Pure digital flip has spread its wings as the single most appreciated entity in the MARKET OF camcorders which are budgeted but provide a high quality of services. Sony had ventured into this market earlier with NSC-GC1 Net-sharing camera but did not receive the kind of response which the brand Sony deserves.
With a vow to make a strong comeback, Sony has launched 2 webbie camcorders now which are MHS-CM1 and MHS-PM1. MHS-PM1 is a pocket friendly fun. Not only it costs less on the pocket (just $169 MSRP), it is also a light weight and portable and can easily be carried in the pocket. Some of its features are:
- HD video is recorded with three resolution options: 1440 x 1080, 1280 x 720 and 640 x 480. Sony is the only one to include a resolution of 1440 x 1080 in Sony webbie MHS-PM1 camcorder. It also records videos at 30 frames per second.
- It also displays excellent work while taking up still photos that extend up to 5 megapixels.
- It is available in 3 colors which are purple, orange and silver.
- It has a unique distinction of having a swiveling lens which can rotate up to 270 degrees on the vertical axis and let the camcorder be used as a webcam.
- It showed good performance on the color and the sharpness tests and was quite accurate.
- It is compact and has a size of 4 x 2.2 x 0.9. It is also light weighted and along with battery weighs only 4.2 ounces.
- It has 12 MB of internal memory, so memory cards have to be used.
However, the users have faced a lot of problems while using SONY webbie MHS- PM1 camcorder. The 1.8 inch LCD on the back is quite compact. It lacks optical zoom. It has a range of options, menus and settings to choose from and the design is also not user friendly. All this makes it complex to use. The installation of its built-in program PMB Portable which is used to transfer files directly to internet is quite complex. Also, it faces a problem of battery charging which can’t be charged in the camcorder itself.
Thus, with a lot of beneficial features, the drawbacks are also quite clear. Sony has made a tremendous effort to revive its name in the market with its swiveling lens, attractive colors and designs and its cost-effectiveness and should be commended for the same.