Make a memory last forever with a Digital8 camcorder from Sony. The 2.5" Swivelscreen LCD is easy to use and captures events in true-to-life detail. Steadyshot Picture Stabilization will hold true to its name by reducing the effects of a shaky hand or movements. With Super NightShot you can record in complete darkness. and the 20x optical/560 digital zoom gets you up close and personal. The built-in light will brighten up all your shots!

• Digital8 camcorder


• 20x optical 560x digital zoom with image stabilization


• 2.5 inch color LCD and black and white EVF


• Features a digital photo mode


• Comes with NightShot mode and digital faders and effects

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Capture HD MP4 video and 5MP images and upload them directly to the Web with the Sony® bloggie™ camera. The pocketable bloggie camera also features a unique swivel lens that rotates up to 270 degrees making it easy to self-record a video clip.

• 1920x1080 HD recording w/5MP still images


• 2.4" LCD3 (230k pixels) with full-screen playback


• Built-in USB arm for upload/charge


• Built-in PMB Portable software for easy upload to web


• Convenient 270 degree Rotating Lens System

More detail ...

Capture HD MP4 video and 5MP images and upload them directly to the Web with the Sony® bloggie™ camera. The pocketable bloggie camera also features a unique swivel lens that rotates up to 270 degrees making it easy to self-record a video clip.

• 1920x1080 HD recording w/5MP still images


• 2.4" LCD3 (230k pixels) with full-screen playback


• Built-in USB arm for upload/charge


• Built-in PMB Portable software for easy upload to web


• Convenient 270 degree Rotating Lens System

More detail ...

Capture HD MP4 video and 5MP images and upload them directly to the Web with the Sony® bloggie™ camera. The pocketable bloggie camera also features a unique swivel lens that rotates up to 270 degrees making it easy to self-record a video clip.

• 1920x1080 HD recording w/5MP still images


• 2.4" LCD3 (230k pixels) with full-screen playback


• Built-in USB arm for upload/charge


• Built-in PMB Portable software for easy upload to web


• Convenient 270 degree Rotating Lens System

More detail ...

Capture HD MP4 video and 5MP images and upload them directly to the Web with the Sony® bloggie™ camera. The pocketable bloggie camera also features a unique swivel lens that rotates up to 270 degrees making it easy to self-record a video clip.

• 1920x1080 HD recording w/5MP still images


• 2.4" LCD3 (230k pixels) with full-screen playback


• Built-in USB arm for upload/charge


• Built-in PMB Portable software for easy upload to web


• Convenient 270 degree Rotating Lens System

More detail ...

Here is a review

Amazon is obviously filled with fake reviews from either fanboys or competing company employes. I bought this camera and even reviewed it compared it to other cameras like the Kodak zi8 (search google for "letsfindjesus bloggie" to find videos of my review). The Sony is the best under $200 camcorder on the market. Its auto focus is quick the colors are rich and accurate and the mono mic actually sounds good. It has a built in usb plug (which is also used to charge) and pretty good face detection. The still camera (unlike the pocket cams) actually takes decent 5 megapixel photos. It has a playback speaker which is loud enough. The 5X optical zoom is smooth and the digital zoom is well... a digital zoom. Bottom line for the price the picture quality and build is mighty good.



There is some negatives I listed them below none are deal breaking.. more of a wish list. The biggest feature missing for me is Steady Shot (image stabilization) on the 1080p and 720/60 frame modes. The Kodak zi8 has this but it looks like crap on 1080p so I guess I would rather not have this feature if the hardware is too slow to process the steady shot. Which is why im guessing Sony didnt include this feature on the higher quality modes.



Pros:



-Very acceptable video quality

-Good sounding mic

-GREAT accurate colors

-5X optical zoom

-for once a decent still camera

-quick zoom

-SD memory card capable and Memory Stick Pro Duo

-Record and upload.. its in a format that just.. Works.

-Mac and PC friendly



Cons:



-Battery lasts a little over an hour (buy an extra!)

-Steady Shot is only on 720P (30 Frames/sec) and VGA

-lens cap instead of hardware lens open/close

-mic is mono (but its not bad)

-no manual focus

-low light (like all low cost camcorders) isnt the best and the focus is slow/struggles in low lightMore detail ...

Budget camera/camcorder

My actual rating is 3.5 stars but I've rounded up for now.

First I read the specs of this before I ordered it so I knew what I was getting myself into. I did not buy this for great recording capabilities and did not expect that. I bought this device to have a easily portable recording device for cheap and it delivers.



The negatives for me so far has been the awful sound recording and the lighting. I did not expect a great mic but the quality of sound recording is far below my expectations. Combine this with the inability to attach an external mic (let me know if there's a way that I don't know of) makes this device subpar. The lighting recorded fluctuates quite a bit. Sometimes I would have to set the setting a couple times to get video to appear versus a dark/black screen. Let me note that I was recording in the evenings indoors without much light in the first place. Yes this isn't ideal but if it is not able to handle that lighting setting the device's settings a couple times should not magically "fix" the issue.



The overall design works well and the navigation is a breeze similar to other Sony cameras. You can also easily pull this device out of your pocket and start shooting either in camera mode or camcorder mode within seconds. I do feel that they could have utilized the screen space much better; video is displayed on the top of the screen and the bottom of the screen is basically wasted IMO. There are no exposed ports so the unit is nice and sleek. The area that goes over the USB doesn't completely move out of the way so depending on the USB port you are connecting to you might not be able to plug it in. No worries though a USB extension is included. Oh and you can use both SD and the memory stick yay!More detail ...

Here is a review

Amazon is obviously filled with fake reviews from either fanboys or competing company employes. I bought this camera and even reviewed it compared it to other cameras like the Kodak zi8 (search google for "letsfindjesus bloggie" to find videos of my review). The Sony is the best under $200 camcorder on the market. Its auto focus is quick the colors are rich and accurate and the mono mic actually sounds good. It has a built in usb plug (which is also used to charge) and pretty good face detection. The still camera (unlike the pocket cams) actually takes decent 5 megapixel photos. It has a playback speaker which is loud enough. The 5X optical zoom is smooth and the digital zoom is well... a digital zoom. Bottom line for the price the picture quality and build is mighty good.



There is some negatives I listed them below none are deal breaking.. more of a wish list. The biggest feature missing for me is Steady Shot (image stabilization) on the 1080p and 720/60 frame modes. The Kodak zi8 has this but it looks like crap on 1080p so I guess I would rather not have this feature if the hardware is too slow to process the steady shot. Which is why im guessing Sony didnt include this feature on the higher quality modes.



Pros:



-Very acceptable video quality

-Good sounding mic

-GREAT accurate colors

-5X optical zoom

-for once a decent still camera

-quick zoom

-SD memory card capable and Memory Stick Pro Duo

-Record and upload.. its in a format that just.. Works.

-Mac and PC friendly



Cons:



-Battery lasts a little over an hour (buy an extra!)

-Steady Shot is only on 720P (30 Frames/sec) and VGA

-lens cap instead of hardware lens open/close

-mic is mono (but its not bad)

-no manual focus

-low light (like all low cost camcorders) isnt the best and the focus is slow/struggles in low lightMore detail ...

Good effort but shows how special the Flip is

I was really excited to see the next generation of pocket camcorders come out for 2010 and the Bloggie is the first I know of. It has a larger updated optical sensor and presumably updated firmware and hardware to render better video quality. I bought it as soon as I found out it was available.



My initial impressions are less about the Bloggie and more about what an achievement the Flip cameras are. Here's why:



The Sony Bloggie seems brighter but is more sensitive to movement than the MinoHD. I go over my videos frame by frame to get screen captures and the majority of the frames the Bloggie seems lost on the action and repeats the same bad exposure for many more frames before it adjusts to get the best exposure. The MinoHD on the other hand even though it is over a year old is much quicker at correcting exposure frame by frame focus and light to provide overall better video resolution. This is in spite of the fact that the Sony Bloggie has a bigger optical sensor and the newest hardware. Flip just seems way ahead of every pocket camcorder (haven't tested the Kodaks) in its internal intelligence in detecting focus and exposure. This is what truly gives it the edge.



The Bloggie does have a removable battery or memory card unlike the Flip. But I can't wonder if it's even necessary. I've never needed more memory or another battery in my Flip. Also it presents open compartments that will no doubt gather dirt in the electronics and buttons unlike the Flip which is mostly sealed.



Playback mode? I'm a software developer so I'm not afraid of complicated stuff but I found the playback controls on this frustrating over and over. There are 6 or 7 different buttons you can push on playback to pause ff rw etc and I kept finding myself pressing the wrong one and getting kicked out of play mode. Yes the Flip had this right and so simple! I actually feel like I have taken the Flip's playback for granted thinking it was just without features. But for the same functions- playback pause ff rw the Bloggie feels like it is many times more complex and mysterious even though it's attempting to do exactly what the Flip does so effortlessly mindlessly. As for uploading to Youtube etc. like it is featured to do I guess that's like programming your VCR- possible if you really want to learn it but more like a punchline than useful.



The Bloggie has still image movable lens and other bells and whistles the flip doesn't have but is an order more complicated to use than the Flip. In the end the video even at 1080p is still not as sharp and clean compared to the smooth 720p of the Flip MinoHD.



Other features such as an external mic input are not available on either the Bloggie or the Flip MinoHD but are available on others such as the Kodak Zi8 etc. But this wasn't a factor for me.



I will also ad that looking at the instructions made me understand why this has the stupid name of Bloggie- it is a uniquely Japanese product rushed to market without alot of careful insight into the aesthetic of the American consumer (If I may nothing against Japanese products usually I think them superior.) The instructions are pretty poor considering some of the dummy proof large font easy-to-read stuff I've gotten used to from places like Ikea and yes Flip. These look like they were put together by a technical person in a tight deadline who doesn't speak English well...



Keep trying Sony some good ideas here but mostly I think you need to improve on that smooth auto exposure algorithm!



More detail ...

Here is a review

Amazon is obviously filled with fake reviews from either fanboys or competing company employes. I bought this camera and even reviewed it compared it to other cameras like the Kodak zi8 (search google for "letsfindjesus bloggie" to find videos of my review). The Sony is the best under $200 camcorder on the market. Its auto focus is quick the colors are rich and accurate and the mono mic actually sounds good. It has a built in usb plug (which is also used to charge) and pretty good face detection. The still camera (unlike the pocket cams) actually takes decent 5 megapixel photos. It has a playback speaker which is loud enough. The 5X optical zoom is smooth and the digital zoom is well... a digital zoom. Bottom line for the price the picture quality and build is mighty good.



There is some negatives I listed them below none are deal breaking.. more of a wish list. The biggest feature missing for me is Steady Shot (image stabilization) on the 1080p and 720/60 frame modes. The Kodak zi8 has this but it looks like crap on 1080p so I guess I would rather not have this feature if the hardware is too slow to process the steady shot. Which is why im guessing Sony didnt include this feature on the higher quality modes.



Pros:



-Very acceptable video quality

-Good sounding mic

-GREAT accurate colors

-5X optical zoom

-for once a decent still camera

-quick zoom

-SD memory card capable and Memory Stick Pro Duo

-Record and upload.. its in a format that just.. Works.

-Mac and PC friendly



Cons:



-Battery lasts a little over an hour (buy an extra!)

-Steady Shot is only on 720P (30 Frames/sec) and VGA

-lens cap instead of hardware lens open/close

-mic is mono (but its not bad)

-no manual focus

-low light (like all low cost camcorders) isnt the best and the focus is slow/struggles in low lightMore detail ...

Good effort but shows how special the Flip is

I was really excited to see the next generation of pocket camcorders come out for 2010 and the Bloggie is the first I know of. It has a larger updated optical sensor and presumably updated firmware and hardware to render better video quality. I bought it as soon as I found out it was available.



My initial impressions are less about the Bloggie and more about what an achievement the Flip cameras are. Here's why:



The Sony Bloggie seems brighter but is more sensitive to movement than the MinoHD. I go over my videos frame by frame to get screen captures and the majority of the frames the Bloggie seems lost on the action and repeats the same bad exposure for many more frames before it adjusts to get the best exposure. The MinoHD on the other hand even though it is over a year old is much quicker at correcting exposure frame by frame focus and light to provide overall better video resolution. This is in spite of the fact that the Sony Bloggie has a bigger optical sensor and the newest hardware. Flip just seems way ahead of every pocket camcorder (haven't tested the Kodaks) in its internal intelligence in detecting focus and exposure. This is what truly gives it the edge.



The Bloggie does have a removable battery or memory card unlike the Flip. But I can't wonder if it's even necessary. I've never needed more memory or another battery in my Flip. Also it presents open compartments that will no doubt gather dirt in the electronics and buttons unlike the Flip which is mostly sealed.



Playback mode? I'm a software developer so I'm not afraid of complicated stuff but I found the playback controls on this frustrating over and over. There are 6 or 7 different buttons you can push on playback to pause ff rw etc and I kept finding myself pressing the wrong one and getting kicked out of play mode. Yes the Flip had this right and so simple! I actually feel like I have taken the Flip's playback for granted thinking it was just without features. But for the same functions- playback pause ff rw the Bloggie feels like it is many times more complex and mysterious even though it's attempting to do exactly what the Flip does so effortlessly mindlessly. As for uploading to Youtube etc. like it is featured to do I guess that's like programming your VCR- possible if you really want to learn it but more like a punchline than useful.



The Bloggie has still image movable lens and other bells and whistles the flip doesn't have but is an order more complicated to use than the Flip. In the end the video even at 1080p is still not as sharp and clean compared to the smooth 720p of the Flip MinoHD.



Other features such as an external mic input are not available on either the Bloggie or the Flip MinoHD but are available on others such as the Kodak Zi8 etc. But this wasn't a factor for me.



I will also ad that looking at the instructions made me understand why this has the stupid name of Bloggie- it is a uniquely Japanese product rushed to market without alot of careful insight into the aesthetic of the American consumer (If I may nothing against Japanese products usually I think them superior.) The instructions are pretty poor considering some of the dummy proof large font easy-to-read stuff I've gotten used to from places like Ikea and yes Flip. These look like they were put together by a technical person in a tight deadline who doesn't speak English well...



Keep trying Sony some good ideas here but mostly I think you need to improve on that smooth auto exposure algorithm!



More detail ...