Try as it might, Sony's never made much of a dent in the pocket camcorder market dominated by the
Flip and its ilk. The company's primary problem has been price, but that doesn't mean we mind the modicum of functionality that the company has stuffed into its new "Bloggie" line of cameras. The MHS-CM5 and MHS-PM5 both shoot 1080p MPEG-4 video and shoot 5 megapixel stills, with the CM5 going for a Xacti-style pistol grip look and 2.5-inch flip out LCD, while the PM5 is a candybar design with a 270 degree swivel lens and a 2.4-inch LCD in back. They both feature a bit of digital zoom, Face Detection exposure correction, and SteadyShot shake reduction (which doesn't work in HD modes). The PM5K model also includes a bundled "360 degree" lens, which can capture wraparound panorama video viewable on Sony's Picture Motion Browser software. The cameras have USB arms for charging and transfers, but no built-in storage or included SD storage. The CM5 goes for $200, while the PM5K and PM5 go for $190 and $170, respectively, and all three are available today.
posted January 6th 2010 8:13PM
Whatever happened to normal silver colors?
@Dustin They have them still!
Does either model have a flash? Or are they still disappointingly flash-less like last year? I'd buy one or two of these if they had a flash!
@amitdoc2b They have flash and SD memory slots. :D
Fail, no matter how much I love Sony products these just don't cut it. The latest Creative Vado HD and the Kodak Zi8 are the best hands down. Both have their pro's and con's, it just depends on what you need it for.
@Kyle Krcmaric
seen the samsung one it killed them all
10mp and a actual 1080p not 1440x1080 like most others actually all but a few (like 2 ) but kodak isnt that great that other 2 are ok but u know isnt this one basically the same as the webbies???
@wrsu1996gmailcom lol but the bloggie has something like 1900 x 1080
@wrsu1996gmailcom
Not in low-light conditions the Samsung doesn't, keep in mind though I'm talking about the Zi8, not the Zi6.
i will stay with my webbie is the same sh....lol
I like the optical zoom, but it's only in one model, and I like the 360° lens, but it's only in the other model, and yeah why no flash, and that USB foldout port is insanely impractical, they would need to develop a special computer to use that with, and even then, it will break off, I guess the idea is to get the RMA people occupied.
So the question remaining is: how is the low-light performance, at $300 I expect it to be better than the competition, but is it? (and yes the sony sites says $299 and not the prices listed here)
Sony site says $299 but when you add to cart it drops to $169 for the vertical one, and $199 for the chubbier one.
@amitdoc2b
Ah, weird trick that. excites people that already committed to $300 and repels most people.
still cheaper than flip!
i want to see side to side video of these two and the zi8..
I think anybody interested would choose to wait for some reviews and sample footage.
sounded awesome. went to the sony site, looked at the features and was reminded that it uses sony's MEMORY STICK instead of the normal SD cards.
seriously sony, your proprietary crap is the most annoying thing about your products. blu-ray is one thing, because you now dominate the market and everyone else uses it. but every other company uses SD cards. you're the ONLY losers who use your own proprietary crap so you can weasel out a few more dollars from your customers.
lame business practices and the PRIMARY reason I don't ever buy anything sony despite nice aesthetics.
@ravissimo
Lol seriously? I though they finally got off that memorystick mania.
@ravissimo Hey there, Ranty mc RantPants. I picked up a CM5 today (the model pictured in the article) and you'll be happy to know that in addition to EVIL Memory Stick (which I honestly don't have a problem with...my TV has a slot for them, my PSP does, this camcorder does, my DSLR which uses CF can even utilize MS using an adapter that it came with), the Bloggie can and does also utilize your almighty SD card.
Not sure about the swivel lens models, but the reason I went with the CM5 was for the optical zoom, which means way more to me than what format the data gets saved on during that intermediate period between the time I shoot it and the time it gets moved to my computer's array.
@Tayaya really? it uses SD cards? i double-checked the sony site and the specifications only says it supports sony's memory stick. is it officially supported or did you just cram one in there to see if it works? it's kind of unfortunate that you had to buy a CM5 to find out if it works with SD in the first place...
card readers tend to read everything, but devices tend to only accept one type of memory card. so it makes sense that your tv does (but what brand is your tv? sony?), of course your PSP does because it's also sony. the only other thing is your DSLR, which works via an adapter. what other devices that are NON-sony do you use that takes a memory stick? can you list any?
i decided to go with either the sanyo xacti vpc-cs1 or sanyo xacti vpc-sh1 (not sure yet) also shown at CES. CS1 has a 10X optical compared to the 5X optical sony CM5, and the SH1 has a 30X optical. the CS1 is more comparable in size... and it uses the almighty SDXC cards by default. it even says so in the specs. i don't have to buy it to make sure...
sincerely,
ranty mcrantpants
@ravissimo Yes, my TV, PSP, PS3, and even my DSLR (A900) are all Sony products. Not sure why I stick with the brand as much as I have... I just like their products. I have other products from other companies as well (Yamaha receiver, Polk speakers, Samsung LED and Philips LCD sets in other rooms of the house, every other manufacturer's game consoles, Mac Pro and Macbook Pro though I do have a Vaio X series too), but I do tend to like the aesthetics of Sony's products and it's hard to beat their XBR televisions in terms of sheer image quality.
In the case of the Bloggie the only other real competition it had for my dollars was the Flip Ultra HD. The price point of the Sanyo Xacti models is 1.5x and 2x the cost of the Bloggie. For the VPC-CH1 and SH1 respectively. Considering how little video I shoot, $200 was my comfort zone and the Bloggie just kinda fit right in there. I spent a ton on my DSLR and even more on lenses, because still photography is my hobby. For video I just wanted something small enough to slip into the extra space in my backpack or camera bag, that shoots HD, and didn't break the bank.
No, I didn't "try cramming an SD card in there" to see if it worked. Not sure what you were trying to imply there. The slot is very clearly designed to accommodate Memory Stick Pro Duo media as well as SD cards, and on the side of the camera it has both the Memory Stick logo and "SD" written. I know... I raised an eyebrow at it too. I already had an 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo at home, so I didn't need to "buy it to make sure" it supported the media I intended to use with it. From the spec sheet, though:
Recording Media : Memory Stick PRO Duo™ Media and SD/SDHC (Class 4) media (Sold Separately)
I did check around and it looks like the CM5, shown in the pic above, supports SD, but the other members of the Bloggie family, with the swivel lenses, do not. I think that'll clear it up for both of us.
I do wish that Sony would drop Memory Stick in favor of SD, simply because my MacBook Pro has an SD reader built into it, which would negate the need to rely on the mass storage device built into the camera when I don't have a memory stick reader with me. Also, SD is cheaper than Memory Stick more often than not, which is nice if you're concerned about $5-10 savings for the one time a year you buy new media.
About the camera itself... so far I'm not really all that impressed with the quality of the video I'm getting out of it. It's a bit grainy and the 1080p/30fps video seems very choppy, though everything I've shot so far has been in relatively low light... something that Sony's sensors never seem to deal with very well. Shooting in 720p/60fps things look a lot nicer, and though the article says there's no SteadyShot in HD modes, if you're willing to shoot at 720p/30fps you can indeed reap the benefits of SteadyShot and shoot HD footage. 720p/60 seems to be my favorite setting so far, and even that looks leaps and bounds above my aging MiniDV-based, standard-def camcorder. I'll comment more on overall video quality when I've had a chance to shoot outdoors with it, or in a room that is being lit by more than just a pair of lamps with 60W bulbs in 'em. The embedded software is passable, and it was nice of them to include a Mac version of it as well. That's not typical for Sony. Personally I pull the videos off the stick myself, but for easy YouTube uploads the software appears like it'll do the job well. I may try that later today if work is slow.
I received my PM5 swivel model last night and am just now playing around with it. It does also support SD cards (actually tried an SDHC) along with memory stick using the same slot. The usb connector slides out along the bottom and there is a supplied 6.75" usb extension cable in the box. It firs nicely in the hand like one of those current soap bar style pda phones. Though, the placement and shape of the shutter button seems to induce some movement, however slight, when actually taking a hand held shot.