Product summary
Specifications: Video input type: Camcorder ; Optical zoom: 12 x ; Media type: Flash card See full specs
Price range: $645.95 - $899.99
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 02/12/2009
- Released on: 08/01/2008
Kin to the hard-disk-based HDR-SR11, the Sony Handycam HDR-CX12 delivers the same midlevel feature set and excellent HD video quality in a more compact body that instead records to Sony Memory Stick Duo Pro flash media.
The body design is quite nice; though it's roughly the same size as Canon's HF10/HF11/HF100 models, it looks rounder and slimmer, and a bit more elegant. The gentle upward curve toward the back leaves your forefinger in a more comfortable position to operate the power/mode switch, zoom switch and photo button than the typical all-one-height design of many of the flash models. Also on top but toward the front is the Active Interface Shoe with a sliding cover and the 5-channel microphone.
- CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 4.5 stars out of 4 reviews
- See all user reviews
Product summary
One disadvantage of the smaller size of the flash model versus the hard-disk-based models is for the LCD. The CX12's 2.7-inch wide-screen LCD isn't nearly as nice, especially for touch-screen operation, as the 3.2-inch version on the SR series models. It has the same controls on the bezel, though, for zooming, recording, and calling up one of the two menu systems. On the camcorder body beneath the LCD, Sony hides the backlight compensation, Easy (full auto), info display, and play buttons, as well as the NightShot switch for toggling Sony's infrared shooting mode. A small door on the bottom covers the media slot.
Behind a plastic door on the back are a mini-HDMI connector and proprietary connector for component output; Sony bundles a component cable in the box, but like most, doesn't include an HDMI cable. A Quick On button cuts the camcorder's startup time: with a partly full 4GB card it dropped from about 5 seconds to 2 seconds. The battery, which fits into a depression beneath the Power/Mode switch, is relatively large for such a small camcorder, but doesn't protrude too much. Unfortunately, this svelte design means there's no room for a video light, eye-level viewfinder, or headphone and mic input jacks. Nor is there an onboard USB connector; you've got to dock in the bundled Handycam Station for that.
The 12x zoom lens has a nice electronic lens cover, with a photo flash mounted next to it. Just below is the CAM CTL dial. It has a button on the front of it that lets you activate manual focus, exposure compensation, white balance shift, or shutter speed, though you can only assign one such function to the wheel at any given time. You assign the function by holding the button down for a few seconds and choosing from the pop-up menu. It's not terribly obvious; you've got the read the documentation to figure it out. However, the dial works quite well for manually focusing. For those who lack the tweak-everything gene, Sony includes some of its veteran automation technologies, including face detection with Smile Shutter (the latter for stills only) and D-Range Optimizer. There's also the required handful of scene modes. (For more on features and operation, download the PDF user's guide.)
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