I picked up the TX-7 as a replacement for my trusty but slightly aging Canon Ixus 960 IS, which is mainly used for grabbing photos and video clips at parties and gigs. And while I'm still learning how to make best use of it's features, overall, the results are... mixed.The positives are that it's small and tough; also, it can zoom while recording video, it can use SDHC memory cards and the picture quality isn't spectacular but is generally good enough. But then we come to the negative points:1) the battery life is poor - around 30 minutes of video recording on a single charge, whereas the Ixus could comfortably manage an hour or so. Also, where the Ixus can chug on for around ten minutes after the red flashing "empty battery" warning, the Sony gives you less than two minutes before it shuts down.2) the microphone isn't great: it's better than on some cameras I've tested (e.g. Ixus 300HS) but it struggles in high-volume situations. The 960's mike may only be mono, but it still managed to comfortably handle everything from a folk-night poetry recital to a Rob Zombie concert!3) The touchscreen interface is a neat gimmick, but it's also a bit ideosyncratic - for instance, camera config is hidden under the picture of a briefcase and you can't switch between MP4/AVCHD recording from the video UI. It's also generally slower and fiddlier to use - no tapping buttons or flicking switches by feel, here!Also, while it's not the camera's fault per se, the directory structure on the card is a mess, as the AVCHD files go into a standard set of "blu-ray" compatible folders, rather than being placed in the DCIM directory with the JPG and MP4 files. Also, AVCHD is a pain to convert into other formats, but that's another story altogether...Overall, if you want a "handbag" camera for casual use, the TX-7 is pretty much perfect - and it's novel enough to attract at least some attention from friends and family. But you may be disappointed if you want to use it for anything more involved.

The camera has as many frustrating feature as it does good points. The battery lift is 2 hours. I have just returned from holiday and the battery will give about one days use before needing to be recharged. I have found this to be about 75 photos and 10 minute video and trimming photos as you go before you need to recharge the battery. With the charger supplied the battery takes over 4 hours so a second battery really needs to be carried at all times on holiday (or at a wedding) which is a bit of a pain. The night/evening photos are excellent and so are the panoramic photos. Strangely, the day photos in bright sunlight are not good and generally need some form of adjustment whist photos of views tend to be washed out and colour unless also adjusted. I would therefore not call it a general point and shoot camera. The video clarity is good but the stability is a little poor. Walking and videoing does not give very good results. To be honest I am a little disappointed by the whole package. I bought the camera to have Video and Camera in one that would easily fit into your pocket but am constantly wondering if the battery might give up, fiddling to trim my photos and adjusting to get some more colour into day time photos.