Skip to main content

Sony HDR-CX12 Camcorder Detects Smiles

Sony has introduced is new HDR-CX12 high-definition camcorder that features both face detection technology and a Smile Shutter feature that enables videographers to snap still photos of smiling subjects even while they’re shooting video. And users can even prioritize the smiles of adults and children to help make sure they get that perfect shot, and capture smiles even when in standby mode: just aim the camcorder at the subject, and it’ll worry about seeing the smiles.

“Advanced technologies such as smile shutter make memory capture automatic so you can relax and enjoy the moment at hand,” said Sony Electronics’ director of camcorder marketing Kelly Davis, in a statement. “Leveraging these key technologies across multiple product lines is another example of Sony’s commitment to anticipate consumer needs.”

The CX12 can record video at 1,920 by 1,080 full HD resolution as well as snap 10 megapixel photographs. The camera stores video and images on Sony’s Memory Stick Pro Duo media, which helps keep the size of the camcorder down: it’s just 2.8 inches wide, 2.8 inches deep, and 5.3 inches long. The camcorder sports a 2.7-inch LCD viewfinder, a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T 12× optical zoom lens, optical image stabilization, and Sony’s BIONZ image processor. The CX12 also sports an integrated zoom microphone and supports Dolby 5.1 channels surround audio.

Expect to see the CX12 in early August for a suggested retail price around $900. Sony will begin taking pre-orders tomorrow via its Web site.

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
The Beats Pill is back, baby!
A pair of Beats Pill speakers.

In what's been one of the worst-kept secrets of the year -- mostly because subtly putting a product into the hands of some of the biggest stars on the planet is no way to keep a secret -- the Beats Pill has returned. Just a couple of years after Apple and Beats unceremoniously killed off the stylish Bluetooth speaker, a new one has arrived.

Available for preorder today in either black, red, or gold, the $150 speaker (and speakerphone, for that matter) rounds out a 2024 release cycle for beats that includes the Solo Buds and Solo 4 headphones, and comes nearly a year after the Beats Studio Pro.

Read more
Ifi’s latest DAC is the first to add lossless Bluetooth audio
Ifi Audio Zen Blue 3 DAC (front).

Ifi Audio's new Zen Blue 3 wireless digital-to-analog converter (DAC) will officially be available to buy for $299 on July 9. When it is, it will be the first device of its kind to support a wide variety of Bluetooth codecs, including Qualcomm's aptX Lossless, the only codec that claims to deliver bit-perfect CD quality audio over a Bluetooth connection.

Admittedly, there are very few devices on the market that can receive aptX Lossless (and fewer that can transmit it), so it's a good thing that the Zen Blue 3 also works with the more widely supported aptX Adaptive, LDAC, and LDHC/HWA codecs (all of which are hi-res audio-capable), plus the three most common codecs: AAC, SBC, and aptX.

Read more
The new Beats Pill might replace Sonos on my back porch
The 2024 Beats Pill and an aging Sonos Play:1.

If I were to build an outdoor stereo in 2024, I'd do it with a pair of portable Beats Pills instead of Sonos speakers. Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

In 2017, after more than a decade in our home, my wife and I added a pool. With it came a covered deck, making what basically was a new outdoor room. Not uncommon at all in Florida, but new to us.

Read more