Sony MHS-CM5 bloggie
Sure, it has a ridiculous name, but on paper the Bloggie’s got it all – 1080p video capture, the ability to switch resolutions and frame rate, plus a lens attachment that lets you record 360-degree videos. Bells and whistles galore.
Sony thought adding all these bells and whistles would make a difference. They were – as ever – running late to the pocket-camcorder race, but thought strapping on featured-laden running shoes would help it take on its rivals.
Unfortunately, Sony was racing against the Flip Ultra HD (our favourite pocket camcorder) – a much smaller kid sure, but he’d been around the block many times before and was very streamlined. While it couldn’t do jumps and flips like the Sony – nor did it have special running shoes – the Flip was unmistakably on top of his game thanks to a single red button in the middle of his chest which starts the action up quickly and easily.
The Details
And so, like the late-comer Sony in our story, the tardy Sony Bloggie joins last year’s Webbie model in the Japanese giant’s quest to take on the Flip. There are three Bloggie models available, with the MHS-PM5, MHS-PM5K and MHD-CM5 all shooting in 1080p. The CM5 has an optical zoom and flip-out LCD screen, and the only feature that separates the PM5 from the PM5K is the latter’s lens attachment which offers 360-degree filming. This is the model I tested, which costs $US180.
Flip’s pavement-pounder is the Ultra HD, which while only shooting in 720p at 30fps, demands so few choices to be made that it’s a big seller for the market-creating company. It’s the easiest device to use, with the only options being to turn on/off, start/stop recording and zoom in/out.
Sony’s Bloggie has a bewildering choice of features, which will end up being a problem if they want to appeal to anyone other than those who actually know what different resolutions are. It shoots in 1080p at 30fps, 720p at either 60fps or 30fps, and VGA. There are a few limitations with shooting in 1080p though – you can’t use the zoom, there’s no image stabilisation, and you can’t use the 360 degree lens attachment with it.
Sure, it has a ridiculous name, but on paper the Bloggie’s got it all – 1080p video capture, the ability to switch resolutions and frame rate, plus a lens attachment that lets you record 360-degree videos. Bells and whistles galore.
Sony thought adding all these bells and whistles would make a difference. They were – as ever – running late to the pocket-camcorder race, but thought strapping on featured-laden running shoes would help it take on its rivals.
Unfortunately, Sony was racing against the Flip Ultra HD (our favourite pocket camcorder) – a much smaller kid sure, but he’d been around the block many times before and was very streamlined. While it couldn’t do jumps and flips like the Sony – nor did it have special running shoes – the Flip was unmistakably on top of his game thanks to a single red button in the middle of his chest which starts the action up quickly and easily.
The Details
And so, like the late-comer Sony in our story, the tardy Sony Bloggie joins last year’s Webbie model in the Japanese giant’s quest to take on the Flip. There are three Bloggie models available, with the MHS-PM5, MHS-PM5K and MHD-CM5 all shooting in 1080p. The CM5 has an optical zoom and flip-out LCD screen, and the only feature that separates the PM5 from the PM5K is the latter’s lens attachment which offers 360-degree filming. This is the model I tested, which costs $US180.
Flip’s pavement-pounder is the Ultra HD, which while only shooting in 720p at 30fps, demands so few choices to be made that it’s a big seller for the market-creating company. It’s the easiest device to use, with the only options being to turn on/off, start/stop recording and zoom in/out.
Sony’s Bloggie has a bewildering choice of features, which will end up being a problem if they want to appeal to anyone other than those who actually know what different resolutions are. It shoots in 1080p at 30fps, 720p at either 60fps or 30fps, and VGA. There are a few limitations with shooting in 1080p though – you can’t use the zoom, there’s no image stabilisation, and you can’t use the 360 degree lens attachment with it.
