Sony Handycam HDR-TG7VE reviews: Sony camcorder

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Score 8.5/10 Read 109
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This camcorder is a good all rounder.

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Sony Handycam HDR-TG7VE: Sony camcorder See full product description

Ease of use	8.6
Image quality	8.8
Battery life	7.4
Weight	9.2
Value for money	7.8
Overall rating	8.5

Some customer reviews of Sony Handycam HDR-TG7VE

Most helpful reviews

pip, Reading Just point and shoot

Score 9.0/10

Good points:: Easy to use, very good build quality, small enough to carry about.
A beautifully crafted unit.
Bad points:: None

Ease of use	10.0
Image quality	8.0
Battery life	6.0
Weight	9.0
Value for money	9.0
Overall rating	9.0

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Confirmed purchase: 27 Jan 2012

james, edinburgh Keen amateur

Score 9.0/10

Good points:: Style, size and shape. Can slip into pocket and not know it's there. Brilliant
Bad points:: Still camera MP limit is too low in this day and age and let's it down in otherwise brilliant device.

Ease of use	10.0
Image quality	10.0
Battery life	9.0
Weight	9.0
Value for money	10.0
Overall rating	9.0

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Confirmed purchase: 22 Jun 2011

Herbie, Swaffham, Norfolk Keen amateur

Score 8.0/10

Good points:: Its easy to carry around and easy to use
Bad points:: I find it almost impossible to use in sunlight

Ease of use	6.0
Image quality	9.0
Battery life	8.0
Weight	9.0
Value for money	9.0
Overall rating	8.0

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Confirmed purchase: 21 Jul 2011

Ged, Sheffield Just point and shoot

Score 8.0/10

Good points:: Very easy to use,
compact handy size,
instant power for immediate use,
Brilliant quality of HD Video or Photos,
Bad points:: Can be confusing if you need to do more via menu, not straight forward, need to read up, trial and error.
UNABLE TO GET WIDE ANGLE LENS, special to this model

Ease of use	10.0
Image quality	10.0
Battery life	8.0
Weight	7.0
Value for money	7.0
Overall rating	8.0

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Confirmed purchase: 19 Oct 2011

Mike, Surrey Experienced amateur

Score 9.0/10

Good points:: The best small HD camcorder on the market.
Bad points:: Menus are better on the Panasonic SD10

Ease of use	7.0
Image quality	9.0
Battery life	9.0
Weight	9.0
Value for money	9.0
Overall rating	9.0

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Confirmed purchase: 17 Jul 2011

Derek, Enfield Professional videographer

Score 9.0/10

Good points:: Beautifully engineered, has a lovely quality feel when handled, very good in low light, easy to use.
Have so far only used SD, due to my lack of HD edit facility, but am upgrading the PC soon, so look forward to
that , but even SD quality is better than my other Handycam (PC109) under low light conditions, due to much less
visible noise.
Bad points:: Lens field of view needs to be wider, as camera lends itself to indoor use, parties etc.,quite a lot.
Cannot think of much else to complain about.!!

Ease of use	9.0
Image quality	9.0
Battery life	9.0
Weight	10.0
Value for money	9.0
Overall rating	9.0

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Confirmed purchase: 11 Jun 2011

Eirlys, Tangier Keen amateur

Score 6.0/10

Good points:: Small; light, easy to use, excellent for travelling.
Bad points:: Very difficult to hold steady, especially when zooming. Not good for interior shots as no wide angle. GPS does not always work.

Ease of use	8.0
Image quality	7.0
Battery life	5.0
Weight	10.0
Value for money	8.0
Overall rating	6.0

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Confirmed purchase: 07 May 2011

Read all 109 customer reviews

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This Sony Handycam HDR-TG7VE is reviewed on Expert Reviews

Product Features

Resolution quality	Full HD
Resolution quality can be standard definition (SD), High Defintion (HD) or Full High Definition (HD). SD camcorders will have 480 horizontal lines of resolution whereas HD camcorders can have up to 1080. The more lines of resolution you have, the sharper your video will look. Full HD refers to camcorders that record in 1920 × 1080 resolution.
3D	No

Optical zoom ratio	10
The amount by which the camera optics (lens) can bring the subject closer.
Media format	Flash
This is the type of storage that your digital camera or camcorder uses to save images to. The main types of card media format: Compact Flash Micro SD MMC (Multi Media Card) SD Card (Secure Digital) SDHC (Secure Disk High Capacity)
Connections	USB

Type of memory card	Memory Stick

Shape of camcorder	Vertically held

Digital zoom ratio	120
Not to be confused with optical zoom, digital zoom enlarges a portion of the image thus simulating optical zoom. In doing so, some image quality is lost.
Type of image stabiliser	Electronic
If a photo is taken at a slow shutter speed, or at a long focal length, the effects of ‘hand shake’ will be amplified. Some cameras come with built-in image stabilisation which is designed to act against this to produce sharper images. It’s great for low light shots without a tripod, like at a gig.
Widescreen recording	Yes
Resolution (Megapixels)	2.3

Hard disk capacity (Gigabytes)	16
Hard Disk capacity is measured in GBs which stands for Gigabytes. A gigabyte is 1000 MB or megabytes. The more GB you have the more info like photos and music you can store.
Shortest shutter speed (Fractions of a second)	1/1000
This is the fastest speed at which the camera can take a photo. Faster shutter speeds really freeze the action and are great for sports photography.
Weight (g)	230
The weight of the product in grams.
Screen size (Inches)	2.7
Screen size is measured diagonally from corner to corner.
Maximum aperture telephoto	2.3
Maximum aperture wide	1.8

Lowest focal length (Millimetres)	53

Highest focal length (Millimetres)	621

Type of chip	CMOS

Release date	2009-05-27
The date the product was originally made available for purchase.

Also known as: Sony HDR-TG7E

Camcorders Buying Guide

Manufacturer's Description

Ultra-compact, light and stylish
Incredibly small and light with stylish titanium body. Full HD recording on internal memory, plus GPS, Smile Shutter, Face Detection and SteadyShot image stabilization.

Small and light enough to keep with you
With less size and weight to carry, it’s easy to slip your camcorder into a pocket or bag: you can be sure it’s always with you, wherever you go.

More smiles every time
Wouldn’t it be great having a photographer by your side, capturing great still pictures of happy faces while you’re shooting video of a party or another special event? Smile Shutter automatically shoots still photos whenever your subject smiles, without interrupting video recording.

Know where you are… And were you’ve been
GPS tracks your position as you travel. See the exact location of your clips and still images with maps on the LCD screen. Then review your journey when you’re back home with online Google Maps on your PC

Anyone can make their own movies
Once you’ve shot a lot of footage with your camcorder, it takes time and effort to edit the results together and produce your own ‘mini movies’. The camcorder automatically picks and assembles clips together, adding professional-looking transition effects and a music soundtrack.

Have more fun with your video collection
It’s easy to manage your video clips and photos with Picture Motion Browser for your PC – included free with your camcorder. Sort, search and browse through all your clips and photos in an instant. Burn them to disc, email to friends or upload to social networking sites with a few clicks.

More info at Sony's website

We searched for this product high and low,
from House of Fraser to Tesco,
no one is selling it, we're sorry to say,
not 399 retailers nor anyone on eBay,
but please don't worry even if it hurts,
you can look for alternatives or

Here’s a list of the questions other shoppers have asked owners of the Sony Handycam HDR-TG7VE

i cant get activated the "blitz"
i get a notice "diese funktion steht zur zeit nicht zur verfügung.

i hope you can help me

christoph asked on 09 Mar 2011
1. Regret I do not understand German, but "blitz" I know means "flash" so, when you press the button for still shots, and there is not much light, the flash will fire.
  Also if you go to "menu" then "flash mode", it is possible to set the flash on or off or auto.
  Your camera may be set to "off" for flash !
  
  Hope this helps,
  Derek
  
  Derek replied on 26 Jul 2011
Can this camcorder take a photo of an object and record the gps position and save it for future reference.

Ken asked on 15 Mar 2011
1. yes you can view the coord on stills and movies or use the system to display your currant location.a map is also aval with each shot marked on it
  
  Simon replied on 15 Mar 2011
The video is working but I cannot take any photos, either in photo mode or while taking video. Tried resetting everything and been through the settings but still no solution. Any ideas?
Thanks

Drummando asked on 08 Jul 2011
1. Have not had this prob. myself, so have no idea, but would try removing battery to clear everything, re- fit battery, and hope!
  
  Derek replied on 24 Aug 2011
hi im trying to upload videos from it to my computer (running windows 7) and for some reason its glitching when played on windows media player, how shall i make it smoother??

jack asked on 28 Jul 2011
1. To tell you honestly, i have'nt uploaded my pictures and videos to my computer yet. I'm sorry i can't help.
  
  mike replied on 30 Sep 2011
Whnever i turn the power on .it tells me: Lens cover not fully opened turn on and off and on; ido this and the lens cover does not open.The point is the lens cover does not open,can anyone pls advice,will very much appreciate.THANKS

AL asked on 02 Aug 2011
1. This must be a fault, I have never had this happen.
  Would suggest examine the lens cover with a magnifier glass to see if any physical damge, or maybe piece of grit caught between diaphragm leaves.
  
  Derek replied on 10 Aug 2011
Bought this product in Feb 2010 from airport on way out to Oz for family wedding - still looking for how to get the video footage onto my Mac - tried both the Techguys at the whatever happens club and Sony but no use. Someone please help - is it possible or not and if not why do they not tell us????

Katie asked on 13 Sep 2011
1. Yes it is possible but you need iMovie on your Mac. If you do connect the camera and open iMovie, it should tell you what to do or does it automatically. If you still have a problem let me know and I will send you details.
  
  Marianne replied on 15 Sep 2011
2. Hi Katie,
  I take it that you have the manual for the camcorder, if so and you go to page 24, you will see that the supplied software (PMB ) is not compatible with the Macintosh, in which case they suggest go to http://guide.d-imaging.sony.co.jp/mac/ms/us/
  
  Hope this works for you, best wishes..
  Derek
  
  Derek replied on 15 Sep 2011
Thanks for your replies Marianne and Derek. I have downloaded iMovie but no joy yet - any more tips? Derek - I have looked at that link many times but it only tells you how to download still photos not video.
Very frustrating! Anyone know if Quicktime works?

Thanks
Katie

Katie asked on 23 Sep 2011
1. I am sorry cannot help. I have not been able to download my photos and video clips.
  Apreciate help from other users of the camcorder.
  Thanks
  
  omkar
  
  omkar replied on 26 Sep 2011
2. view iMovie
  put camera (Sony HDR-TG7VE) in charger → switch on
  → connect USB cable with computer (Macintosh) →playlist 6
  press USB connect on camera screen (top left)
  → go to Sony ‘No Name’ (‘untitled’ memory stick) camera icon on desktop [your shots are in DCIM, 101MSDCF]
  open with dates and click file you want or day [e.g. DSC00013.JPG]
  OR go to iMovie, import from camera, √ which, import select
  → open/click on iMovie [repeat ‘close/open’ if not automatically]
  automatically: import checked, click check for stabilisation, NAME, → import
  [or → select, import, check [manual], done]
  → import complete → OK
  
  Marianne replied on 26 Sep 2011
How can I get maps to upload the GPS in Brazil? Because, actually, if I turn the GPS on, doesn´t appear nothing in the screen.

Angelo asked on 08 Jan 2012
1. does not work
  only to some extent with a London (UK) map
  
  Marianne replied on 10 Jan 2012
2. Have only tryed GPS in London, it took some time to get going and only worked best outside. also it only has a small logo in one corner of the screen when working. Hope this helps
  
  Stephen replied on 11 Jan 2012

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Sony Handycam HDR-TG7VE reviews: Sony camcorder

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