Sony Bloggie Touch MHS-TS10 Camcorder Review

Compression

Like most ultracompacts, the Sony Bloggie Touch MHS-TS10 records HD video using the MPEG-4 codec. The videos are far easier to work with and upload to the internet than AVCHD clips, as they can be easily dragged right from the camcorder's internal memory onto your computer desktop. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of MPEG-4.

The camcorder has three quality options, including one Full HD setting (1080/60p) and two 720/60p HD modes. There are no standard definition record modes available on the camcorder. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various high definition compression types.

Media

Instead of including a memory card slot on the Bloggie Touch, Sony decided to simplify its new ultracompact camcorders by including internal flash memory only... just like Flip camcorders have been doing since their incarnation. The Bloggie Touch is available in two sizes, 4GB or 8GB, and the model we reviewed was the 4GB version (the MHS-TS10 is its official name). Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of flash memory.

We like how having no memory card slot simplifies things, but it can be a nuisance for people who, a) have a lot of unused memory cards lying around, or, b) record so much video that the 4GB of internal memory isn't enough. Is 4GB of internal memory enough space for you or will you need to upgrade to the 8GB MHS-TS20 Bloggie Touch model? Check out our handy table to find the approximate record times those 4GB will get you with the Bloggie Touch—then you can make an informed decision. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various media types.

Slow Motion Modes

Still Features

The Sony Bloggie Touch takes good still photos. That's quite a compliment considering the fact that many ultracompact camcorders don't even take still photos at all (like the Flip series of camcorders). The Touch can capture native 12-megapixel still images at a 4128 x 3096 resolution, and it also has 8-megapixel and 2-megapixel photo options (both of which capture at a 16:9 aspect ratio).

The camcorder also has the ability to snap photos during video recording, which is something that is not available on many ultracompact camcorders (the Kodak Playsport and the Sony MHS-CM5 can't do this). Finally, there's a basic self-timer on the Bloggie Touch as well.

The Bloggie Touch disappointed in our still color test, mainly because the camcorder didn't produce colors that were nearly as accurate as we saw in our video testing. However, the camcorder still did a better job than the competition here, so we were pleased on that front.

Compared to the Kodak Playsport and the Sony Bloggie MHS-CM5, the Bloggie Touch produced still images that were much cleaner and had more accurate colors.

Noise levels on the still images captured by the Bloggie Touch were too high for our standards. The camcorder managed a noise level of around 1.04% in this test, which is twice as much as the Kodak Playsport averaged. This result isn't all that bad, however, because we often see worse numbers in this test (as noted by the MHS-CM5's dismal noise percentage of 1.77%).

With its 12-megapixel still image capability, we weren't that surprised to see the Bloggie Touch master our still sharpness test. the camcorder captured some of the sharpest still images we've seen from an ultracompact model: 2327 lw/ph horizontal with 44.5% oversharpening and 2306 lw/ph vertical with 33.5% oversharpening. These oversharpening values are definitely high, but we're fine with overlooking that fact when the camcorder can deliver such sharp still images.