Performance

The Sony HDR-SR12 sports a 1/3.15-inch ClearVID CMOS sensor with Sony’s new Exmor technology. Last year’s Sony HDR-SR7 had a gross pixel count of 3,200,000 pixels and effective pixel count of 2,280,000. By contrast the Sony HDR-SR12 has a gross pixel count of 5,660,000 pixels and an effective pixel count of 3,810,000 pixels at 16:9 and 2,860,000 pixels at 4:3.

Of course, we don’t have the facilities to perform our usual battery of tests during CES, but we can make some predictions about the performance of the HDR-SR12. Normally, we’d assume that because of the reduced imager size and the increase in pixel density, the noise would increase. However, Sony has made pains to stress that the new Exmor technology on the CMOS chip and the Bionz processing – both borrowed from their Alpha SLR line – will help to contain the noise. We’re not getting our hopes up just because of some fancy, new terminology. At best, we’re hoping that hoping that the noise will only be equal to the noise from last year’s models. If there is, in fact, less noise than previous, we’ll be delighted. If there’s more noise, we’re going to rail against the system (as per usual) that promotes megapixel numbers over image quality.

Low Light Performance

For the same reasons described above, we typically expect low light performance to suffer when imaging chips shrink and pixel density increases. Of course, noise suppression technology also matures a little more every year. This cat and mouse game is cyclical with each new generation of camcorders. We won’t see the real results until we get the HDR-SR12 in our labs, but we tend to err on the side of pessimism. Low light performance, especially in very low light, will probably suffer.

 

 

 

 

Format

Compression

The Sony HDR-SR12 captures video in the AVCHD format, which is now in its third generation on consumer camcorders. With this year's models, including the Sony HDR-SR12, Sony has upped the quality of video to a full 1920 x 1080 with a new maximum bitrate of 16 Mbps. Other compression options remain the same: HQ at 9Mbps, SP at 7Mbps and LP at 5Mbps, all of which capture at the older standard of 1440 x 1080. The Sony HDR-SR12 can also record in standard definition.

Recording in full 1920 x 1080 is the new standard, and has been adopted by most of the major manufacturers this year for AVCHD camcorders. Canon incrementally tops out Sony with a max bit rate of 17Mbps with their solid state FS10 camcorder. Any increase in bit rate should work to alleviate the problems we’ve seen with AVCHD in the past, including trailing and artifacting. All manufacturers still have a long way to go until they can hit the maximum possible 24Mbps rate spec’d for AVCHD. We’re anxious to get this camcorder into the lab for a full round of testing.

Media

The Sony HDR-SR12 is a hard drive based camcorder and is Sony's top of the line hard drive model with 120GB of storage, twice the storage of last year's largest hard drive model. If you like the looks of the SR12, but want to scale back on your spending, the SR11 is identical in all regards but the capacity, which is reduced to 60GB. Hard drive camcorders make it very easy to transfer files between your camcorder and PC, simply connect them and drag the files over.

You can also record video to a MemoryStick Duo/PRO Duo card, an excellent feature that provides you with a lot of flexibility. If you happen to use up all 120GB of built in memory you can probably pop into any camera store in the world to find a MemoryStick for continued recording. This is a nice upgrade over last year’s models that only allowed you to record to the internal hard drive.

You can record 14 hours 50 minutes at the highest FH quality setting. At HQ you can record 29 hours 40 minutes, an even 36 hours at SP and 48 hours at LP. In standard definition you can get 29 hours 40 minutes at HQ, 44 hours at SP and 84 hours at LP.

Editing

When we reviewed AVCHD camcorders last year we were concerned about the rather limited range of software editing options, but as the format has rapidly gained popularity editing options have also grown. Sony Vegas 8.0, Ulead Video Studio 11, and Pinnacle Studio 11 support AVCHD. Mac users have support for AVCHD out of the box as the new iMovie ‘08 supports the format and Apple has also added AVCHD support to Final Cut Express 4. The Sony HDR-SR12 ships with Picture Motion Browser 2.0, a very simple video editor that won't get you very far. Before you purchase software, be sure to research that it will accommodate the camcorder brand. Though AVCHD is shared between Sony, Panasonic, Canon, and others, each tweaks the codec just enough to ensure incompatibility with something you own.

 

 

 

 

Auto / Manual Controls

Picture & Manual Control
*Automatic Control *

Like all other consumer camcorders from Sony, the HDR-SR12 has the Easy button, which simplifies the interface for those who aren't interested in fiddling with manual controls. The Sony HDR-SR12 also supports Spot Focus and Spot Metering via the touch sensitive LCD display. In older models like the Sony HDR-SR7 this caused problems as there was a much smaller display and smudges on the screen quickly made it difficult to judge what was in focus and what wasn't. The smudges remain, but the larger 3.2-inch LCD on the Sony HDR-SR12 does give you more room to make fine adjustments.

The camcorder also offers a number of Scene Selection modes (often referred to as "Program AE modes") that allow you to adjust with one-touch to certain shooting conditions that full auto may not accommodate. They include: Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Candle, Sunrise & Sunset, Fireworks, Landscape, Portrait, Spotlight, Beach, and Snow.

*Overall Manual Control *

We are thankful that the Sony HDR-SR12 improves the cam control over last year's Sony HDR-SR7. Instead of being on the left side of the barrel you have a dial that sit below and to the right of the lens. Pressing the small button on the front of the dial will bring up the menu of available manual controls including Focus, Exposure, AE Shift and White Balance Shift. You can also reset all of the controls to the default.

The new Cam Control is a step up compared to last year’s in terms of usability. Having the cam control on the side of the barrel meant that you couldn’t really get a grip on it and turn it easily. With the new Cam control you can grip it with a couple of fingers and make both fine adjustments and larger shifts more easily. That’s not to say it’s terribly good. It’s still rather small and those with big fingers will find it fiddly. Pressing in on the button on the front of the control is also a bit fiddly as it’s small and doesn’t give you very good tactile feedback. We still much prefer the rotating dial on the lens that older models like the Sony HDR-UX1.

Zoom

The Sony HDR-SR12 has two sets of zoom controls. The main control is found on the top of the camcorder on the right side for easy access when you are holding it with one hand. The zoom is a toggle with a grooved surface that makes it easy to grip. We found it very easy to use, providing for very fine control. The second set of zoom controls are to the left of the LCD. These are just a pair of buttons and although they may be useful at times they don't provide anywhere near the level of control as the main zoom toggle. The Sony HDR-SR12 supports optical zoom up to 12x, which is higher than the 10x zoom we saw on last year's model. This is due to the new, smaller imaging chip, which allows for a longer zoom range.

*Focus *

Focus controls are available either via the Cam Control menu or the touch screen menu interface. As we discussed above using the Cam Control is still a bit fiddly but better than using the Cam Control on the Sony HDR-UX7. It’s also significantly better than using the on screen focus controls. The biggest issue here is that as you make adjustments by tapping on the screen you will inevitably smudge the screen, which makes it a little difficult to judge how well focused your shot is. By contrast the Cam Control is easy to rotate so you can make fine adjustments and you don’t smudge your screen while using it.

*Exposure (Aperture) *

Standard exposure control is located in the Camera Menu under the second tab. The interface is a scale with plus and minus buttons on either side. In total, there are 30 increments, but because they’re not numbered, it may be hard to duplicate your exposure levels if you have to re-shoot a scene.

AE Shift controls are available via the Cam Control interface, giving you a slider that can be adjusted with the rotating dial. You are shown the shift in increments of +/-1. You also have the option to go in through the menu system, with touch screen buttons allowing you to choose from the various stops. This is found on the second tab of the Camera Menu and you are not given any information about how many stops you are shifting. This is unfortunate as it makes it more difficult to reproduce your settings in the future if you want to.

Shutter Speed

Unlike the Sony HDR-SR7 the Sony HDR-SR12 does not provide you with manual shutter speed controls. There is an option for Color Slow Shutter in the third tab of the Camera Menu, which slows the shutter down so you get better color in low light situations, but this can also cause your video to look a little jerky.

White Balance

You can make fine adjustments to white balance via the Cam Control on the Sony HDR-SR12, allowing you to warm or cool color by a few degrees. Standard white balance settings are available from the camera menu and allow you to choose from Auto, Outdoor, Indoor and One Push or manual modes. Manual mode is pretty fast on the Sony HDR-SR12, taking only 1-3 seconds as compared to the up to ten seconds it takes on other camcorders.

Gain

There are no gain controls on the Sony HDR-SR12.

Other Manual Controls
Face Detection - A new feature in Sony's lineup this year is face detection. A popular feature in digital still cameras, Panasonic is the only other manufacturer to make it available in their camcorder line, having announced it the very same day as Sony. Sony claims that its face detection technology is able to identify up to eight faces simultaneously and automatically adjust focus, exposure and color to correct for skin tone. Sanyo has actually had this present for nearly a year, but the feature went under the radar in camcorder news. In our brief trial it was only able to recognize a maximum of four faces at a time. When the face detection is active you see faces are enclosed in a white box on the screen. As you pan across a room of faces you will see that the boxes jump to new faces as you leave old ones behind. Faces captured via face detection are also indexed so that you can search through your clips for a particular face. Sony also incorporates a new bit allocation feature that is meant to increase detail in faces.

Zebra Stripes - This tool allows you to have a visual guide to monitor overexposed whites. When an area in the scene is overexposed it will be highlighted in zebra stripes that disappear when the exposure has been appropriately adjusted. There are two different sensitivity levels available, 70 IRE and 100 IRE, or you can turn the feature off completely. Controls are found in the last tab of the Camera Menu.

Guide Frames - This is another visual tool that places a grid of lines on your display splitting it into nine sections. It is meant to help you better line up your shots. As with zebra stripes controls are found in the last tab of the Camera Menu.

Tele Macro - Tele Macro is used when you need to shoot a close-up. It will focus on the subject but leave the background unfocused, allowing your subject to stand out. **

x.v. Color - x.v Color allows you to record footage with nearly twice as many viewable colors, however this feature is of limited utility as only a few monitors on the market will actually support the additional colors. **

 

 

 

 

Still Features

Still Features

Sony has upped the ante for still captures with the Sony HDR-SR12, allowing you to capture 10-megapixel still images versus 6.1-megapixel stills for last year's Sony HDR-S7. Also upgraded are the Dual Record capabilities as you can now capture 7.6-megapixel still images while recording video. Burst capture is no longer limited to a few shots. In Dual Record mode, you can use Burst capture until the entire card is filled up. Still images can be saved to both the internal hard drive and a memory card. The Sony HDR-SR12 includes a flash mounted to the left of the lens for still capture. This could lead to uneven lighting compared to models that mount the flash above the lens. Almost all the manual and automatic controls available for video capture are also available for still capture including focus, exposure and white balance. You have a choice of 10.2 megapixels, 7.6 megapixels, 6.1 megapixels, 1.9 megapixels and VGA (640 x 480). There are no quality options available.

 

 

 

 

Handling and Use

Ease of Use

Ease of use is Sony's strong point thanks to the aptly named Easy button. Press this and you will find that all adjustments are taken care of for you, menu buttons are doubled in size and you can get down to the business of actually capturing video. For amateurs and those not technologically inclined it's a godsend and makes the Sony HDR-SR12 a very easy camcorder to use. For the other half of users who want a tighter control, the story's not so rosy. We like the improved Cam Control dial as it's easier to grip and make fine adjustments, but it's still not as good as the huge ring around the lens on the 2006 Sony HDR-UX1. Our other gripe is with the touch screen control interface. Although the larger 3.2-inch LCD makes it easier to hit buttons and make adjustments on screen, you're still going to get finger prints all over the place, which can make figuring out if the picture is in focus a chore. It's also not as responsive as a joystick control. We do like that all of the cable connections are on the right side of the Sony HDR-SR12 so you won't have any cables hanging in front of the LCD during use.

Handling

The Sony HDR-SR12’s hand strap is not very well padded. You’ll feel it if you’re holding the camcorder for a long period of time. The adjustments are sufficient so even those with small hands will be able to tighten it. With hard drive models like the Sony HDR-SR12 you don’t get as much height as DVD models like the Sony HDR-UX10, which means you don’t have as much to grip onto and the camcorder tends to flop around. Like last year’s Sony HDR-SR7 there is a small valley between the barrel and the hard drive that gives your fingers a good place to sit while you’re gripping the camcorder.

The Sony HDR-SR12 weighs in 650 grams and mesures 83 x 76 x 138 millimeters. This is heavier than last year’s Sony HDR-SR7, which weighed 610 grams and felt a little hefty to us then. In terms of gross size the differences between the Sony HDR-SR12 and the HDR-SR7 are negligible, with the HDR-SR7 a little slimmer at 75mm but taller at 81mm and longer at 149mm. The difference when you hold it in our hand is not very noticeable.

LCD/Viewfinder

The LCD on the Sony HDR-SR12 has been upgraded to 3.2-inches diagonal and 921,000 pixels as compared to last year's 2.7-inch and 211,000 pixel LCD found on the Sony HDR-SR7. We much appreciate the increased real estate, as we've been pining over the 3.5 inch-display on the Sony HDR-UX1 for over a year now. The improvements in resolution are also much appreciated. On the floor testing indicated that this improved screen helped with manual focus, something that most consumer HD camcorders have been in dire need of. This appears to be the same LCD screen found on Sony’s Alpha A700 DSLR camera.

The viewfinder on the Sony HDR-SR12 pivots up but does not telescope, which shouldn't be an issue since the battery is pretty slim so you won't find yourself bumping into it. Frankly, we’re just happy that Sony is including a viewfinder at all, as they seem to be part of a dying breed. Viewfinders are absent on all standard definition HDD camcorders.

 

 

 

 

Audio / Playback / Connectivity

 

Audio

As with previous Sony camcorders, the HDR-SR12 sports Dolby Digital 5.1-channel Surround Sound. The microphones are built into the top of the camcorder, which may be an issue as your finger(s) can wander over and cover them easily. The audio provided is significantly better than what we've seen from older camcorders using a standard PCM stereo electret mic. The Sony HDR-SR12 has normal and low microphone settings, but also provides an additional control called Link to Zoom, which basically allows you to focus sound pickup in one particular direction by turning off the other microphones. This allows you to focus on sounds like a person talking in front of you when in a loud setting like a party. A similar feature called "Zoom Mic" has been used in Panasonic camcorders for several years.

Playback

You can enter playback mode by hitting the on screen button in the lower left or the dedicated playback button in the LCD cavity. Your clips and images are shown in sequential order on screen. Along the bottom of the screen are icons that allow you to view just video clips, still images, media from the memory stick and to each side a camera mode and options button.

Facial recognition has also been implemented into the playback functionality. This is a helpful feature that lets you quickly find the clips that include a particular person. You tap on the face icon at the top of the Playback screen to see an index of faces that were recognized by the software. This includes all the faces recognized; if multiple faces were captured in a single clip you’ll see them here. Tap on any face and it will take you to the point in the clip where that face was captured. If a particular face was recorded multiple times, it will show up multiple times in the index in chronological order. This is a life saver for anyone who’s spent a ton of time searching through clips for that particular scene with that particular person. We saw this work on the show floor. Playback controls like play, fast forward, rewind etc. are available via touch screen icons.

Connectivity

As with the Sony HDR-SR7, the HDR-SR12 places most of its ports on the right side of the camcorder, helping to keep cable clutter and obstructions to your LCD to a minimum. Towards the front of the right side is a covered cavity that contains the mic, headphone and mini HDMI ports. Towards the rear is another covered cavity that conceals the USB and A/V out. On the top of the Sony HDR-SR12 is the proprietary Active Interface Shoe (AIS) that only works with Sony brand accessories. On the back you will find the DC-in just below the dial with a plastic cover. Inside the cavity is the MemoryStick Duo/PRO Duo port. All of the port covers feel a bit fragile, especially the one covering the AIS on top.

 

 

 

 

 

Other Features/Conclusion

Other Features

Smooth Slow Record - This feature allows you to record at 240 frames per second (fps), allowing you to quadruple the total amount of time you can play back in a given interval without giving up any quality. One upgrade over last year is that audio is captured as well as video. You will need to dig around in the menu system to turn it on so you have to think about it before you use it.

Super Nightshot - This feature allows you to shoot in total darkness up to ten feet away but adjusting the shutter speed. The end result, though, is that everything ends up looking green.

*Picture Effects - *You can apply filters to your footage like sepia, black and white and pastel. You can form your own opinion about how useful that is.

*Faders - *This options allows you to automatically add a fade in/out to your recordings. You can choose between black and white faders.

Conclusion

The Sony HDR-SR12 continues Sony’s commitment to the AVCHD lineup and adds several upgrades and new features. Sony’s face detection technology didn’t live up to the claim of tracking up to eight faces in our short time with the Sony HDR-SR12. What did seem to live up to the billing was the ability to view clips based on the faces that were captured in them. The index of faces produced allows you to quickly jump to the point where the face was detected, even if it’s in the middle of a clip.

The Sony HDR-SR12’s 120GB of storage has been upped significantly over the Sony HDR-SR7’s 60GB from last year. Sony has introduced full 1920 x 1080 recording at 16Mbps with this year’s lineup, though, so the extra storage is welcome. You can also now record directly to a MemoryStick Duo/ProDuo card as well as the internal hard drive, if that 120GB capacity isn’t enough for you. Also upgrades is the LCD display, with a welcome increase in size to 3.2 inches and better resolution with 921,000 pixels.

So what’s our verdict for the Sony HDR-SR12? We feel like the upgrades to the LCD and the addition of Face Recogition and the Cam Control dial are good. The full 1920 x 1080 capture and output is great. These and a few other notable improvement make it a worthy successor to the Sony HDR-SR7. If you don’t feel like you need a full 120GB of storage, especially when you consider that it can capture to a Memory Stick as well, go with the cheaper Sony HDR-SR11, which has half the storage but all the same features.