Sony Handycam HDRCX12 User Manual

							Additional Information
101
This is not a malfunction. While using your camcorder, the back of 
the LCD screen may heat up. This is not a 
malfunction.
To clean the LCD screen
If fingerprints or dust make the LCD screen 
dirty, it is recommended you use a soft 
cloth to clean it. When you use the LCD 
Cleaning Kit (optional), do not apply the 
cleaning liquid directly to the LCD screen. 
Use cleaning paper moistened with the 
liquid.
On adjustment of the touch panel 
(CALIBRATION)
The buttons on the touch panel may not 
work correctly. If this happens, follow the 
procedure below. It is recommended that 
you connect your camcorder to the wall 
outlet (wall socket) using the supplied AC 
Adaptor during the operation.
  Turn on your camcorder.
  Touch  (HOME)   (SETTINGS)  
[GENERAL SET]  [CALIBRATION].
  Touch “” displayed on the screen with the 
corner of the “Memory Stick PRO Duo” or 
the like 3 times.
Touch [CANCEL] to cancel.
If you did not press the right spot, try the 
calibration again.
Notes  Do not use a sharp-pointed object for 
calibration. Doing so may damage the LCD 
screen.
  You cannot calibrate the LCD screen if it is 
rotated, or closed with the screen facing out.
On handling the casing
  If the casing is soiled, clean the camcorder body 
with a soft cloth lightly moistened with water, 
and then wipe the casing with a dry soft cloth.



  Avoid the following to avoid damage to the 
finish:
  Using chemicals such as thinner, benzine, 
alcohol, chemical cloths, repellent, insecticide 
and sunscreen
  Handling the camcorder with above 
substances on your hands
  Leaving the casing in contact with rubber or 
vinyl objects for a long period of time
About care and storage of the lens
  Wipe the surface of the lens clean with a soft 
cloth in the following instances:
  When there are fingerprints on the lens 
surface
  In hot or humid locations When the lens is exposed to salty air such as 
at the seaside
  Store in a well-ventilated location subject to 
little dirt or dust.
  To prevent mold, periodically clean the lens as 
described above. It is recommended that you 
operate your camcorder about once a month to 
keep it in optimum state for a long time.
On charging the pre-installed rechargeable 
battery
Your camcorder has a pre-installed 
rechargeable battery to retain the date, 
time, and other settings even when the 
POWER switch is set to OFF (CHG). The 
pre-installed rechargeable battery is always 
charged while your camcorder is connected 
to the wall outlet (wall socket) via the 
AC Adaptor or while the battery pack is 
attached. The rechargeable battery will be 
fully discharged in about 3 months if you 
do not use your camcorder at all. Use your 
camcorder after charging the pre-installed 
rechargeable battery.
However, even if the pre-installed 
rechargeable battery is not charged, the 
camcorder operation will not be affected as 
long as you are not recording the date.
Procedures
Connect your camcorder to a wall outlet (wall 
socket) using the supplied AC Adaptor, and 
leave it with the POWER switch set to OFF 
(CHG) for more than 24 hours.
 
						

							102
On trademarks
 “Handycam” and  are 
registered trademarks of Sony Corporation.
  “AVCHD” and “AVCHD” logotype are 
trademarks of Matsushita Electric Industrial 
Co., Ltd. and Sony Corporation.
  “Memory Stick,” “,” “Memory Stick Duo,” 
“,” “Memory Stick PRO 
Duo,” “,” “Memory 
Stick PRO-HG Duo,” “,”  
 “MagicGate,”  
“
,” “MagicGate Memory 
Stick” and “MagicGate Memory Stick Duo” are 
trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony 
Corporation.
  “InfoLITHIUM” is a trademark of Sony 
Corporation.
  “x.v.Color” is a trademark of Sony Corporation. “BIONZ” is a trademark of Sony Corporation. “BRAVIA” is a trademark of Sony Corporation. “VAIO” is a trademark of Sony Corporation. “Dolby” and the double-D symbol are 
trademarks of Dolby Laboratories.
  HDMI, the HDMI logo and High-Definition 
Multimedia Interface are trademarks or 
registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC.
 Microsoft, Windows, Windows Media, 
Windows Vista, and DirectX are either 
registered trademarks or trademarks of 
Microsoft Corporation in the United States 
and/or other countries.
 Macintosh and Mac OS are registered 
trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and other 
countries. 
 Intel, Intel Core, and Pentium are trademarks 
or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation 
or its subsidiaries in the United States and other 
countries.
 Adobe, the Adobe logo, and Adobe Acrobat 
are either registered trademarks or trademarks 
of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United 
States and/or other countries.
All other product names mentioned herein may 
be the trademarks or registered trademarks of 
their respective companies. Furthermore, 
 
and “” are not mentioned in each case in this 
Handbook.
Notes on the License
ANY USE OF THIS PRODUCT OTHER 
THAN CONSUMER PERSONAL USE IN ANY 
MANNER THAT COMPLIES WITH THE 
MPEG-2 STANDARD FOR ENCODING VIDEO 
INFORMATION FOR PACKAGED MEDIA 
IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT A 
LICENSE UNDER APPLICABLE PATENTS IN 
THE MPEG-2 PATENT PORTFOLIO, WHICH 
LICENSE IS AVAILABLE FROM MPEG LA, 
L.L.C., 250 STEELE STREET, SUITE 300, 
DENVER, COLORADO 80206.
THIS PRODUCT IS LICENSED UNDER THE 
AVC PATENT PORTFOLIO LICENSE FOR 
THE PERSONAL AND NON-COMMERCIAL 
USE OF A CONSUMER TO
(i) ENCODE VIDEO IN COMPLIANCE WITH 
THE AVC STANDARD (“AVC VIDEO”) AND 
/ OR
(ii) DECODE AVC VIDEO THAT WAS 
ENCODED BY A CONSUMER ENGAGED 
IN A PERSONAL AND NON-COMMERCIAL 
ACTIVITY AND/OR WAS OBTAINED 
FROM A VIDEO PROVIDER LICENSED 
TO PROVIDE AVC VIDEO. NO LICENSE IS 
GRANTED OR SHALL BE IMPLIED FOR ANY 
OTHER USE. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 
MAY BE OBTAINED FROM MPEG LA, L.L.C. 
SEE 
“C Library,” “Expat,” “zlib,” and “libjpeg” 
software are provided in your camcorder. We 
provide this software based on license agreements 
with their owners of copyright. Based on requests 
by the owners of copyright of these software 
applications, we have an obligation to inform 
you of the following. Please read the following 
sections.
Read “license1.pdf” in the “License” folder on 
the CD-ROM. You will find licenses (in English) 
of “C Library,” “Expat,” “zlib,” and “libjpeg” 
software.
On GNU GPL/LGPL applied software
The software that is eligible for the following 
GNU General Public License (hereinafter referred 
to as “GPL”) or GNU Lesser General Public 
License (hereinafter referred to as “LGPL”) are 
included in the camcorder.
This informs you that you have a right to have 
access to, modify, and redistribute source code 
for these software programs under the conditions 
of the supplied GPL/LGPL. 
						

							Additional Information
10
Source code is provided on the web. Use 
the following URL to download it. When 
downloading the source code, select HDR-CX12 
as the model for your camcorder.
http://www.sony.net/Products/Linux/
We would prefer you do not contact us about the 
contents of source code.
Read “license2.pdf” in the “License” folder on the 
CD-ROM. You will find licenses (in English) of 
“GPL,” and “LGPL” software.
To view the PDF, Adobe Reader is needed. If 
it is not installed on your computer, you can 
download it from the Adobe Systems web page:
http://www.adobe.com/ 
						

							104
Quick Reference
Identifying parts and controls
The numbers in ( ) are reference pages.
 Power zoom lever (27, 34)
  PHOTO button (22, 26)
  POWER switch (18)
  START/STOP button (22, 25)
  Battery pack (15)
 
 (Movie)/ (Still) mode lamp (18)
 
/CHG (charge) lamp (15)
  Grip belt (20) 
						

							Quick Reference
105
 Hooks for a shoulder belt
Attach a shoulder belt (optional).
  Remote sensor/Infrared port
Point the Remote Commander (108) 
towards the remote sensor to operate 
your camcorder.
  Active Interface Shoe 
 
The Active Interface Shoe supplies 
power to optional accessories such as 
a video light, a flash, or a microphone. 
The accessory can be turned on or off 
as you operate the POWER switch on 
your camcorder. Refer to the operating 
instructions supplied with your 
accessory for details.
The Active Interface Shoe has a safety 
device for fixing the installed accessory 
securely. To connect an accessory, 
press down and push it to the end, and 
then tighten the screw. To remove an 
accessory, loosen the screw, and then 
press down and pull the accessory out.
When you open or close the shoe cover, 
slide it as indicated by the arrow.
  When you are recording movies with an 
external flash (optional) connected to the 
accessory shoe, turn off the power of the 
external flash to prevent charging noise 
being recorded.
  You cannot use an external flash (optional) 
and the built-in flash at the same time.
  When an external microphone (optional) 
is connected, it takes precedence over the 
built-in microphone.
  Built-in microphone (27)
An Active Interface Shoe compatible 
microphone (optional) will take 
precedence when connected.
  Camera recording lamp (75)
Lights up in red during recording.
Flashes when remaining “Memory Stick 
PRO Duo” space or battery power is 
low. 
						

							106
 DISP/BATT INFO button (16, 20)
  NIGHTSHOT switch (28)
   (back light) button (29)
 
 (HOME) button (12, 59)
  Zoom buttons (27, 34)
  START/STOP button (22, 25)
  LCD screen/touch panel (20)
  Memory Stick Duo slot (21)
  EASY button (22)
  RESET button
Initializes all the settings, including the 
setting of the date and time.
 
 (VIEW IMAGES) button (23, 31)
  QUICK ON button/QUICK ON lamp 
(28)
  HDMI OUT (mini) jack (38)
  A/V Remote Connector (36, 51)
Connect to A/V devices and optional 
accessories.  
DC IN jack (15)
  Speaker
For how to adjust the volume, see page 
24, 32.
  Access lamp (21) 
						

							Quick Reference
10
 Lens (Carl Zeiss Lens) (4)
  Flash
  MANUAL button (30)
  CAMERA CONTROL dial (30)
  Tripod receptacle
Attach the tripod (optional: the length 
of the screw must be less than 5.5 mm 
(7/32 in.)) to the tripod receptacle using 
a tripod screw.
  BATT (battery) release lever (16)
  Interface connector
Connects your camcorder to the 
Handycam Station.
Handycam Station:
  (DISC BURN) button (43)
  Interface connector
Connects your camcorder to the 
Handycam Station.
   (USB) jack (52, 54)
  A/V OUT jack (36, 51)
  DC IN jack (15) 
						

							108
Remote Commander 
 DATA CODE button (70)
Displays the date and time or camera 
setting data of the recorded images 
when you press this during playback.
  PHOTO button (22, 26)
  SCAN/SLOW buttons (23, 32)
    (Previous/Next) buttons (24, 
32)
  PLAY button (23, 32)
  STOP button (23, 32)
  DISPLAY button
The information is displayed or hidden 
(display  no display) each time you 
press DISPLAY.
  Transmitter
  START/STOP button (22, 25)
  Power zoom buttons (27, 34)
  PAUSE button (23, 32)
  VISUAL INDEX button (23, 31)
Displays the [VISUAL INDEX] screen 
during playback.  
 /  /  /  / ENTER buttons
When you press any button on the 
[VISUAL INDEX] screen or Playlist, 
the orange frame appears on the LCD 
screen. Select a desired button or an 
item with  /  /  / , then press 
ENTER to enter.
Notes Remove the insulation sheet before using the 
Remote Commander.
  Point the Remote Commander towards the 
remote sensor to operate your camcorder 
(p.  105).
  When no commands have been sent from the 
Remote Commander in a certain period, the 
orange frame disappears. When you press any 
of  /  /  / , or ENTER again, the frame 
appears at the position where it was displayed 
last.
  You cannot select some buttons on the LCD 
screen using  /  /  / .
To change the battery of the Remote 
Commander
  While pressing on the tab, inset your 
fingernail into the slit to pull out the battery 
case.
  Place a new battery with the + side facing up.
  Insert the battery case back into the Remote 
Commander until it clicks.

Tab
Insulation sheet 
						

							Quick Reference
109
WARNING
Battery may explode if mistreated. Do 
not recharge, disassemble or dispose of 
in fire.
 When the lithium battery becomes weak, the 
operating distance of the Remote Commander 
may shorten, or the Remote Commander may 
not function properly. In this case, replace the 
battery with a Sony CR2025 lithium battery. 
Use of another battery may present a risk of fire 
or explosion. 
						

							110
Indicators displayed during recording/playback
Recording movies
Recording still images
Viewing movies
Viewing still images
 HOME button (12, 59)
  Remaining battery (approx.) (16)
  Recording status ([STBY] (standby) or 
[REC] (recording))
  Recording quality (HD/SD) and 
recording mode (FH/HQ/SP/LP) (62)
  Recording/playback media
  Counter (hour/minute/second)
  Approximate recording time remaining
  OPTION button (76)
  DETECTION SET (68)
  VIEW IMAGES button (23, 31)
  FACE DETECTION (68)
  5.1ch surround recording
  Image size (66)
  Approximate number of recordable still 
images and media/During still image 
recording
  Recording folder
  Return button
  Playback mode
  Currently playing movie number/
Number of total recorded movies
  Previous/Next button (23, 32)
  Video operation buttons (23, 32)
  Volume button
  Currently playing still image number/
Number of total recorded still images
  Playback folder
  Slide show button (35)
  Data file name
  VISUAL INDEX button (23, 32)