Best Reviewed
HD Camcorders
- Best HD camcorder Canon VIXIA HV30 *Est. $785
- Budget HD camcorder Panasonic HDC-SD9 *Est. $555
- Longest recording time Sony Handycam HDR-SR12 *Est. $1170
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Longest recording time
- 15-hour recording time on its internal 120 GB hard drive
- Superb HD video
- Especially smooth zoom function
- NightShot for shooting in the dark
- Expensive
- Short battery life -- 40 to 90 minutes in tests
CamcorderInfo.com has by far the most comprehensive review of the HDR-SR12and rates the camcorder against dozens of others. Although the reviews at Videomaker.com and DigitalTrends.com aren't comparative, they are stringent and detailed. Consumer Reports' test is equally rigorous, but you have to be a subscriber to read about it. User reviews at Amazon.com bolster experts' findings, and they reveal a few flaws.
An extremely high memory capacity -- nearly 15 hours of the highest-quality video -- gives the HDR-SR12 lots of recording flexibility. And reviewers' praise of this camcorder goes on and on: top-notch HD video, excellent audio, razor-sharp still photos and fun features including a NightShot film-in-the-dark mode. However, the long recording memory is offset by a short battery life of about 40 minutes per charge in testing. The competing Canon VIXIA HV30 (*est. $785) costs a lot less and also gets excellent reviews for image quality. The Canon HD camcorder records to tapes, which are easy to edit, but each tape can only hold about an hour of top-quality video.
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Our Sources
CamcorderInfo.com's thorough review evaluates every aspect of the Sony HDR-SR12, comparing it with several of its peers. Overall, it's judged the best hard-drive camcorder, but it's expensive and has some handling quirks.
Review: Sony HDR-SR12 Camcorder Review, David Kender, Mar. 31, 2008
Videomaker's reviews are critical and well done, but cameras are not compared with each other, nor is an objective rating system used. However, the Sony HDR-SR12 (along with its variant, the SR11) gets Videomaker's highest praise.
Review: Camcorder Review: Sony HDR-SR12 Camcorder, Greg Robinson, June 2008
Although editors at DigitalTrends.com don't review as many camcorders as others, reviews are easy to read and provide plenty of details. Camcorders are not directly compared with one another, but they do receive numerical scores. The Sony HDR-SR12 is one of three current HD camcorders that meet "Editors' Choice" standards.
Review: Sony HDR-SR12 Review and User Opinions, David Elrich, May 22, 2008
4. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe
Consumer Reports' individual review of the Sony HDR-SR12 is brief, but it does give the camcorder a rating of "excellent" to "poor" in five major areas, including picture quality and ease of use.
Review: Sony HDR-SR12, Editors of Consumer Reports, July 2008
5. Amazon.com
Consumers have posted about 20 reviews for the Sony HDR-SR12 at Amazon.com, almost unanimously positive. Reviews do include criticism, though. For example, several owners say they don't like the editing software that comes bundled with it.
Review: Sony HDR-SR12 Camcorder Reviews, Contributors to Amazon.com
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