Sony's HDR-FX7 HD camcorder for prosumers

Get ready kiddies for that good high-definition recording fix to flow 'cause Sony just injected the HDR-FX7 camcorder into the scene. Replacing the aging HDR-FX1 launched two years ago this very day, the FX7 still brings HDV 1080i (1440x1080) recordings on miniDV tape via 3 CMOS sensors while trimming the weight by 25% and overall size by 40% -- in other words, 145×322×156mm and 1.4kg. The FX7 also maintains the 20x optical zoom but introduces an HDMI output and some enhanced usability features. Tucked beneath Sony's professional class HVR-Z1U camcorder the FX7 will drop November 11th in Japan for an estimated ¥380,000 or about $3,255 of that mean, mean green. Mmm, feels good don't it?

[Via Impress]

[RumpyPumpy @ Sep 7th 2006 10:40AM]

It still does 1080i only. Is it so difficult for them to make a prosumer model with 1080p? I need to be enlightened (engadgeted?).

[Smeagol @ Sep 7th 2006 9:12AM]

Thats a really good price for that type of unit; essentially a slightly enhance FX1. The street price should bring that down a bit as well. Is there any reason they moved the LCD back to the side rather than the front of the handle? And, it would be interesting to see what battery pack they went with given that is much smaller than before.

[Michael @ Sep 7th 2006 9:45AM]

And once again Sony misses the boat when it comes to any sort of 24P-30P capability. The addition of HDMI is probably the only really notable feature.

[Dan @ Sep 7th 2006 9:53AM]

I just recently picked up the HDR-HC3 sony consumer HDV cam. And man we love me and my wife got it to take footage of my daughter, and the quality of the footage is amazing especially over the HDMI to my HDTV.

I considered the FX1 but the price diffrence and the fact I wanted this for family footage and that my wife would be using it alot ;) I opted for the HC3.

The footage also looks amazing when converted to 1080 WM9 on my 2407WFP :)

[Smeagol @ Sep 7th 2006 10:10AM]

Hey Mike, every camcorder has its purpose, fullfilling the needs of indie film market isnt one of them; so, no need for the hate.

Go here for a better viewpoint before dis'ing it.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-Announces-Smaller-Less-Expensive-HDR-FX7-with-3-CMOS-Chips.htm

[sid9102 @ Sep 7th 2006 10:24AM]

oh man that is nice! i only wish that it came in dvd format though.. i find that more convenient.

[Rob @ Sep 7th 2006 11:40AM]

Sid, I think DVD format is really for consumer cameras only, since DVDs use a lower-quality codec. Also, DVD's don't play HD, and this is an HD camera.

[John Sununu @ Sep 7th 2006 12:04PM]

What sick mind came up with 1440x1080, depriving us of those extra 480 vertical lines of HD goodness? Even Canon's new HV10 has a 1920x1080 sensor, but who cares when only 1440x1080 is actually stored on tape. It's an abomination.

[Chip @ Oct 4th 2006 6:08AM]

^480 of horizontal resolution.

I believe it's because the pixels aren't square.

I own the FX-1 and one of the things I loved about it, was the placement of the LCD. It made shooting low very easy. Oh well.

[JohnnyC @ Sep 7th 2006 12:46PM]

Interesting!

CMOS image sensors seem to be much more power efficient than their CCD counterparts. Along with cheaper CMOS production costs, this seems like a very interesting advantage for the camera.

"For example, a CMOS digital camera system operating from a NiCd camcorder battery could operate for a week, while a CCD arrangement would drain the battery in a few hours." - http://www.micron.com/innovations/imaging/advantages

I don't like the fact that the sensor used doesn't capture 16x9 natively, and actually STRETCHES the pixels out to achieve a 16x9 image. It's still definitely still a SOLID choice for people on the go, like ENG reporters, and videographers on a budget.

[JohnnyC @ Sep 7th 2006 12:46PM]

@ JOHN SUNUNU

Take a look at the chart at the bottom of the URL provided and you will read something interesting... 1080i is inherently reduced to 1440w in all major uses. If you want the best 1080 image quality, you need a progressive source. Sure the sensor on the Canon may be 1920, but does it also get filtered down to 1440? I'm willing to bet that it does.

"1920 × 1080i is not included because all common use of 1080i is filtered to 1440 or less." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Definition_Video

[John Sununu @ Sep 7th 2006 1:07PM]

@JohnnyC

I don't know what that means, but all Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies use the full 1920x1080 number of pixels, which is 16:9 aspect ratio.
Interestingly, 1440x1080 is 4:3 aspect ratio, which may explain something, although I'm not sure what.

[Josh @ Sep 7th 2006 1:20PM]

Are there any other 3 CMOS cameras out there? Is this a completely new configuration?

I wonder how the real world results will compare in low-light to 3 CCD cams and also Sony's newer CMOS cameras (HDR-HC3, HDR-HC3). I see it's spec'd as slightly less light-sensitive HDR-FX1.

[JohnnyC @ Sep 7th 2006 1:31PM]

It's all rather cryptic, isn't it?

All I know is that most documentation on the subject has led me to believe that the progressive format is what I want to work with, and being an editor, I probably will very soon, as we upgrade systems here. However, WHEN 1080p will be available in the consumer/prosumer price range leaves me wondering.

Also, for your reference, scroll down to Resolution & Aspect ratio at THIS LINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDV

[E71 @ Sep 7th 2006 3:11PM]

@John Sununu

And yet, this video camera looks like it's made for widescreen filming; even the lcd on the side is widescreen. Damn them.

[MNA @ Sep 7th 2006 4:49PM]

justabout the only thing getting excited over with this pup is the HDMI output but not putting in those XLR inputs makes my d*ck shrink again... I hope canon will take a big bite out of sony HDV market inshallah

[John Sununu @ Sep 7th 2006 5:28PM]

I just want a camcorder that will record 1920x1080 @ 24p. To a harddrive, because tape sucks.
Is that too much to ask?
No, it's not.

And don't make me pay more than $1K. And make it small. Mkay?

[DA @ Sep 7th 2006 6:08PM]

25p coming up!
update this on the site
HVR-V1
also available a 60GB external harddrive!
This will be awesome!!
http://www.sonybiz.net/cgi-bin/bvisapi.dll/templates/brochure.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1722423621.1157664848@@@@&BV_EngineID=daddhjdeldfgbemgcfkmcfjfdhk.0&redirectURL=/images/product/X/HVR-DR60(brch).pdf



http://www.sonybiz.net/cgi-bin/bvisapi.dll/templates/brochure.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1722423621.1157664848@@@@&BV_EngineID=daddhjdeldfgbemgcfkmcfjfdhk.0&redirectURL=/images/product/X/HVR-V1E(brch).pdf

[JohnnyC @ Sep 7th 2006 6:10PM]

@ Josh

The HDR-FX7 is spec'd as less light sensitive because it's chips are smaller, not because of CMOS limitations. That being said, I'm sure there is SOME difference, but I doubt it's significant.

Slick camera for the price though... I'd buy it for making snowboard/wakeboard videos if I had the cash to throw around.

[Sebastien Gomez @ Sep 18th 2006 12:40PM]

Does this mean we should expect a new version of the HVR-Z1U? I'm supposed to acquire one in a few days, hmm maybe I should wait.?