Sony HDR-SR12 10.2MP 120GB High Definition Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
by Sony
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony HDR-SR12 10.2MP 120GB High Definition Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Customer Review: The Last Camcorder you will ever need
Summary: 5 Stars
I've now had this camera for about a month now and I couldn't be happier. The video quality is STUNNING as well as the recording sounds. It comes with a base and proprietary power and video cords (both component-HD and composite, which means that they are not interchangable with over the counter video cords), but thats ok. It also has the software for transferring the videos and photos to your CPU. Back to the picture and sound... amazing really. The sound records in 5.1 surround which is so cool, plus you have many options on the video such as night vision, black and white, sepia, old movie mold, etc and some of them you can combine (I did night vision with black and white to make a short zombie movie, it looks wicked). There are so many possibilities with this cam. The play back is all touch screen, which the screen can get smeared by fingerprints (easy to wipe out), but I suggest buying a stylus. Of course if you hook it to your television, it does come with a remote control, and you can do everything with that remote except for deleting images. But that is a positive because you don't want to accidentally delete your images. And it does ask for you to confirm deleting so it's hard to do that accidentally.
Plus, it's a great photography camera. With the flick of a thumb you can change from filming to photographer easy and it takes crystal clear pictures in 10.5 mega pixel. Although I do find it a bit awkward to reach the photo button. Now it takes better picture in photo mode, then it do in filming mode (While filming you can snap a picture also),
Another word on the night vision, I had all the lights off and it films in that greenish color sort of like the movie Cloverfield. But even filming at night without the night vision on, it picks up everything. I had a buddy drive at night, while I was shooting and the only lights were coming from headlights and streetlamps (when we passed them) and you saw everything on the camera that you could see with you naked eye and I even thought it was better than my eye.
Now when you film and take pictures, it organizes the images according to date and when you film several scenes it will play them one after another without a bit of a pause. The camera also has little doors on the back and the side so you can hook up your cords without the base, which is good. Also inside of one of the doors are an hdmi output, a headphones output and a mic input. I ran my iPod through the mic input to make a music video and it turned out great (although be sure not to have your iPod any louder than half).
The camera also has a one touch DVD burning button on the camera and the base, but I haven't used it yet.
The only real negative is that the battery only last 90 minutes, but I bought a bigger battery, which last 14 hours. That battery weighs as much or more than the camera (the camera is really light) and it sticks out the back some but that isn't really that big of a deal.
The software is pretty smart. You hook the camcorder with the use of the provided usb cable (after loading the software) and it finds the camcorder and asks if you want to transfer all the items to your computer. But the cool thing is that you can keep those images on your camcorder after transfer, film other stuff, hook you camera back up to the computer and it will only transfer items that haven't been transferred yet. This is good because you don't have to try to figure out what has or haven't been transfer and you don't get dup copies, or that annoying message about whether you want to overwrite a file. And it organizes by date and you can do a total calendar view and see what dates you filmed on. When it organized and transfer to your CPU, it organized by date filmed, not date transfer, which is extremely helpful, especially if you visit multiple locations during multiple dates.
This is really the last camcorder you will possibly buy for many many years. The only thing is that it has so many cool accessories you can buy, like wide-angle lenses, telescopic lenses, attachable lights, and underwater case etc that you may eventually end up with a $2500-3000 total purchase when you are done. The accessories are not a necessity but they do look like a lot of fun.
Auto focusing can be a pain at times, but it does have a manual focus, which you can set to infinity and if you zoom, set it up on a tripod.
Oh and one last thing, I actually filmed something for 5 minutes that was playing on my plasma in HD and it look as if its the movie itself.
Customer Review: Great Camcorder With A Few Flaws
Summary: 5 Stars
I am new to high definition camcorders and I really looked forward to getting this one since I have been using a Sony DV camera for about 4 years now.First the bad, when I received it the first thing I noticed was how Sony was stingy on accessories like no remote, no good software, no firewire support(oh come on Sony),no good instructions, no mini hdmi, no memory stick, no bigger better life battery.You would think for a $1400 camera they would of thrown something in.Since I had already had a Sony camcorder I was already used to the interface and how to get to certain aspects of the camera so I never really read the instructions but a first timer may have problems with it.
In low light conditions this camcorder chokes and quality gets bad so you have to do some adjusting.Focusing for it also became a problem in low light.I noticed if I changed exposure or brightness to much the shot would get jerky.I am still looking for a way to fix this.
I wish the lens was a little wider and the optical zoom a little more.Digital zoom in my mind is worthless unless you have it set up on a tripod b/c you gotta have a robotic steady arm to keep it still.I usually only use optical zoom but noticed even when I zoomed all the way with it the picture would start to shutter and degrade.
The camera part is good if you currently dont have a camera but my Sony Cybershot is more simple to use and has better quality and easier to use than getting the camcorder out to take pictures.You can tell from the quality it is not a 10.2 mega pixel but merely face value on the camcorder to help sell.Its pretty nice to have it on the camcorder in case you want to take quick pictures.With my DV camera I could take digital stills from the video and quality wasnt that good of course so I was expecting this $1400 camcorder to really shine but so far digital stills are sub par.Hopefully as I get more experience with it I will learn tricks to fix this.The menus were easier to navigate in my DV camera as well.I am not sure exactly what I need 5.1 surround on a camcorder for but its still nice to have.I will probably do something later with it.
My final complaint is a lack of software to import AVCHD and so far I have found 3.Looking at reviews of the software the best I have found that is affordable is Sony Vegas 8 platinum.I would like to get Pro later but as of now the cheapest I have seen it is $350.
Other than those complaints the camcorder takes amazing film and outdoor locations look phenomenal.I have daughters 1 year old and a three year old and its nice to have a camera that records colors so vividly b/c I want to see exactly what my kids look like since my DV camera footage always looked different than reality.I find my self looking for things to record outside.Since I own a Playstation 3 I just hook it straight to that to watch on my Sony 40 inch Bravia.Some odd reason I always stick with Sony since I have had pretty good luck with them.Anyways As we watched the video I recorded outside and the camera moved sideways and the shake of my hand almost makes it throw up inducing.I haven't tried importing on my computer yet and my understanding is it takes a long time depending on quality of what was taken.I like a challenge and my computers about a year old so hopefully it wont struggle to much we'll see.I may make another review based on that.
Some people I read didn't like the weight or size of the camcorder but I prefer being able to feel the weight b/c to me it feels more comfortable.Its not like you start to burn arm and hand fat from holding it.Its probably personal preference.
I guess my 5 star rating comes from the overall experience from recording my family and events in their lives to just zooming in on a bees nest or just normal everyday things ,that slow motion thing is does is kinda cool.I know this camcorder will bring us joy for years to come.I usually stick with Sony products so you may find a different brand better.If you can afford it I highly recommend this.Do the research and look at other camcorders and make sure this is the exact right camcorder for you b/c what I think is great may not be what you use it for.
Customer Review: A REAL BEAUTY
Summary: 5 Stars
I PURCHASED THIS CAMCORDER FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF SHOOTING A TRIP TO THE EAST COAST(WE LIVE ON THE WEST COAST)AT CHRISTMAS TIME. I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER WITH IT, ITS SMALL, LIGHT AND EASY TO USE(COCKPIT PROBLEMS). SONY, SHOULD AT SOME POINT, WRITE A MANUAL IN A LANGUAGE THAT NOVICES CAN UNDERSTAND THAT EXPLAINS HOW TO SET UP & USE EACH OPTION INSTEAD OF SAYING "YOU CAN" I SHOT OVER 10GB OF THE TRIP AND RELATIVES AND STILL HAVE OVER 100GB TO USE(HAVEN'T DELETED ANYTHING AS OF NOW). CONTROLS ARE EASY TO USE ONCE YOU GET USE TO WHERE THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY DO(AGAIN COCKPIT PROBLEMS). I PUT THE OVER 10GB TRIP ON THREE DISCS(EASY TO DO) BUT THEY CAN NOT BE VIEWED THRU A REGULAR DVD PLAYER, MUST BE PLAYED ON A BLU-RAY PLAYER. THE PROGRAMS YOU HAVE SHOT CAN BE VIEWED THROUGH THE CAMCORDER ON A DESKTOP OR LAPTOP(USB PORT). I COPIED THE TRIP TO AN EXTERNAL HD, BUT CANNOT PLAY THEM UNTIL I FIND A PROGRAM THAT WILL PLAY THE FORMAT AVCHD. THE NIGHT SHOTS WERE A SURPRISE, SLIGHTLY GREEN, MAYBE THERE IS AN OPTION TO CORRECT THAT, SONY DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THE MANUAL, AS I SAID BEFORE, LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED. THE MEMORY CARD IS A PLUS BUT YOU HAVE TO CHANGE, AS YOU ARE SHOOTING, WHERE YOU WANT THE STILLS TO GO, HD OR CARD. AS I'M SHOOTING I DON'T, USUALLY, WANT THE STILLS TO GO ON THE HD. YOU CAN USE UP TO AN 8GB MEMORY CARD. I HAVE SEVERAL AND HAVE YET TO FILL ONE AND THEY ARE HI DEF, HOWEVER THEY AUTOMATICALLY GO TO A 4/3 FORMAT, NOT 16/9. THE BATTERIES CAN BE CHARGED IN THE CAMCORDER OR ON THE EXTERNAL CHARGER, AND SEVERAL SIZES ARE AVAILABLE, COMES WITH A SMALL ONE(TIME WISE). I HAVE YET TO USE THE PLATFORM, SO I CAN'T COMMENT ON IT.I WOULD DEFINETLY SUGGEST IT TO ANY ONE WHO WANTS A HIGH END CAMCORDER. THE PRICE, AS USUSAL HAS COME DOWN SINCE I BOUGHT IT, BUT ITS WORTH WHAT I PAID FOR IT. THANKS SONY FOR A GREAT PRODUCT, BUT PLEASE, DO BETTER WITH YOUR MANUALS. 1-28-09 I HAVE, SINCE I ORIGINALLY WROTE THIS REVIEW, DISCOVERED THAT I CAN PLAY FROM THE HD WHAT I SHOT ON OUR TRIP WITH THE PROGRAM THAT IS INCLUDED WITH THE CAMERA. ITS CALLED AVCHD AND LOOKS AS GOOD AS FROM THE CAMERA. I WILL PROBABLY DISCOVER OTHER THINGS THAT, AS OF NOW, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT. I SURE WISH SONY WOULD INCLUDE A COMPRENSIVE AND UNDERSTANDABLE MANUAL OR AT LEAST HAVE A WEB SITE WHERE I COULD LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS LITTLE JEWEL. I STILL THINK ITS GREAT!!!2-14-09 I now have a Blu-Ray(Panasonic BD55) dvd player(purchased through Amazon) and it plays great. My HD tv has only 1 HD input so I bought a hub that has 5 and have both my HD players pluged into it, still have to get an HDMI cord to be able to plug in the camera, but the dvds look every bit as good as if comming through the camera to the computer. I just can't say enough good things about this little jewel. I am still learning things(options) about it. I see the price has gone up considerably since I bought it (in October), for once I did it right.Customer Review: Some thoughts on HDR-SR12
Summary: 5 Stars
I ordered this camera in mid-August, then used it on a 7-day trip to Cape Cod.
I rate this unit 5 stars because of its great picture quality and general ease of use.
Specifics:
1. Images were beautifully sharp and clear, just what I'd expected from a High Definition camcorder.
2. Image stabilization worked very well.
3. Autoexposure and autofocus worked well for me. Autofocus was quick and accurate. With varied lighting (full sun, heavy shade, back lit scenes), all images came out very well. Sometimes a manual adjustment would improve the exposure a bit, but things were fine with exposure set to Auto.
4. Mac users:
(a) You'll need iMovie08. A lot of camcorder forums describe additional software for using this camera with a Mac, but those threads are old. iMovie08 downloaded and converted the image files, and allowed editing, with no problems.
(b) Amazon's item description says it has "i.Link interface (IEEE1394)." I can find no iLink/Firewire connector on the camera or in the manual, but it worked fine with USB2.
5. The manual is short and not as informative as it should be; coverage of menu options is especially inadequate. I wanted to know about the HD capabilities, but all the manual says is you can shoot movies in High-Def or Standard Def. In the menus on the camera itself you'll find 4 video-quality modes, but there are few details.
6. The supplied battery (NP-FH60) will run 40 minutes of normal recording, per the manual. I had to restrain my shooting early on to conserve power, so missed several opportunities. I should have ordered a larger battery (like the NP-FH70).
7. It was hard to tell whether this camera had switched from "REC" mode to "STBY" mode when I pressed the "START/STOP" button; my last camcorder (also a Sony) had a larger button and more positive feel. I've never shot so much "pavement and pants legs" before (but beautifully sharp and clear), or missed so much action that I thought I'd captured. I'll be more careful in the future.
Customer Review: VERY pleased with this camera, but not for feint of heart
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this camera for about 9 months now, and the more I use it, the happier I am with it. The takes absolutely beautiful video, and with the larger battery that I purchased, I can shoot with it seemingly forever without having to worry about running out of juice or storage, which is great. I've done several projects with it now and am extremely happy with the results.
After having used mini dv for years, it's so nice to not have to deal with the tape. You just plug the camera into your computer via a usb cable, hit one button, and a few min later you have all the video on your hard drive, broken down into different segments just like you shot it. I love it!
After using it a lot though I do have some suggestions to consider for those debating whether or not to purchase it:
1) you need a pretty beefy computer if you expect to edit or even watch the video you shoot. My 4-core desktop machine works flawlessly with the video, but my 2-core laptop doesn't do near as well.
2) you'll need some "serious" software to edit or assemble the video. The Mpeg-transport stream that comes off the camera is not a format that you can expect to "just use". You can't send it to friends "as is" and expect them to watch it, or upload it to a phone or a website and expect others to be able to see it. You really need some sort of editor (like Premiere or Final Cut) if you want to effectively work with it. If your needs are simpler, and you mainly just want to shoot family outings and put it on the web or something, this camera may prove much more hassle then it's worth.
3) it's true that in low light, the video is pretty poor. Very grainy. For me that's not a very serious limitation, but for some it might be a consideration.