Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 Camcorder Review

Low Light Performance Summary
• Low light sensitivity was very bad, but other low light performance was good. • Colors were accurate in low light, although they lost some saturation. • Noise levels were good in low light
	Motion & Sharpness Performance	(Page 5 of 17)	Compression & Media

Low Light Sensitivity (0.97)

The Sony MHS-PM1 was a disappointment when it came to low light sensitivity. In our testing, the camcorder needed 23 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor. This is over 3x the amount of light required for the Flip UltraHD and Kodak Zx1 to reach the same level. The MHS-PM1 did do a bit better than the MHS-CM1 in this test, but that isn't saying much. The MHS-CM1 earned one of the worst low light sensitivity scores we've had this year. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

Now, the MHS-PM1 does have a Low Light scene mode that is supposed to boost low light performance. Unfortunately, when we tried the setting we didn't notice much of an improvement to low light sensitivity. Instead, the colors looked a bit worse and the image got noisier when we turned the scene mode on.

When we normally test low light sensitivity we turn any slow shutter features off. With these camcorders, however, the shutters cannot be controlled and most of them will automatically drop to 1/30 of a second shutter speed when the lights are dim. The 1/30 of a second shutter speed isn't as much of an issue with these models, though, because the video is already choppy since it is captured at 30p. Also, if you're main objective is to get a heavily compressed video up onto YouTube, then a slow shutter probably won't make much of a difference.

Low Light Color (8.29)

With a color error of 4.21, the MHS-PM1 had nearly the same color accuracy in low light as it did in our bright light test. The camcorder did have a significant drop in saturation, however, with just 74.28%. Still, this color score is very good for a cheap, ultra-compact camcorder and only the Kodak Zx1 did a better job out of the camcorders in this set.  (More on how we test low light color.)

Auto Low Light Color Performance
Color Test Chart (above), Color Error Map (right)
The Sony MHS-PM1 produced a color error of 4.21 and a saturation level of 74.28% in our low light color testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular color.)

In low light, the MHS-PM1's color error was more spread out amongst the various patches in our test chart. Blues and purples still gave the camcorder the most trouble, but all the colors were off by a fairly close margin (see Color Error Map above). The PM1's image in low light definitely appeared more washed out and blurred than its bright light image, but that is nothing unusual.

Low Light Comparison
Sony MHS-PM1	Sony MHS-CM1
Kodak Zx1	Flip UltraHD

Notice how vivid and saturated the Kodak Zx1's colors are in the low light image above. It had a better color accuracy and much higher saturation level than the Sony MHS-PM1 in low light and you can easily see the difference between the two camcorders by looking at the comparison images above. The Flip UltraHD continued to have its odd green-yellow hue even in our low light testing.

Low Light Color Score Comparison

Low Light Noise (8.89)

The MHS-PM1 did rather well in our low light noise test, averaging 1.3575% noise. Both the Sony MHS-CM1 and Kodak Zx1 did roughly the same on this test, but the Flip UltraHD did even better. It was the only camcorder in this set to measure less than 1% noise in our low light test. All of these models had low noise levels, however, which is somewhat surprising. (More on how we test low light noise.)

Noise at 60 lux Auto
Sony MHS-PM1 100% Crop	Sony MHS-CM1 100% Crop	Kodak Zx1 100% Crop	Flip UltraHD 100% Crop

In the crops above, the Flip UltraHD appears to show the most detail, but its image does have some discoloration and interference. The Sony Webbie HD camcorders have fuzzy images, but the colors are strong and artifacting is limited. The Kodak Zx1 also captures a good amount of detail, but there is a lot of interference and artifacting.

Overall, the MHS-PM1 is a slightly better low light camcorder than its sister model, the MHS-CM1. This is mainly due to its stronger (but still poor) low light sensitivity. Both the Flip UltraHD and Kodak Zx1 will get you better low light video, but the Sony MHS-PM1 isn't that far behind—except with sensitivity.

Low Light Noise Score Comparisons