Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I have two of these for my high school media courses and have consistant problems with both. This biggest problem is that they will NOT connect to computers to download footage. I have to use an older JVC to transfer from tape to the computer to edit. This is apparently a known problem judging from some forums on these and Sony will gladly fix them for me for $500 each.
Terrible service, support, or ANY help from Sony. Looking for new cameras now that are not MiniDV and Sony is NOT on my list of possible choices. They have been so rude that I doubt I will ever buy another Sony product again, and I have over a dozen Sony electronic items in my home!

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

The sony fx7 is great for short films,documentary's,and wedding video's.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

Works as described, very lightweight

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I bought this camera for my church and use it for live streaming via Ustream this camera was perfect for that is really simple to use if you have used any sony video camera before, is really intuitive, I really like the controls for the zoom and the focus it gives you a really good control on that, the camera has 3 kind of zoom the big switch for fast zooming a little switch that can be configured for fast or slow zooming and the one in the lens that can be used for manual zooming and it has it own lens focus for manual focus to, it is really configurable and I like the quality of the video it gives it really gives you a professional touch with more simplicity. another thing that I loved is the big screen (3.5") because you can see what is on it even from distance.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I ordered it on a Wednesday afternoon from B&H and it was at my door Friday afternoon, with free shipping! The overall picture quality is great but...I take videos of trains, I have a SONY DCR VX1000 and it is rock solid compensating for vibrations, with the HDR FX7 if there is vibration, it shows on the video no matter which of the 3 steady shot settings I use. For me it only rates 3 stars because of the steady shot, otherwise its a 5 star. For someone that just wants to shoot the kids or vacations, its fine.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I use this camera for filming my documentaries on rural michigan. I've beat this camera up and it can take it. Images are great! I use it for timelapes and it's great. You can really control the image. It's light and small and great for travel. Coming from smaller Sony cameras, this wasn't TOO complicated. After a couple months I was completing accustomed to it. Built in ND filters are awesome too! I use it with a cheap shoulder support and it's great. Nothing really to complain about!

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

This camera does awesome video, I have not found much that I can't film. To the almost perfect camera I wish it had Sony night-shot.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I had a Sony DCR-VX1000 for many years but it stopped working, and the part that I needed was no longer being made by Sony. So I purchased this camera and could not be happier. I do some video work on the side and the cam fits the bill. When played back on my HD TV the picture is amazing.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

Really solid camera, great use with good lighting. This is not the best camera for low -light, but serves its purpose in many other situations. I use this camera for documentary style production, music videos, and many other types of video production.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I have owned two Sony HDV FX7 cameras for the past three years and I have found that this camera experiences some sort of glitch either during the recording process or during the capture process. Since I have owned these cameras, they have had these unexplainable glitches EVERY recording I have done - on both cameras. Could this be just a mere coincidence? Or, is there something faulty about the FX7? I have tirelessly tried to contact Sony and anyone else I could to determine a resolution. There seems to be a common theme to the responses I have been getting. All whom I have spoken with keep suggesting that all tape-based cameras are subject to have these glitches/dropped frames. The only thing that has saved me in the case of the "glitch" is that I own two of these cameras and can easily edit in footage from the second camera since I always do a 2-camera shoot. There was only one occasion when both cameras experienced this glitch at practically the same point in footage. Pure irony I guess!

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I roam the neighorhoods doing 'people' stories for our ABC affiliate TV station. The camera is great. Very versitile and lets me get into the smallest and biggest of homes and offices.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

i use this camera for wedding videos and it works pretty well, i do recommend to always use an on camera light for any low light situation, video quality is great, and overall a good camera specially if you are in a [$] budget.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

5 Stars for this Sony HDR-FX7Im a videoproducer and I will use this full HD to film corporate videos.This is better than my HDR-FX1.The image colors are excellant and the picture quality is even better because this camera can record in HD or mini DVHaven't seen the results of HD on MiniDV tapes yet but the transition between 4:3 & 16:9 and SD & HD appears to be simple. The 20x optical zoom is amazing and works great in the outdoors. AND IS BETTER THAN THE 12X OPTICAL ZOOM OF MY HDR-FX1.[...]

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

First major issued occurred during the video shoot. This system's auto lock- hold wouldn't allow you to "unlock" so I wasn't able to change the exposure setting AND the focus wasn't sharp either. That started a few weeks before. So I called Sony and I ended up having to send it to a repair center in Texas. The warranty had expired by a month but they did reduce the repair cost to $600. Then about a year later I opened the compartment to insert a minidv... now the compartment won't close. And the camera is giving me an error message. Remove the mini-dv , nothing happened. The door still won't close. Press the reset button. Nothing changes. It's not worth it anymore. I had a Sony VX2000 before this one. It's got audio issues. Sony had let me down too many times. And it's unfortunate since I used to love them. I still have one of their digital high 8mm videocameras, and I love it. It still works. I use it to transfer customers home movies to dvd. It will be a LONG time before I trust Sony again. I have two other brands that I trust now.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

As a video artist and educator, I've had access to this camera for a few years through the college I teach at and finally got one myself.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I needed a dedicated event camcorder as I use DSLR for movies and music videos. This seem to be the best cam in this price range. There are more manual controls than I expected. It is a step down from the Canon XH-A1 I recently sold, but I am happy with the purchase. I really like the 3.5" LCD screen. On the down side, it definitely could be a little better in low light situations. The only reason I wouldn't buy another is because HDV and tape are rapidly being replaced by AVCHD and SDHC/SDXC.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

Use it for filming all across the East Coast...Awesome Camera!

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

We use the product for Dance Recitals, Weddings, etc. Love the ability to set your own presets. For the prices you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

Camera works great. I am a Video Coordinator for a football program, this camera works well for what we are using it for. Best part about it is i can use the dv side of it until i convert everything to hd. Smooth control and picture is great.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I produce training videos for clients and needed a smaller camera for intricate shots of equipment. The FX-7 is relatively light and provides the quality I need for my videos.

I'm impressed with the balance of the camera and found it works well with the Glidecam 4000 and Smoothshooter.

Working in low light has yet to be a problem for me as some other people seem to have problems. Even though it does not have an XLR port, I purchased an adapter for my wireless mics and found the sound quality to be above average.

I found the instructions to be relatively simple and was able to use the camera out of the package.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I have two of these for my high school media courses and have consistant problems with both. This biggest problem is that they will NOT connect to computers to download footage. I have to use an older JVC to transfer from tape to the computer to edit. This is apparently a known problem judging from some forums on these and Sony will gladly fix them for me for $500 each.
Terrible service, support, or ANY help from Sony. Looking for new cameras now that are not MiniDV and Sony is NOT on my list of possible choices. They have been so rude that I doubt I will ever buy another Sony product again, and I have over a dozen Sony electronic items in my home!

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

The sony fx7 is great for short films,documentary's,and wedding video's.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

Works as described, very lightweight

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I bought this camera for my church and use it for live streaming via Ustream this camera was perfect for that is really simple to use if you have used any sony video camera before, is really intuitive, I really like the controls for the zoom and the focus it gives you a really good control on that, the camera has 3 kind of zoom the big switch for fast zooming a little switch that can be configured for fast or slow zooming and the one in the lens that can be used for manual zooming and it has it own lens focus for manual focus to, it is really configurable and I like the quality of the video it gives it really gives you a professional touch with more simplicity. another thing that I loved is the big screen (3.5") because you can see what is on it even from distance.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I ordered it on a Wednesday afternoon from B&H and it was at my door Friday afternoon, with free shipping! The overall picture quality is great but...I take videos of trains, I have a SONY DCR VX1000 and it is rock solid compensating for vibrations, with the HDR FX7 if there is vibration, it shows on the video no matter which of the 3 steady shot settings I use. For me it only rates 3 stars because of the steady shot, otherwise its a 5 star. For someone that just wants to shoot the kids or vacations, its fine.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I use this camera for filming my documentaries on rural michigan. I've beat this camera up and it can take it. Images are great! I use it for timelapes and it's great. You can really control the image. It's light and small and great for travel. Coming from smaller Sony cameras, this wasn't TOO complicated. After a couple months I was completing accustomed to it. Built in ND filters are awesome too! I use it with a cheap shoulder support and it's great. Nothing really to complain about!

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

This camera does awesome video, I have not found much that I can't film. To the almost perfect camera I wish it had Sony night-shot.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I had a Sony DCR-VX1000 for many years but it stopped working, and the part that I needed was no longer being made by Sony. So I purchased this camera and could not be happier. I do some video work on the side and the cam fits the bill. When played back on my HD TV the picture is amazing.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

Really solid camera, great use with good lighting. This is not the best camera for low -light, but serves its purpose in many other situations. I use this camera for documentary style production, music videos, and many other types of video production.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I have owned two Sony HDV FX7 cameras for the past three years and I have found that this camera experiences some sort of glitch either during the recording process or during the capture process. Since I have owned these cameras, they have had these unexplainable glitches EVERY recording I have done - on both cameras. Could this be just a mere coincidence? Or, is there something faulty about the FX7? I have tirelessly tried to contact Sony and anyone else I could to determine a resolution. There seems to be a common theme to the responses I have been getting. All whom I have spoken with keep suggesting that all tape-based cameras are subject to have these glitches/dropped frames. The only thing that has saved me in the case of the "glitch" is that I own two of these cameras and can easily edit in footage from the second camera since I always do a 2-camera shoot. There was only one occasion when both cameras experienced this glitch at practically the same point in footage. Pure irony I guess!

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I roam the neighorhoods doing 'people' stories for our ABC affiliate TV station. The camera is great. Very versitile and lets me get into the smallest and biggest of homes and offices.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

i use this camera for wedding videos and it works pretty well, i do recommend to always use an on camera light for any low light situation, video quality is great, and overall a good camera specially if you are in a [$] budget.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

5 Stars for this Sony HDR-FX7Im a videoproducer and I will use this full HD to film corporate videos.This is better than my HDR-FX1.The image colors are excellant and the picture quality is even better because this camera can record in HD or mini DVHaven't seen the results of HD on MiniDV tapes yet but the transition between 4:3 & 16:9 and SD & HD appears to be simple. The 20x optical zoom is amazing and works great in the outdoors. AND IS BETTER THAN THE 12X OPTICAL ZOOM OF MY HDR-FX1.[...]

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

First major issued occurred during the video shoot. This system's auto lock- hold wouldn't allow you to "unlock" so I wasn't able to change the exposure setting AND the focus wasn't sharp either. That started a few weeks before. So I called Sony and I ended up having to send it to a repair center in Texas. The warranty had expired by a month but they did reduce the repair cost to $600. Then about a year later I opened the compartment to insert a minidv... now the compartment won't close. And the camera is giving me an error message. Remove the mini-dv , nothing happened. The door still won't close. Press the reset button. Nothing changes. It's not worth it anymore. I had a Sony VX2000 before this one. It's got audio issues. Sony had let me down too many times. And it's unfortunate since I used to love them. I still have one of their digital high 8mm videocameras, and I love it. It still works. I use it to transfer customers home movies to dvd. It will be a LONG time before I trust Sony again. I have two other brands that I trust now.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

As a video artist and educator, I've had access to this camera for a few years through the college I teach at and finally got one myself.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I needed a dedicated event camcorder as I use DSLR for movies and music videos. This seem to be the best cam in this price range. There are more manual controls than I expected. It is a step down from the Canon XH-A1 I recently sold, but I am happy with the purchase. I really like the 3.5" LCD screen. On the down side, it definitely could be a little better in low light situations. The only reason I wouldn't buy another is because HDV and tape are rapidly being replaced by AVCHD and SDHC/SDXC.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

Use it for filming all across the East Coast...Awesome Camera!

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

We use the product for Dance Recitals, Weddings, etc. Love the ability to set your own presets. For the prices you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

Camera works great. I am a Video Coordinator for a football program, this camera works well for what we are using it for. Best part about it is i can use the dv side of it until i convert everything to hd. Smooth control and picture is great.

Comments about Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder:

I produce training videos for clients and needed a smaller camera for intricate shots of equipment. The FX-7 is relatively light and provides the quality I need for my videos.

I'm impressed with the balance of the camera and found it works well with the Glidecam 4000 and Smoothshooter.

Working in low light has yet to be a problem for me as some other people seem to have problems. Even though it does not have an XLR port, I purchased an adapter for my wireless mics and found the sound quality to be above average.

I found the instructions to be relatively simple and was able to use the camera out of the package.