HDV Camcorders

5 Comments

1. D. West says:

   August 16, 2010 at 10:15 pm

   Review by D. West for Sony Webbie MHS-CM1 HD Camcorder (Silver)
   Rating:
   Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1IOJ6DK2FO1C5 My video “review” isn’t really a full review…it’s mainly to setup some actual [handheld] footage taken with the webbie. Of course, with the video compression you won’t see the actual HD footage, but it should still show up a bit crisper than the footage taken with the JVC GR-D770U in the very beginning of the video.

   The footage with the Webbie taken at my desk looks yellowish, but it’s because I have a yellow (normal 60 watt incandescent bulb) lamp at my desk. There is no manual white balancing on this camera, but if used with some 5100K fluorescent lights, you’ll have a MUCH better picture.

   You will NOT get professional features/results on a consumer camera in this price range. Period. Once you understand that, you’ll be able to see this camera for what it is.

   You WILL see pixelization in low light situations – this is true for ALL low-end consumer cameras. Unless you spend $1000 for an HD camera, you’re simply NOT going to be able to film in the dark…especially not without picture degradation.

   I rarely use the audio taken from the internal mic, so I can’t say much about it. But it does appear to be unidirectional, and will pick up EVERYTHING in the surrounding area…especially wind noise. In quiet situations, you’ll also hear the noise from the zoom and/or auto focus (you can really hear it in the section of the video with the cats).

   There’s no image stabilization, so either use it with a tripod, or don’t drink an entire pot of coffee before shooting with it.

   FOR THE MONEY, this is a good little camera – it’s what I expected the camera to be.
2. B. Kearns says:

   August 16, 2010 at 10:46 pm

   Review by B. Kearns for Sony Webbie MHS-CM1 HD Camcorder (Silver)
   Rating:
   The previous reviews don’t seem hands-on, but just a review of the published features. I bought one from Sony immediately, got it and used it for a couple of hours. Here are my experiences:

   Removed from box, looks good! Silver is a nice color.

   Unwrapped charger and plugged it in. Charge light comes on, great! Charge light goes off. Uh-oh! There was either something wrong with the jack in the camera, or the charging plug. I had to hold it in a certain position to keep it charging. Well, don’t condemn it yet, see how it works. I put the camera down, and laid the charge cable just so and it maintained contact and continued to charge for about 10 minutes, then it stopped again. I moved the cable around some more until the charge light came back on and carefully did not move it again. I came back an hour later and the light was off again, but hopefully I got a decent charge.

   Now time to check it out.
   
   I put in the Memory Stick Duo Mark 2, flip open the LCD screen, which is actually quite nice. Hit power button and the camera boots up quickly, now we are getting somewhere!

   The date/time menu comes up. I fumble for a couple of seconds trying to figure out how to set it. Thats done, now lets take some video. I am inside, it is night time, in my fairly well lit kitchen. I took some sample vids on each of the shooting modes, and close up with the LED video light on. Then I plugged the component cables into my 42″ HDTV and play back the samples. It was extremely disappointing, with grainy blocky pixels on the screen. Even when standing far back from the screen. I know this was never meant to be a camcorder replacement, but still, it was that bad (video from a fairly well lit indoor scene).

   The next day, I went outside to test out the camera in a bright outside setting. Picture quality significantly better all around. This camera does not perform well indoors with normal lighting. Outside in bright lighting it is a champ.

   Write speed to the Mark 2 memory stick was very fast, no issues here.

   Zoom and Focusing: The camera zoom and focusing is very fast and the zoom is pretty spectacular for such a small and inexpensive camera.

   Playback: The footage from outside was very clear and looked great. Unfortunately, you hear the focusing mechanism and zoom mechanism throughout the video playback. A constant tick tick tick noise was picked up via the mic for the entire time I was panning the camera and/or zooming.

   Build Quality: The camera is what it is, an inexpensive web video camera. Don’t expect anything near to typical Sony build quality. It is cheap and it shows. Plus I had the issue with the power jack, and another issue with the charging cord I saw when I was packing it up to return it. The overmolded wire on the charger was split right at the stress relief, exposing copper wires to the world. This was due to the fact that the plastic was so thin, it just split open. This is how it was received. The buttons are also very cheap feeling.

   Button Layout: The buttons are not laid out well, and are difficult to operate – you really need two hands to do it.

   Software: The included software is fine for the intended users, quick, easy to figure out, and is right in the camera’s on-board memory to install on any PC you connect it to. It isn’t a feature rich video editing application. It is there to download, do minor edits and post to the web, which it seems to do just fine.

   File Format: Sony specific wrapper on an MP4 video format.

   LCD Screen: Very nice for the size and cost of the camera. It turns around so you can film yourself.

   Sound: The mic is excellent, clear and picks up stereo sound. Unfortunately it also picks up all the sounds of the focusing and zoom mechanisms.

   If you are looking for a cheap alternative for an HD video camera to capture those precious moments, this isn’t it, and to be fair, Sony never claimed that it was – they don’t even refer to it as a camcorder. If you need a camera to take random vids, and post them to the web, this is an excellent choice. I got unlucky with the power/charging issue. It may not even matter if you use the USB charging capabilities anyway, but it was still pretty disappointing for a Sony product.

   It comes with composite out cables to connect it to your HD tv, a very nice feature!

   Conclusion: This is a great alternative to the Creative vado and flip MinoHD, IF you want the zoom capability. It is much larger than those cameras though, not a pocket cam. I also have a Flip MinoHD, which has significantly better low light performance, but falls short against the very nice zoom capabilities of the Sony CM1 Webbie. In bright, well lit scenes, the video is quite amazing if you can live with the clicking noise on the playback. Since one of the uses of the camera would be for video blogging, it seems that the low light performance should be a lot better, but it was horrible, at least on the camera I received. Hopefully, Sony will work out these issues and the camera will do well. However, it seems to me that you can get a really nice flash SD camcorder for $50 more, and if you don’t really need HD video, they would be a better choice. In fact, there are a couple of SD Flash camcorders that are the same size or smaller than the Webbie!

   I tried taking stills, but could not find them quickly in the camera memory or the memory stick and I wasn’t keeping it so I didn’t try to figure it out.

   In the end, I returned the camera due to the defect in the charger, the horrible low light performance, and the awkward button layout.
3. Minh A. Do says:

   August 16, 2010 at 11:17 pm

   Review by Minh A. Do for Sony Webbie MHS-CM1 HD Camcorder (Silver)
   Rating:
   This camera is smaller than it looks, but the image quality for the size is astounding! In particular, making 1080 videos outdoors in the daytime will result in breathtaking footage. The colors are very true to life, like what your naked eye sees. I almost feel like I can make my own nature documentaries with this camera. The built-in light doesn’t really help much at all, so like most camcorders, indoors shooting will still require strong alternate lighting unless you don’t mind the constant noise in your video. There is also a little bit of artifacting in the outdoor videos, but only during fast motion. This might have been avoided if there was image stabilization, but I haven’t been able to figure out how to turn it on if there was. You can almost give up on shooting indoors at night, the video has more grains than breakfast cereal.

   The still camera capability is incredible, far better than the still image quality on my HandyCam. I don’t expect it to be a replacement for my Canon SD1100IS but if you are shooting a barbeque at a friend’s house, you won’t be needing to bring multiple cameras with you. The images are crisp and definitely print quality. I can see having this camera with you at an outdoor graduation commencement or a fantastic springtime wedding. However, this camera was definitely made to simplify uploading video to the web and in that respect it is excellent. Don’t expect to be getting a full-fledged professional quality HD camera, and you will be pleasantly surprised with some of the results.
4. Preston Fassel says:

   August 17, 2010 at 12:16 am

   Review by Preston Fassel for Sony Webbie MHS-CM1 HD Camcorder (Silver)
   Rating:
   Since I began to make my own electronics purchases, I’ve been a loyal Sony customer. Rather than opt for the then-hipper Nintendo 64, I went with the Playstation, a decision I stuck by through both the PS2 and PS3 era. My digital cameras? Sony. TV? Sony. It was a reliable brand name with which I felt comfortable; they’d never before steered me wrong and I saw no reason to take any expensive chances with other brand names that might let me down or perform below my expectations.

   So when I decided to purchase a digital camcorder it seemed only logical that I should look at what Sony was offering. Judging by its technical specifications, the Webbie HD seemed, like all of my other Sony purchases, to fit the bill with flying colors: An SD card camera, it allows users to utilize memory cards the way one used to use VHS tapes. Simply stick the card into the camera, and record; when you run out of time, simply download the media to a DVD, your computer, or some other storage device, wipe the SD card, and it’s ready to go again. Couple this with the camera’s manageable size, durability, amazing zoom feature, and HD capabilities, and it would seem that it’s the total package.

   For roughly $200, one couldn’t ask for more in a camcorder, especially one that produces so crisp a picture and is also capable of taking relatively sharp still photos (lacking a flash, the camera’s only apparent drawback is that it is not suited for low-light situations; a small flashlight bulb is built into the front of the camera as a means of compensation, but it’s rather weak and doesn’t provide much illumination beyond a foot or so). The resolution is some of the cleanest I’ve seen on a digital camcorder, easily rivaling “professional” quality HD camcorders. The menus are simple to use and easy to learn, and out of the box I was already recording and deleting without having read through the instruction manual. Theoretically, even the most technically inept individual could easily pick up and use the Webbie within an hour or so’s time. The only questionable feature, upon first inspection, is that the battery is internal, and the camera itself must be plugged in for recharging to take place. This also means that, should some damage befall the battery or should it begin to degrade, one would have to either send it into Sony for repair or scrap it altogether. However, for someone who takes reasonable care of their camera, or who can/intends to use it primarily plugged into the wall during recording, this is at worst what can be considered a minor drawback. Fully charged, the battery allows for roughly two hours of HD recording; certainly nothing to sneeze at.

   Unfortunately, all of this is meaningless. Sony made a decision to intentionally cripple its own products, and therein lies the major flaw of the Webbie– a flaw so glaring that it makes the camera useless for even home movies and the most amateur of filmmakers.

   If you haven’t already done so, go read over the camera’s technical specifications. Read them on Amazon, read them on Sony’s webpage. Find any and all consumer information you can. Missing from all of this information is the fact that the camera is programmed to record in 25 minute intervals and then shut itself off. If you’re confused by this, you’re in good company. Upon reading it in the instruction manual– buried in the middle amongst information on SD card recording capacity– I was confused, and thought that it must either be a typo or a misprint regarding the size of SD card being used. However, upon conducting testing with various size SD cards– 4GB, 8GB– it quickly became apparent that the manual was correct. Regardless of the size of SD card placed into the Webbie, once it has recorded for 25 minutes, the camera shuts off recording.

   A phone call to Sony’s customer service shed light on the situation: Per the company, this “feature” is a “security precaution” meant to protect the camera’s integrity by not “overloading” it. When I asked if the company planned any sort of firmware upgrade to the camera to allow it to record for longer intervals, I was informed that the company has no plans to update or otherwise upgrade the Webbie in any way, shape, or form, and was advised that if I wanted a camera that recorded for more than 25 minutes, I should look into some of Sony’s other models– all of which were well into the $400-$500 range.

   A quick consultation with some techno-geeks revealed the situation to be utterly hopeless: By virtue of the camera’s design, there is no way to even modify the camera oneself to allow for more recording time. Sony not only designed the camera to only record for 25 minutes, they went to every length necessary to ensure nothing could be done about it.

   The Webbie is now back where it came from, after a great deal of grief, most notably from Sony, who tried in vain to convince me first that I should have read all of the literature (until I informed them of the extent of my research and noted that information regarding the 25 minute feature ONLY appears in the product manual) and then attempted to talk me into dropping another $300 on another model. No such luck. After this experience, I can no longer fully trust Sony; if a company is willing to not only release an intentionally flawed product onto the market, but cover that fact up by leaving it out of technical specifications, they have no qualms about deceiving their customers in other matters as well.

   If you’re considering this product, I strongly advise you to check into JVC’s Everio GZ-MS120 line of digital camcorders. Also utilizing the SD feature, the quality isn’t quite HD, but fairly comparable, especially for a non-HD camera. It’s essentially the same camera as the Webbie, minus everything wrong with the Webbie. The menus are a bit more complex, and the price runs a little bit higher, but for these losses there are remarkable advantages (external, upgradeable batteries permitting up to eight hours recording time; an LED light capable of actually lighting up a room, as compared to the Webbie’s weak bulb). At the very least, stay away from the Webbie, and save yourself the trouble I had to go through.
5. ice grizzly says:

   August 17, 2010 at 12:56 am

   Review by ice grizzly for Sony Webbie MHS-CM1 HD Camcorder (Silver)
   Rating:
   A terrific package, stuffed with lot of functionality. Small camcorder that you can keep in your handbag or glove box all time. You are not stuck with the crappy cellphone videos any more. It works like a charm. If you have used a point shoot camera before, the optical quality is very similar. CMOS sensor is small and the lens f/stops are not wide enough. I stress again on optical quality. In built battery gives long life, with memory stick you transfer video from camera to PC easily. This a wonderful package. Quality of video is in between flip and full fledged HDV camcorders. It is not full true HD. For this price worth every penny. Pictures come crisp and clear. I also love the quite noise free operation of flash camcorders. Especially when you are recording a sleeping child or other really calm situations. Even if you have one of the big camcorders, I strongly suggest getting this as a second one.

   Very worthy contender in this new flash camcorder space. It has both optical and digital zoom. There is no image stabilizer, so you need steady hands at full optical zoom. And it is not a simple extended digital camera. It sports full stereo audio recording. Video is stored as H.264 format, same as blu-ray. It provides the best compression known to man that can be played any where. H.264 videos can be downsampled for internet viewing without a lot of effort. Trans coding takes time, just down sampling can be done faster. Flash media is much easier to work with than tapes. Most of the new Macs doesnt have firewire port, even in older computers it takes for ever to transfer from tape. With memory stick duo, you can drag and drop the necessary movies edit them instantaneously. All the blu-ray players support AVCHD DVDs. You can easily fit 45 min of high definition video in a dual layer DVD.

   For night time video capture it includes a LED light. With LED you get best of both worlds, bright light with longer battery life. If you have used other point and shoot cameras you will be home right away with auto modes like landscape, night shot etc.

   Manage your expectations, it is not meant to be a full fledged HD camcoder. It is a step above cameras that shoot videos and below HDV camcorders. Understand the laws of physics. Larger lens, larger CMOS sensors will provide better exposure, saturation, bokeh and crisp low light pictures. Sony has done the best that physics will allow to be done with this size optics. If you want a small pocket size camcorder look no where else. A nice touch as with other Sony products, it comes with every thing you need. Every kind of cables, lens covers etc. etc.

   Now one important warning. Memory Stick Duo is one of the most pirated card in black market. Pay up and buy from trusted vendors. Cheap cards sold in ebay and other 3rd party vendors are slow and less reliable. When you put the card in any device like PSP check for magic-gate info. If it says magic-gate: unknown, return it back.