Sony Handycam HDR-CX12 Camcorder Review

The Sony HDR-CX12 replaces last year's HDR-CX7, another AVCHD camcorder that records exclusively to removable memory cards. While the two models look similar on the surface, Sony's improvements under the hood, as well as the addition of a "Cam Control" dial to assist with manual controls, make the HDR-CX12 a brilliant successor. Sony still doesn't offer any internal memory with the camcorder, but the HDR-CX12 ($899 MSRP) does ship with a 4GB MemoryStick card.

The biggest addition to the HDR-CX12 comes in the form of the small Cam Control dial located below the lens. This dial, found previously on Sony's HDR-SR12 and HDR-UX7, offers a breath of fresh air when it comes to manual adjustments. With the previous generation HDR-CX7, Sony forced you to utilize the LCD touch screen for all manual adjustments on the camcorder. While not terrible, the 2.7-inch screen is less than ideal for power users. With a simple push and twist, the Cam Control dial allows you to make smooth, fine-tuned adjustments to focus, exposure, AE shift, and white balance. Most importantly, it offers an alternative to the LCD touch screen. It doesn't quite match the effect of a full ring around the lens barrel (like on Panasonic's HDC-HS100 and HDC-SD100), but it is a major improvement.

Like its predecessor, the Sony HDR-CX12 compresses footage in the AVCHD format—the current standard for most HD camcorders. If you plan on editing your footage, keep in mind that AVCHD creates large video files, which can be very difficult to edit without a powerful computer. In an effort to improve video quality, Sony equipped the HDR-CX12 with a larger CMOS sensor (1/3-inch) and a slightly faster recording bitrate than the CX7 (up to 16Mbps). While these upgrades aren't all that significant, they are decent improvements to an already solid camcorder.

The Sony HDR-CX12 records to solid state flash memory, which means there are no tapes, discs, or any moving parts involved with the recording media. The HDR-CX12 comes with a 4GB MemoryStick, good for approximately 25 minutes of footage at highest quality. Once you fill it up, you need to switch out for a new card, or dump your clips onto an external storage device (like a hard drive or DVD burner). Tape-based camcorders have the advantage of providing you with a tangible object that archives your video and can be placed on a shelf for storage.

While MemoryStick cards are definitely getting cheaper, they are by no means as inexpensive as MiniDV tapes. MemoryStick makes cards in sizes ranging from 1GB to 16GB and cost between $25-$200 depending on the size. Camcorders that record to internal hard drives (like the Sony HDR-SR11 and HDR-SR12) have large storage capacities—usually between 60GB and 120GB, but they are more expensive and eventually you'll run into the same problem of where to save all your footage.

Performance (read in-depth lab performance at CamcorderInfo.com)
The Sony HDR-CX12 contains a 1/3.3-inch CMOS sensor and has an effective pixel count of 3,810,000. With these improvements over last year's model, Sony has manufactured a camcorder with top-notch video performance. In bright light, the HDR-CX12 captures a smooth, clean image with impressive sharpness and colors that aren't supersaturated. The camcorder also has consummate low light performance — rendering a crisp image with low noise levels and strong colors.

The HDR-CX12 doesn't quite match the performance of the Samsung SC-HMX20, which has the best resolution, color accuracy, and light sensitivity among camcorders this year. Two other direct competitors, the Canon HF10 and Canon HF11, offer 24P and 30P frame rate options (along with regular 60i), which dramatically increase low light performance and overall versatility. Although not leading the way in any performance category, the HDR-CX12's strong video quality across the board makes it one of the premier high definition camcorders on the market.

Comparisons (read in-depth comparisons at CamcorderInfo.com)
The Sony HDR-CX12 is a solid improvement over the HDR-CX7 and definitely offers the better value of the two. Compared to other manufacturers, however, it runs into some stiff competition. Sony doesn't offer as many manual control features as Canon or Panasonic, nor does it provide the ease of use of the Samsung SC-HMX20. The Cam Control dial does wonders in improving the handling of the HDR-CX12, but it still is not as good as a rotating lens ring. The Canon HF10 and HF11, along with the Samsung SC-HMX20, both clearly outshine the Sony HDR-CX12 as far as pure video performance is concerned—producing sharper, more vivid images in both bright and low light.

The fact the HDR-CX12 comes with no internal memory is definitely something to take into consideration—especially bearing in mind the Canon HF10 and HF11 offer 16GB and 32GB respectively. By recording exclusively to MemoryStick cards, the HDR-CX12 makes it easy to get caught in situations where there's no space left to capture the beautiful images in front of you. Internal memory can be wonderful as a backup during a long vacation or if you simply hate keeping track of those tiny memory cards.

All this aside, however, the HDR-CX12 is a quality camcorder in a market with some very strong competition.

For a more in-depth review, visit the Sony HDR-CX12 Review at our partner CamcorderInfo.com