Five months ago, I took the leap and bought a Sony HDR-CX7. I had been using the Sony HDR-HC1 HDV camcorder, but as my boxes of DV tapes grew, I thought going tapeless would solve two problems: 1) tapes degrade and take space, while a flash memory card could be backed up easy to DVD-Rs. 2) it would take much less time to copy data from a flash card to the computer, instead of importing real-time. The downsides will be mentioned in a moment.
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br /As it turns out, #1 was correct, but #2 was not. After getting an 8GB memory stick, I realized I could not back that up to a 4.7GB DVD-R (single layer) so I now use a series of 4GB parts, so each backs up to a cheap DVD-R when I am done (I just use the Apple Mac OS X disk utility and tell it to make a Disk Image from Folder, and point it to the memory stick. When I mount that image later, it will be recognized in iMovie or Fnial Cut as a camera/memory stick and let me import.) So now I have a stack of DVD-Rs of backup images -- much nicer than DV tapes (and I can make clones/copies much easier).
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br /#2, though, surprised me. The computer has to import the AVCHD and then transcode it to some editable format, and this takes longer than real-time. On my Core Duo 2 iMac, it was fast enough to import and transcode HDV video from tape (one hour of footage took one hour) most of the time, but importing AVCHD from memory stick or CD or disk image takes about double time. So note that this format is slower -- until we all get computers fast enough. Maybe one day I will be able to import an hour of video from a memory card as fast as the USB reader will handle it, and instantly be able to use it.
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br /The downside would be that AVCHD compression would not be as good as HDV. (13GB of data on a DV tape versus 8GB of flash memory for about an hour of video). And, after watching some footage, I could see much more artifacting and blockiness in dark/shadow areas. There are four quality settings in the CX12, and I have not tested the highest (I record on the second setting), so it may be better.
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br /Still, for general video, it's completely acceptable. Motion did not seem to be an issue (taping out the side of a moving car, recording the joust or sword fighters at a renaissance festival, etc.)
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br /The size and convienience won me over, totally. The CX12 also takes very nice still pictures -- good enough that I generally don't bring my Fuji F10 camera with me. But, if you side-by-side compare the lower-resolution Fuji 6.3 megapixel images to the CX12 "10 megapixels" (not true resolution), the Fuji clearly wins -- brighter colors, better in low light, and sharper image. The CX12 is "good enough" for casual photos, but still doesn't replace even a cheap $170 digital camera.
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br /Sound is good. Features are good -- having a manual knob to focus, for instance (upgrade from the CX7). Smile detection is addictive -- I set it to automatic, and it captures images while I video tape. I get home to find pictures I didn't take. Posing people can be diffuclt in this mode -- you have to say "wait, don't smile until I tell you" else it starts snapping away if it gets a face (even if you have yet to frame the photo in the viewfinder). Still nice.
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br /It can record more than three photos while video taping -- three was the limit of the CX7. It is also faster between still shots (about a second, or 3-4 with flash, and slower if it has to refocus). Acceptable, and much faster than CX7.
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br /The camera loses the flash button (you now do it through a menu system on screen) but gains a sleep mode, so you can suspend the camera, then power it up and start recording in about a second (instead of 5 or so from a cold start). It uses about half battery to sleep, but still may be useful.
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br /Overall, I'm very pleased, though I still wish the stills could be good enough to not need a still camera, too.
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br /Low-light sucks compared to my old 1999 vintage Digital8 Sony, and focusing is slow in low light (just like with the $2000 Sony HDR-HC1). I guess that's just an issue of the HD imaging sensors being so small (?).
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br /But I do like it, and I like it better than the CX7 (which I also liked).

I have a Sony standard definition miniDV camcorder, and also bought the HF100 and the Sony CX12, both flash camcorders.
br /I found the Canon to be the better value: good to great video and audio quality in good lighting conditions, better user interface, and standard SD cards will save you money and hassle vs. the Sony CX12.
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br /However, the Sony is the superior product IMHO based on the following features: much better low-light performance (by low-light I mean indoor night-time videos of kids with under ordinary incandescent lighting (without lots of halogens)). Sony DVD HD DVD burner is more flexible than Canon's, for example, you can shoot video in HD, and burn a standard DVD for people w/o HDTVs and Blu-ray. I understand to do this on the Canon burner, you need to record in standard definition to begin with. Build quality is a little higher (LCD joints stiffer, battery/inputs door covers more firmly attached). Slightly better audio (I noticed you could sometimes hear "clicks" from the Canon's zoom button).
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br /The first 2 items (low-light recorder characteristics) seal the deal for me. Generally, the camera is comfortable to hold, image stabilization is excellent (better than the Canon). Flash performance for still pictures is poor.

This isn't a review of the features and performance of the camera. I am not an expert at comparing it to others. This is a review of what you can do with the files that you create.
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br /I got this camera and the 16gb memory duo card. So far so good. It stores between 2 and 5 times the life of a single battery in video.. hours and hours unless you pick the highest bit rate.
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br /The challenges come after you get your files home.
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br /1. Sony Vegas
br /Probably this is the best solution for workflow from this camera, but it is windows only. Moving right along ..
br /
br /2. PS3
br /Happily you can either insert the card into your PS3 (or into a multi-card reader via USB - a recent one, not an old one, as high capacity memory sticks can't be read by older multi-card readers). The PS3 sees the clips, shows moving previews, and they look fantastic. You can also put them on a media server (such as MediaTomb mac/linux) and connect to it from the PS3. Not quite as nice, as the thumbnails lack preview, but workable.
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br /3. Connecting the camera to your Mac via the included dock
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br /This works fine and I'll sub-divide what you can do at this point:
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br /3a. Using Final Cut Express (or Final Cut Pro).
br /Neither of these programs will deal directly with the MTS files (which are AVCHD and 5.1 ac3) without the full directory structure of the card present! so don't copy the MTS files off, and delete them if you want to use FCE! At any rate, use FCE to import the clips, they are decompressed and blown up to an apple format that uses heaps more space! you can't edit natively in AVCHD using FCE. It isn't clear to me that you can even edit natively in FC Pro. Note, FCE down-mixes to 2 channel stereo during import!
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br /3b. Not using Final Cut Express - using other tools (linux users read this too)
br /You can't play these MTS files reliably using Quicktime or Quicktime Pro despite the claim that quicktime pro can play h264 video. You can't even use the Perian codecs (which are available free and based on the open source libraries used by ffmpeg). They claim h264 compatibility but unfortunately they do not read the sony h264 stream properly. You may see various problems: missed frames, half speed, crashing or lots of errors. It may be that a SD camera setting on this camera is more reliably usable, I got bored trying so many different things. This also means you can't use ffmpeg or mencoder under linux, despite their flexibility. The latest version as of time of this review just does not deal with all your clips. It might deal with some, reading and re-encoding if necessary to mpeg4 or whatever, but you WILL get frustrated. The same problems apply to mplayer, vlc, MPEG Streamclip, and so on, as they also depend on the same libraries.
br /Note: xportdev will demux MTS files and TMPGenc will decode the video correctly, you CAN use these two tools to create mpeg4 or whatever.
br /see http://www.sonyhdvinfo.com/forumdisplay.php?f=40 this forum for more info.
br /
br /3c. Not using Final Cut Express - using VoltaicHD
br /VoltaicHD will convert the clips properly but there are no options to speak of. It creates much larger mov files that can be used in typical mac utilities, quicktime, etc.
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br /3d. Using Toast Titanium
br /I believe this produce accepts AVCHD files. I haven't tested it, obviously you have to buy the product. It appears to be capable of writing DVDs or even bluray discs after the edit is done.
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br /4. Uploading to vimeo (the HD version of youtube)
br /Vimeo does not accept MTS files, it tries to accept h264 video if packaged in an avi or whatever, but will not process them correctly. It accepts mpeg4, or re-encoded h264 as output by mencoder. It probably also accepts mov files from VoltaicHD and obviously you can get FCE to output a file that vimeo will take.
br /The problem I have with this is the chain of encoding and decoding:
br /image -- camera -- encoded to avchd -- decoded in voltaicHD or FCE -- re-encoded to mpeg4 or whatever -- uploaded to vimeo -- decoded -- re-encoded to their On2 codec -- played by flash.
br /As you can see this chain is ridiculous and the result will not look as good as the ideal, which is:
br /image -- camera -- encoded to avchd -- played
br /
br /My conclusion is that your frustration level will vary according to what you want out of your clips. The camera offers very limited editing: you can chop a clip into two and delete any clip, so you can basically throw away bits you won't want to waste time on.
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br /If you want to show them off on your HDTV via the PS3, without mixing them into a "movie" then everything is great. They look really good.. the interlacing is really not visible when the PS3 plays them, resolution is outstanding at least depending on how high a bit rate you pick.
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br /If you want to burn DVDs then I expect Toast Titanium or FCE will be reasonable but there is some quality loss from the inevitable decode - reencode cycle.
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br /If you want them on the web at vimeo, although the result is heaps better than youtube, it certainly isn't high definition. I believe the vimeo bit rate is limited to 2000 kbit, for example.

This is simply the best camcorder I have ever owned, and I have owned seven dating back to 1987. I have a fairly new Sony hard disk camcorder and this HDR-CX12 has it beat hands down. The hard disk will skip and stop recording if the buffer is exceeded when there is repetative movement, whereas the HDR-CX12 just keeps on recording. The storage media is so much easier to deal with than the video tapes in other camcorders. I purchased this camcorder for my motorcycle tours and it has worked out perfectly. I wish that Sony would get away from using their Sony-only storage media (in this case the Memory Stick Pro Duo) and start using the storage media that is more widely available. I would also like to have more storage on the memory stick than 16GB, but that is the max currently. But, until then I will continue to buy Sony simply for the quality of the product. Highly recommended for anyone looking to purchase a quality camcorder.
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br /Pros: extremely small camcorder, storage media easy to handle, video quality outstanding (records in HD), simple to operate, quality product.
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br /Cons: not waterproof, Sony needs to develope storage media greater than 16gb (seems like a ripe market for Sandisk?), pricey (but most likely worth it), pricey stoage media, so much fun that I end up recording TOO much.

I got this digital HD camcorder because I prefer having SSD storage media(no moving parts)such as memory stick to store my video footage. I feel that memory stick and should be more robust and resistance to shakiness when I shoot the video.( I also own a PSP so the memory stick should be able to work too)
br /The features worked very well as advertised but there are some thing to take note, there are additional purchase to get full out of the device:
br /1. Get a new lithium battery. The supplied ones won't last for a full
br / day if you do lots of shooting.
br /2. Get a camcoder bag. Good bag protect your investment from scratch and
br / dust.
br /3. Get a protective plastic filter for your LCD display.
br /4. Get a UV filter for attachment in front of the cam. This is to
br / prevent scratches and dusts going into the lens when shooting.
br /5. Get a soft wiping cloth. To get rid of dust off your cam in the end
br / of day.
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br / If you need a good camcorder with quick 'ON' time and good quality video, I highly recommended it. The only down side is the memory stick is a bit expensive and highest capacity in the market right now is 16Gig .

Well, i am an amateur when it comes to camcorders, so my review may NOT be very technical. I love this camcorder, this is my first HD camcorder and the picture quality is real amazing. I use this camcorder mostly to take home videos and for our trips. The camcorder is real sleek and fits nicely in your hand. I dropped SR12/SR11 just because of their weight and their bulky harddisk. One down side is that this camcorder uses just a memory stick, they are expensive, but they are reliable. i have been using memory sticks with my Sony digital camera as well and no issues until now. If they could provide one more slot for relatively inexpensive SD/SDHC cards it will be a killer camcorder. A nice feature is the smile shutter and it takes stills of your subject without you being aware. It is a nice feature and will bring smile to your face. The PMB software that comes along with the camcorder is good enough to transfer and view the HD videos in your laptop. However, for advanced editing, you should probably order a video editing software like Sony Vegas movie studio or vegas Pro as your budget and needs are. I have just ordered the Sony vegas movie studio platinum pro 9 and hoping it will be fun to edit the videos. The still picture quality is very good. I tried the night mode in dark, it works, but subjects will look like ghosts, so not using that one a lot. a good buy, will recommend it. Amazon ships it fast too.
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If you are deciding between the Sony CX12 and any other camcorder I recommend the Sony CX12... HANDS DOWN!! I just got it today and it is AMAZING!! The still photos are beautiful, super high quality. And the smile shutter technology alone is worth the $$$. I have three little girls and it hasn't missed a smile yet, they smile for even a second and it is captured. How could we have ever done without it????? And it burns to disc at the touch of a button... Yes, it has an "easy" button, really! I bought mine with the Sony 16 gb memory card, I think the 4 gb card that comes with it is going to be too small. I have never been so happy with a purchase, I would have paid two or three times as much! How does it know we are smiling? AMAZING!! Sony has two other models that came out last month, the hdr-sr11 and hdr-sr12. This is the same camcorder as the hdr-sr12 PLUS smile shutter and it uses memory cards... in my opinion WAY BETTER FOR LESS! Thanks Amazon.com!

I will firstly admit that my husband was the one to do the research on this item. He is incredibly thorough before he buys anything. However, I'm the one that gets most use out of it. There was one agreement upon what type of camcorder we'd get, and that's flash based memory. A. miniDV will definitely become obsolete in the near future, B. HardDrive based have potential room for error, and DVD as well as the MiniDV have gear components that have risk of breaking. Knowing from experience, fixing motor parts in a camcorder are costly!
br / We love to tape our parties and trips, but we also live far from family and like to use it as a webcam. Our old Canon MiniDV did this easily, but with the new generation of cameras out there, they are not streaming capable. WE have a $30 video capture card that does the trick, but obviously quality isn't HD, nor would hdmi be even capable of streaming. The key is for a video capture card to do real-time compression that's better than 480i. This is what I'd like to see. If you're going to spend up to 1k for a camcorder, I think they need to merge webcam capabilities along side of the regular video taping soon. The cameras with the flash drive memory are getting smaller and smaller, not to mention more efficient.
br /Back to the camera itself. Wonderfully compact, straighforward with its touch screen lcd menu display, INCREDIBLE low light capabilities, and overall obviously the HD quality image. Some complained about the proprietary SD card, but you must realize that this SD card is half the size/thickness of regular SD cards.

I exchanged the Sony TG-1 for the CX12 due to limitations of the TG1 (see that review for further info). I was between the Canon HF10 (which I also returned) and the Sony CX12, and in my opinion the CX12 beats the Canon. Here are my thoughts:
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br /The sony produces a beautiful finished image; the colors are vibrant and the image is crystal clear. Even in less than optimal lighting conditions, the sony's image remains clear, with less noise, although color does begin to wash out (I'm talking 75 watt bulb as only light source in 17' x 17' room). The Canon was noisy in all but sunlit shooting, and the finished product did not have the punch that the sony did, even with the "vivid" setting.
br /
br /The jog dial at the front of the camera is customizable (I chose exposure) which is very convenient. The canon requires you to use the joystick toggle which has an audible click when using during recording.
br /
br /The sound on the Sony in 5.1 is excellent.......very clear. The canon was good, but often sounded muffled.
br /
br /The included battery will last about an 80 minutes.....longer than the Canon at 55 minutes.
br /
br /Many people rave about the Canon's ability to shoot in 24P or 30P. I found both settings to be very annoying. Shooting in those modes resulted in jerky image playback, especially fast moving subjects, or panning the camera. I did not notice any better low light performance in those modes either. I don't miss those options on the Sony.
br /
br /The biggest negative is Sony needs to improve the image stabilization. This is the only item the Canon comes out on top. For some reason the sony seems to pick up more random hand movements than the Canon.
br /
br /Another negative is the annoying structure of the Sony menus, very perplexing until you become accustomed to them..........C'mon Sony, get some consumer feedback on the next camera.
br /
br /On a final note, I see alot of reviews complaining about AVCHD. First, this is an HD camcorder. You can easily burn HD content onto any media (DVD-R, DVD+R DL, BR Disc) using either Sony Vegas Studio for PC, or Toast 9 for mac. The greatest thing about this format, is there is no converting necessary to burn a blu-ray disc playable in a blu-ray player. (If you don't have one, get one) I burned an 8 gig disc in BR format (DVD+R DL) in Toast 9 in about 20 minutes. The footage was stellar. If you are converting these files to anything else and outputting to mpeg-2, you are wasting the HD ability of this camera. I shutter at the thought of capturing the DV footage from the tape of my other camera, and waiting 2 hours for a DVD to be rendered and burned.
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br /Overall, this is a great camcorder, at a great price from Amazon. I can't believe how far these things have come in the 4 years since I bought my last one. If you are waiting for improvements, why bother. I hear people talking about wanting full 1080P recording. Unless you plan on siting 5 feet from a 60" panel.....you really won't be able to tell the difference. I am recording in HD-HQ mode, the second highest quality, and the results are stunning. My advice is to run out and buy this camera.......it won't get much better than this at this price point.

Just had it for a few weeks, and it is my first camcorder, so nothing to compare against. It delivers what promises.
br /Good image quality for video, and the smile shooter is great!
br /The software is on the down side: With a dual core HP laptop 1 gb ram and vista it took me about 2 hr to create a SD DVD from a HD movie of about 40 minutes... slowwwww and you have to download the files to the computer. Very easy to use, however.
br /Suggest additional battery and memory stick.

First, I absolutely LOVE this camera. The image stabilization, the optics, and the controls combine for a wonderful experience that creates simply gorgeous video. My son's Pee-Wee football games look like ESPN HD! The photos were just ok. Oh, it can even fit in a roomy pocket--about like a soda can. Not super comfortable, but doable.
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br /However, I had to return it when I discovered that the videos it records are nearly impossible to edit. I have a decently souped-up dual 2GHz machine w/2 GB of RAM and Sony's own Pro version of Vegas editing software. It crashed their own software nearly every time. They've since released an update that lets it work with AVCHD-encoded videos without crashing. However, the biggest problem is playback. I have a super nice NVIDIA graphics card, but my system could only play these files back about 1 frame per-second--or less. Did some quick research and if you want to actually work with this video you'll need an unbelievably powerful machine with a raid HD array (although there didn't seem to be much agreement on what kind of rig would actually run this stuff).
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br /Many people never actually need to edit their video. They just shoot it and then play it back from the camera. You'll need to buy a mini-HDMI cable to get it to your new flat-screen TV, but with that cable the playback was glorious.

Well, if you always use the best, this should be your choice. Top model of the handycam world. Memory Stick PRO Duo instead of hard disk drive, 1920 x 1080 full HD video and 10.2 megapixel still image capture (which means you don't need a camera anymore). You won't believe the quality of the recordings when you watch them on 55 inch TV.
br /Plus, very handy and lightweight.
br /Strongly recommended...

This HDR-CX12 is an update on the CX7 model which also took beautiful pictures but had several operational deficiencies.
br /
br /The CX12 remedies one of the big ones -- it has a sleep mode so you can protect the lens between shots. (With the CX7 you had to power-off, and then it took about 10 seconds to power-on again.)
br /
br /On the CX7 the 'optical image stabilization' (OIS) doesn't appear to work, at all. I haven't seen any reviews on the CX12 yet but unless someone says it's dramatically improved I would assume there's effectively no stabilization. On the CX7 it's very difficult to avoid noticeable shaking...
br /
br /The other deficiencies remain:
br /- the position of the zoom switch is 'convenient' in that it's right under your index finger, but in practice this means that you accidentally zoom the camcorder. Countless times I've been watching the scene (rather than the camera screen) and then checked the camera only to realize I was zoomed-in on someones foot (or crotch, ha!)
br /- there are separate buttons for photos vs videos, so it's easy to confuse which button to push especially when you switch between video and photo mode
br /- you can buy 3rd-party batteries but they won't have the on-screen status; for that you have to pay the Sony premium for one of their own batteries.
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br /(EDITED 11-25-08, changed all mislabeled references of "previous CX11 model" to "CX7")