The crew over at the Sony HDV Info forums were right on the money with their speculation. Sony just announced the new HDR-FX7 3-CMOS based HDV camcorder, and the Sony HDV forum got all the major details right.

As usual, Camcorderinfo has excellent details on the new offering from Sony, this detailed comparison chart lays out all the details on the Sony FX7, FX1 and Z1U, the Canon XH A1 and XH G1, the Panasonic AG-HVX200, and the JVC GY-HD110U.

The FX7 has a weird hodge-podge feature set that I find a bit confusing. Things like 6 assignable preset buttons (the FX1 has 3), a 20X zoom (a first for Sony’s “prosumer” lines), HDMI out, and Auto Focus Assist. The don’t offer the CineFrame modes on this camcorder…does that have something to do with the CMOS sensors?

I’m a little confused by this latest Sony offering. It’s not really a replacement for the FX1 in the sense that it offers the same feature-set, but it’s not really a complete departure in design either. A somewhat odd bird, in my opinion. It is also priced about $800 more than I had expected. I find the price tag is a little rich for the features it offers, particularly considering that the LUX rating is a step down from the CCD-based FX1 (4 lux for the FX7 vs. the FX1′s 3 lux rating).

Compared to the pricing and features available on the Canon XH A1, I wonder how attractive buyers will find the HDR-FX7?