Sony HDR-SR12E Camcorder Review
When it comes to camcorders, Sony always seems to have something up its sleeve. Having earlier launched flash memory, optical disk and hard disk based camcorders, Sony has once again emerged with another hard disk based camcorder, the HDR-SR12E. And this time it’s with a bulky 160GB hard disk. That’s not all, there are others new products waiting in its kitty. So we better enjoy this one before it gets obsolete; but it looks like that’s going to take a while.
The predecessor of SR12E, the SR8E which used the ground breaking AVCHD format was the best in line, before the market got saturated with Canon, JVC, Panasonic and others. So Sony had to conjure up the SR12E in order to be in the limelight, if at least for some time.
The SR12E is a sturdy camcorder that spells class, taking into consideration its ergonomic design and uniform surface with all the ports and jacks well concealed behind sliding covers. The 3.2 inches wide LCD gives a high resolution display, and the menus can be easily navigated just by the touch of a finger.
As technology gets bigger, components get smaller, and so has the CMOS sensor used by the SR12E. While the SR8E uses the1/2.9in CMOS sensor, the SR12E uses a slightly smaller 1/3.1in Exmor CMOS, giving a stupendous 5.7 megapixels count. Furthermore, the SR12E has a comparatively bigger storage, larger screen and a longer zoom.
The ClearVid CMOS sensor with Exmor technology is known for giving a high quality and noise-free performance. The BOINZ high-speed image processor gives impressive image quality. HD video recording is made possible at a bit-rate of 16 megabytes per second in the latest AVCHD format. The SR12E also allows the option of SD recording at 9 megabytes per second and in MPEG-2 format if storage is a concern. This is an option that all camcorders do not have.
The jumbo 120GB hard drive can shoot up to 14.5 hours even if you choose to record in FH quality mode. Imagine how many MiniDV tapes or 8GB memory cards would be required for this amount of storage. The SR12E gives you the option of doing some ‘hybrid’ recording using MemoryStick. It also allows an advanced dual recording mode whereby still photos could be simultaneously shot at 7.6 megapixels during video recording.
In addition, the zooming capabilities extend up to 12x of optical zoom and a digital zoom of 150x. You can get an amazing resolution of 3680×2760 for still pictures. Sony’s own image stabilizing software Super SteadyShot, which Sony uses in CyberShot digital cameras and its DSLRs, is used, giving a blur-free performance. Still photos can be shot at up to 10 megapixels.
For those people who are high on recording needs, the SR12E is the thing to go in for. But one has to remember that it takes effort to get those 15 hours of AVCHD into a proper viewable format. With a fast PC and the right software, the footage can be burned on a DVD for hours of high definition viewing.
Apart from being a pretty piece to show off, the SR12E produces great video quality even in poor light with the right acoustic recording capabilities. The 120GB is definitely a plus point, and the adjustability of recording with optional storage and at lower formats makes it an all round stealer. After all, not everyone who uses a camcorder has high powered recording needs.
The $1139.00 price tag may be on the higher side, but the deal on the whole is a striking one. How long it will be in the top notch is just a matter of time; but at the moment it looks like Sony has another feather in its cap.