Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

if you like hd quality family movies this is the best choce out there.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Face and smile recognition is a cool feature. The camera integrates well with iMovie, although I had to upgrade my Mac to Leopard and iLife 09 to support this integration. This cost me an additional $150 but it was definitely worth the upgrade.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

I purchased the camcorder to take movies and pictures of my 7 year old girl at Disneyworld. The camcorder is very compact and relatively small but is not well balanced when held by hand, it takes some practice. The movies look great and the pictures are acceptable but not what you would expect from a 10 Mpixel cam. I viewed the movies and pictures on a HD 60" Plasma TV placing the memory card on a PlayStation3. I have not tried to edit the movies or to copy them to a DVD so I can't comment on that aspect.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Excellent quality video. Doesn't handle well low light conditions though.
I will have to purchase new computer to work with HD video.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

I purchased this camcorder after much tolling over reviews and comparing it to several other HD cams currently out there. This took a good 2-3 months. I chose the Sony over the Canons (realistically the only competitors out there) for a few reasons. I will admit to prior very satisfying Sony purchases (LCD HDTV, Camera, PS3) so this may contribute to some bias. However, I really liked the feel of this camera in the hand over the Canon and I really liked the touchscreen for navigation (my N1 camera is the same way) over a joystick.

There are a ton of options for adjusting the picture and I find that I was able to set in in a manual mode that suits the indoors of my house nicely. For outdoor shots or bright light, the camera's picture is flawless. For indoor shots, I wish that the flash bulb doubled as a lamp just to give the subjects a little extra boost, but the picture is still really good, but does pick up some grain. From my reading, this is true across the board for all camcorders (the Canons have 2 options that may reduce this being their LED light and the 24P and 30P video - but the reviews were not so great about either saying that they either shifted everything blue or blurred the image too much).

Comparing this to say, SD video, is a no-brainer. If you have an HD set, you need to get an HD camcorder. My dad has an older Sony SD cam, and it was fuzzy, grainy - just not pretty at all. It made my complaint of the pinch of grain in the darker shots seem very petty, almost not worth mentioning.

If I were still in the market, I would absolutely purchase this camera all over again. Very high quality, very easy to use, and a lot of features.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Picture quality while taking a video is pathetic. It documents it as being 7.2 pixels but its less than 640x480, but this might be with all camcorders which take photo while shooting video. Other than that, the pictures in picture mode come out awsome.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Overall, a very good camera. In movie mode, fast accurate focus and clear images. The still mode is not as accurate as far as focus. Even when indicators show a good focus, the result is not always as desired, still, I got it as a video unit and in that area it shines.

The night mode is very nice, the screen, while small, gives a very good framing and rendition.

For good basic videography, this is a very handy camera to have. Top quality video in HD.

As a still unit, the focus seems a bit off in several instances...but...I am still working with it...and I am used to the alpha 700 for still work...which is a very fast focus. It is possible I am not giving it enough time.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Records great 1080I HD video. Fits in your hand comfortably and is easy to operate. Touch screen is nice and works well. I got this camera because of its compact size and records nicely onto a memory stick. I picked up a 16gb card and an extra battery. Only other thing I am looking to buy is the 2x tele lens to reach out a little farther with no quality loss. Great camera from Abes of Maine. Best price anywhere. I also got my LCD tv from Abes. [...]

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

So far I love the thing...however, I've only used it a couple of times. The last time at my daughter's gymnastic meet where she took the "All Around" and 3 out of the 4 top spots in individual disciplines. I can's wait to burn my first DVD of the experience!

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

I love using this camcorder. It takes amazing video. The still photo's are great as well. The smile shutter feature is neat, however the pictures do not turn out well in low light setting (no flash while recording), but the bright light photo's turn out great. Have yet to figure out how I am going to save and watch my video. The AVCHD format is somewhat difficult to use with other software and players. It is however very easy to burn onto a DVD, only problem is you need a blue-ray player to watch. you can record in non-HD mode and play with regular software, etc.
Overall it is an awesome, powerful, tiny camcorder that takes excellent still photo's as well. I am glad I went with the memory stick over the hard drive type camcorders.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Upgraded from the CX7. Manual control for fine focus alone is worth the upgrade.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

I have owned this camera for a few weeks now, so I do not yet claim to be an expert in everything it can and cannot do. But in general, this appears to be a good video camera if you want to upgrade to an HD-quality video camera and also be able to take good quality stills in one small unit.

The best aspects of this camera are: 1.) The ability to multitask between video and stills with relative ease; 2.) the quality of the video / stills especially when outputted to a larger screen such as an HDTV; 3.) the pro duo memory cards are tiny and allow the camera to be among the smallest I have seen with an LCD screen (kinda like you are holding a beer can in your hand horizontally); 4.) Smile shutter technology allows the camera to automatically take pictures when it "sees" someone smiling in the view (you do not need to push a button!); 5.) the camera works seemlessly with IPhoto and IMovie on my iMac (note that my Mac is about a year old and has 2GB of RAM with Intel Core 2 processor); 6.) the stills in still-mode are 10 megapixel - so the days of getting a subpar still camera built into your video camera are over (though the avid/professional photographers out there won't find this unit to be an adequate replacement for a good stand-alone digital still camera).

The issues I have ran up against so far include: 1.) Lighting - I've noticed that the HD video and stills come out very grainy when overhead lighting is insufficient. I have not yet used an attached light in the accessory shoe of the camera to see if this resolves the problem. So far, the best solution has been to take footage in a room with decent lighting or outdoors, where the output thus far has been spectacular; 2.) Smile Shutter technology pictures can be taken both while in still mode and in video mode. While this is a cool feature, so far the pictures that have been taken while shooting video at the same time come out very grainy (probably because the camera cannot use its built-in still flash while concurrently shooting video). My guess is that this is less of an issue when shooting video in broad daylight. It's also worth noting that all stills taken while shooting video are automatically shot at a lower 7 megapixels, though again, in low light they are nowhere near this high quality level based on my experience; 3.) The highest quality HD formats are memory hogs. You'll burn through a 4GB card very quickly; moreover, if you decide to download that video to your computer in HD-quality, you'll use up even more space as you decompress the data card memory. So if you are planning to take many hours of video at a high quality HD setting, you should consider also investing in a large external hard drive, which over time will be a lot cheaper than buying multiple memory sticks for long-term storage. You can create disk images of your memory sticks on a Mac and store them on your hard drive; 4.) As I implied earlier, the Sony memory pro duo cards are relatively expensive compared to other flash media standards out there. However, if you shop around online, and are willing to buy generic memory stick cards (i.e., from Sandisk vs. Sony), you can improve the economics somewhat. I have been using a high speed Sandisk 8GB pro duo card in this camera and it has worked flawlessly thus far, and with no delays in transferring data to the card.

Finally I would note that I did a lot of research in comparing this camera to the Canon Vixia HF-10. For me, it came down to personal preference. Both are fine HD cameras from what I could tell. If I had already owned a stand-alone digital still camera that I loved and didn't want to part with, I probably would have gone with the Canon Vixia. The Sony and Canon units are very close in physical size and the cost of the flash media per GB for the Canon is cheaper than Sony's memory sticks. But I really wanted the convenience of having my HD video camera and higher-quality 10MP (vs. Canon's 3MP) still camera in one unit, and this Sony unit appears to have done that for me.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

I use it for everything from work to just making a goofy video with the guys. Its lightweight and has great battery life for its small size.. and who doesn't love night vision.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

So it's not 1080p,but it has more megapixels than the competitors & my a/v system can easily upgrade the picture to 1080p from 1080i.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Good overall camera. The still Photo's and photos during shooting are great. However, low light it becomes very, very bad. All the colors become blocky. So make sure to turn on all the lights when shooting indoors. I can't give it 5 stars because of the low light problems. If the shot is outside it is beautiful quaility - 5 stars.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

I did a lot of research on camcorders, and I settled for SONY CX-12, because it was tiny, and had all the cool features I was looking for. Unfortunately, when I chose it, it was still 2 weeks away from release, so I couldn't get it for my summer vacation, but I just bought it now for Winter travelling, and I am sure we're gonna love it. I tried it once, and the quality is awesome. stabilizer could be stronger, but overall, really good. one thing I did not like though, that there's no USB port in the camer itself, you have to dock it in order to transfer your movies. but overall, it's a good product, worth having for home use.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

I got this as a gift just for casual use and love it. It has great features that are easy for someone like me, who isnt too camera savy, to use.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Great picture on 52 inch TV.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

The Sony HDR-CX12 provides a great all-in-one option for those who want to take high resolution pictures and still have the ability to capture high quality video and audio. It's the size of a soda can and lightweight. So, portability is not an issue. The quick-on feature eliminates lag time for power up and doesn't drain the battery. So, the camera is always ready for that spontaneous moment. For kids or uncooperative smilers, the smile shutter actually works amazingly well and will freak out people who have not seen it before, as the camera will take pictures on its own. Video downloads are slow, about 2x the length of the video in true HD, but the AVCHD technology is still new. So, I'm sure that will be improved. The one negative is that it is a Sony product and that means you are pretty much locked in to Sony peripherals and consumables. Overall, the camera is easy to use. I didn't need any special software packages to download video and images onto my iMac, as it works with iPhoto and iMovie flawlessly.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Great for making videos!

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

When transferring data into FCP it converts data into ProRes 422 and 1 Gb on the camera translates into 10 Gb on the hard Drive.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Love the size. Sometimes the menu system kind of goes in circles. The image stabilization has saved me more than once. Color is good across the spectrum and in varying light conditions. The only problem that I have had is that a warning message pops up when I use my 8gb(not mark 2) ms. No problem with the included 4gb ms. A viewfinder would be nice. Especially in bright light.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

it's very nice and looking awesome.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

I love how it connects to my PS3 instatntly and easy to use. Works great with my Dell Laptop w/Vista. No issues.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Great product.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Excellent camcoder - very good quality video and stills. Can takes stills will video recording or extract after. Very compact - can fit in pocket. Two minor flaws. 1) no optical view finder and LCD screen can be had to see in bright light. 2) requires memory sticks which are quite expensive as compared to SD cards (5x the cost). Overall best camcorder that I have purchased

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Beautiful look, easy to operate. Takes pictures. I like that it takes pictures of smiling faces; really works. Video editing software provided by Sony is kind of basic, but it does the job. I like that I can write DVDs in NTSC or PAL. I used to film in HD and converting in SD HQ it takes a few hours (2-3h). I use a relatively fast computer, has 2G of RAM. An average computer it would be really slow on video processing!!!! I use 2 Memory Sticks Pro Duo Mark 2 of 4G – it works well for me. Video quality is good. I am satisfied also with the battery that comes with the camera. I am satisfied with my decision in purchasing this camera.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

Most of the time the camcoder is used inside the house. Low light performance has been good. Audio recording is excellent. The HD video quality is good. The battery life is average and the Sony memory sticks are expensive!
Overall a very good Camcoder.

Comments about SONY HDR-CX12 Memory Stick PRO Duo HD Camcorder:

I have had this camera for over a month. Love it! Great pictures, easy to transport, super light, great on sound, great color. Would definitely purchase again. Abes was perfect in every way. [...] Perfect!!!