Sony MHS-PM1 High Definition Pocket Camcorder Review
Looking back at your life, you might have wondered how many albums it would have taken if ever you had a camera and captured the best moments of your life. Better late than never, as from now onwards, you can capture such felicitous moments of life. Sony is one of the prime producers of electronic goods in the world. At the same time, it is also occupies the front row seat when it comes to annoying people by releasing so many good products. One has to break his head to select which one of the lot is suitable to him. But we are here to clear the cloud for you and guide you towards a good and appropriate selection. The MHS-PM1 is one of the stylish and attractive camcorders in the market and one of the best products from Sony. It is released at a very reasonable rate, so that everyone could have a shot at it. Lots more features and aspects regarding this new camcorder are in store for you. So stay glued to your seats and keep on reading as we unveil this promising new camcorder.
Design:
Cool and Stylish:
As said earlier, there are so many options to choose from when it comes to the products of Sony, even regarding the design of the product. The MHS PM1 Pocket Size Camcorder is one of those camcorders that look very stylish and also it has got a very cool look. It actually looks like an ordinary mobile phone, with its orientation being vertical unlike the conventional camcorders whose orientation is more horizontal. The camera is also placed at the top of the back side of the MHS PM1, so that shooting becomes easy even when the cam is held in one hand. On the front side of the cam lies all the buttons that hold the control for the most important of all the features on the MHS PM1. Coming to the dimensions of this handycam, it measure about (H x W x D) 24 x 103 x 55mm and weighs about 120 grams. This means that the camcorder is very sleek and comfortable to be held in one hand and also to slide it into your pocket. It is just about perfectly designed so that it is not too big or too small.
Big Display:
The 1.8 inch screen is really good as well as big enough for displaying the subjects that you are about to shoot on your cam. It has good displaying characteristics that make it easy for you to view it, and it also swivels up to 270 degrees so that it is easy to shoot any kind of scene is many styles and angles. It also makes things easy for you to shoot yourself and still keep looking at the screen. More often than not, this might help you a lot, because, sometimes self shooting gives out funny videos if there is no possibility to look at the screen. Since the orientation of the screen is also in portrait style, it allows you to take portrait pictures with great deal of ease.
Features:
Most of Sony’s camcorders come in with a great deal of features and the MHS PM1 is not an exception by any means. They all are intended to make life easy for the users and hence, are extremely user friendly. Every option readily gives all that is intended by you. Now, the MHS PM1 certainly has the edge over its counterparts in the market because when you compare it with other camcorders, it has got more number of useful features that catch the attention of the eye.
Camera:
The first thing you will want to be good on a camcorder is its camera and the MHS PM1 has got a brilliant one. The new 5 mega pixel camera of this cam uses a special technology in grabbing the light from the subjects properly. Auto focusing is also one of the special features of this camera as it focuses on to the subjects and moreover on the faces of the subjects and then alter the picture quality accordingly. This means that the faces of the people in the frame are given the first preference, unlike many other cameras, which distribute their potential to the whole picture in the frame so that everything in the picture has the same clarity and intensity.
CMOS Sensor:
Most of the digital cameras are now featuring this particular sensor. The main function of this special sensor is to convert the light into digital signals so that the photos and videos are obtained digitally and hence, with minimal loss in information. Sony has gone one step ahead here by using a more refurbished version of the sensor that has in it the latest technology. Hence, your pictures will be clearer than ever. Such a sensible sensor is really helpful if you want to have the best image quality.
Sharemark:
This Sharemark is a trademark feature of the Sony MHS PM1 and it allows instant tagging of people in the photo so that it will be easier for instant uploading to different websites on the internet. There is a sharemark button on the menu of the device and by selecting that, you will see a few options that help you tag the different subjects in the photo. Video clips can also be tagged and you can then upload them on to the internet easily and instantly. This is a very unique feature as you can see and no other camera or camcorder in the market, including those from Sony, come with this feature.
HD 1080:
This feature has become a part and parcel of today’s cameras and camcorders. Since most of the houses in the world now have the HD LCD TVs, this feature may help such people. You can select the HD shoot mode and shoot videos in HD format. You can get high definition pictures, up to 1080p resolution so that they look very candid and also movie like, when you play them on the screens of our HD TVs. Shoot the videos with the camcorder on a stand and you will wonder whether it is a normal video or a movie. Such is the ability of the MHS-PM1 Digital Video Camcorder to take high quality pictures at all times of the day, no matter how the conditions are.
Image Stabilisation:
Optical Image stabilisation has to be one of those features that have improved video capturing a lot. Since most of the cameras and camcorders are so very sleek and compact nowadays, it will certainly be a lot difficult in holding it properly. This ultimately results in bad pictures which contain a lot of blur and shaking effect. To eliminate this, the solution, which is known as the optical image stabilisation, had been introduced. So, no need to worry about picture clarity now.
PMB:
The PMB or the Picture Motion Browser is a kind of software that helps you edit your pictures and videos, and then it converts them into formats that are suitable for uploading on to the internet, like mp4. After you have captured the videos, you can insert the memory card into the SD card slot of your computer and the PMB software automatically loads the videos and makes them ready for editing. You can cut the videos, add special effects and also add background music according to your wish and then save them as separate files on your computer. Then, when you connect to the internet, you can simply select those files and then upload on to the internet. In a few simple steps, your videos will feature on YouTube. That is how easy it gets with the MHS PM1.
HD Recording:
The Sony MHS PM1 is one of the best cams in the market if you have a great desire for high definition video recording from your camcorder. Sony has always been introducing the latest video technologies into the market with each of its new camcorder. Most of Sony’s camcorders have the ability to record high definition videos. This High Definition Technology always gives you very crisp pictures and also with the highest quality ever. The HD videos taken by the MHS PM1 resemble those movies you see in the theatres.
The MHS PM1 takes pictures with a very high resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, which is the best one you can expect from a camcorder of this type. It is also good to watch these videos on your HD TV that supports the 1080p viewing. It also allows you to record the videos in the latest mp4 format, which is also known as the H.264 format. This new format, helps you compress the videos taken by you and hence makes the files very small and hence it will be easy for you to upload them onto your computer and then on the internet. The mp4 format has the rare capacity to be compatible with most of the websites on the internet such as YouTube, Flickr and Photo Bucket.
USB 2.0 interface:
In order to save and also to share your pictures and videos with your family and friends, you need to connect your camcorder to the PC. It will then be also easy to upload these pictures and videos on to the internet. Hence, Sony has provided the facility for you to connect your cam through USB. With the help of a USB cable, which is provided along with the kit, you can sync your cam with your computer and transfer the files from one to the other. This is a common but an important feature since the USB 2.0 port is a pretty common thing which almost all the computers in the world today feature in them. The 2.0 version is also very fast compared to its precursor, which means that syncing your pictures is faster than ever, with the MHS PM1.
Tripod Mount:
For shooting still and wonderfully stable videos, you need to hold the camera in a frozen position and also not move it or shake it. This is not possible to do with the hands. Hence, a tripod mount is provide by Sony along with the camcorder so that if you want to capture still videos and pictures, just like those you will see on TV and the cinemas, you need to mount your camcorder on to the tripod stand, which comprises three small rods that keep the camera very still. If this arrangement is kept on a rigid platform, then your pictures will be so epic and that too without any sign of blur or shakiness. Hence, Sony has provided this tripod mount. This time round, the rods of the stand are also made slightly stronger since they were a bit weak in the past and broke off easily especially of you place the stand on a very rough surface.
Multi AV Terminal:
A Multi-AV terminal, with included cable, is provided and it allows you to connect your MHS PM1 camera to many other devices like your PC or for that matter, even your television, for the sake of easy and quick playback. You need to connect the cable to the terminal that you will find at the bottom of the camcorder, and then to your TV. Then, you can control the options on your TV screen, select the videos and pictures that you want to play and then they will be played on the big screen. This is a pretty cool feature provided by Sony since after all, you want to watch the movies that are shot by yourself.
Memory:
With the MHS-PM1 HD Snapshot Camcorder, you can record videos and still images directly to a memory card, in this case, the Memory Stick PRO Duo™ media which is sold separately in stores. This is meant for the easy transfer of files to your compatible PC or Mac. This is a simple process and you can insert the memory card into the card reader of your computer and then view, edit and share the pictures easily. This memory card can also be used for sending e-mail, printing, or even sharing the pictures on the MHS PM1, with any other Memory Stick PRO Duo™ compatible device with you. These memory cards are sold separately in the market and they range from 1 GB to 16 GB of memory. For normal usage, you can buy the 4 GB one and for frequent usage, you can buy the 16 GB one. Only this type of cards is compatible with the camcorder and it may or may not be compatible with the other types of cards.
Easy Switching:
With the introduction of the Easy Switching feature on the MHS PM1 Flash Memory Camcorder, you can now enjoy the luxury of having individual buttons for both Movie and still shooting. This allows you to simultaneously switch between the two modes, i.e., from video recording mode to the still photo capture mode, and that too with the simple toggling of a button, called the switch button. This feature may help in two ways; it helps you to take pictures separately even while shooting videos, and another thing is, you can take snapshots of the recording or even recorded videos. Hence, this is another useful feature from Sony that you will find on the MHS PM1.
MP4:
MP4 is one of the most popular multimedia formats that can easily compress the size of your audio and video. Hence, they help you in making your media files very small, small enough to be easily transferred to your PC or Mac. Another important ability of this format of videos is that it is also highly compatible with almost all the websites of the Web, like YouTube and Photo Bucket, so that you can simply upload your media on to the internet and also save a lot of time. No need of converters now that you will otherwise have to make use of if you want to upload videos on to the internet.
Hence, as you can see, this is a very huge package of features provided by Sony, on the MHS PM1. Although most of them are there in the previous models from Sony, some others are newly introduced and are already a hit in the market.
Performance:
The performance aspects of any camera are very important in deciding the usability of it. Over the years, Sony has produced very qualitative products and the camcorders are no exception for that.
Video:
As we have already seen under the features section, with the help of a very good lens and good features in combination with nice options that can alter the shooting modes according the conditions outside, the MHS PM1 is one of the best performing camcorders Sony has ever produced. There is also no other camcorder in the market that comes with so many video options and settings. Hence, considering all these and also the quality of pictures that the camcorder produces, you can easily tell that this one is a very good performing camcorder, when it comes to the videos.
Audio:
For any good camcorder, there must be solid audio hardware, since good videos always need good audio backup. Sony has always taken care of the audio performance of its cameras and camcorders and this time also, it has given its best in doing the same. Now, coming to the audio features of the MHS PM1, the details are as follows- Recording Format : Mono and Microphone : Built-in Mono Microphone. Although there is no stereo mode for the speakers, unlike many other precursors of the MHS PM1, you still receive very good sounds with fine voice clarity, making the audio support the videos of the MHS PM1 very well.
Connectivity:
In addition to the already discussed USB 2.0 feature, the MHS PM1 also comprises a few other connectivity features that make the camcorder a very good connecting device. The different connectivity ports that you will find on the MHS PM1 include Terminal Audio/Video, Component Video, Multi A/V Analogue Audio/Video. Hence, connecting your camcorder to any other compatible electronic device has never been this easy.
So, clearly, Sony has tried to give its best in providing you a very qualitative camcorder and also for a very good bargain.
Battery and Power Consumption:
The Sony MHS PM1 comes with a very special battery that can give you a longer battery life. A specially made battery of type Info Lithium in association with Accu Power™ Meter System of type NP-BK1, gives you a long standing battery that helps you shoot for hours together. The battery is also removable and rechargeable, which means that you can always have a spare battery with you just in case of emergency. The battery can also be charged and the details regarding it are: Power Requirement: 3.6V for the battery pack; 4.2V for the AC Adaptor. Power Consumption in full operation mode is about 2.0W, which is really good for a camcorder. It also charges very quickly. So, you can save your time as well as money.
Warranty:
Sony offers a parts and labour warranty for a period of one year from the original date of purchase of the MHS PM1.
Verdict:
Considering all the above details of the Sony MHS PM1 camcorder, it can be said that it is one of the best in the market and it is also priced so well that it is very affordable and if you are looking for a good camcorder along with a cute design and lots of features, then you can go for the Sony MHS PM1. Of course, this is not the end of it as there are scores of top class camcorders in the market especially from Sony. So, just in case this is not the right one you are looking for or even if you are willing to pay even higher, there are lots of other high definition camcorders, some of them even better than this one, waiting for you. Hence, you can afford to have a brief look at their reviews as well on this very website itself.
Check other Sony Handycam Reviews, Best Pocket Camcorders in this website.
Sony MHS-PM1 Compact Size Camcorder – Technical Specification Table
| Manufacturer | Sony |
| Model Name | MHS PM1 |
| Form Factor | Candy Bar |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 103 x 55 x 24mm |
| Weight | 120 grams |
| Display | 1.8” TFT LCD Screen |
| VIDEO FEATURES | |
| Formats Supported | MP4 |
| Image Size | 1440 x 1080 |
| Instant Shooting | Yes |
| Minimum Luminosity | 3 Lux |
| AUDIO FEATURES | |
| Audio System | Mono |
| Built in Microphone | Yes |
| Specific features | Built in Speaker |
| CAMERA FEATURES | |
| Sensor pixels | 5038K |
| Snap Shot | Yes |
| Switching | Yes, picture to video and vice versa |
| Photo Burst Mode | Yes |
| Webcam Function | No |
| Features | |
| Specific features | Image Stabilisation, Shooting Modes, USB 2.0, Memory Card |
| Others | |
| Sensor | CMOS |
| Photo mode | Yes |
| Face detection | Yes |
| Zoom Ratio (Digital) | 4 x |
| PORTS AND CONNECTIVITY | Audio Output, Video Output, USB Output |
| Battery Life | One Hour per each battery |
| Warranty | One year |
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