Sony HDR-SR12 10.2MP 120GB High Definition Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I'm amazed that a tiny little camcorder like this can pack in so many features. And the quality is fantastic! I've only begun to explore the capabilities of this thing, but I'm already in love with it! And the street price is pretty darn good and getting better all the time. Don't miss out on getting hi-def video of your kids while they're still young. I used a Sony Hi8 during my daughter's early years. It did a great job, but this---well, this is at a whole new level! And you can buy inexpensive wide angle and telephoto lenses for it. I bought a 2x lens so I can get 24x optical zoom from it now. Wow!!! Should be great for all sorts of settings--nature, family, sports, whatever! And you can take 10 megapixel stills to a memory card-- on the fly-- while you're recording video to the huge 120GB built-in hard drive! What's not to like?

I've had my SR12 for about a month now. It's a wonderful video camera with amazing HD picture quality.
I just shot a friend's daughter's wedding (for free - for fun) and he said it looked like it was done by a professional. Some of the darker dance floor scenes were a bit troublesome (slightly grainy/out of focus at times - most of it was great!) - everything was shot on full automatic mode with no light settings/adjustments - I'm still learning what this camera can/can't do).
It's still a great piece of technology. I shot many of my son's high-school outdoor soccer games - both daylight and at night under the lights - came out PERFECT! And WOW is it great just playing back on my HD TV. Amazing.
Now, for the software/editing issue: It's a non-issue. Get a computer. Not your 4-yr old P4. I've got a yr-old Quad Core - works great with Pinnacle Studio 12 Ultimate software. I burn DVDs AND Blu-Rays with this set-up and it looks fabulous!
Ask away if you have any questions. I learned from other people's comments and I'm more than happy to share.
Tony

A friend of ours has this camera so I already have seen how incredible it was, therefore I bought it. My friends are huge into technology with unlimited resources and they showed me this camera.

Add the extra battery to your order (the H70 is good enough unless you want the H100).

The video is great, camera easy to use, and Amazon had a fantastic price and quick delivery.

I will be ordering a huge television in the next few weeks from Amazon. They seem to be great to deal with.

This is a good camcorder but it definitely needs Firewire. Amazon lists it as having I-Link which is Firewire but it doesn't. A little slow to transfer data to your computer with USB.

everything was just perfect.
Amazon shipped very fast, i really love the camera, and recommend to everyone.