Sony DCR-IP7 Network Handycam

I've been using a Sony Hi8 camcorder for seven years now but it was the sheer miniscule beauty of the IP7 that finally persuaded me to make the jump to digital. Although I've had a camcorder for many years I've found that I often leave the thing at home because I can't be bothered to carry it around, then I wish that I'd taken it. That's a problem you won't have with the IP7.

The IP7 has all of the features you could possibly want, packed into a camcorder the size of a compact camera. It fits comfortably in your hand, and contrary to many other reviews the zoom control is easily mastered and operates flawlessly. The 2.5 inch screen gives an excellent view of the action and all of the myriad of features are within easy reach. The quality of material is equal to DV with the added advantage of the camera's tiny dimensions.

It's true that on first impression 'indoor' scenes were a little grainy but I found that after a short while playing with the settings they were back up to an excellent standard. I really cannot fault this camera on any front. It's a joy to use in the field and a joy to edit your movies when you get them home. It's true that none of the major DV editing packages currently support the new format (something that I am sure will change very shortly) but in the meantime the supplied Sony 'Movieshaker' software is more than adequate.

I'm no Steven Speiberg but I was turning out professional looking productions within a couple of hours of first using the software. 'Movieshaker' automatically aquires your footage from the camera and then quickly guides you through the process of trimming and re-arranging scenes, adding soundtracks including narration and music and then finishing off with scene transitions, special effects and titles. I'm sure the package will do a lot more but I'm still learning. Needless to say that so far I'm impressed. Once your production is complete it's quick and easy to either record it back to the camera for tranfer to SVHS or VHS, or it can be saved to PC in a variety of file sizes and formats for archiving or copying to CD or I presume DVD.

The IP7 is behind some of it's rivals in the quality of the still shots it will take. This wasn't of great concern to me as I already have a 3.3 megapixel DSC which I will continue to use for serious photography. However I did use the IP7 to take some stills and the quality was certainly good enough for holiday or family snaps, and printed at 6x4 with no noticable quality problems.

This camera will never appeal to camcorder purists because on paper at least it's resolution is inferior to mini DV. In practice I could see no discernable difference between the two formats. The minature size may put some off, again having used the IP7 as a hand held camera, on a monpod, and on a tripod I can find no flaw.

If you're looking for a top quality movie and stills camera then you might want to try something with a bigger CCD and megapixel stills facility. If however you're looking for a top quality movie camera with the added bonus of a good stills facility, then the IP7 is it, in the smallest package imaginable.

My biggest complaint against my old handycam was that it was too big, even though it was certainly no bigger than todays Hi8 models. It was just too much bother to carry around. In contrast the IP7 really is a take everywhere, use anywhere solution that means you'll never miss that special moment.

The Bad News:
Here is where the camera is really let down. There is no software that will let you manipulate Sony's MPEG2 output from the i-Link except Sony MovieShaker (comes with Camera). The MicroMV format is MPEG2 Transport Systems which are completely incompatible with DVD MPEG2! There are no applications like Adobe Premiere that let you import Sony MPEG2 Transport Systems. Sony MovieShaker only lets you save as MPEG1 for emailing or lets you save back to the cassette. Grrr.

Forget trying to make DVDs or anything high quality. You should avoid this camera and stick to DV Camcorders for computer editing. Why Sony did not create a plug in for Premiere? or a MPEG2 (DVD compaptible) save option in MovieShaker baffles me. And because you will need to store your work on MicroMV tapes be prepared to pay a lot for them.

As a gadget for taking with you everywhere, 10/10. As a closed proprietary format (MicroMV)- which has nothing to do with DVD MPEG2 - 0/10.

My opinion - Wait a while until Sony fix this.