With the relative success of Sony’s earlier HDV offerings, the HDR-HC7 has made us hope for another winner and possibly a fix for past mistakes. Unfortunately, it seems that it may be neither, as the Sony HDR-HC7 review at CamcorderInfo eloquently concludes. What went wrong?
Low-light performance is one of the most important parts of buying a new camcorder. You will have use for it a lot more often than you think. This year, Sony decided to increase the pixel count on the HC7’s sensor, which made for a dramatic decrease in low-light performance.
CCInfo found that the multi-function ring on the Sony HDR-HC7 was sorely lacking in functionality. This is probably not a problem for the average user, who will hardly ever touch it, most likely, but for professionals wanting to use the HC7 as a primary or backup camcorder this poses a major problem when it comes to manual control.
All this isn’t to say the the Sony HDR-HC7 doesn’t make the cut when it comes to quality. CCInfo found the color palette a little oversaturated but pleasing to the eye, and sharpness was also good.
However, CCInfo surmises that if you really want to stick with the Sony brand, the HDR-HC5 may be a slightly better choice overall, especially when it comes to price and low-light capabilities (the HC5 uses a sensor similar to previous models). Read the full review for more.
