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Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 and Sony Webbie HD MHS-CM1 are two new HIgh definition camcorders with identical hardware, but a slightly different design. The Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 has an upright orientation resembling the Flis series of camcorders and a mechanism thanks to which the lens can be rotated up to 270 degrees, whereas the Sony Webbie HD MHS-CM1 is more traditionally horizontal. Both camcorders record videos in 1440 x 1080 HD at 30 frames per second.

Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 pros:
+ 5x optical zoom
+ Rotatable lens allows to shoot at unusual angles
+ Good sharpness
+ Several video resolution options
+ Simple interface
+ Portable design

Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 cons:
- Too much artifacting
- No manual controls
- Small LCD

Design:

Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 measures 1.75 x 2.5 x 4.25’’ and weighs 1.3 pounds. The camcorder is available is three different colors and thanks to its rotatable lens and unusual colors it stands out from the crowd. The front of the camcorder features the swivel lens, mono microphone, and wrist lanyard eyelet. The right side houses the power button along with the menu button and one more button controlling the image quality. The left side of the camcorder houses the playback speaker and connectivity port hidden under a door. The back of the Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 houses the 1.8 inch LCD, indicator light and all the controls such as photo shutter, playback, record on/off, zoom and joystick. The bottom houses only the tripod mount and the MemoryStick Pro Duo card slot.

Performance:

Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 records in the maximum resolution of 1440 x 1080 using the MPEG-4 compression. He fils are recorder only to Memory Stick PRO Duo cards and so on a 16 GB memory card you can record up to 340 minuted of video in the highest quality.
As neither the Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 nor Sony Webbie HD MHS-CM1 have manual controls you have to shoot in the auto mode. The only thing you can change is the scene mode and zoom level.

Image quality:

Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 has very good color accuracy and saturation for this class of device. Similarly, automatic white balance and noise levels in good sunlight are very good in this class and a bit better than in the Kodak Zx1. The Sony camcorder has a selection of resolutions to choose from, including 1440 x 1080, 1280 x 720, or 640 x 480. Unfortunately, the motion tends to be choppy and with quite a large amount of artifacting. The overall sharpness of videos is very good and all the images are recorder at 30 fps.
In low light the camcorder does not disappoint. The color performance is accurate and the noise levels are good. The weakest point in low light seems to be the poor low light sensitivity.

Still features:

The Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 and Sony Webbie HD MHS-CM1 can also take still photographs in up to 5 megapixel. The color is usually terrible, not to mention that the sharpness and noise are below average even for this class of devices.

Menus/ease of use:

As the Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 has almost no manual settings it is really easy to use although the included software may be a bit more troublesome. Since it is so compact it is very pocketable, yet it also has its drawbacks. All the buttons have to be proportionally small so people with bigger hands may find them uncomfortable. Thanks to the rotatable lens you can shoot various angles easily. All in all the Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 is a camcorder worth looking at especially considering its price and specs.
Selected Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1 features and specifications:

• Digital Video Format:

H.264

• Digital Zoom:

4 x

• Camcorder Effective Still Resolution:

5.038 Mpix

• Camcorder Sensor Resolution:

5.0 Mpix

• Exposure Modes:

Program, automatic

• Optical Sensor Size:

1/2.5″

• Still Image Format:

JPEG

• Optical Sensor Type:

CMOS

• White Balance:

Automatic

• Max Shutter Speed:

1/4000 sec

• Min Shutter Speed:

1/30 sec

• Widescreen Video Capture:

Yes

• Media Type:

Flash card

• Shooting Programs:

Landscape, back light, low light, sports mode

• Enclosure Color:

Violet

• Additional Features

• Digital Still Camera Function:

Yes

• Low Lux / Night Mode:

Yes

• Battery

• Supported Battery Details:

1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery – 980 mAh ( included )

• Supported Battery:

Sony NP-BK1

• System Requirements for PC Connection

• Operating System Support:

MS Windows XP, MS Windows Vista

• Peripheral Devices:

USB port, CD-ROM drive

• Miscellaneous

• Included Accessories:

Wrist strap

• Cables Included:

USB cable ¦ A/V cable ¦ Component video / audio cable

• Display
• Type:

LCD display – TFT active matrix – 1.8″ – color

• Microphone Type:

Microphone – built-in

• Microphone Operation Mode:

Stereo

• Microphone Technology:

Electret condenser
Environmental Parameters

• Min Operating Temperature:

32 °F

• Max Operating Temperature:

104 °F

• Additional Specifications

• Digital Zoom:

20 x

• Optical Zoom:

5 x

Other recently reviewed camcorders:

Kodak Zx1, JVC Everio GZ-HD300, Canon Vixia HF S100, Sony HDR-XR520V, Panasonic HDC-HS300, Panasonic HDC-SD20