Sony HDR-FX7 vs HDR-FX1000

tcbetka wrote on 10/10/2008, 6:06 PM
I am considering the HDR-FX7 versus the HDR-FX1000, to go along with the SR11 we just bought. I know the FX1000 is the better camera of the two--a brief review of the B&H and camcorderinfo.com sites shows that. But the question is...how much better is the FX1000, and what will the street price be? Right now B&H is selling it for $3199, which is MSRP I believe. I thought I had read where the price was going to some down in November, when Sony releases a cnew model or two. But do I have this wrong?

If that's the case and the FX1000 truly will sell for around $3K, then it would have to be a LOT better camera to overcome the $1000 difference of the FX7 which sells now for $1999. We are very likely looking for a prosumer camera, and being as we sort of know the Sony menu systems and general look & feel, I think it'd be best to stick with the brand now. But there seem to be so many cameras in the $2000-5000 price range!

So any input would be appreciated. The FX7 looks like it would be quite adequate for our first prosumer unit; and in fact I have heard nothing but good things about it. But if the FX1000 will be selling for less and can be purchased for a few hundred more after a price reduction, then that's probably the way we would go--simply to get more camera for future use.

Thanks.

TB

Comments

Serena wrote on 10/10/2008, 8:39 PM
The FX7 is rather limited in audio and has smaller CMOS sensors than the FX1000. How do the LCDs compare? Lens controls? Facilities for setting picture profiles? The FX1 is a good camera and you can buy those quite cheaply now. When I bought mine the significant differences between the Z1 and the FX1 seemed to be mainly in the audio inputs and the price difference was significant. Quite a few of us didn't pay enough attention to the finer print and regretted not buying the Z1. Same seems to be true of those who bought the FX7 instead of the HVR-V1, the latter being a good unit. I find that the XDCAM EX1 meets my needs. So my thought is that you should assume that the greater cost of the FX1000 does give you valuable extra capabilities and be careful to properly determine what those capabilities are.
tcbetka wrote on 10/10/2008, 9:47 PM
I think you are right. I was reading several reviews of the FX7 tonight, and it seems quite limited in comparison. So maybe (as you alluded) paying a bit more to get more camera will be a savings in the long run. If the differential is $1000 now (FX1000 over FX7), you'll never do it for that $1000 in the future!

I have a month or so to research this, and am in no hurry. I want to see where the FX1000 actually sells when it is out. B&H has it for full MSRP, which seems a bit odd I guess. I'd expect a new model to sell closer to MSRP, but not *at* MSRP. But hey--that may make a used FX1 that much more attractive.

TB
JohnnyRoy wrote on 10/11/2008, 7:28 AM
> Quite a few of us didn't pay enough attention to the finer print and regretted not buying the Z1.

...and I watched that from the other side. I went the extra money and bought the Z1 and I never regretted the purchase. Little things like Black-stretch that I use all the time that the FX1 doesn't have, etc. You will never regret buying the better camera.

~jr
tcbetka wrote on 10/11/2008, 7:45 AM
Checking the auctions on ebay now, I see that there are several FX1 units for well under $2000. A few of the auctions are ending today, so I will just watch and see where the final price ends up on these units. If they are selling for around $1700-1800, then I would give strong consideration to simply buying a good used unit--if I can find a seller that looks reputable, and do the whole thing through Paypal.

Otherwise if these things are going for $2200-2400 or so, then I would likely just wait a few weeks and try to get an FX1000. But there's also no guarantee that that unit will sell for much less than the $3199 MSRP either, so that's another thing to consider.

Here's another question though... When I was researching the Sony SR11 I bought a couple weeks ago, people told me about recording into a laptop. Well, this is sounding better & better all the time--at least for recording the volleyball matches that we tape. I have three laptops, and can just get into the press box at the school and set up the Prosumer unit I have on a nice tripod, and then set a laptop right next to it. There's power there, and we'd be good to go. This assumes that the HDV unit we get has a firewire output capable of allowing HD recording.

Does the FX1 allow this? I'd bet that the FX1000 does. I am trying to check the reviews to determine this now. I know that the FX1 has a firewire port, but I am not certain whether or not that means it allows HD recording on a remote unit; I presume it does.

TB
JohnnyRoy wrote on 10/11/2008, 2:39 PM
Yup. I've got a Sony HVR-DR60 HDV Hard Disk 60GB Recorder and HDV Rack software for my laptop and both work with my Z1 and will work with a FX1. You can even just use Vegas Capture to record live HDV from the FX1 right to your laptop hard drive.

~jr
tcbetka wrote on 10/11/2008, 3:08 PM
Sweet...thanks JohnnyRoy. I like the looks of both the FX1000 and the FX1, so that sounds great to me. I even have a Glyph 120GB external hard drive, that I *think* runs at 7200rpm. That should be adequate for remote recoding, seeing as how it's supposed to be shock-mounted.

But the only drawback is that all my laptops have firewire 400 ports--is this adequate? I would think 400Mbps would be MORE than enough to handle a 25Mbps data stream, but I am uncertain if that's an apples-to-apples comparison.

TB