricey and value is always subjective depending on one's budget.
Image quality is superb to say the least which is my primary reason for the purchase. There are several modes to record in for video quality though I only keep it at the best setting. The 60gb hard drive holds 8 hours of video at the highest setting so there are no worries there however I highly recommend picking up 2 or more extra batteries as they get drained long before the hard drive capacity is met.
The image quality in well lit areas is simply superb ,however in low lit areas this camera suffers as the more pixels crammed onto the sensor makes for more noise which is very evident. The HDR-SR1 is truly better than this newer bigger brother in terms of low light recording.
The video in hi-def mode is recorded in AVCHD format and herein lies the largest caveat of mine and most others on these cameras which is the after market software support.
For one year there was really nothing on the market that allowed for proper editing of this hi-def video. Sony does supply software but it is very limited in features and scope and honestly for a $1200.00 camera is a bit disappointing. Finally Nero released their latest support for AVCHD videos and this is a pretty good start. Lastly, Nero just released their new package which so far has little in way of hangups for AVCHD editing. Stay away from prior versions of the software as they are very buggy.
Go with Nero 8 Ultra. Now if you really want to take things to the next level Sony has added AVCHD support in Vegas which is a $500.00 piece of software. A 30 day demo is available.
Another feature I enjoy is the fact that the video from this camera is supported by my PS3 which is also my Blu-Ray player on my primary 58" plasma TV in the entertainment room. One can simply just record the AVCHD movie from the PC directly to a standard DVD (no BD required) and play it on the PS3. The resulting video is stunning. Or better yet just burn it to your PS3 network drive for access anytime. The simplest option is to just plug this camcorder directly into your TV via HDMI and watch it directly on the TV. Of course at some time you want to transfer the video to your computer to make BD DVDs or regular DVDs.
Keep in mind that camcorders are known as the most unreliable electronics product sold so if you intend to hold onto it for a while consider an extended warranty. As I upgrade annually it is not something I consider but worthy for others.
Cables supplied are good though for some reason Sony changed their full size HDMI port to a mini version which pretty much sucks for lack of a more technical term as this makes for using their own proprietary cable a pain but the cables can be had for only $30 for a quality one.
The camera also sports a nice smooth record mode which basically takes 3 seconds of video and stretches it out to 12 seconds resulting in a nice video.
Low light to zero light video mode is awesome. My backyard is very large and yet this camera has no problem with picking up the edge of the backyard from my upstairs window. This is in night mode or super night mode, both of which are great. But again, in dim light the noise level is very high and something to consider.
This Sony has electronic Image stabilization which is good and works as it should for steady video even at zoom range.
The built in digital camera is not bad for a CMOS camcorder though far from my Canon 40D. For quick convenient shots it is pretty decent. It is 4 megapixel in video mode and 6.1 otherwise-the highest available for a camcorder. Keep in mind that megapixel count is only half of the equation when it comes to quality pics.
PROS:
Awesome video in Blu-Ray AVCHD
Excellent zero light mode-night mode.
Fast focus
Large hard drive
Large LCD screen
Awesome smooth record mode.
CONS
Poor after market software support-only Nero so far
Drains batteries quick
Very pricey so don't drop it
Mini HDMI port vs full size HDMI port on my HDR-SR1
Noisy low light video.
Well worth the price in my book an the excellent video of my son are well worth the admission price.
But.................many want to know of some comparisons so here are my subjective test.
I have owned the HDR-SR1, SR7, and now the Canon HG-10.
For image detail whether night or day the Canon HG-10 is far and above better than the Sony series. The Sony units have strange motion blurs with AVCHD and Canon has seemed to correct this. Night video is much better in the Canon vs the Sony.
For audio the Sony units take the cake as the Canon places the mic in a strange location and something does not pick up everything clearly. Not bad, just not as clean as the Sony.
The Sony units do come across as better in terms of having a better body vs the Canon.
After owning and review each I would rate them as:
Canon HG10>SR1>SR7>SR5, yep, I rate the first Sony HD camcorder-the SR1 over the SR5 and 7. The SR5 not even in contention. The SR1 simply has a huge 3.5" LCD and manual focus ring plus better night video vs the SR7.
All are great cameras and produce stunning daylight HD video, just the Canon has some advantages that make for a nicer camera IMO.
Also, Sony will be releasing their new line of cameras in March 2008 so again I will be checking those out to see if they can topple the Canon though early reports indicate they may not.
Lee Dye
Simi Valley, CA
Great Camcorder, Great Price October 20, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I was a little nervous about buying a camera with a hard drive, especially since I bought a first generation JVC hard drive camcorder and was very disppointed with it. This camera pleasantly surprised me. Video quality is excellent in bright light and still pretty good in low light. I almost didn't buy this camera based on the low light reviews, but it is not nearly as grainy as I've read in other reviews. $1,400.00 is a lot to pay for a camcorder (less if you buy it from Amazon), but it really is worth it.
Still images are good, although I haven't yet tried to print any of the images. On screen, the still images are very good and nearly indistinguishable from my Canon SD550.
Again, the DVD burning process wasn't nearly as bad as I expected after reading some of the reviews. It took me about 10 minutes to figure out the main features of the software, and successfully burned my first movie to DVD (in high def) in about 1/2 hour (about an hour after I received the camera via UPS). I played it on my Blu-ray player and the quality is great. I transferred everything to my 500GB external hard drive and again have 60GB free on my camera. The format is really convenient.
Structurally, the camera is very small and light. I bought the super extended battery (as a package through Amazon) and it is quite a substantial battery. It sticks out a bunch and is quite heavy, but is worth the extra battery life.
All in all, it is a great camera and I would highly recommend it to everyone. In fact, my dad is thinking of getting one now after seeing it.
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