- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 11 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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4.0 stars
"Almost perfect! Just don't try to record a concert..."
Pros: Recording quality is awesome as is the ability to take a snapshot of something WHILE recording video. The still camera functionality is actually quite good. Audio quality is great in either 5:1 or 2 ch stereo.
Cons: No audio level control. It gives you either "auto" or "low-level" but no ability to manually turn up or down levels.
Summary: Sony has made a great camera here. If you intend on traveling and recording along the way, this camera will be awesome because with the 120GB of storage you get up to 15 hours of record time at the highest resolution.
This unit CAN NOT RECORD IN AREAS WITH HIGH NOISE LEVELS. It will go into error state. There is no workaround or fix for this!
However, if you plan on recording something loud, like a rock concert or shuttle launch or something, forget it. The vibration from the low frequencies vibrate the unit's hard-drive and it freaks out. I had hoped the turning off the camera's "drop sensor" might override this, but sadly it does not. The only fix for this would be for Sony to put a solid state drive in it instead of the conventional "spinning platter" drive.
The camera doesn't allow you to adjust the audio record levels however the auto mode works well for most of what you'll be recording. Since the camera can't record in high noise areas you won't have too much of a problem with distortion...
Bottom line: If you're looking for a great handycam for shooting the sites, family or just walking around, it's great. If you're in a band (like me) and wanted to record your shows on a European Tour, save your money as you'll end up pretty angry at the end of your tour!
Where to buy
Sony Handycam HDR-SR12:
$1,999.95
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$1,999.95 | Yes |
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