HDR-CX7
I used to be a Sony fanboi for many years until I realized that all the Sony products I owned used to break after a year - the Sony Timer is a well known urban legend in Japan.
The Sony Timer legend suggests that Sony installs a device in its electronics products which causes them to fail soon after their warranty expires. They don't put the timer in devices such as the Playstation as they want to make money from the software sales.
A few more words on the Sony Timer in Wikipedia.
Hope my Rolly doesn't break. Do you believe in the Sony Timer and have you had had experiences with Sony products? Hmmm, getting Deja Vu again - have I asked this before?
Anyway, when I was handed the camera I thought "Sony...and I'm a Mac user...its not going to work out."
But to my surprise, the camera works well with my MacBook Pro and iMovie 08. When the camera is attached to the Mac via USB, iMovie recognizes all the files on the memory stick and proceeds to import.
Files are saved as MPEG4 AVC/H.264.
Responsive touch panel screen. This bottom belongs to Konomi-chan.
Simple interface.
Jog dial for turning on the machine.
Attachment for microphones and dolphins.
Takes photos at 6 megapixels.
Size is 69×67×131mm and weighs about 370g.
The rest of the specs are at Sonys site.
And the video below is what I shot with the HDR-CX7.
We had a few discussions at iknow.co.jp about the video and I was wondering whether folks who didn't know the product would understand it - let me know.
High(er) resolution at http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=lbCu1Csa7JY&fmt=18.
Comparison with the Xacti CA65 which I used for all the Tokyo Dance Trooper videos so far.
The Xacti can fit in your trouser pocket without getting strange looks - sticking the Sony in your trouser pocket will get you in trouble on the trains.
One of the things I hate about Sony - the adapters size. I travel around a bit and knowing that I would have to carry this around just puts me off from buying the camera.
As with most Sony gadgets, the HDR-CX7 comes with a dock.
Back O the dock.
The HDR-CX7 is pretty simple to use and it it wasn't for that lousy adapter, I would consider getting it.
With the Mic attached.
Foks in Japan who are interested can find the cheapest prices at Kakaku.com - currently going for 72960 yen but as you can see on that page - some sellers are flogging it for 124200 yen!
I'll probably end up getting the DMX-HD1000 when the price drops a little bit more.