• Record 1920 x 1080 Full HD video to 120 GB hard drive
• 10.2-megapixel still image capture
• Face Detection technology for video and still images
• ClearVid CMOS sensor with Exmor technology
• 3.2-inch widescreen touch-panel Xtra Fine LCD screen

• nv:Sensor^10.2 Megapixel|Movie Resolution^1920x1080|Memory Included^120GB Internal|Storage Media^Memory Stick PRO|Storage Media^HDD|Compressed Format^MPEG4 AVC/H.264 SD: MPEG2|Optical Zoom^12x|Digital Zoom^150x|Focal Length^4.9 - 58.8mm|Focus Mode^Full Range Auto/Manual|LCD Monitor^3.2" wide touch panel|LCD Pixels^921K Pixels|Maximum Aperture^f 1.8 - 3.1|Shutter Speed^ Auto, 1/30 - 1/250 (Scene Selection Mode)|Exposure Control^Touch Panel|Movie Image Resolution^1920 x 1080

records 1080i high-definition or standard-definition digital video video to a built-in 120GB hard disk drive * 120GB holds approximately: * Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel audio * slot for optional Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick PRO® Duo * 3-3/16" widescreen touchpanel LCD * 16:9 widescreen mode for video and digital photos *

Sony HDR-HC7 6.1MP MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

I do not own this camera but please see my review of the HDR HC7 camcorder under that model information on Amazon. While Sony is barraging the market with new and innovative camcorders which do produce stunning video, it is product quality that becomes the issue if the camera has a problem. Sony customer service is incredibly frustrating and poor. Warranty information does not disclose astronomical repair charges and should be embarrasing in comparison to the ten year warranties we are seeing on complex machines like automobiles. If your product is well designed, well built, and reliable then the warranty should include internal flash memory tracking of actual customer usage. 90 day labor and 12 month parts warranties are worthless for devices which sit unused by purchasers for most of their existence. At the same time, Sony's rush to saturate the market with new products seems to occur at the expense of reliability.

I'm amazed that a tiny little camcorder like this can pack in so many features. And the quality is fantastic! I've only begun to explore the capabilities of this thing, but I'm already in love with it! And the street price is pretty darn good and getting better all the time. Don't miss out on getting hi-def video of your kids while they're still young. I used a Sony Hi8 during my daughter's early years. It did a great job, but this---well, this is at a whole new level! And you can buy inexpensive wide angle and telephoto lenses for it. I bought a 2x lens so I can get 24x optical zoom from it now. Wow!!! Should be great for all sorts of settings--nature, family, sports, whatever! And you can take 10 megapixel stills to a memory card-- on the fly-- while you're recording video to the huge 120GB built-in hard drive! What's not to like?

I've had my SR12 for about a month now. It's a wonderful video camera with amazing HD picture quality.
I just shot a friend's daughter's wedding (for free - for fun) and he said it looked like it was done by a professional. Some of the darker dance floor scenes were a bit troublesome (slightly grainy/out of focus at times - most of it was great!) - everything was shot on full automatic mode with no light settings/adjustments - I'm still learning what this camera can/can't do).
It's still a great piece of technology. I shot many of my son's high-school outdoor soccer games - both daylight and at night under the lights - came out PERFECT! And WOW is it great just playing back on my HD TV. Amazing.
Now, for the software/editing issue: It's a non-issue. Get a computer. Not your 4-yr old P4. I've got a yr-old Quad Core - works great with Pinnacle Studio 12 Ultimate software. I burn DVDs AND Blu-Rays with this set-up and it looks fabulous!
Ask away if you have any questions. I learned from other people's comments and I'm more than happy to share.
Tony

A friend of ours has this camera so I already have seen how incredible it was, therefore I bought it. My friends are huge into technology with unlimited resources and they showed me this camera.

Add the extra battery to your order (the H70 is good enough unless you want the H100).

The video is great, camera easy to use, and Amazon had a fantastic price and quick delivery.

I will be ordering a huge television in the next few weeks from Amazon. They seem to be great to deal with.

This is a good camcorder but it definitely needs Firewire. Amazon lists it as having I-Link which is Firewire but it doesn't. A little slow to transfer data to your computer with USB.