Sony Bloggie

Overall, the sound is a bit raspy and tinny, but the Bloggie does capture dialogue well for interviews and background is ambience is recorded with startling clarity. Alas, the internal sound is mono-only with no external mic option – a feature offered in stereo on the Kodak Zi8. The Info Lithium battery is quoted as lasting between 60mins (typical) and 95mins (continuous), though the Bloggie didn’t ever die on us because every time we uploaded content it began to charge.

You'll need the MHS-PM5K to get 360 lens, the MHS-PM5 doesn't include it

Undoubtedly, it’s the video quality and the ease of use of the Bloggie that impress, rather than the 360-degree gimmickry. The on-board PMB Portable software enables uploads of video or stills to your favourite video or photo sharing site with the option to include preferred URLs for alternative destinations. Of course, you can import files to iMovie or some other package for local editing too, as the Bloggie’s MP4 files don’t cause any major headaches for playback.

Verdict

Compared to other models of this ilk, Sony’s MHS-PM5K Bloggie certainly offers decent video and stills. The articulating lens makes shooting easy and creative and even the digital zoom gives better results than you’d expect, it’s just a shame its operation wasn’t smoother. The 360-degree mode definitely needs refining, but could be good, one day. That aside, support for SD cards will potentially win over new users, as well as its convenience. You don’t need to carry a lot of paraphernalia with the Bloggie, not even a charger is necessary, as it charges when connected to a computer. If you’re travelling and want to share photos and videos quickly on-line, then the Bloggie was made with you in mind. ®

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