Sony MHS-CM5

Still Features (7.61)

The Sony MHS-CM5 is not a good option if you’re looking for a true video-photo hybrid. The photo quality is very low and there just aren’t a lot of options to add versatility to the photos you shoot. In a pinch, however, you can certainly use the Bloggie to capture some meager still shots. The maximum resolution isn’t bad (2592 × 1944) and at least it takes photos at all, which is more than you can say for the Flip lineup.

In terms of options, the only thing Sony really provides is a self-timer. You can’t capture photos while recording video and there’s no flash, manual controls, continuous shot, or bracketing. That said, the size options alone put the Bloggie on even footing with most ultracompacts these days. The only competing model that outstrips the Bloggie is the tremendously Sanyo VPC-CG10. This little Xacti has tons of still photo options and good quality too. It isn’t as easy to use as the Flip and its clones, but the Sanyo’s offerings are impressive in this department.

Sony’s ultracompact camcorders turn in still color performance that’s just above average for their class. When compared to many higher priced camcorders and, especially, to dedicated still cameras, this is a poor performance. The color accuracy was 7.13, while saturation was measured at 131.6%,

In terms of our still photography noise testing, the Bloggie was very poor indeed. Its captured photos were even noisier than those of last year’s MHS-CM1 Webbie—and those were really noisy. The alarming noise percentage of 1.77% is yet one more reason to only use the Bloggie for photos in a pinch. The Sanyo VPC-CG10, on the other hand, aced this test. This is yet another reason to buy the Sanyo if you’re looking for a video-still hybrid.

Still sharpness was probably the Bloggie’s strongest performance in our still photography testing. As was the case with video sharpness, the Bloggie managed to capture more fine detail than most of the competition. The CM5 measured a horizontal sharpness of 1919 lw/ph, with just 7.8% oversharpening. The vertical sharpness measured 1703 lw/ph with an oversharpening of 12.6%. These score are quite good for an ultracompact camcorder—though not as impressive as the sharp results of the VPC-CG10.

Other Features (1.00)

PAL Output

The only notable feature on the Bloggie is the option to output to a PAL display. This can come in handy if you’re either from Europe or planning to take the Bloggie on a European vacation.