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Comet UK Television Shop: At Comet UK Television Shop Your Money Buys More! - SEARCH: GO Entertainment Cameras & Camcorders Camcorders Cameras Digital cameras Digital camera accessories Camcorder accessories Televisions DVD & Video Audio & Hi-Fi Gaming Kitchen & Home Computing & Phones Home > Entertainment > Cameras and Camcorders > Camcorder review What Camcorder Review Sony DCR-IP7 Micromv digital camcorder "Amazingly compact with cutting-edge technology but the results are not as good as DV." Read the full report here... MicroMV format with a 1/6in CCD. Tests reveal that resolution is good, colour containment is excellent; white balance is good; exposure is excellent; autofocus is excellent and audio performance is good. Lack of manual white balance can result in blue tinge under some conditions. Even so, subjectively the format, which uses MPEG2 compression, is on a par with DV. Detail and clarity are very good and the autofocus system does a sterling job delivering pin sharp images. Main problem is the slight pause that occurs between shots - although this can be removed using a compatible PC and the supplied software. Sound is good - recorded with clarity and a dynamic range that belies the size of the camcorder and its dinky microphone. Digital stills are 640 x 480 pixels resolution and not much cop except for onscreen viewing. The compact size (103mm high) and weight (370g) make this an incredibly easy camcorder to carry but operating it is no picnic as things are so cramped. Many functions are menu-based - meaning that the LCD screen has to be used at all times and this can be difficult to see in bright sunshine. Image stabiliser and LCD screen are usual Sony high quality affairs but the Li-Ion battery is small and not up to the demands of an all-day shoot. At least one spare is recommended. There are Six Program AE modes - Spotlight; Portrait; Beach & Ski; Sunset & Moon; Landscape and Low Lux. Optical zoom is the minimum 10x with digital variety offering 120x. There is no manual white balance but manual focus and exposure is provided plus plenty of digital effects, a fader and titler. Connections are very good with i.Link (MicroMV) in/out and USB providing first class PC compatibility. USB is useful for using the cam as a web cam and for copying digital stills to a hard disk. Also Memory Stick slot means digital stills can be stored on memory card. Software included comprises Movie Shaker Plus on CD-ROM, PC connector kit and CD-ROM driver software. Movie Shaker Plus is needed to remove the pause that occurs between shots. The edited version can then be transferred as one single recording back onto MicroMV. Bluetooth connection means you can send short movie clips using e-mail and the internet (so long as you have a compatible mobile phone or Bluetooth modem). Web-browsing on a 2.5in screen is somewhat limited but the e-mail facility could prove highly useful for anyone who travels a lot. List of Sockets: DC-in; AV out; S-video out; MicroMV in/out; USB. The Bluetooth wireless connection will be commonplace one day but for now the main attraction of the IP7 is its incredibly small size. But, the advantages aren't enough to make this a serious contender to replace DV. Small means fiddly and the recordings are only decent by DV standards. Site Map | Delivery | Pricing | Security | Press Desk | Jobs | Auctions © Comet Group plc 1999 - 2003. All rights reserved. Click here for details. Top