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Thread:	Sony MHS-PM1 Webbie HD - Make mine an orange (I meant the color...)
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Excerpt:	Working in the broadcasting industry means that I shoot a lot of video, mostly with professional quality equipment. But a significant portion of my work also involves producing scratch videos – rough drafts which are then reviewed by the client for deciding on the way forward. The easiest way we found was to upload the scratch clips onto YouTube and send the details. Normally I would shoot the draft videos on a standard Sony Handycam > download the video onto my laptop > use software to edit and format the video for upload to YouTube. But it was turning out to be a pain... First of all, I had to wait for the resizing to completed before I could upload, which took quite some time since I would have to wait till I reached my office, else I had to lug around my laptop which had the required video editing software. Lugging around reminds me, the Handycam – though quite handy, is not exactly pocket sized, so I had to get used to carrying it around too. I tried using my P&S Digicam to shoot the scratch videos, it solved the problem of having to carry around the Handycam, but editing & resizing was still required before uploading. Then a comment in an industry magazine caught my eye, it mentioned that there were some ߵYouTube' friendly pocket sized HD movie cameras out in the market. Later that day, I fired up the browser and looked up this new breed of camcorders. The Sony MHS-PM1 Webbie HD was one of the models which piqued my interest. Sony has always been one of the leaders in high-quality video equipment; in fact a lot of our professional grade equipment is made by Sony. So I marked it into my to-do items to check out the MHS-PM1 the next time I dropped in at our regular Sony dealer. Sometime later in the week I could actually lay my hands on the MHS-PM1 and the dealer lent me one to take out for a spin for a couple of days. Size-wise, the Webbie is quite small, somewhere between a biggish cell-phone and a smallish digicam. Very easy to slip into your pocket, I found it easy to carry around. The basic tech specs are that the MHS-PM1 captures High Definition 1080p video a 30 frames per second rate, it can also capture still pictures at a 5 Megapixel resolution. The lens assembly is set on a swivel mechanism that rotates 270 degrees allowing you to shoot from difficult angles and also shoot videos starring yourself! Display is via a 1.8-inch LCD TFT screen. While this claims to be 'HD', it cannot rival even the basic 'true' High-Def video cams. But it is enough for YouTube grade scratch videos. The unit is powered by a Li-ion battery pack that has to be taken out and charged using a bundled charger unit. For some reason, Sony had been quite miserly with the built-in memory, it is around 12MBs, just enough to snap a couple of high-res photos. Maybe in a way it is a plus point, since memory can be added via a expansion slot and you are not limited by the onboard memory. With a 4 GB memory stick you can record around 1 hour 15 minutes in 1080p resolution, or 2 hours of video in 720p resolution. But the length of each movie clip is limited to 25 minutes each. Just carry a couple of extra memory-stick modules and you can record for hours and hours... or at least till the battery runs out ;-) While this is an interesting toy, I think I'll give this one a skip. Though the image quality might be good enough for an average user, it was just barely enough for my purpose. The clip length limitation and the lack of options to fine tune the video capture, added to the average performance in low-light conditions means that I am better off with my Handycam for the moment. But hey, don't take my word for it, go check out the Sony MHS-PM1 Webbie HD at your nearest Sony store. Who knows, this may just be the gizmo you are looking for.

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