Sony Bloggie MHS-CM5 (purple)

Price range:

$192.18 - $199.99
So far, Sony hasn't done too well in the fast-growing cheap pocket camcorder space dominated by Flip Video, characterized by candy bar vertical camcorder designs and prices ranging from about $150-$250. After an initial flop with the poorly named NSC-GC1 Net-sharing cam a few years back, it redubbed its pocket camcorder line to the also poorly named "Webbie." That move fell flat, and now it's now moved on to the marginally less poorly named "Bloggie" and returned one of the models to the pistol-grip design of yesteryear, which remains popular with small, zooming camcorders from companies like Sanyo and Aiptek. Though redesigned from its predecessor, the Webbie HD MHS-CM1, the Bloggie HD MHS-CM5 offers a similar feature set: 1080p video capture, a 5x optical zoom lens, a large 2.5-inch swiveling LCD, and a rechargeable lithium ion battery that's removable. It adds a mini HDMI connector and the capability to charge via the attached USB connector.
Weighing 6.9 ounces and measuring 4 inches high by 2.8 inches wide by 1.6 inches deep, this Sony will fit in big, loose pockets like a cargo pant pocket, but it's more bag-friendly than pocket-friendly. Sony also makes the smaller MHS-PM5, which updates the PM1 we reviewed last year.
Both Bloggie camcorders record real 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution HD recorded as H.264-compressed MPEG-4, support SDHC and Memory Stick Duo cards, add a new 60fps 720p mode, and now can run the Picture Motion Browser Portable software on Macs.
Overall, we prefer the smaller designs of the Flip-style camcorders, but going bigger does have its advantages. First, there's a significant difference between the digital zoom found in the Flip models and the 5x optical zoom found here. Digital zoom is basically useless because the picture degrades as you zoom. And while the CM5's optical zoom isn't stellar and the autofocus can be a little slow when you zoom, the image is relatively sharp. You must keep your hand ultrasteady at the higher zoom levels, however, or your video will appear very shaky.
This model can do one thing much better than the Flip Video camcorders: it can focus on objects as close as about 2 inches. Even the Kodak Zi8 can only get as close as about 6 inches in its macro mode. You can really get tight, almost macro-like shots of objects, which can be important for those who want to show close-up details of products--or people.
Interestingly, in the 1080 or 60 frames-per-second 720 capture settings you can't engage Sony's Steady Shot electronic image stabilization. It only becomes an option when shooting at 720p 30 frames per second or the lower resolution 640 x 480 mode. The video looked better without the EIS, though, less jittery and with fewer artifacts. For a rock solid image it obviously helps to use a monopod or tripod, and if you're so inclined to use one, there is a threaded tripod mount on the bottom of the device.
Overall, we found the image quality to be decent, faring well compared to the "standard" set by the Flip Mino and Ultra HD. The color is extremely warm and oversaturated, but the video is sharp and the camcorder adjusts for exposure reasonably fast; the autofocus responds more slowly, though. Like most models, it chronically underexposes backlit subjects. There's some noise and softness when you're shooting in low light, and it looks like the CM5 occasionally drops the shutter speed until it adjusts, resulting in brief bouts of slow motion. But the video looks solid.
Navigating the CM5 is fairly straightforward, though novice shooters will have to read the brief start-up handout to get a full handle on the settings; Flip camcorders are easier to use, but they have almost no settings to fiddle with, which some people will prefer. To turn the camcorder on, you simply open the LCD. Pressing a menu button brings up options such as resolution, image stabilization, and face detection (which tells the camcorder to look for faces and focus on them). Switch to still-image capture (5 megapixels), and opt whether to turn on such features as face detection.