Customer Reviews
Poor Accessorizing! 
2008-06-14
I'd like to start by saying first that I am amazed at the picture and video quality of this camera. If you're looking for professional results from a camcorder, this is the product for you. However, I'm one who prefers accessorizing products with accessories from the original manufacturer, taking advantage of the design/manufacturer "own" product knowledge base. Sony unfortunately makes it difficult. This camera uses AIS (Active Interface Shoe) technology; allowing the AIS accessories to connect to the camera's shoe without any additional wires or batteries. I thought this was an excellent idea until I tried to use an external microphone for distant subjects while also using a video light and found that it's not possible. What a sham! I did research this issue and have found many individuals with these same frustrations and so I contacted Sony directly to hear for myself that there is no AIS multi-accessory shoe adapter available and was disappointed to find out this is true. I know I can simply purchase universal accessories that have there own power supply and some way of connecting them to the camcorder but that leads me back to FTC (&%$# The Consumer)product development. I'm sure Sony spent quite a large sum of money on R&D for AIS technology, a cost that is passed on to the consumer, for a marketable accessory package that many are finding useless. Additionally, beware that the Sony VCT-XXXX Tripods, which are recommend with the purchase of this camera, as well as many other cameras, are "Remote Control Tripods", not "Remote Controlled Tripods." A technicality I felt was misleading.
Great videos.... 
2008-06-02
This is a great piece of technology right in your hands.Initially I thought that the price tag was high.But once I saw the output,its worth it.The only pitfall for this cam is that if you are interested in editing videos then u need sony vegas software,which obviously comes with a cost.It records in AVCHD format and the clarity is just amazing.Easy handling and large storage ensures no hassles in searching for another storage device,
Maybe my expecations were too high? 
2008-05-30
I like this camera. I like the size and the feature set, but to my eye, the AVCHD video quality isn't quite there. It's good, but there is still some "star-stepping" visible around light and dark points, particularly in lower light. I'm comparing this to HDV video shot with my HDR-HC1 and I prefer the less compressed HDV video. That being said, I don't miss the video capture process I had to go through with HDV to get it onto the computer for editing, so I will keep this camera. FYI, for those of you looking for software that works with AVCHD, I've had great success with Sony Vegas Platinum. Whatever you do, don't buy Adobe Premier Elements - it doesn't support AVCHD and is very, very buggy.
Pro:
- Easy to load video to PC
- Good form factor; not as small as the Canon HF10, but small
- Nice big screen
- Viewfinder for those bright sunny days (HF10 does not have a viewfinder)
- Able to hold lots of video
Cons:
- Some compression artifacts visible in video
- Some skipping in video during rapid movements/ fast pans
- Slow focus lock in indoor lighting situations
No Regrets 2008-05-22
Camera works as advertised. A few tidbits though. The results of taking a photo from movie mode while in standby versus photo mode are different. No surprise here I guess as it makes some sense, but it would be nice if I could change an option on the camera such that taking a photo in standby video mode would be the same as switching to photo mode, taking the picture and switching back. Also, oddly iMovie can import directly from the camera and works great, but Final Cut Express 4 must convert the video on import making it bigger and not intuitive on whether you're losing resolution along the way (yes you can obviously see what's happening, but compared to the free iMovie, it isn't as easy). The other oddity for me is that in video mode the camera obviously can record in realtime, but in photo mode the shutter speed is very slow even though it has a flash and that results in frequently blurry images if your subject moves at all. I don't understand why it can't record the image it sees in one frame, especially with the flash compensating for lighting which would be why the shutter speed would be longer.
Anyway, no regrets buying this camera. Feels good, works well and amazing for the price.
No Good 
2008-05-20
It is a very good camera. BUT the editing software that came with it is lame. You cannot edit and save in HD on a hard drive unless you burn a dvd. You can edit and save in mpeg! So what is the purpose of HD camera. I tried many third party editing software, all had the same problems.
Best consumer level video camera on the market 2008-07-20
As the title states, I feel this is about the best you can expect from a consumer level camera on the market today.
I have been experimenting and putting it through it's paces for a month now, and am pretty familiar with it's capabilities and quality. I am currently on my family's second vacation trip of the year and and have taken some footage ranging from indoor/outdoor pet shots, the mountains and waterfalls of western Colorado, night-time 4th of July fireworks, indoor, well-lit cousin/family members and an indoor shot of mom covering a chocolate cake with meringue icing. Lots of good, typical, casual-user type footage.
With the recent purchase of a mini HDMI to standard HDMI cable, I was finally able to view all of this footage on a 45" Sony BRAVIA LCD TV in all of it's HD glory. Before, I had been getting by with the AV/Component cables and there is a night and day difference between those and the digital signal of HDMI.
A good part of my footage was shot in the lowest quality possible. I also shot a substantial bit in full HD. Honestly, the low quality looks darn near as good as the full quality, so for those who somehow shoot hours of footage on end without access to their computer to dump the material to, you can vastly extend your shooting time if necessary with minimal compromise. Besides, even at full quality HD, a 60 GB hard drive is like having a camera with SEVEN 60 minute tapes spooled end to end. At the lowest quality (HD) recording time is just under 23 hours. There's really no reason to upgrade to the SR12 unless you are some kind of shoot-a-holic, but shooting 120 GB of footage would be an editing nightmare anyway.
Viewing the full HD footage on the BRAVIA TV via HDMI, it looks about as sharp and clean as you could possibly ask for. You can pick out the individual strands of fur on animals cleanly.
I cannot comment on 5.1 surround sound, as I am not yet home from this trip, but as soon as we return (tomorrow) I will definitely test it out.
I recently handled the Canon HV30 in CC and was not very impressed with the build quality or the viewfinder - poor refresh rate and everything plastic. The Sony SR11 gives you a hefty chrome metal push-dial for adjusting focus/white balance shift and aperture. It's very effective for controlling focus when in low-light/indoor situations or the aperture. I find that the camera DOES lean toward cool colors by default, so I have the White Balance Shift set to maximum (+4) to bring a warmer, more natural tone to things. You may find that you need to do the same. Thankfully, when adjusting parameters manually, they are retained, meaning you can set White Balance Shift, Focus, AND Aperture all at the same time. It's about as good as it gets without jumping into the $3000 dollar camera range.
The x.v. color is a new, wider color gamut that is supposed to give more life-like coloration to subjects. If you shoot in this mode, you will only see the difference when played back on an x.v color compliant product (new Sony BRAVIA TV sets). Otherwise, from what I can tell, it seems to produce a somewhat less saturated image. I am still trying to decide which look I prefer. I feel the normal colors look pretty accurate under most conditions. Occasionally, greens seem a little too bright (trees, grass), but overall, color reproduction is very good.
One thing I love about Sony video cameras is their smooth operation. The zoom is smooth but agile if you need to punch it in our out fast. The viewfinders are also very smooth, unlike many other video cameras. (I say 'video camera' because 'camcorder' just sounds too consumerish and cheap for my taste).
The build quality feels very solid, has substantial weight, and feels very secure in the hand, thanks to being able to get a grip on the top of the camera. I think people who lament over the weight of the camera and wish for something lighter are foolish. The WEIGHT adds INERTIA which means more RESISTANCE to SHAKING of the hand. This is a vital fact that most consumers seem ignorant of, and trust me, watching footage on a big screen, you better pray that your footage is as close to tripod-steady as possible.
This camera comes with a fun and cute DVD that goes through some of the basic filming techniques. Several of these concepts are taught in a typical introductory Film & Video class, so it is actually quite a useful video, and it is amusing (to me at least).
I think I could not have bought a better camera for what I desired in a camera, the price point, and what is currently available. I would have PREFERRED to save up and purchase a Canon XHA1 for the pristine optics, better manual controls, and extremely good light gathering (very low low noise even in challenging lighting situations), but I do not want to mess with tapes and the 1:1 tape transfer process again. Hard disk recording with a 3k HDV video camera is possible but expensive. This camera and it's accessories/cables fits perfectly in the very nice leather bag I already own, and is very well protected therein, so for me it was nice to not need to buy a new carrying case.
If you need to see some online footage of this camera in action, check out Vimeo and search 'sr11':
http://vimeo.com/1316737
Further comments/notes pending...
The dream machine! 2008-07-17
This true Full-HD camcorder is close to perfection. Light but not too light, with excellent image quality (especially when viewed on a 1080p HDTV), impressive sound reproduction, large hard drive space allowing quick retrieval of well-organized clips. Great optical zoom, great image stabilization, great built-in flexibility of image recordings, excellent connectivity options. And it has a very convenient old-fashioned viewfinder too, (lacking from most competitors) in addition to the large LCD screen!
Manual could be a bit more detailed.
If you also need excellent still picture quality however, in spite of the 10 Megapixels, the final quality of the still images is somewhat lacking (but who cares? With about $ 1,000 you got a huge, unbeatable value for the camcorder anyway!)
Hard drive failure; Sony will not recover videos 2008-07-14
Two months ago, I sprang for this much pricier camcorder than I normally would have because we were celebrating my husband's 50th birthday with our first vacation to Europe in 25 years. With the larger hard drive on this camera, it meant I didn't have to drag my laptop along for transferring the video.
In the middle of the trip, I tried to replay the video I had just taken, and I got a screen that read, "HDD format error." Nothing had happened to the camera -- I didn't drop it, there were no extremes of temperature, nothing knocked it. Mistakenly thinking that Sony was a stand-up company and would take care of this, I put the camera away for the rest of the trip and called Sony when I got home.
The news was not good. Sony reports that its warranty covers repairing the camera "to factory standards" but will not even attempt to recover the video.
Instead, Sony's customer relations recommended I try a third party hard drive recovery service. If all of the video is recovered, I will pay out of pocket about $1200-1400, on top of the $1200 I spent on the camera. Sony does not reimburse anything.
The customer relations representative was incapable of comprehending the bitter irony that Sony was willing to restore my camera to the very same "factory settings" that put my vacation memories at risk.
Unless you plan to back up each and every video clip as you take them, do not buy this camera. Do not assume that your experience will be any different.
Incredible!!! 2008-06-24
I fell in love with this camcorder after spending countless hours on the web, doing research and reading every single review I could find...
I've had it for about a month now and I'm still discovering new features and experimenting recording in different lighting conditions. I'm really impressed with the playback quality on my 22" LCD screen (1680x1050 max resolution) but it really screams on my 42" LCD @ full 1920x1080i, never fails to put a grin on my face! :D I'm new to HD video and being able to record every moment in HD is truly priceless! I originally wanted the SR-12 but decided I could live with the 60GB hard drive on the SR-11 and got a really good deal elsewhere so it was a no brainer. The battery that comes with the camera lasts up to 1.5 hours @ everything turned high which is OK! As a matter of fact, I just purchased the NPFH100 H Series Actiforce Hybrid InfoLithium Battery from Amazon, which supposedly gives you something like 5-7 hours of continuous recording time which is ridiculously awesome!!
The 5.1 surround sound is also excellent, the nightshot feature is VERY cool, letting you record in complete darkness and cooler still, the SUPER night shot option makes objects in total darkness even brighter and lets you see farther! When this option is turned on, it drains a little more battery but it's negligible and I like to use the b/w picture effect when nigh shot's turned on...
This camcorder also takes 10MP pictures and 7MP stills on the fly, even while you're recording! I'm so very happy with this camcorder that I take it with me everywhere. Only 2 things I can find (and I have to look real hard) that I kinda don't like is the fact that you have to touch the LCD to access menu and options and it leaves fingerprints but I can live with that. The other thing is, the unit accepts a mini HDMI connector so I had to get a HDMI to mini HDMI adapter to be able to use it to hook it up to my 42" LCD and it's kinda lose, I don't know if it's the adapter or the camcorder itself, not to mention when the cable's plugged in with the adapter, it kind of sticks out, but again, a small gripe, nothing major.
I experimented recording leaves and insects in nature real close up, only an inch from the lens and it was able to focus no problem and let you see incredible detail, like a macro shot! 12x optical zoom and image stabilization are awesome as well, I can still see details pretty clear when it switches over to digital zoom and I can keep zooming in up to 150x!
There is no way I can put everything I love about this thing on here and there are still options I haven't touched or used on this camcorder... I highly recommend this unit to anyone who's serious about recording every passing moment as your own eyes see it and then some, guaranteed!
Five star video recording quality * * * * * 2008-06-15
Recording playback on a 26" Polaroid HDTV (1080i) via composite cables (I have yet to buy a mini-HDMI cable) - awesome video quality; looks like you're watching a blu-ray movie. However, recording quality is seriously affected if shot under low lighting conditions. It's worth every penny and don't regret it even so. I gave it a four star rating due to its user interface which requires constantly smudging the LCD with fingerprints and how knows, in time maybe it will break from all your fingerprint's pressure.
The still picture is ok but nothing to get excited about. My wife's 10.2MP DSLR camera makes it look like a child's toy. (Or better yet, the analogy between a phone camera and a compact digital photo camera or maybe it's just me but who cares about pictures anyway, right?)
Another minus is the lack of a dedicated battery charger and a printed user's manual. The one that comes with the camera touches only the basics (the full-featured can be found on Sony's website though).
Another big plus is the memory stick support. If one has a 16GB+ it will be enought to store 1hr+ of HD (best quality) in rough conditions without compromising the HDD's integrity.
