Sony’s top of the line AVCHD camcorder this year is the $1,299.99 HDR-UX7. It improves upon last year’s debut the HDR-UX1 with a larger 1/3″ 3200K Gross Pixels ClearVID CMOS Sensor while keeping the microphone jack and manual controls of its predecessor. The UX7 loses the multifunction ring control, replacing it with a smaller – and less user-friendly – dial. The HDR-UX7 follows Sony’s high-end consumer camcorder trend of late which is to release an initial model with many desirable features and then follow up with newer models that improve imaging but lose some of the features that made the debut so attractive. Sony took this approach when it replaced the much lauded HDR-HC1 with the stripped down HDR-HC3.

The HDR-HC3 did boast some imaging improvement but lost the ring control and the microphone jack. We hit Sony hard for jettisoning the professional features that made the HC1 so popular. The features on the UX7 indicate that, perhaps, Sony is responding to those users who demand more than a point-and-shooter for their $1000 plus dollars. While the HDR-UX7 replaces the ring with a dial, the mic jack remains. Stay tuned for our full review, when we’ll answer the question of whether the HDR-UX7’s mammoth imager makes it a worthy upgrade, or if it’s something more akin to the “sidegrades” we’ve seen all to often at the consumer high-end.

The top-of-the-line HDR-UX7 … feature[s] Sony’s three-megapixel ClearVid CMOS sensor, which produces exceptional 1080i HD video quality, as well as six-megapixel digital still photos. Combined with Super SteadyShot® optical image stabilization, [the HDR-UX7 has] even more hybrid benefits. Such as the virtually blur-free results that a sensor-stabilized device can deliver with both digital stills and video.

Additional Features

* Built-in intelligent flash
* Super NightShot infrared system
* Scene Selection modes
* Picture effects
* Fader effects
* InfoLithium battery with AccuPower meter system
* Stamina battery power management system
* On-screen zoom and record buttons
* Easy Handycam button
* One-touch wide-angle shooting
* Manual focus
* Multi-language menu
* DVD format video recording