Sony HDR-SR7 comments? footage? at DVinfo.net

Randolph Duke · November 7th, 2007, 09:40 PM

I can't seem to find much info on this camera and it looks very good.
Anyone have this camera?
How does it to compare to Canon HV20?
Any footage posted?

I currently have the HV20 and it's nice- but I want to get away from tape.

Davo Abear · November 8th, 2007, 07:46 AM

I own the SR7, just bought it...heres my take on it

Bought it off of Amazon...came with wide angle lens, bigger battery, case.

The wide angle lens causes vignetting on the right side of my camera, and it also causes all light to diffuse and halo in the shots(must be cheap)

The video...I've shot in AVCHD and HQ SD...they look the EXACT same on my computer, accept for the AVCHD looks a little cleaner, and seems to shoot a little darker for some reason..no idea why.

I do not know why they look the exact same (does it look better on an actual blueray/ps3?)

The still photos are about as good as a cell phone(they suck basically), 6mp they are not(I'm a pro still photographer by trade) infact the 4mp and 6mp are both crap, the video seems to take a higher resolution shot than the stills.

I considered selling it and going with the HV20 cause of the 24p only

I do not think its worth the money, only because I hold high standards to quality...this being based on my photography hobby.

But when I turn on an HD channel on my TV....it seems the camera does no hit the "HD" mark my TV puts out...even the local news.

I did not notice any artifacts or motion trailing in the AVCHD recording mode.

The slow motion is fun, the quality is about as good as my little Sanyo camcorder I bought.(I noticed on the slow motion, that bright sky against dark trees causes the exposure to hunt, and you need to put it into manual mode to make it stop)

Manual controls?....once again I'm use to SLR photography, now I feel like I'm in a prison, you can basically adjust picture brightness on this camera...to put it simply(exposure)

It beats transferring tapes manually, its nice to have all your clips sorted for you, the OIS is nice.

Touch screen....sucks...I'm scared over time the LCD screen will get ruined some how and I will be stuck with the settings.

Macro shooting is cool, the camera has neat features so it makes it cool to have, but I'm going to have to purchase another SLR camera to makeup for the crappy stills this one mimics.

I bought it for our vacation to Colorado, cause video does capture the events and trip way better than stills, stills are good, but you don't "feel it" like you do with video. A picture of the woods is nice, but to see the wind blowing and hear it, is a lot nicer.

You can take 1000 pics and you will only ever quickly breeze through them all, at least with video you get more entertainment out of it.

I paid $1300 on amazon for all the camera, battery, case, 2yr warranty, wide angle lens, considering Sony sells it for $1400 just for the camera...Amazon gave a damn good deal.

November 7th, 2007, 09:40 PM	#1
Randolph Duke Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: United States Posts: 48	Sony HDR-SR7 comments? footage? I can't seem to find much info on this camera and it looks very good. Anyone have this camera? How does it to compare to Canon HV20? Any footage posted? I currently have the HV20 and it's nice- but I want to get away from tape.

November 8th, 2007, 07:46 AM	#2
Davo Abear New Boot Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Nederland, Texas Posts: 15	I own the SR7, just bought it...heres my take on it Bought it off of Amazon...came with wide angle lens, bigger battery, case. The wide angle lens causes vignetting on the right side of my camera, and it also causes all light to diffuse and halo in the shots(must be cheap) The video...I've shot in AVCHD and HQ SD...they look the EXACT same on my computer, accept for the AVCHD looks a little cleaner, and seems to shoot a little darker for some reason..no idea why. I do not know why they look the exact same (does it look better on an actual blueray/ps3?) The still photos are about as good as a cell phone(they suck basically), 6mp they are not(I'm a pro still photographer by trade) infact the 4mp and 6mp are both crap, the video seems to take a higher resolution shot than the stills. I considered selling it and going with the HV20 cause of the 24p only I do not think its worth the money, only because I hold high standards to quality...this being based on my photography hobby. But when I turn on an HD channel on my TV....it seems the camera does no hit the "HD" mark my TV puts out...even the local news. I did not notice any artifacts or motion trailing in the AVCHD recording mode. The slow motion is fun, the quality is about as good as my little Sanyo camcorder I bought.(I noticed on the slow motion, that bright sky against dark trees causes the exposure to hunt, and you need to put it into manual mode to make it stop) Manual controls?....once again I'm use to SLR photography, now I feel like I'm in a prison, you can basically adjust picture brightness on this camera...to put it simply(exposure) It beats transferring tapes manually, its nice to have all your clips sorted for you, the OIS is nice. Touch screen....sucks...I'm scared over time the LCD screen will get ruined some how and I will be stuck with the settings. Macro shooting is cool, the camera has neat features so it makes it cool to have, but I'm going to have to purchase another SLR camera to makeup for the crappy stills this one mimics. I bought it for our vacation to Colorado, cause video does capture the events and trip way better than stills, stills are good, but you don't "feel it" like you do with video. A picture of the woods is nice, but to see the wind blowing and hear it, is a lot nicer. You can take 1000 pics and you will only ever quickly breeze through them all, at least with video you get more entertainment out of it. I paid $1300 on amazon for all the camera, battery, case, 2yr warranty, wide angle lens, considering Sony sells it for $1400 just for the camera...Amazon gave a damn good deal.