Sony HDR-FX7E Handycam HDV 1080i High Definition Video Handycam with 3ClearVid CMOS Sensor, 20x optical zoom Carl Zeiss® Vario-Sonnar T* lens and a host of manual features.
Helpful consumer’s review
This offering from Sony is a great addition to their range and an absolute godsend for low budget and amateur film makers. The standard definition DV mode is marvellous with 16:9 anamorphic stored movies transferring easily into widescreen editors such as Pinnacle, Avid and Final Cut (Express and Pro). The 1080i HDV capture is better still (unsurprisingly!), and the built in stereo microphones produce a good audio capture too. The battery life with the standard battery is not fantastic so I would recommend the NP970 extended life batteries as an immediate purchase, and while the audio is good I would suggest the use of the shoe mount and the purchase of a decent shotgun mike such as a Rode or Sennheiser unit.
Using the camera is a dream with a decently sized LCD panel and good colour viewfinder. You are though limited in some areas – watch the white balance when filming under mercury lights or the dreaded neon strip lights. The Auto setting is often better than the manual. When capturing footage to an NLE like Final Cut, I would recommend that you set your output to DV or HDV as appropriate rather than leaving it on auto – I had the occasional glitch streaming onto the computer where it failed to detect the format properly.
The weight of the unit is fine, the 20x optics excellent and the slow wide and tight control on the handle is very useful when going ‘hand held’. I would urge you to consider a wide angle lens as an extra, and to get yourself a decent tripod to properly steady your quality cam. Additionally, the audio input from external source is 3.5mm minijack so you might want to think about a XLR converter – I used the Beachtek unit compatible with the FX7 and the older Sony FX1.
A great camera and a great starter for making professional quality movies.
