Sony's HDR-SR12 camcorder - and its sister model the HDR-SR11 (RRP $1999) - differ only in the capacity of their built-in hard disk drives (HDD), with the SR12 having twice the capacity of the SR11. Both models include some of the technologies developed for Sony's still cameras and both support AVCHD video recording with a maximum video resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
The SR12 has the solid feel and sturdy build that characterises Sony cameras. It's also comfortable to handle, with an adjustable hand strap and gently curved finger rest that positions the index finger to operate the zoom lever and photo button with ease. The Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens is enclosed in the camera body and protected by split flaps that open and close as power in turned on and off. Threading is provided for a 37mm filter.
Side view of the SR12 showing the hand strap and curved finger rest on the top panel.
With a focal length range of 4.9-58.8mm and maximum apertures of f/1.8 at the wide setting and f/3.1 at full tele extension, this lens has a 35mm equivalent focal length of 40-480mm in 35mm format for 16:9 movie recording and 37-444mm for still pictures. Wide-angle coverage is unimpressive but the tele end is adequate for shooting sports action. Super Steady Shot optical image satbilisation allows the SR12 to be hand-held at relatively low light levels when shooting with full zoom extension.
A slim electronic flash tube lies along the left side of the lens barrel. It's not an ideal position for evenly-distributed lighting but appears to give acceptable coverage for all but the closest shots. The flash covers a distance range from 30 cm to 2.5 metres and provides three mode settings: auto, on and off (the default). Three flash output level settings are provided: high, normal and low.
Pre-flash red-eye reduction can be selected for use with both the built-in flash and optional external flash units, which are fitted via the top panel Active Interface Shoe. This hot shoe, which is protected by a sliding panel, will also accept a Sony video light.
Top view of the SR12 with the Active Interface Shoe uncovered.
Below the lens is a backlight compensation button, which adjusts exposure to ensure backlit subjects are recorded with adequate detail (at the risk of whitening-out skies). Just above it is the manual button, which is surrounded by a Cam Ctrl dial. Pressing the manual button switches between auto and manual adjustment and users can assign a frequently-used function to the Cam Ctrl dial. The default setting is for focusing but you can also choose exposure, AE shift or WB shift settings in the Dial Settings menu.
Side view of the SR12 showing the articulating touch screen.
The articulating 3.2-inch widescreen LCD swings out from the left side to reveal the card slot, the speaker grille and buttons that access the Nightshot mode, reset functions, Easy mode, display/battery status and disk burn function. On the monitor itself are four additional buttons: the Home button, zoom in/out toggles and a record start/stop button. All other controls are via the touch screen, which we found to be very vulnerable to finger-marking and quite difficult to clean.
The rear panel contains the battery bay and a standard rotating power switch with a central start/stop button. Indicator LEDs for the photo and video modes and charge/access functions plus a Quick On button sit near the top of this panel. Concealed under lift-up hatches on the right side panel are the MIC-in, headphone and HDMI out jacks towards the front and the A/V Remote connector and USB jack at the rear.
On the top panel, slightly forward of the Quick On button is the Photo button and, in front of it, the zoom rocker. The rocker moves smoothly but its thrust isn't quite enough for high-precision zooming, although it's probably fine for typical buyers.
The electronic viewfinder can be raised through an angle of 45 degrees. Diopter adjustment is provided via a lever on the underside. Viewing quality is good, although the finder itself is rather small and cramped with a hard surround that is uncomfortable if you wear glasses.
Like an increasing number of HDD camcorders, SD12 also has a drop sensor, which detects any rapid motion that could be due to gravity and automatically parks the recording heads to minimise damage to the HDD. The default setting is On so, if you are shooting when you're in rapid motion (such as sky diving or on a roller coaster), the drop sensor should be switched off to ensure recordings are not halted.
The SR12 is supplied with a Handycam Station dock, which gives users the simplest way to connect it to mains power, a TV set or a personal computer. It also carries a Disk Burn button for transferring images or video recorded on the HDD directly to a DVD recorder. A connector post on the dock plugs into a socket on the camcorder's base. USB, A/V Out and DC in jacks are located on the dock's side panel. USB and two A/V cables (one component A/V) are supplied - but you'll need to provide your own HDMI cable.
Also supplied with the SR12 is a compact remote control that can be used for both shooting and playback. It sports the standard suite of buttons plus an arrow pad for selecting settings and a tele/wide zoom rocker. It's powered by a CR2025 lithium battery (non-rechargeable).
Sensor and Image Processing
The single CMOS sensor is a ClearVid chip with uses Sony's proprietary Exmor technology, which was introduced with the company's CMOS sensors for DSLR cameras. The ClearVid sensor design rotates the photosite grid by 45 degrees to increase its ability to record detail. (A similar rationale underlies Fujifilm's Super CCD system.) Sony's technology provides six green-filtered photosites for every red or blue photosite, since the peak sensitivity of human eyes is in the middle of the visual spectrum. The objective is to produce brighter, more detailed images.
According to Sony's literature, Exmor is a column-parallel A/D converter that supports high-speed processing, low noise performance and low power consumption. We found the diagram below on a Sony website and reproduce it here to show how Exmor works.
Another technology that has crept from still cameras into camcorders is Sony's Bionz image processor, which was introduced almost two years ago with the DSLR-A100 camera. Bionz processors use hardware-based Large Scale Integrated (LSI) circuitry to boost camera response times and minimise noise before the raw data is converted for viewing. They also support some new technologies that have become standard in compact digicams (see below) as well as lowering power consumption.
Hybrid recording technology enables users to record to either the HDD or a Memory Stick Duo Pro memory card, which slips in behind a lift-up cover in the side panel. The default setting for both video and stills is recording to the HDD which, in the SR12, will hold up to 14 hours and 40 minutes of AVCHD video at the highest quality or 29 hours and 40 minutes of high-quality standard definition (SD) video.
To record still images to the memory card you must use the touch screen menu and select Home>Manage Media>Photo Media Set> Memory Stick. (A similar process is required to record video clips on the memory card.)
Shooting Modes
Like most consumer cameras, the SD12 has an Easy button for point-and-shoot picture taking. Pressing this button automates nearly all recording and playback settings, regardless of whether you shoot video or stills. It also makes the fonts and icons on the touch screen slightly larger so the few controls you actually can access are easier to see.
Shooting mode choices provided both Easy and normal modes.
In Easy mode, video recording defaults to SP speed. Focusing, exposure and white balance are non-adjustable and Face Detection is engaged by default. Switching off the Easy mode lets you access the full range of quality settings for video and still picture recording, operate the Manual button and engage the slow-motion recording mode. Pressing the Home button calls up a screen with two pages covering seven settings. On the first page are Movie Settings, Photo Settings, View Images Set, Sound/Display Set, while the second page has Output Settings, Clock/Language and General Set.
The Movie Settings menu has four pages covering the following functions:
Page 1: Rec. Mode, Audio Mode, AE Shift, WB Shift, Nightshot Light, Wide Select.
Page 2: Digital Zoom, Steadyshot, Auto Slow Shutter, X.V. Colour, Guideframe, Zebra.
Page 3: Remaining Set, Sub-T Date, Flash Mode, Flash Level, Redeye Reduction, Dial Settings.
Page 4: Face Detection, Index Set, Conversion Lens.
Most of these settings are self-explanatory and many are duplicated in the Photo Settings menu. Functions that may be new to stills photographers include X.V. Colour and Zebra. X.V. Colour is an HD video-specific setting that allows the camera to record a wider colour gamut than the default setting. However, it should only be used when you have an X.V. Colour-compliant TV set to playback the video clip on as recordings can produce incorrect colours on a non-compliant screen.
The Zebra setting is provided for both movie and stills capture and used as a brightness indicator. Two pre-sets are provided: 70 and 100. In use, diagonal stripes are superimposed on areas of the scene that are at the pre-set level, although the pattern is not recorded. The zebra pattern provides a quick guide to exposure levels and can be particularly handy when making brightness adjustments.
The Camera menu is accessed by pressing an icon on the lower right corner of the LCD screen. This displays a strip of icons along the lower edge of the LCD. In Movie mode three pages cover the following functions:
Page 1: Focus, Spot Focus, Tele Macro.
Page 2: Exposure, Spot Meter, AE Shift, Scene Selection.
Page 3: White Balance, WB Shift, Colour Slow Shutter, Super Nightshot.
Page 1 of the Camera menu in movie mode.
An additional page carries the effects controls, which include Fader, Digital Effect and Picture Effect, while the final page covers Recording Mode, Built-in Zoom Mic, Micref Level and Flash Mode.
Tele Macro will be popular with flower and nature photographers. When selected, the lens zooms to the tele position and the maximum aperture is set to blur background details. In this mode, you can focus to within 47 cm of the subject. The Spot Meter is linked with the touch screen. Simply touch the point on the screen where you want the focus and exposure measurements to be made.
The Scene Selection menu.
The pre-set Scene Selections include Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Candle, Sunrise & Sunset, Fireworks, Landscape, Portrait (Soft Portrait), Spotlight, Beach and Snow. Where a scene selection changes colour balance, automatic white balance is cancelled. Only two fades are offered: white and black. And the only Digital Effect is Old Movie. Picture Effects include B&W, Sepia and Pastel.
The SD12 provides four white balance settings: auto (the default), Outdoor, Indoor and One Push (manual). The Outdoor setting has to cover lighting as diverse as daylight, overcast and misty conditions, sunrise and sunset and night lighting (including neon signs and fireworks). The Indoor lighting must cope with fluorescent, incandescent and halogen lamps as well as video lights and sodium lamps. In both cases, the colour range is very wide and performance is better with some types than others.
When in doubt, the One Push system lets you measure ambient light colour. You simply fill the screen with a white object under the lighting you wish to measure and touch the relevant button. The colour balance is stored in memory and applied to subsequent shots.
In addition to the Candle scene selection, the SD12 provides three controls for shooting in dim lighting. Colour Slow Shutter slows the shutter speed and appears to boost the sensor gain to ensure coloured subjects retain as much brightness as possible in low light levels. This mode is the only video mode to provide even a modicum of shutter speed control.
For near-dark conditions, switching on the Night Shot function causes the camera to emit a burst of infrared light. This produces almost monochrome video but provides a fairly clear video of the subject. When it's even darker, selecting Super Night Shot boosts sensitivity by 16 times but the resulting video is green and very noisy.
Special Features
The SD12 introduces couple of new technologies that have been offered recently in digicams: Face Detection and Dynamic Range Optimisation. Both apply to still and video recordings - and both are, by default, automatic. The Face Detection system is similar to those found in digicams and can pick up a maximum of eight human faces in a frame but may not identify people wearing hats or sunglasses or faces in full or half profile. When flash is used, the flash exposure will also be taken into account.
The Face Detection function outlines faces with a white rectangle.
Unlike other Handycam models with face detection, the SD12 allocates more pixels to the detected face during the AVCHD encoding process to ensure optimal results. A white frame outlines each face within the detection range (which appeared in our user tests to be from about 50 cm to three metres from the lens) and the SD12 automatically adjusts focus, exposure and colour balance to provide the best average result for the faces detected in the shot. A face icon will flash when video is being recorded to show the detected faces are stored in the Face Index.
If you've recorded video clips with Face detection active you can search for clips containing faces by selecting Face Index in playback mode. Simply touch Home>View Images>Face Index. You can switch off the frame if it upsets your composition by selecting No Frames in the menu. The Face Detection function can also be switched off, if required.
There's nothing in the user handbook about the D-Range Optimisation function, presumably because it can't be either adjusted or switched off. Already proven in digicams, this function prevents bright areas in shots from being 'blown out' and, at the same time, ensures detail is recorded in shadowed areas. It's handy for outdoor shots under sunny Aussie skies and should provide some compensation for backlit shots - although we found the dedicated backlight button was often required to compensate for moderate backlighting.
Video Recording
When shooting video you can choose from four high definition (HD) levels and three standard definition (SD) settings. HD video is recorded in AVCHD format while MPEG2 is used for SD video. The table below shows the resolutions and typical recording times for each recording mode.
|
Video mode |
Resolution |
Bit rate |
Recording time |
|
HD FH |
1920 x 1080 |
16 Mbps |
880 minutes |
|
HD HQ |
1440 x 1080 |
9 Mbps |
1780 minutes |
|
HD SP |
1440 x 1080 |
7 Mbps |
2160 minutes |
|
HD LP |
1440 x 1080 |
5 Mbps |
2880 minutes |
|
SD HQ |
720 x 576 |
9 Mbps |
1780 minutes |
|
SD SP |
720 x 576 |
6 Mbps |
2640 minutes |
|
SD LP |
720 x 576 |
3 Mbps |
5060 minutes |
Digital zoom is only available when recording video and there are two settings: 24x and 150x. These figures refer to total magnification, including the 12x optical zoom. An indicator on the screen shows the transition from optical to digital zooming.
The SR12's sound recording capabilities match its pictorial quality, with a built-in zoom microphone that zooms the audio along with the video. Audio tracks are recorded in Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound and you can use Sony's ECM-HW1 Bluetooth microphone for recording sound wirelessly at distances up to about 30 metres.
Still Image Capture
Still pictures can be recorded while you're shooting video by pressing the Photo button with a default resolution of 7.6M in 16:9 mode and 5.7M in 4:3 mode. This function is blocked if you have selected the Smooth Slow recording, Fader, Digital Effect or Picture Effect modes. Selecting Photo mode on the touch screen gives you more options and is the only way to access the highest and lowest resolution settings.
All still images are recorded as JPEGs, regardless of how they are captured and users have no control over compression levels. Five still image sizes are supported, with typical file sizes shown in the table below.
|
Image size |
Pixels |
Typical file size |
|
10.2M |
3680 x 2760 |
4.05MB |
|
7.2M (wide) |
3680 x 2070 |
2.5MB |
|
6.1M |
2848 x 2136 |
2.5MB |
|
1.9M |
1600 x 1200 |
0.83MB |
|
VGA (0.3M) |
640 x 480 |
0.16MB |
On these figures, JPEG compression is similar to the lowest compression ('best') setting on majority of 10-megapixel digicams we've reviewed, which suggests there should be few visible artefacts and an adequate amount of continuous-tone detail in still shots.
Although superficially the SD12 may appear to be the ideal dual-purpose video-plus-stills camera, some features are less than ideal for still photography. For starters, the image sensor in both models is significantly smaller than the average digicam. When you record still images with a 4:3 aspect ratio, we estimate the imaging area is approximately 4.5 x 3.4 mm, compared with 5.76 x 4.29 mm for the typical digicam (which, in our opinion, is still too small for a 10-megapixel camera).
The top still resolution is 3680 x 2760 pixels can only be achieved through interpolation, since the sensor only uses 5.08 million photosites for image capture - with a 4:3 aspect ratio. If you swap to 16:9 aspect ratio, the image is cropped, leaving you with a 3680 x 2070-pixel 7.6-megapixel image. (We suspect this setting will be the most popular with users, particularly if they own widescreen TV sets.)
The most frustrating aspect of shooting stills with the SR12 is using the menu system, which requires a lot of toggling to locate and modify the few adjustable camera settings. You have to touch the OK icon to lock in any changes. Unfortunately, many adjustments a stills photographer relies upon are either non-adjustable or only adjustable with low precision.
Of the two focus settings (auto and manual) the manual mode has only two options: Portrait and Landscape. The only manual adjustment provided for exposure is via a bar with + and - buttons at each end. Lens aperture and shutter speed adjustments are simply not provided and there's no way to set a precise focal length for the lens. Spot AF and metering functions are provided but both rely on the photographer touching a spot on the screen - and you have no idea what exposure parameters have been set.
The Photo Settings menu has three pages covering the following settings:
Page 1: Image Size, File No., AE Shift, WB Shift, Nightshot Light, Steadyshot.
Page 2: Guideframe, Zebra, Flash Mode, Flash Level, Redeye Reduction, Dual Setting.
Page 3: Face Detection, Conversion Lens.
Most of the above settings are self-explanatory. The Dual Setting allows users to take still shots while recording movies by simply pressing the Photo button. The only image size options supported in this mode are 7.6M wide and 5.7M (4:3 aspect). The Conversion Lens setting lets you match the SteadyShot stabilisation to one of the optional add-on lenses (wide or tele). The default setting is Off.
Because the controls are so primitive (compared with the adjustments provided on still cameras) you have to rely on the appearance of the on-screen image for exposure compensation adjustments or fine-tuning colour balance.
Although the LCD is superior in resolution and colour accuracy to most monitors we've seen, its colour and brightness reproduction are not an accurate representation of the changes applied in the camera. Furthermore, toggling along a linear scale from plus to minus gives you little idea of just how much you have adjusted the image.
Still pictures can also be 'grabbed' from video footage in playback mode. The standard resolution for these frame grabs is 2.1 megapixels but you can capture 3-megapixel stills from footage using the bundled Picture Motion Browser software on a compatible PC.
Playback
Playing back video recorded on an HDD that can store more than 14 hours at the highest quality looks like a marathon prospect. Fortunately, the SR12 provides plenty of search facilities to help you locate wanted clips. Pressing the quick review button displays a visual index on the screen with arrow buttons on the left side for jumping forward or back by six images and an indicator showing the clip or still pictures that was played or recorded last.
Additional buttons above and below the index display let you search by date or use the Film Roll Index, which shows a thumbnail of each clip on an index screen. Alternatively, to find shots containing people, the Face Index displays faces from clips in index form. A button below the index display lets you display still images. These search facilities are also applicable to still images recorded on either the HDD or a memory card. And that, as they say, is your lot.
As well as allowing users to switch recording between the HDD or memory card, the Manage Media menu contains the settings for formatting the storage media, including an Empty function that will prevent erased data from being recovered. There's also a handy Repair Image Data function that checks the management information and consistency of movies and still images on the HDD or memory card and repairs any inconsistencies found.
You can connect the SD12 directly to a TV set via either the A/V component cable or an HDMI cable, both of which plug into sockets on the right side near the front. Both movies and still images can be transferred directly from the hard drive to memory card without a PC.
Software
The software bundle includes Picture Motion Browser, Sonic UDF Reader and DirectX Runtime. Picture Motion Browser is a file manager with a calendar-like structure where video clips and still images are 'registered' to make them easy to locate. When you connect the SR12 to a computer via the Handycam Station and switch it on, clips and images stored on the HDD or memory card can be uploaded automatically. The search functions provided in the camera are replicated in the software and you can rate images and tag them with labels like Travel, Family or Friends.
Loading the software on a fast Windows computer took roughly five minutes, largely because the computer paused after each application was installed and waited for us to select the next one. The Picture Motion Browser interface is basic but simple enough to be used by most family members. A screen grab is shown below.
The GUI for Picture Motion Browser is simple and straightforward.
Basic editing functions provided in the application include brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness as well as red-eye correction. You can also apply automatic correction or adjust through tone curves. Video clips can be trimmed, while for still images, trimming and resizing are supported. You can assemble clips into simple movies, save selected images or video clips to DC or DVD, insert the date on video clips and print or email still images or send them to a more powerful editor.
Map View is an interesting function that lets you display thumbnails of images and video clips on a map - but it requires location information from a GPS receiver or geo-tagging.
No information is provided about the other two applications, either in the user manuals or on the disks. It was also difficult to find out much about them online. Sonic UDF Reader appears to be an AVCHD reader that is used for playing AVCHD video clips on compatible Blu-ray players. There appears to be no guarantee of compatibility with all 'flavours' of the Universal Disk Format (UDF). DirectX Runtime is a Windows application for running high-speed multimedia and games on a PC.
An additional "Let's Enjoy Video" DVD is provided with general shooting tips plus coverage of viewing and printing options plus a showcase of accessories. It's pretty basic - and not specific to AVCHD camcorders - but it may help novice video shooters.
Performance
Video clips recorded with the test camera were sharp and colourful with well-contained saturation levels, particularly in the HD modes. With the default settings, exposures appeared to be pitched at capturing shadow detail and highlights were occasionally lost in bright outdoor scenes. In some instances, slight haloing was seen around the brightest areas in frames.
The amount of detail captured - and the visibility of artefacts - corresponded with the resolution setting. The full 1920 x 1080 pixel AVCHD mode looked particularly smooth and the 1440 x 1080 pixel HD HQ could only be distinguished from it when frame grabs were enlarged by 100%. Audio quality was excellent with both settings.
SD video was close to expectations and significantly better than standard video on VGA camcorders and digicams. The difference between HD and SD clips is particularly obvious when clips are viewed on larger screens (or at higher magnification). As expected, video clips shot with the SD SP setting appeared smoother than those taken with the LP mode, although an examination of frame grabs showed few differences in actual resolution. Audio quality remained above average.
Camera response times were also quite good, although we noticed some autofocusing lag when shooting moving subjects in dim lighting. In bright conditions, however, AF lag was negligible, even when shooting fast action. We measured an average capture lag for still shots of 1.2 seconds, which reduced to 0.2 seconds with pre-focusing. It took just on three seconds to process one still shot.
The image stabiliser proved remarkably effective at all light levels - and even worked with the Nightshot modes. Noise was evident in video clips shot in low light levels, although the clips themselves looked surprisingly good when we took account of the conditions, although greens and blues tended to be lost.
The auto white balance control responded reasonably quickly to changes in lighting, although it failed to eliminate the colour casts from either incandescent or fluorescent lights and was slower to respond under mixed lighting. The pre-set indoor mode fared little better and produced a strong cyan cast under fluorescent lights and a slight magenta cast with incandescent lighting. Fortunately, manual measurement with the One Touch mode produced neutral colours under both types of lighting and came close to neutral with mixed lighting.
Auto white balance with fluorescent lighting.
Auto white balance with incandescent lighting.
One-Touch white balance with incandescent lighting.
Still pictures taken with the test camera were sharp and colourful, with plenty of detail and modest saturation. Imatest showed the resolution to be relatively high for the sensor's non-interpolated resolution, with only minor differences between centre and edge resolution. It also showed lateral chromatic aberration to be generally low.
Colour accuracy was also very good, with a mean colour error of 5.47. Imatest revealed some slight shifts in skin hues and yellows and smaller shifts in purple-blue hues. We detected slight coloured fringing (mainly magenta) when outdoor shots were enlarged to 200% but we feel this would not be significant for most shooters. Close-up performance was impressive for both stills and video clips and here the camera appeared better able to produce correct exposures with the default settings.
The flash also performed much better than we expected, producing even lighting right down to 40 cm from the subject. Shooting stills at night was fraught with difficulties as the lack of manual settings meant we had to rely on the night shooting modes, all of which produced shots with very noticeable noise. Video clips were only marginally better.
Conclusion
Although not quite the perfect camera for both stills and video capture, Sony's HDR-SR12 comes very close. Capable of producing high-quality video and printable stills, it sports an effective image stabiliser and well-tuned exposure and focusing mechanisms. It also provides a useful level of automation and enough storage capacity to suit amateur video shooters and delivers them in a very compact package.
Serious shooters would probably prefer a version of this camera with three imager chips or a single - but much larger - imager. They would also require a wider range of user-controllable settings, along with a menu system that requires less toggling to make them accessible. Maybe somewhere down the track!
IMATEST GRAPHS
SAMPLE IMAGES
A close-up still shot captured with the highest resolution setting.
A frame from an AVCHD video clip, showing a similar subject.
A similar frame taken from a video clip recorded at Standard Definition.
A frame taken from an AVCHD video clip.
The same subject, photographed in SD mode. (Note the higher saturation i nthe SD video clip.)
A backlit subject, shot in AVCHD video without backlight control.
The same subject, photographed with the backlight button pressed.