Sony Adds New HD Camcorder

By Greg Scoblete -- TWICE, 6/19/2008

San Diego — Sony will ship its first camcorder with smile shutter technology to dealers in August.

The $900 HDR-CX12 is a high-definition (AVCHD) camcorder that records 1,920 by 1,080 video to Memory Stick PRO Duo memory cards. It will incorporate Sony’s Smile Shutter technology — which pauses the moment of still image capture until a subject is smiling. When activated, the CX12 will capture still images of smiling subjects while simultaneously recording video without the user having to press the photo button or switch the unit to photo mode.

The $900 HDR-CX12

The CX12 can record 10-megapixel still images in photo mode or between 5- or 7-megapixel shots in dual record mode, depending on the aspect ratio.

The camcorder also incorporates Sony’s child and adult prioritization mode, which works with Smile Shutter to identify children or adults in the frame and pause the moment of image capture until one or the other is smiling. Additional features include the company’s ClearVid CMOS sensor, Bionz processing engine, a 2.7-inch LCD, Dolby Digital 5.1 channel surround sound recording and a 12x Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens with optical stabilization.

The CX12 will include a 4GB Memory Stick and a Handycam Station cradle.