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Sony HDR-CX12 High Definition Memory Stick PRO Duo Handycam Camcorder With 12x Optical Zoom | 
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| Brand: Sony
Category: Photography
List Price: $899.99
Buy New: $644.95
You Save: $255.04 (28%)
New (15) Used (1) from $643.97
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 140
Media: Electronics
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 12
Display Size: 2.7
Maximum Focal Length: 58.8
Minimum Focal Length: 5.9
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.4
Dimensions (in): 3.4 x 3 x 5.5
MPN: HDR-CX12
Model: CX12
UPC: 086753091021
EAN: 0027242732438
ASIN: B001BET2YY
Release Date: July 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | 1920 x 1080 Full High Definition video resolution; 10.2 megapixel still image capture | | • | Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization; Professional Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens | | • | Smile Shutter technology for still and dual capture; Face Detection technology for video and photo | | • | ClearVid CMOS sensor with Exmor-derived technology; BIONZ Image Processor | | • | 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD Plus display; Dolby Digital 5.1 channel recording; Built-in zoom microphone |
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Product Description
The ultra-sleek, palm-sized HDR-CX12 Handycam(R) camcorder is the world's first camcorder with Face Detection and Smile Shutter technology. Face Detection automatically adjusts focus, exposure and color for the most natural results. With Smile Shutter, the HDR-CX12 can detect smiles and automatically capture still images, even while recording 1920 x 1080 Full HD video. You will also enjoy 10.2-megapixel still image recording to ensure your memories are preserved in stunning detail. Additionally, the CX12's small size and lightweight make it an ideal travel companion, perfect for recording that special moment, wherever you are. Video and still images are stored directly to Memory Stick(R) PRO Duo media (4GB supplied) for easy transfer to your computer or other compatible devices. 5 Megapixel ClearVid CMOS Sensor with Exmor - Exmor technology captures video and still photo images with high resolution, high sensitivity, and exceptional detail 12X Optical Zoom Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar Lens / 150X Digital Zoom 2.7 LCD Super SteadyShot(R) Optical Image Stabilization System Record in Dolby Digital 5.1ch surround sound with the camcorder's built-in zoom-capable microphone Active Interface Shoe Switchable HD/SD Format Recording HDMI Connection with BRAVIA Sync (CEC) Technology / USB 2.0 Built-in Intelligent Electronic-Flash Auto and Manual Focus modes Scene Selection modes make recording easy even when filming in challenging situations
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Small in Size, Big in Capability January 4, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
AVCHD Compression Nearly Impossible to Edit December 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
First, I absolutely LOVE this camera. The image stabilization, the optics, and the controls combine for a wonderful experience that creates simply gorgeous video. My son's Pee-Wee football games look like ESPN HD! The photos were just ok. Oh, it can even fit in a roomy pocket--about like a soda can. Not super comfortable, but doable.
However, I had to return it when I discovered that the videos it records are nearly impossible to edit. I have a decently souped-up dual 2GHz machine w/2 GB of RAM and Sony's own Pro version of Vegas editing software. It crashed their own software nearly every time. They've since released an update that lets it work with AVCHD-encoded videos without crashing. However, the biggest problem is playback. I have a super nice NVIDIA graphics card, but my system could only play these files back about 1 frame per-second--or less. Did some quick research and if you want to actually work with this video you'll need an unbelievably powerful machine with a raid HD array (although there didn't seem to be much agreement on what kind of rig would actually run this stuff).
Many people never actually need to edit their video. They just shoot it and then play it back from the camera. You'll need to buy a mini-HDMI cable to get it to your new flat-screen TV, but with that cable the playback was glorious.
 Quality Product/ Curious when non miniDV HD cams will be streaming capable December 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I will firstly admit that my husband was the one to do the research on this item. He is incredibly thorough before he buys anything. However, I'm the one that gets the most use out of it. There was one agreement upon what type of camcorder we'd get, and that's flash based memory. A. miniDV will definitely become obsolete in the near future, B. HardDrive based have potential room for error, and C. DVD as well as the MiniDV have gear components that have risk of breaking. Knowing from experience, fixing motor parts in a camcorder are costly!
We love to tape our parties and trips, but we also live far from family and like to use it as a webcam. Our old Canon MiniDV did this easily, but with the new generation of cameras out there, they are not streaming capable. WE have a $30 video capture card that does the trick, but obviously quality isn't HD, nor would hdmi be even capable of streaming. The key is for a video capture card to do real-time compression that's better than 480i. This is what I'd like to see. If you're going to spend up to 1k for a camcorder, I think they need to merge webcam capabilities along side of the regular video taping soon. The cameras with the flash drive memory are getting smaller and smaller, not to mention more efficient.
Back to the camera itself. Wonderfully compact, straighforward with its touch screen lcd menu display, INCREDIBLE low light capabilities, and overall obviously the HD quality image. Some complained about the proprietary SD card, but you must realize that this SD card is half the size/thickness of regular SD cards.
Fantastic Camcorder December 7, 2008
I exchanged the Sony TG-1 for the CX12 due to limitations of the TG1 (see that review for further info). I was between the Canon HF10 (which I also returned) and the Sony CX12, and in my opinion the CX12 beats the Canon. Here are my thoughts:
The sony produces a beautiful finished image; the colors are vibrant and the image is crystal clear. Even in less than optimal lighting conditions, the sony's image remains clear, with less noise, although color does begin to wash out (I'm talking 75 watt bulb as only light source in 17' x 17' room). The Canon was noisy in all but sunlit shooting, and the finished product did not have the punch that the sony did, even with the "vivid" setting.
The jog dial at the front of the camera is customizable (I chose exposure) which is very convenient. The canon requires you to use the joystick toggle which has an audible click when using during recording.
The sound on the Sony in 5.1 is excellent.......very clear. The canon was good, but often sounded muffled.
The included battery will last about an 80 minutes.....longer than the Canon at 55 minutes.
Many people rave about the Canon's ability to shoot in 24P or 30P. I found both settings to be very annoying. Shooting in those modes resulted in jerky image playback, especially fast moving subjects, or panning the camera. I did not notice any better low light performance in those modes either. I don't miss those options on the Sony.
The biggest negative is Sony needs to improve the image stabilization. This is the only item the Canon comes out on top. For some reason the sony seems to pick up more random hand movements than the Canon.
Another negative is the annoying structure of the Sony menus, very perplexing until you become accustomed to them..........C'mon Sony, get some consumer feedback on the next camera.
On a final note, I see alot of reviews complaining about AVCHD. First, this is an HD camcorder. You can easily burn HD content onto any media (DVD-R, DVD+R DL, BR Disc) using either Sony Vegas Studio for PC, or Toast 9 for mac. The greatest thing about this format, is there is no converting necessary to burn a blu-ray disc playable in a blu-ray player. (If you don't have one, get one) I burned an 8 gig disc in BR format (DVD+R DL) in Toast 9 in about 20 minutes. The footage was stellar. If you are converting these files to anything else and outputting to mpeg-2, you are wasting the HD ability of this camera. I shutter at the thought of capturing the DV footage from the tape of my other camera, and waiting 2 hours for a DVD to be rendered and burned.
Overall, this is a great camcorder, at a great price from Amazon. I can't believe how far these things have come in the 4 years since I bought my last one. If you are waiting for improvements, why bother. I hear people talking about wanting full 1080P recording. Unless you plan on siting 5 feet from a 60" panel.....you really won't be able to tell the difference. I am recording in HD-HQ mode, the second highest quality, and the results are stunning. My advice is to run out and buy this camera.......it won't get much better than this at this price point.
Great camcorder! November 7, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Just had it for a few weeks, and it is my first camcorder, so nothing to compare against. It delivers what promises.
Good image quality for video, and the smile shooter is great!
The software is on the down side: With a dual core HP laptop 1 gb ram and vista it took me about 2 hr to create a SD DVD from a HD movie of about 40 minutes... slowwwww and you have to download the files to the computer. Very easy to use, however.
Suggest additional battery and memory stick.
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