Review (Summary): "Though "budget" isn't a term that readily applies to a $3,500 camcorder, you might think of Sony's Handycam HDR-FX7 as a budget version of its older sibling, the $3,700 Handycam HDR-FX1. Like the HDR-FX1, the HDR-FX7 is a three-chip, "prosumer" HD video model; they have roughly the same design and feature set. ...
Overall, the HDR-FX7 performs quite well. It has a smooth, responsive zoom, a quick autofocus system and a usable manual-focus mechanism, combined with a bright 3.5-inch LCD that's pretty good in direct sunlight and excellent eye-level viewfinder. Similarly, the video quality in both bright sunlight and dim interiors is pretty impressive-within the limitations of the HD video format."
