Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX7V 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Still Camera with 10x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom G Lens, 3D Sweep Panorama, and Full 1080/60i HD Video (Black)
- Full HD 1080/60i with dual record of stills and movies
- Sony G lens with 10x optical zoom in a compact camera body
- Exmor R CMOS sensor for super low-light performance
- Fast capture with 10fps at full 16.2 MP resolution
- Background Defocus highlights your subject like a DSLR
Open up a new dimension of creative possibilities with the Sony DSC-HX7V Cyber-shot digital camera, featuring 3D still image and 3D Sweep Panorama capabilities. Bring distant subjects close via the Sony 10x optical zoom G lens while a 16.2-megapixel “Exmor R” CMOS image sensor delivers extremely fast speed, high resolution, and stunning low-light sensitivity with improved image clarity and drastically reduced grain. In addition to Full HD 1080/60i movie recording capabilities, the HX7V has Superior Auto mode which intelligently detects 33 scenes for still images and 44 scenes for movies, making it easy to get the best shot.
List Price: $ 278.00
Price: $ 278.00
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Wow—I am really impressed!!!!,
I just purchased this camera from Costco for $275, bundled with a sony case and a class 4 4gb SDHC card. I have been playing with it for the past three or four days–which really isn’t enough time to give a full review, but I would like to give my initial thoughts. By way of background, I am a “junior” shutterbug. I enjoy taking quality pictures. but I am more of a videographer–I have a Canon HG10, with a JVC Everio GZ-HM300 as a backup. My wife and I have been shooting with Panasonic TZ5 that we bought a few years ago and I also shoot with a Nikon D60 and a 1984 model year Minolta X-700 (I learned how to take pictures with this baby).
I wanted a compact megazoom for my wife that takes excellent photographs in all conditions and could sub in for a full fledged HD camcorder in a pinch–and one that my wife could use to take pictures of our new baby (soon to be born). This camera seems to do the trick–with some caveats. First, the camera takes excellent photographs. Put the camera in superior autofocus mode and you can take perfect pictures 90 percent of the time. In bright, direct sunlight, the sun will cause glare across the picture–the camera does a decent job of adjusting for this, but it can screw up your shot. I don’t dock the camera points for this though since I have yet to see compact camera do any better. In my opinion the pictures are very sharp, with accurate colors–although reds can appear slightly oversaturated. Most cameras have a bias—the panasonic zs10 blows out greens. You aren’t going to get $2,000.00 DSLR type performance out of a $275 compact camera, but this does a great job. Now, I have read some reviews, both consumer and professional, that found the pictures to be on the soft side. I just don’t see it. Perhaps if you’re blowing prints up to 16×20 or 20×40 or something like that there’s “softness”, but consumers don’t usually make anything bigger than 8×10. The consumers that are complaining of softness are probably just reflecting what they read in the professional reviews–because even with my discriminating eye I just don’t see what they are talking about.
On top of taking great photos, this is a fast camera—-very very fast for a compact. Using the intelligent focus feature, I was able to fire off 8 shots in about 2.5 seconds (shooting at 10mp, not the max 16mp)–with 7 of the shots coming out very good and one blurry. The camera is also capable of taking a burst of ten pictures in 1 second–although quality is effected in the burst. I was shooting inside using incandescent lighting, at night, with the flash off and I got some of the best indoor low light pictures of any camera–the camera will take 6 pictures of the same scene in one shot and then stitch the images together to form a composite image that is shockingly good. Say hello to low light pictures that aren’t blown out by a over flash on a compact!!!! Unbelievable!!!The camera handles low light well and the flash only washes out the image.
As for video quality, this camera is capable of producing very solid video (and above average audio for a compact camera). Honest, the video quality is on par with my jvc everio GZ-HM300–which is a dedicated midrange HD camera! Now, I did have some issues with the video quality when shooting in low light–there is quite a bit of noise, particularly indoors with halogen lighting. Shooting the same scene with my jvc, I noticed the JVC also struggled with the lighting and the final product was only marginally better than the Sony. Considering that this is a P&S camera first that also happens to shoot HD video, that’s pretty outstanding stuff. With some tweaking of the EV levels, I was able to get good video quality even in poor light, but the colors were a bit washed out looking–still very watchable. In day time, the same scenes looked as good or better than the video taken on the JVC (aided by Sony’s excellent image stabilization) and not far off from my $1000 canon HG10. Sound quality was also very good for a compact camera, with good stereo separation. I did have some problems playing back the hightest profile video taken at 17mbps and 24mbps. I am using a Dell Studio running a Core 2 Duo P8600 processor with ATI HD 4600 discrete graphics card, and the 17mb and 24mb per second AVCHD video’s wrecked havoc with my computer and were not watchable–way too choppy. I am able to play 17mbps video in the same AVCHD format from the JVC and Canon camcorders, so I am not quite sure what the prolbem is. Still, using the lower profile 9mbps AVCHD or 1080p MP4 format (30fps) at 12mbps yielded more than sufficient video quality for my needs. I don’t blame the camera for the choppiness of the higher profile AVCHD files–those files a challenge for most computers (unless you have a top of the line gaming rig). Please note, I would recommend using a class 6 or higher SDHC card with this camera (even thought Sony says you can…
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|Love at First Sight,
I have to first tell you that I own two cameras right now. I own a Nikon P90 (great zoom, great picture) which I thought was a step up from my old Olympus Tough, I had previously owned a Kodak and a Casio which I dreaded. (picture quality was really poor on both of them). The last camera I bought was a Panasonic ZS6 which is a phenomenal camera due to it’s Lecia lens. After buying this camera I told myself that my next camera will either be a DSLR or a Lecia. (Both costs a lot of money)
I first saw the camera at Costco which is selling it for less than $280 with an 4gb SD card and a Sony bag. I picked up the camera and spent about 20 minutes going over everything. It was awesome…
* 10 shots in burst mode at the full 16.2 Megapixels due to it’s “Exmor R” CMOS Image Sensor (not the slow CCD sensor/ processor that Kodak invented that everyone else uses.) It also takes awesome pictures at night like an DSLR without the flash.
* 3 different Sweep Panorama modes, 1 standard , 1 wide, 1 high resolution. (up, down, left, and right)
* GPS and Compass works great and syncs up with google maps and tells you where you are. (remember to turn it off before you turn the camera off or it may drain your battery)
* Smile mode~~ three different setting for different types of smiles, depending how big your smile is.
* Face Detection has 3 different modes one mode gives you priority over who you are taking a picture of, either child over adult or adult over child.(up to 8 people)
* HD Video~~AVCHD at (1920 x 1080 @ 60i)24Mbs, (1920 x 1080 @ 60i)17Mbs, (1440 x 1080 @ 60i)9Mbs (face detection and zoom works while taking a movie). The movie mode also has 2 different stabilizer usually only found in camcorders making this camera dual purpose.
* Zoom 10x Optical plus digital multiplies this up to 1000mm or 40x zoom.
* 3D Still Image and 3D Sweep untested needed a 3D camera and HDMI cable.
* Advanced Manual and Priority setting where you can select the Aperture and the shutter speed. Within the camera you can also select the ISO which is needed in order to get the right exposure.
* works with mac and pc
some of the other features it has are background defocus, 25mm wide lens, Shutter Speeds : iAuto (2″ – 1/1,600) / Program Auto (1″ – 1/1,600) / Manual (30″-1/1600), Scene Mode(s) : High Sensitivity / Soft snap / Landscape / Twilight Portrait / Twilight / Gourmet / Beach / Snow / Fireworks/ Pet / Soft Skin / Handheld Twilight / Anti Motion Blur, ISO : Auto / 125 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200
I personally LOVE this camera. It is small and easy to put into a pocket or a purse, it has the shutter speed of a DSLR and the zoom of a lens that works while taking HD 1080 @60i videos. The biggest debate is what is better 1920 x 1080 @ 60i or 30P which is better? (they are the same?) It can zoom in as close as 1000mm and can take Sweep Panorama which is awesome!!!
I went to Orlando 2 years and took over 1000 pictures 5 of them using panorama assist
to take a picture of the Lake at Epcot. I to this day have not used the software in my computer to stitch them together. who has time to do this? This is why I love Sweep Panorama, it does all the work for you..
I can’t believe it takes 16mp shots at 10 shots per second, It’s smaller than a Micro 4/3’s and and as fast as a Professional grade DSLR for a tiny fraction of the price.
Don’t believe me try it yourself, Costco has a 90 day return policy with no restocking fee, ever!!!
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