Photos: Sony HDR-CX7, HDR-SR7 and HDR-SR5

They have similar designs, but the SR5 is more compact and lacks some of the manual amenities of the SR7.

Despite the breathless claims emblazoned on their bodies, the SR7 and CX7 use 3.2-megapixel sensors, while the and SR5 uses a 2-megapixel sensor. All have 10X zoom lenses.

The higher end HDR 7 camcorders include a dial for manual focus. All the AVCHD models ship with the Handycam Station, seen here supporting the SR7.

A slider switch opens the cover for various output connectors, though the HDMI out requires the old manual flip to open.

Though they have virtually identical control systems, the SR5 (left) lacks the eye-level viewfinder found on the SR7 and its sibling models.

The SR7 outbulks the SR5--the lens extends a bit farther to make room for the manual focus control--but both support NightShot mode and Dolby 5.1 audio recording.

Under the LCD, the SR5 and SR7 have the same slots 'n buttons.

Just a peek at the hard drive mounting used in the HDR-SR models.

Sony probably shouldn't have included this photo of the touch screen in the hands of an actual person; you can see just how the small the 2.7-inch LCD and virtual buttons are, which is one of our primary complaints about the interface.

The CX7's smooth sloping back gives it--to my mind--an elegant profile. It has a 10X zoom lens.

The placement of the connectors makes the CX7's back end look deceptively large.

The HDR-CX7 marks Sony's debut with a flash-memory based AVCHD camcorder.