Sony HDR-SR12 First Impressions Camcorder Reviewby Alfredo PadillaPublished on Jan 8, 2008 7:00 PM 
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Ease of Use
Ease of use is Sony's strong point thanks to the aptly named Easy button. Press this and you will find that all adjustments are taken care of for you, menu buttons are doubled in size and you can get down to the business of actually capturing video. For amateurs and those not technologically inclined it's a godsend and makes the Sony HDR-SR12 (Review, Specs, ) a very easy camcorder to use. For the other half of users who want a tighter control, the story's not so rosy. We like the improved Cam Control dial as it's easier to grip and make fine adjustments, but it's still not as good as the huge ring around the lens on the 2006 Sony HDR-UX1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $729.95). Our other gripe is with the touch screen control interface. Although the larger 3.2-inch LCD makes it easier to hit buttons and make adjustments on screen, you're still going to get finger prints all over the place, which can make figuring out if the picture is in focus a chore. It's also not as responsive as a joystick control. We do like that all of the cable connections are on the right side of the Sony HDR-SR12 so you won't have any cables hanging in front of the LCD during use.
Handling
The Sony HDR-SR12’s hand strap is not very well padded. You’ll feel it if you’re holding the camcorder for a long period of time. The adjustments are sufficient so even those with small hands will be able to tighten it. With hard drive models like the Sony HDR-SR12 you don’t get as much height as DVD models like the Sony HDR-UX10 (Specs, Recent News, $729.95), which means you don’t have as much to grip onto and the camcorder tends to flop around. Like last year’s Sony HDR-SR7 (Specs, Recent News, $1399) there is a small valley between the barrel and the hard drive that gives your fingers a good place to sit while you’re gripping the camcorder.
The Sony HDR-SR12 weighs in 650 grams and mesures 83 x 76 x 138 millimeters. This is heavier than last year’s Sony HDR-SR7, which weighed 610 grams and felt a little hefty to us then. In terms of gross size the differences between the Sony HDR-SR12 and the HDR-SR7 are negligible, with the HDR-SR7 a little slimmer at 75mm but taller at 81mm and longer at 149mm. The difference when you hold it in our hand is not very noticeable.
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LCD/Viewfinder
The LCD on the Sony HDR-SR12 has been upgraded to 3.2-inches diagonal and 921,000 pixels as compared to last year's 2.7-inch and 211,000 pixel LCD found on the Sony HDR-SR7. We much appreciate the increased real estate, as we've been pining over the 3.5 inch-display on the Sony HDR-UX1 for over a year now. The improvements in resolution are also much appreciated. On the floor testing indicated that this improved screen helped with manual focus, something that most consumer HD camcorders have been in dire need of. This appears to be the same LCD screen found on Sony’s Alpha A700 DSLR camera.
The viewfinder on the Sony HDR-SR12 pivots up but does not telescope, which shouldn't be an issue since the battery is pretty slim so you won't find yourself bumping into it. Frankly, we’re just happy that Sony is including a viewfinder at all, as they seem to be part of a dying breed. Viewfinders are absent on all standard definition HDD camcorders.