Hi,

I'm new to the forum, and thanks to the excellent review and sharing of information, I'm the proud owner of a new HDR SR12. Coming from an 8 years old Sony DV PCR-5 Camcorder, which I've chosen because of its very small size at the time (it fits nicely attached to the belt and can fit in any purse or so), I admit the SR12 is quite "larger". But overall, the HD resolution, the tape-less approach, the instant clip play, and what made me chose a sony instead of any other before, the touch screen to access its features, are a must.

Now, having said that, when Blue Ray and HD-DVD came out, I used to go to electronic stores to see the results. I must say I'm not impressed with HD a lot. Sure, it has more pixels, BUT the compression algorithm removes most of the details. I've seen some Hollywood movies and they were not as impressive as what I get with a top of the line DVD player (Sony) that upscales to 1080i on my Sony Bravia. Sometimes sure the HD kicks in visually, but most of the time on a movie, I can hardly tell the difference when sitting 6ft from the TV.

On the other hand, the HD camcorder compared to DV is light years ahead visually. And I guess since we get higher signal bandwidth and resolution, even if transcoded to MPG2 I could get better visual quality than DV at the same resolution (I'm yet to try out the Sony-included to-DVD in MPG2 burn option, or compare it with other transcoder software).

Now, back to the topic and question: I've noticed the CHG light is on when using the camcorder. It is ON of course when charging, and when I unplug it goes OFF. However, when I turn on the camcorder it lights ON.

So I'm wondering if this is a defect of the camcorder I've purchased (on sale at Best Buy), or if you all have the light ON (no mention in the documentation about this, they say it goes ON when charging).

thank you again for a nice place to talk about our camcorders and the excellent reviews!

Jean-Luc

If you are in auto flash or permanently "on" flash mode this lanp will light up.

Thanks! I hardly found it in the documentation, and indeed, it is the flash mode!

Jean-Luc