My search for new camcorder is over.

[ND66]

And the winner is...... the CX7.

[Jerry Jones]

Very good choice.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Hulk]

I agree you can't go wrong with Canon. Post some native video files for us to have a look at if you get a chance!

[Jerry Jones]

It looks to me like he bought a Sony HDR-CX7, Mark.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&productId=8198552921665089063&langId=-1

It's a top quality model, too.

Jerry Jones
http;//www.jonesgroup.net

[ND66]

Confused you, didn’t I???

But then again with all those Canon links I posted here….. and I decided to go with Sony CX7……

I’m nuts, right?

While doing a little research on the topic, I learned that Canon HV20 is the best consumer HD Camcorder with Pro picture, Low light performance and Manual control.

The HG10 (the one with hard drive) is the second best.

To make a long story short, I did choose Sony CX7, even knowing Camcorderinfo ripped it a part in their review for the AutoFocus.

But, I did read few reviews from Not so called” experts, but someone that did spend more time Filming then those experts.

The best one I’ll quote right here, it is posted as comment at the bottom of the page HERE: , right under the Camcorderinfo CX7 review.

lkingston

I like the CX-7 more than the reviewer. Not a bad review, but there are a few positive things about this camera that the reviewer missed.

1/ The Bluetooth microphone option which works with the Sony active interface shoe is really cool. If you have one of these, you can get really good audio with what is still a really simple setup. Face it, you're not going to wire your kid up to capture him singing his "ABC's" with a regular wireless setup. The bluetooth wireless setup is so easy you can use it on thing that otherwise would be left to the camera mic. It really sounds surprisingly good.

2/ The spot focus feature is really cool. Yeah there may not be a useable manual focus, but touch the part of the screen where the person is standing and you're good to go. I really like that at the end of using the spot focus, you can touch the "auto" section of the screen and be back in autofocus. Yeah it's a different way to work, but it's not bad. Zooming in to the person you want in focus and switching to manual is pretty good and easy too. That's the main thing I use manual focus for. I'm sorry but nobody can focus HD manually on a tiny camcorder LCD anyway.

3/ The CX-7 / VRD-MC5 combo is really cool. Just one button press and you have an HD disc that plays in a PS3. This may not be that interesting for pros, but for home video it is simply wonderful. This was one of the main reasons I bought this camcorder. I've never seen an approach for getting high quality out of your camcorder and into your living room that was anywhere near this easy.

4/ If you're a Vegas user, the VASST script "Gearshift" makes editing AVCHD quite painless by generating editing proxies that can work with HDV or AVCHD. The way I do it is pretty simple: I burn an AVCHD disc with the VRD-MC5 which I can watch on my PS3. If I want to edit with any of these clips, I just copy those MTS clips to a project directory on my PC, run Gearshift, edit the proxies and "switch gears" back to the original MTS clips to render.

5/ Because this camera is so small, it can be quite useful to pros who want a really small camera for any number of reasons. For instance, it makes a great helmet cam for sports like skydiving or biking. With hardly any extra space in your bag, you can have a second camera for things like wedding ceremony wide shots. For vacationing, you have both a decent still camera and a decent video camera in one small easy to carry package. The fact that you can take this camera anywhere often means that you get shots with it that you simply never would have shot otherwise.

6/ The fact that there is absolutely no motor noise means that all the camera picks up is the audio you want. To me this is an absolutely HUGE advantage of a solid state camera.

I have an HVR-A1 that sits on a Spiderbrace shoulder mount or a tripod with a whide angle lens, hood, lanc controller. and often a wireless receiver. I got the CX-7 for two reasons. One, to use as a simpler home video camera. Second, to use as an extra "B-Roll" camera. For both these uses, the CX-7 is really quite nice.

Browsing DVInfo.net Forums saw people’s comments (those names, that’s where they all ended up after DMN Forums kind of died…) calling it from “the CX7 is pretty decent for what it is” to “I love my CX7 so far. To have such a great image in such a small and easy to use camera is really amazingly cool!"



And seems like the Sony’s AVCHD files are one of the friendliest to edit with Vegas Pro (got this on order as well from this amazing deal posted somewhere on DVInfo, get Vegas 6 full version and get an upgrade to Vegas 8 for $178 total from B&H Photo)

As described on CamcorderInfo:

Editing AVCHD footage is still painful. The most powerful platform right now is Sony Vegas 8, as more powerful NLEs still lack AVCHD support. HDR-CX7 owners will be pleased to know that Vegas 8 will only work with Sony-brand AVCHD camcorders. Canon and Panasonic owners, you’re out of luck. Corel also has an AVCHD-compatible editing platform, Ulead Video Studio 11, though it’s strictly beginner-level software. Mac users can now use iMovie ’08, though the editing features on that platform have been curtailed compared with ’06. Even software that does work with AVCHD natively tends to be sluggish due to the processor-intensive work of decoding.

At the end, I went to a local store, had the Canon HV20 in my hand (the BEST camcorder of the year of 2007), and I just couldn’t help myself but to think….. what an ugly thing it is. I don’t care if it’s the best, it’s U G L Y !!!

Then I placed the CX7, and the first thing that came to my mind was a comparison of PS3 stunning graphics to Wii fun……. .


CX7 it is. If I don’t like it, I’ll sell it later and get something else, but I just have to try it. I think it’ll do just fine for my home use.

Also, my wife will have no excuses but to use it more too. It’s so simple to use….


There are some video samples HERE: and HERE: (CX7 is just like CX6 for the most part)


I just have to try it...

EDIT: Did I tell you that the xvYCC color Intrigues me??? This could be interesting since I'll go with the Sony Bravia down the road..... .

.

[Hulk]

It looks to me like he bought a Sony HDR-CX7, Mark.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&productId=8198552921665089063&langId=-1

It's a top quality model, too.

Jerry Jones
http;//www.jonesgroup.net

Whew! Took a take from doing taxes and didn't get all of my brain working!

[Hulk]

Congrats on the camera.

And you snagged a great deal on Vegas 8. If you have a fast computer and aren't doing seriously complex editing you can just edit the AVCHD natively in Vegas.

[ND66]

If you have a fast computer ...

PC is due for an upgrade, Quad core will take care of that part. May take a month or so...

...and aren't doing seriously complex editing you can just edit the AVCHD natively in Vegas.

That was one of the reasons to stay with a Sony.



.

[Elie]

wow, no where on that site you mentioned Jerry does it indicate what frame rate and res it captures at.

I want to know if it does 720P, 1080i or 1080P does it do 30P 24P???

Thanks,
Elie

[Jerry Jones]

The PDF manual is on the Sony Web site, too. Same site.

Here it is:

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=HDRCX7

The manual should contain all of the answers to your questions, Elie.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[ND66]

The link didn't work for me Jerry, Here is a new one, specs are on page 37.

It is 1080i, doesn't do "P" or 24P.

Andy.

[Jerry Jones]

I repaired the link to go directly to the Sony page that lists all of the documents.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=HDRCX7

Click on the "HandyCam Handbook" link and go to page 10 of the PDF to see a very helpful table that shows recording times on various memory card types for the various supported formats.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Elie]

Thanks guys.

[ND66]

OK, here are mine reasons I went with this camera

1. I'm not a Pro; 1080i is more then enough for what I do. The material will not be played on TV's larger then 56" at 97% of the time. My TV size will be 46".

2. There is no "true" 24P on consumer camcorders.

3. There is no "true 1920x1080 on consumer camcorders too. I might be wrong on this one, but some people say that you just can't do it recording on DV tape.

I have checked with my sources at Canon USA and the official answer is that there has been no change to the HDV specification. Like the HV10 and HV20 that came before it, the VIXIA HV30 has a 1920 x 1080 CMOS sensor and is writing HDV at 1440 x 1080 to tape. Hope this puts a wild and inaccurate rumor to rest

4. Easier simple editing (I hope) of AVCHD material and don't need to deal with stuff like HERE:

5. The "BEST" camcorder out there, Canon HV20 (HV30 next) in a quiet environment you'll hear the DV tape motor "humming" as some claim. Need spend extra on external mike, etc...

6. Love the touch screen manual focus on this camcorder. You just can't manually set your focus faster than that.

7. Just love the way it seats in my hand.

8. OneCall had it on weekend sale for $799, shipped free.

9. The Money I saved will buy me a new quad core CPU for my computer upgrade.

10. I have 3 small kids, need to worry about them, pick them up, wipe the nose, etc. Can't do it fully loaded with video and photo stuff.


Thing I don't like about this camcorder? No viewfinder.

But same thing goes for Canon HF10. Seems like a new trend for those solid state memory camcorders lately... .

Also, in today's world, you can't buy technology that'll last you for years. It's changing too fast. If I don't like the camcorder, I'll sell it and get a new one.

But at this point, my old DV camcorder is going bad (the autofocus started to act up) and need something fairly fast.

And, if I need something 1080P, all I have to do is deinterlace the 1080i, no?

.

[Hulk]

In my opinion you are right not to worry too much about the resolution. The best HD channel in my area is a 720p channel. Does this mean that 720p is better than 1080i? Not necessarily. It just means that the 720p production is better than my 1080i channels. Both video signals are sufficiently high in resolution to produce and outstanding image. Better to worry about lighting, composition, and story telling.

I also wanted to let you know that you might want to wait for the Penryn core quads to hit the market. Even if you aren't overclocking these new cores contain some new instructions that speed some video editing operation significatantly. They also run with less power and are cooler running. And if you do want to overclock people are reporting 4+GHz air cooled overclocks with the dual core version.