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The "Official" Sony HDR-SR7/SR8 Owner's Thread - Page 3

post #61 of 228
12/11/07 at 11:06am
Just purchased the SR7 and I am wondering what accessories and editing software to buy? I have read the posts but no one gives specific models of accessories and why or why not they are better than any others. As for the software, Sony Vegas Pro 8a and Ulead VideoStudio 11 with Powerpack, are these still the best?
I have purchased the Accessory Value Kit ACC-FH70

This comes with the bag and the NP-FH70 battery.

I am also considering:

1. Light, not sure which one yet 3w, or 3w with IR, or 10w cold shoe.
2. Microphone, should I go with the wireless? Also, this will interfere with the light especially if both need the hot shoe. Any suggestions?
3. Wide angle lens, VCL-HG0737C. Seems to be the only one for this camera. Is a bit pricey
4. Any other recommendations please advise?
5. For software, it seems as though Ulead may be easier to use but is it as fast and as versatile as Sony's? Where, would be the best place to purchase the software?
I really appreciate any advice you can give, I hate purchasing something only to find out I should have purchased a different one. I am mainly shooting family video's but am of the opinion if I am going to make the effort to record it I want it in the best available (reasonably) quality.
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post #62 of 228
12/11/07 at 12:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roberto230 View Post

Just purchased the SR7 and I am wondering what accessories and editing software to buy? I have read the posts but no one gives specific models of accessories and why or why not they are better than any others. As for the software, Sony Vegas Pro 8a and Ulead VideoStudio 11 with Powerpack, are these still the best?
I have purchased the Accessory Value Kit ACC-FH70

This comes with the bag and the NP-FH70 battery.

I am also considering:

1. Light, not sure which one yet 3w, or 3w with IR, or 10w cold shoe.
2. Microphone, should I go with the wireless? Also, this will interfere with the light especially if both need the hot shoe. Any suggestions?
3. Wide angle lens, VCL-HG0737C. Seems to be the only one for this camera. Is a bit pricey
4. Any other recommendations please advise?
5. For software, it seems as though Ulead may be easier to use but is it as fast and as versatile as Sony's? Where, would be the best place to purchase the software?
I really appreciate any advice you can give, I hate purchasing something only to find out I should have purchased a different one. I am mainly shooting family video's but am of the opinion if I am going to make the effort to record it I want it in the best available (reasonably) quality.

Welcome Roberto230... I think you'll find AVS a good place to get knowledge about the SR7. To take a shot at your questions (others will chime in, I'm sure):
Software: I purchased Pinnacle software and had some grief with it (probably related to my 3 yr old system -3.4ghz P4, 2gb ram), so went with the Sony Vegas Pro 8a and am struggling to get my head around it. Part of my struggle with both of these programs is that the preview and timeline views are too choppy to work with. I may just have to upgrade my pc... Working with AVCHD files takes A LOT of processing power. Probably quadcore, 4 gb ram and a LOT of disk space. This is serious stuff and right on the bleeding edge of pc technology.

Lights: You're right about the hot shoe issue. You can use it either for a light or a mic, but not both. There are options for each that doesn't use the hot shoe, too. I don't have an external mic yet, and am using the little HVL-HL1, which is adequate ONLY for very small group settings. Don't expect to light up a whole room with it. Also, be aware that it runs off of the camcorder battery so it drains quicker. The time remaining estimate changes on the camcorder screen to reflect the higher drain on power.

Wide angle Lens: I have the VCL-HG0737C, which I consider a must have for a dinner table setting or in-house family gathering kind of video. I tried it without it and was disappointed. I was pleasently surprised at the quality of the wide angle lens. It is really a great lens and doesn't seem to negatively affect the quality of the video at all. Highly recommended.

Other Stuff: The only other thing I have is the AC-VQH10 Ac Adaptor/charger. It will charge up two batteries and also let you run the camcorder off of it directly. It seems to work well.

That's about all I know! Good luck with the new camcorder...

Larry
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post #63 of 228
12/11/07 at 1:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDBecker View Post

Welcome Roberto230... I think you'll find AVS a good place to get knowledge about the SR7. To take a shot at your questions (others will chime in, I'm sure):
Software: I purchased Pinnacle software and had some grief with it (probably related to my 3 yr old system -3.4ghz P4, 2gb ram), so went with the Sony Vegas Pro 8a and am struggling to get my head around it. Part of my struggle with both of these programs is that the preview and timeline views are too choppy to work with. I may just have to upgrade my pc... Working with AVCHD files takes A LOT of processing power. Probably quadcore, 4 gb ram and a LOT of disk space. This is serious stuff and right on the bleeding edge of pc technology.

Lights: You're right about the hot shoe issue. You can use it either for a light or a mic, but not both. There are options for each that doesn't use the hot shoe, too. I don't have an external mic yet, and am using the little HVL-HL1, which is adequate ONLY for very small group settings. Don't expect to light up a whole room with it. Also, be aware that it runs off of the camcorder battery so it drains quicker. The time remaining estimate changes on the camcorder screen to reflect the higher drain on power.

Wide angle Lens: I have the VCL-HG0737C, which I consider a must have for a dinner table setting or in-house family gathering kind of video. I tried it without it and was disappointed. I was pleasently surprised at the quality of the wide angle lens. It is really a great lens and doesn't seem to negatively affect the quality of the video at all. Highly recommended.

Other Stuff: The only other thing I have is the AC-VQH10 Ac Adaptor/charger. It will charge up two batteries and also let you run the camcorder off of it directly. It seems to work well.

That's about all I know! Good luck with the new camcorder...

Larry



I am new to the thread, (to any thread for that matter) so I hope I am doing this all-right.

Thank you very much for your reply. I will definitely get the wide angle lens. Does anyone know where to find one at a good rate? Sony seems to have them back ordered.

You brought up a great question which I was trying to avoid (subconsciously probably) My PC is a Dell laptop core 2 T5500 @ 1.66GHz, with 2 GB ram. It meets the specs listed for Ulead but not sure about Sony Vegas. What do you think?

If I may, what size batteries do you have and how long do they typically last for?

~Roberto
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post #64 of 228
12/11/07 at 4:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roberto230 View Post

I am new to the thread, (to any thread for that matter) so I hope I am doing this all-right.

Thank you very much for your reply. I will definitely get the wide angle lens. Does anyone know where to find one at a good rate? Sony seems to have them back ordered.

You brought up a great question which I was trying to avoid (subconsciously probably) My PC is a Dell laptop core 2 T5500 @ 1.66GHz, with 2 GB ram. It meets the specs listed for Ulead but not sure about Sony Vegas. What do you think?

If I may, what size batteries do you have and how long do they typically last for?

~Roberto

Roberto,

I've been hanging around AVS for a few years and have found it helpful -- more in av stuff, but now with camcorder info as well. It isn't as well-formed yet. That's why I started the thread for the Sony SR7/8.

On where to purchase the WA lens, I got it right from Sony (which, as you say, is backordered). When I registered my SR7 I got an electronic coupon for 15% off so I ordered it from Sony's web site. So, it was about $170 direct from them.

Your pc might be a little iffy. My new-ish laptop is an HP with a T7200 dual core running at 2 ghz with 2 gb ram, and it stutters a bit as well, though not as badly as my desktop. You'll need to try it... I have no info on the Ulead software and how it works -- though I think someone mentioned that that software stuttered as well.

Battery life... With high def files (in my opinion) you generally DON'T want to be shooting one long event, but rather break it up a bit into smaller files that can be edited together. A large file would make your pc choke, I would think. I've shot bits and pieces of soccer games, birthday parties and events at church and not come near to using half a battery up. I have the NP-FH60 that came with the camera as well as an additional FH70. The FH100 would probably be needed to shoot a whole wedding or something like that, but it's huge.

How will you display your files? If your display has an HDMI port, that's the way to go. Sony sells a special mini-HDMI to regular HDMI cable for about $50. Monoprice.com has them for MUCH LESS and they seem to work just fine.

Larry
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post #65 of 228
12/11/07 at 4:21pm
Kind of hoping to get some help from everyone here. I have a five year old Mini-DV camcorder I want to upgrade. I would love to upgrade to an HD, but I really would prefer it to be a Hard drive one. I am trying to figure out if it is worth the extra $300 over the SR-5 or should I just wait until AVCHD is better overall. I just want a camcorder that I am not going to want to replace in a year or so because there is a more stable model. Any help with this and recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
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post #66 of 228
12/11/07 at 4:56pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dood56 View Post

Kind of hoping to get some help from everyone here. I have a five year old Mini-DV camcorder I want to upgrade. I would love to upgrade to an HD, but I really would prefer it to be a Hard drive one. I am trying to figure out if it is worth the extra $300 over the SR-5 or should I just wait until AVCHD is better overall. I just want a camcorder that I am not going to want to replace in a year or so because there is a more stable model. Any help with this and recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Hi dood56,
I'm not having any grief at all with the SR7 itself -- it's a stable and well-performing unit. And AVCHD as a format is stable -- it's just new and huge and, as is true with any HD files, highly compressed, so the computer horsepower needed is pretty massive. The issue for me right now is pc horsepower and getting my head around how to shoot and edit video.

As far as the SR-5 vss. the SR-7, check posts #43, 44 and 50 in this thread. The main difference seems to be in the optical stabilization on the SR7 vs "electronic stabilization" on the SR5. A bit higher resolution on the SR7, too. And the manual focus dial... AND the SR7/8 are that cool black color case (vs. silver on the SR5). The SR5 has a 40 gb drive vs. the 60 gb on the SR7. The SR5c has a 100 gb drive, but is going for the same $$ as the SR7 right now ($1299).

The SR7 seems a better class of camcorder to me. The optical stabilization was what made the difference for me. It really works well.

Larry
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post #67 of 228
12/11/07 at 5:23pm
I am running an AMD 64x2 TL-58 with 2GB of RAM and a GeForce Go 6150 on my laptop. Do I have the power needed to run the software if I want to do any kind of editing?
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post #68 of 228
12/11/07 at 6:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dood56 View Post

I am running an AMD 64x2 TL-58 with 2GB of RAM and a GeForce Go 6150 on my laptop. Do I have the power needed to run the software if I want to do any kind of editing?

dood56,

I can't say for sure, but I know that my laptop is spec'd higher than yours and it struggles. However, YMMV.

The software that comes with the camcorder runs just fine. But it is pretty much only for playback and TRULY minor editing.

It's just that in editing in Vegas Pro 8a and Pinnacle 11 Ultimate, the preview is choppy and, for me, therefore hard to deal with to edit. From what I'm reading in the Sony Vegas forum http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/....asp?ForumID=4 people who get the quadcore desktops are pretty happy. I don't have any direct experience with those.

Larry
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post #69 of 228
12/11/07 at 7:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDBecker View Post

The SR5 DOES have a 100 gb drive vs. the 60 gb on the SR7.

that's the SR5c. pretty sure the one people are quoting around 800 bones is the plain SR5 @ 40 gigs.
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post #70 of 228
12/11/07 at 8:02pm
Can get the SR5 for 700 bones on Amazon right now. That is why I am wondering if the extra cost makes the SR7 worth it.
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post #71 of 228
12/11/07 at 8:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dood56 View Post

Can get the SR5 for 700 bones on Amazon right now. That is why I am wondering if the extra cost makes the SR7 worth it.

dood56,
Watch out for what sievers is correcting me on... the SR5 ONLY has the 40 gig and the SR5c has the 100 -- my error and I'll correct it on my post. Sorry for the error.

Larry
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post #72 of 228
12/12/07 at 6:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDBecker View Post

Hi dood56,
I'm not having any grief at all with the SR7 itself -- it's a stable and well-performing unit. And AVCHD as a format is stable -- it's just new and huge and, as is true with any HD files, highly compressed, so the computer horsepower needed is pretty massive. The issue for me right now is pc horsepower and getting my head around how to shoot and edit video.

As far as the SR-5 vss. the SR-7, check posts #43, 44 and 50 in this thread. The main difference seems to be in the optical stabilization on the SR7 vs "electronic stabilization" on the SR5. A bit higher resolution on the SR7, too. And the manual focus dial... AND the SR7/8 are that cool black color case (vs. silver on the SR5). The SR5 has a 40 gb drive vs. the 60 gb on the SR7. The SR5c has a 100 gb drive, but is going for the same $$ as the SR7 right now ($1299).

The SR7 seems a better class of camcorder to me. The optical stabilization was what made the difference for me. It really works well.

Larry

The SR7 has a 80x zoom vs. 20x on the SR5. SR7 has headphone jack and SR5 does not.
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post #73 of 228
12/12/07 at 7:11am
Also SR5 has no viewfinder. That's a must have in my book..
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post #74 of 228
12/12/07 at 7:29am
Someone asked about batteries.. this is an attempt to recreate the table you can see on page 19 of the SR5/7/8 Handycam Handbook (not the operating guide). Get it here: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/mod...l=HDRSR7&LOC=3


Battery Pack LCD panel opened LCD panel closed
Image Quality HD SD HD SD
NP-FH50 105 120 115 130
NP-FH60 (incl.) 140 160 150 170
NP-FH70 230 255 245 280
NP-FH100 515 580 555 625
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post #75 of 228
12/12/07 at 9:41am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kraigk View Post

Also SR5 has no viewfinder. That's a must have in my book..

kraigk,

Wow... and before I answered I poured over the Sony site on the SR5. I thought I had heard that the SR5 had no headphone jack, but I missed that. It does note that on the comparisons on the Sony site. That would be very helpful for monitoring the recording, I guess. What other uses do people have for it?

I haven't seen an SR5 in person (so to speak) so didn't know that it was sans viewfinder. That isn't good -- if you're shooting in bright sunshine the lcd screen washes out pretty badly so the only way to see what's going on is to use a viewfinder. Definately a must have for me...

The Sony comparison on the two cameras indicates the same OPTICAL zoom at 10x (which is where you want to stay for best results), BUT the SR7 is listed at 20x digital zoom while the SR5 has an 80x zoom. 20x seems a good compromise between usefullness and quality. 80x zoom would get pretty grainy and would be REALLY hard to hand-hold without having the resulting video make people seasick!


Larry
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post #76 of 228
12/12/07 at 12:42pm
Assuming the headphone jack taps into the audio stream that is being recorded you would hear exactly what is or isn't going to disk. It might also be useful for blocking out peripheral noise. And most importantly it will make you look like a big time director .

I took the plunge and purchased my SR7 today. Thanks to your great help Larry I am much poorer now. For those looking to purchase B&H has a great price right now. They also have an accidental damage warranty that rivals the one Sony sells.

Can't wait to get this puppy. I got the AC-VQH10 AC Adaptor/Charger and the Accessory Value Kit ACC-FH70. I'm waiting on the mic as I will test out one I have. I want to see if using the mic plug turns off the built-in as expected. The bluetooth mic seems cool but I'm weary of the quality you'd get from a wireless mic. I can't find any specs that tell me whether the sound quality is good or not.

Here are the main reasons why I bought this over competing HD camcorders such as the HG10:

--- Records in MPEG for SD. Must have until editing gets better and computer gets upgraded.
--- Audio control. There are built in level controls which aren't great but at least they are there. Easy external hot shoe or standard mic jack are flexible alternatives.
--- Real 1920x1080 (not 1440)
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post #77 of 228
12/12/07 at 1:25pm
Hello all.

What is the normal process to download the video from the SR7 onto my hard drive. When I attach the cam to my PC all I see is .MTS files. Do I download these and convert later? Or do I have to install sony's software to download it properly? I want to save the files for editing later. I plan on trying out the Ulead software.

Thank you

Also, not sure what the other prices are but I saw the SR7 at Circuit City for 1069.99. The cheapest i have seen it yet. I priced matched it at best buy and was able to use a 12% off coupon from there rewards card which brought the price down to $933. YMMV
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post #78 of 228
12/12/07 at 2:29pm
Hello folks,

I am also in the market for an HD camcorder and I was just wondering why you guys are going for the SR7 and not the CX7? I think all the 7 series are the same except the medium where it records. The SR series records in hard drive, the UX series records in DVD and CX series records in digital card.

Is there any reason why you are not choosing cx7, I was leaning toward the cx7 because I think digital cards are the way to go as there is no moving parts.

Please help me decide.

highNNdry
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post #79 of 228
12/12/07 at 4:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kraigk View Post

Assuming the headphone jack taps into the audio stream that is being recorded you would hear exactly what is or isn't going to disk. It might also be useful for blocking out peripheral noise. And most importantly it will make you look like a big time director .

I took the plunge and purchased my SR7 today. Thanks to your great help Larry I am much poorer now. For those looking to purchase B&H has a great price right now. They also have an accidental damage warranty that rivals the one Sony sells.

Can't wait to get this puppy. I got the AC-VQH10 AC Adaptor/Charger and the Accessory Value Kit ACC-FH70. I'm waiting on the mic as I will test out one I have. I want to see if using the mic plug turns off the built-in as expected. The bluetooth mic seems cool but I'm weary of the quality you'd get from a wireless mic. I can't find any specs that tell me whether the sound quality is good or not.

Here are the main reasons why I bought this over competing HD camcorders such as the HG10:

--- Records in MPEG for SD. Must have until editing gets better and computer gets upgraded.
--- Audio control. There are built in level controls which aren't great but at least they are there. Easy external hot shoe or standard mic jack are flexible alternatives.
--- Real 1920x1080 (not 1440)

kraigk,

Welcome to the club! Sorry to have cost you so much -- though it seems you got a better deal than I did (grrrr!).

As far as the 1920x1080 vs 1440x1080 issue... that still confuses me. From what I had read, the SR7 - and all Sony HD consumer camcorders - are 1440x1080i. I have been wrong before, and will be wrong again, but I think it's the 1440 spec. That also is what the C-Net review says on the "Learn" tab on the Sony style page says: http://www.sonystyle.com/wcsstore/So...pdf/HDRSR7.pdf

Am I wrong?
Larry
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post #80 of 228
12/12/07 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by highnndry View Post

Hello folks,

I am also in the market for an HD camcorder and I was just wondering why you guys are going for the SR7 and not the CX7? I think all the 7 series are the same except the medium where it records. The SR series records in hard drive, the UX series records in DVD and CX series records in digital card.

Is there any reason why you are not choosing cx7, I was leaning toward the cx7 because I think digital cards are the way to go as there is no moving parts.

Please help me decide.

highNNdry

highNNdry,

I don't believe the 7 series camcorders across the lines are even close to being the same. The CX7, for example, has no viewfinder. Nor does it have a headphone or remote jack. The UX7 has a HUGE 3.5" screen.

I know the cost of memory cards will go down, but to buy a couple of 8gb cards along with the camera made it too expensive to me -- along with the lack of viewfinder...

The SR7 harddrive is of course a moving part and vulnerable, but it does have a drop sensor that is apparently quite effective. And while hard drives fail, the MTBF rating for hard drives in my pc's, which are running at least 8-10 hours a day, compared to the amount a drive in the camcorder would run (8-10 hours every six months?) means it will last a long, long time... barring any catstrophic mishap.

Also... I like being able to keep stuff on the camera as well as pc. Until I get good at editing, the best way to show/look at video is to plug an hdmi cable into the camera and a tv and watch it that way.

So, that's my thinking on it... Others?

Larry
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post #81 of 228
12/12/07 at 4:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roberto230 View Post

Hello all.

What is the normal process to download the video from the SR7 onto my hard drive. When I attach the cam to my PC all I see is .MTS files. Do I download these and convert later? Or do I have to install sony's software to download it properly? I want to save the files for editing later. I plan on trying out the Ulead software.

Thank you

Also, not sure what the other prices are but I saw the SR7 at Circuit City for 1069.99. The cheapest i have seen it yet. I priced matched it at best buy and was able to use a 12% off coupon from there rewards card which brought the price down to $933. YMMV


Hi, Roberto,

Normally I believe you would let the Sony software download and convert the files before editing.

Let us know how the Ulead software works. I think I'm going to order the Gearshift proxy file utility to help it work with Vegas Pro 8 a little smoother.

Larry
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post #82 of 228
12/12/07 at 5:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roberto230 View Post

Hello all.

What is the normal process to download the video from the SR7 onto my hard drive. When I attach the cam to my PC all I see is .MTS files. Do I download these and convert later? Or do I have to install sony's software to download it properly? I want to save the files for editing later. I plan on trying out the Ulead software.

Thank you

Also, not sure what the other prices are but I saw the SR7 at Circuit City for 1069.99. The cheapest i have seen it yet. I priced matched it at best buy and was able to use a 12% off coupon from there rewards card which brought the price down to $933. YMMV


Roberto,

B&H is at $999 with no shipping or tax. They have a better & cheaper warranty than CC, not sure about BB.
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post #83 of 228
12/12/07 at 5:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDBecker View Post

kraigk,

Welcome to the club! Sorry to have cost you so much -- though it seems you got a better deal than I did (grrrr!).

As far as the 1920x1080 vs 1440x1080 issue... that still confuses me. From what I had read, the SR7 - and all Sony HD consumer camcorders - are 1440x1080i. I have been wrong before, and will be wrong again, but I think it's the 1440 spec. That also is what the C-Net review says on the "Learn" tab on the Sony style page says: http://www.sonystyle.com/wcsstore/So...pdf/HDRSR7.pdf

Am I wrong?
Larry


Yep your right on the 1440. not a big deal though. You'd have to go into the pro market and spend 6-10k to get 1920. 1920 probably needs a $5k computer to edit the files.
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post #84 of 228
12/12/07 at 8:17pm
yeah I agree. the cx7 sure looks nice, sooo small and sleek. I definitely considered it! No viewfinder is a big drawback, virtually a deal breaker in itself. cost of mem (sony mem no less) is not exciting. If I didn't have to buy something (bought for first baby) I woulda waited to see what next year's crop brings. I do like the idea of recording to mem cards like you said, I could see myself selling this in a year or 2 to go to a mem card cam, non-sony to avoid pro duos. but for right now for me, the sr7 is better. The sr7 has more features but depending on what you want to do with the cam, maybe you can live without them? I'm going to Hawaii in a couple weeks and the thought of trying to use a cam in the bright sunlight with no viewfinder gives me visions of bad home movies. I would not second guess anyone buying the cx7 tho, if it works for you go for it.
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post #85 of 228
12/14/07 at 7:55am
Quote:


I don't believe the 7 series camcorders across the lines are even close to being the same. The CX7, for example, has no viewfinder. Nor does it have a headphone or remote jack. The UX7 has a HUGE 3.5" screen.

What I meant by same is that the CMOS sensor and the still picture capability are the same. Sorry I didn't clearify that earlier.

By the way, how is the still picture capability, is it similar to a 6MP point and shoot camera?
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post #86 of 228
12/14/07 at 8:15am
This may be a stupid question, but do the cheaper camcorders that shoot in HD from Sony match the picture quality of the SR7? I think some of those actually have a USB port for data on the camera....

Also, I'm searching for camera bags now. I'm hoping to find one big enough to fit the docking station...
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post #87 of 228
12/14/07 at 8:35am
Is there anywhere (reputable) to get an SR8 besides Sonystyle?

Is the SR8 the same as an SR7 except with the SR8 has a bigger 100GB HD?

How much HD footage can be recorded on the 60 v 100? I saw the 100 was listed as 38 hours but I was not sure if that was SD or HD footage. I would really like the bigger HD but the $500.00 (about) premium for the extra 40 GB seems a little steep if all other things are equal.

Thanks,

smack
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post #88 of 228
12/14/07 at 11:04am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by highnndry View Post

By the way, how is the still picture capability, is it similar to a 6MP point and shoot camera?

I was about to say "no" based on what I could see on the view screen, but I decided to print one. I brought it up into Photoshop CS3 and, wait a minute, it looks pretty good. Let's make a 4x6... Quick levels adjustment, slight sharpening (my normal workflow, even for my Canon 1DII and Canon G7), and, well, color's good, detail is good -- VERY acceptable. I'm surprised and pleased with it in that capacity. I'll have to use that feature more often!

Larry
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post #89 of 228
12/14/07 at 11:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by smack View Post

Is there anywhere (reputable) to get an SR8 besides Sonystyle?

Is the SR8 the same as an SR7 except with the SR8 has a bigger 100GB HD?

How much HD footage can be recorded on the 60 v 100? I saw the 100 was listed as 38 hours but I was not sure if that was SD or HD footage. I would really like the bigger HD but the $500.00 (about) premium for the extra 40 GB seems a little steep if all other things are equal.

Thanks,

smack

My understanding is that the SR8 is precisely the same camera with a bigger hard drive.

The 38 hours is misleading. It IS for HD, but for the lowest quality HD, which they call LP. The equivalent for the SR7 is 22 hours. Good if you NEED to use it, but I would always just use the highest setting.

Here are the recording times for the two cameras (from the Sony Style website).

SR7: High Definition: XP = up to 8 hours HQ = up to 14 hours, SP = up to 17 hours, LP = up to 22 hours.
Standard Definition: HQ = up to 14 hours, SP = up to 21 hours, LP = up to 41 hours.

SR8: High Definition: XP = up to13 hours HQ = up to 24 hours, SP = up to 30 hours, LP = up to 38 hours.
Standard Definition: HQ = up to 24 hours, SP = up to 36 hours, LP = up to 70 hours.

I couldn't justify the extra $$ for the larger hard drive. And, based on the amount of computer horsepower and sheer space needed for these files, AND my usage patterns, I'm glad I didn't spend the extra money.

Larry
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post #90 of 228
12/14/07 at 11:20am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NV5655 View Post

This may be a stupid question, but do the cheaper camcorders that shoot in HD from Sony match the picture quality of the SR7? I think some of those actually have a USB port for data on the camera....

Also, I'm searching for camera bags now. I'm hoping to find one big enough to fit the docking station...

I wasn't able to compare footage from different camcorders, so I can't answer that first question. Others?

I'm using a Lowepro Nova1 AW, which has enough room. It has a divider that lets me put stuff on the bottom of the case, layer the divider over it and up the side so that I have the dock on the bottom, insulated from the camera, and space on the side for a spare battery, little light and wide angle lens. It's a little bigger than I would like, but I happened to have it already from something else.

Larry
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