A wealth of handy features, designed for streamlined operation, make video shooting and playback a breeze. Every detail of the user interface is refined to simplify operation. Convenient navigation features, ergonomic controls, and accurate LCD colours all contribute to pleasurable, user-friendly performance. Home Menu and Option Menu Like the top page of a Web site, the Home Menu is the starting point for all operations. To record or play footage, change settings or edit scenes, first press the Home Menu icon on the top left of the touch panel or the Home Menu hardware button at the top left corner of the LCD. Then select the desired category from the Home Menu. The Option Menu provides quick access to the settings you need. Whether you’re shooting or playing footage, just press the Option Menu icon on the touch panel to display available settings for the current mode of operation. Then adjust settings as desired. Quick and easy navigation to desired scenes Helpful search functions accelerate and simplify navigation. New Film Roll Index and Face Index functions, in addition to Visual Index and Date Index, make every search fast, easy and enjoyable. Ergonomic, easy-to-use GUI Help function: When you need help understanding a function displayed on the Home Menu, press the “?” button and then press the listed function itself to display an easy-to-understand explanation. TV Connect Guide function: Connecting the HDR-CX7E to a TV is easy. Guidance is even provided on the LCD to make the process completely trouble-free. Help function   TV Connect Guide function Convenient hardware features Whenever you’re shooting footage, you can record audio through the built-in microphone as Dolby Digital 5.1ch Surround Sound. This feature further raises the sense of realism when you play back your HD footage on connected 5.1ch-compatible systems. If you record the footage on AVCHD format discs, you can also enjoy 5.1ch surround sound on AVCHD compatible Blu-ray players and recorders as well as PLAYSTATION®3. Note: The camcorder plays the sound in two channel stereo. Action sequences of 3 seconds become 12 seconds of slow motion playback with smooth, high-quality results. Just activate this feature and shoot any 3-second action sequence, such as a golf swing or football kick. Record 12 seconds of audio right afterward, if desired. Then play back the sequence and enjoy 12 seconds of stunning slow motion video with your voice recording simultaneously playing clearly at normal speed. It’s fun to watch and perfect for close analysis of sports moves. This remarkable feature was made possible by the exceptional combination of Sony’s high-quality ClearVid CMOS Sensor and Enhanced Imaging Processor. Note: • Just turn ON sound recording in camera setup (Default setting is OFF). • Image quality of Smooth Slow Rec is not the same as normal recording. Scene Selection modes let you easily create beautiful images in almost any type of setting. Whether capturing a sunset with friends in the foreground and illuminated skyscrapers in the background, natural beauty at beach resorts, fireworks bursting at night, or festive white landscapes of snow, the results are as spectacular as the scene you shoot. The Portrait mode, for example, brings out such subjects as people or flowers while creating a soft background. Twilight Twilight Portrait Candle Sunrise & Sunset Fireworks Shoot low light scene without flash Shoot portraits in low light with flash (stills only) Shoot without flash in low-light reducing blur Shoot without flash in low-light reducing blur Shoot fireworks in all their splendor         Landscape Portrait (Soft Portrait) Spotlight Beach Snow Shoot landscapes with distant focus Shoot subject with soft background Shoot waterside scene with rich blue colour Shoot waterside scene with rich blue colour Shoot whitish scene brightly In dark environments, you can capture subjects without using a flash. Just flick on the Super NightShot feature, which records images via infrared rays. Even in pitch black settings, with light as low as 0 lux, it lets you record sleeping children, camping scenes, and nocturnal animals without waking subjects from their slumber or disturbing their natural ways. Note: Super NightShot can be used whether shooting moving or still images. It does not accurately reproduce colours. It can only be used with certain other settings and should not be used in bright settings, which may cause damage to the camera. NightShot OFF NightShot ON Super NightShot Press the Easy Handycam button to enable carefree point-and-shoot operation with all settings automatically adjusted to match the shooting situation. This function is especially convenient for beginners who want operation to be as simple as possible. The HDR-CX7E allows up to 6 hours of shooting pleasure per charge — the longest of any AVCHD camcorder* — when using Sony’s optional NP-FH100 InfoLITHIUM STAMINA battery. Compact, lightweight and convenient, this battery employs ActiFORCE technology for fast recharging and InfoLITHIUM for displaying the remaining battery power in minutes on the Handycam® LCD. * Based on Sony internal research. When you power up the HDR-CX7E, its lens cover automatically opens. So you no longer have to worry about removing the lens cover or accidentally shooting with it on.