Sony MHS-CM5

Handling (5.75)

The Sony MHS-CM5 Bloggie handles much like other pistol-grip camcorders. In this regard, it’s completely different from its horizontal predecessor, the MHS-CM1. If you’re familiar with the Sony Handycam lineup, the Bloggie CM5 is most reminiscent of the HDR-TG5. Both the TG5 and the CM5 have an upright design and can be handled easily in either the left hand or the right hand. However, the considerably more expensive TG5 will get you not just better quality video, but also a sturdier design, better button placement, and a a more comfortable grip.

The CM5 is designed more like the Xacti series from Sanyo. It’s less rectangular than Sony’s TG5 and feels as cheap and lightweight as the VPC-CG10. Unfortunately, we also found that the Xacti has a better design. Its joystick is easier to use and the buttons rest more comfortably beneath the thumb. The Bloggie felt slippery in our hands—partly because of the slick surface and partly because of the awkward shape. It’s actually easier to use in the left hand, where the weight of the lens doesn’t pull the controls out from under your thumb.

The majority of functions are activated using the small, rear-mounted joystick. This tiny control can be difficult to maneuver, especially when you’re trying to manipulate the subtle difference between pushing down on the center of the joystick and pushing it in one of the cardinal directions. It’s all too easy to accidentally select something when you’d rather be scrolling through the menu. Fortunately, there aren’t many reasons to be mucking about in the menus. So you can usually avoid this headache.

If you absolutely have to use the joystick, you’ll want two hands: a second hand can steady the camcorder while the thumb of your main hand gets a better grip on the joystick.

Portability (10.11)

The Bloggie CM5 is certainly a portable camcorder, especially compared to more traditional consumer camcorders. It’s also easier to tote around that its predecessor, the Webbie MHS-CM1. However, it’s not quite as convenient as the Flip style of camcorder, which is thinner, smaller, and flatter.

Battery Life (5.35)

The Sony Bloggie MHS-CM5 had a moderate battery life performance, outlasting the Flip UltraHD and the Sanyo VPC-CG10. Surprisingly, however, the CM5 did not fare as well as last year’s MHS-CM1, which boasted incredibly impressive battery life. All told, the CM5 lasted about 107 minutes (1hr, 47m, 13s). More on how we test battery life.

The Bloggie does have a removable battery, so it’s possible to purchase a spare battery if you’re anticipating longer shoots. The cavity is, however, enclosed; you won’t be able to upgrade to a larger battery pack. The NP-BK1 battery can only be recharged via USB. (There is no DC power input on the Bloggie.)

LCD (7.53)

The Sony Bloggie MHS-CM5 has a rather lackluster 2.5-inch LCD, with 230,000-pixel resolution. This isn’t particularly impressive, especially for an LCD panel that flips out from the body of the camcorder. For ultracompact camcorders that have no flip-out LCD, this size is to be expected. But the Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG10 has nearly the same body design and sports a 3-inch LCD. On the other hand, Sony has improved its LCD specs since last year’s Webbie (MHS-CM1). The worst part of the LCD panel may be the huge, blank bezel surrounding the tiny display. This makes the Bloggie feel look like a cheap, antiquated piece of technology.

There is a backlight option on the Bloggie’s LCD, but no other features or adjustments to be made. Having a flip-out LCD panel does help with glare, but we think a larger display would have been a nice touch. The Bloggie, like all ultracompact camcorders, does not have a viewfinder. This means you’ll be lining up all your shots via this small LCD.

The LCD on the Bloggie is not a touchscreen; all controls are made via the small joystick.

Feature	Sony MHS-CM5	Sony MHS-CM1	Sanyo VPC-CG10	Pure Digital Flip UltraHD
Display Size	2.5 in.	2.5 in.	3.0 in.	2.0 in.
Display Resolution	230000 pixels	pixels	230000 pixels	230400 pixels
Touch Screen	✗	✗	✗	✗
Viewfinder	✗	✗	✗	✗

Stabilization (1.14)

The Bloggie features digital image stabilization—a feature that was not available on last year’s Webbie lineup. Unfortunately, SteadyShot is not available when shooting in either 1080/30p or 720/60p modes… it’s only available in 720/30p or VGA. That’s certainly a significant limitation, since most consumers that are worried about shakiness are also worried about shooting reasonably high quality video. More on how we test stabilization.

Of course, even if you are willing to shoot in one of the lower quality settings, you won’t find the stabilization to be particularly effective.

As you can see from the table above, the difference in shake is only very slight, even in our low shake test. The Bloggie registered a 19% shake reduction on low shake and just a 2% shake reduction under high shake conditions.

Most camcorders in this category do not have any kind of shake reduction. The Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG10 employed a digital image stabilization system that did virtually nothing to improve camcorder performance in our shake test. Last year’s Sony Webbie and the Flip series of ultracompact camcorders do not advertise any image stabilization.