Buy Sony Cybershot DSCM1 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom & MPEG4 VideoSony Cybershot DSCM1 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom & MPEG4 Video Product Description:
- 5.1-megapixel sensor allows for photo-quality prints up to 13 by 17 inches
- Camera features 3x optical zoom in a unique vertical orientation
- Large 2.5-inch free-angle rotating LCD design makes viewing effortless
- Non-extending lens and Real Imaging Processor mean near instant startup and shutter release
- Supplied Cyber-shot Station makes camera-to-TV/PC connection quick and simple
Product Description
Sony DSC-M1 Cyber-shot(R) Digital Camera is a remarkably tiny camcorder and digital-camera in one. A key reason is that video and still images are all recorded on MemoryStick or MemoryStick-Pro digital media. It doesn't use any tapes! It's also the first Sony Cyber-shot(R) Digital-Camera to offer MPEG-4 codec for excellent video motion recording and, in a sense, is styled more like a camcorder than a compact digital camera. Cyber-shot(R) DSC-M1 is a 5.1-megapixel digital still camera that pays particular attention to the role moving images play in preserving memories, and even more attention to making it easy to use. The camera, a slim, matte-black device about the size of a deck of cards, is held vertically, and its 2.5-inch articulated LCD swivels upward and rotates a full 270 degrees. This new shooting orientation provides more surface area to access both the menu navigation buttons and two "hot" buttons for direct access to recording stills and video. The outer edge of the LCD also has buttons serving two functions. While the LCD is extended and the camera is in record mode, the buttons can be used to record, and toggle back and forth between stills and video. When the LCD is facing outward, but flush with the camera's body, the buttons can be used to playback stills and video, turning the camera into a personal media viewer. Up to 640x480 VGA movie images Large 2.5 LCD viewer Auto and manual focus modes Programmed and manual exposure modes Self timer mode Approximate Unit Size - 2 x 4.5 x 1.1 inch
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
147 of 151 people found the following review helpful.
Christmas came early
By Tim Mouradian
This is a great little camera; it takes high quality stills andamazingly good videos. I got this gadget as a replacement for myold sony, and so far have been very hapy with both thenew functionality and the quality of output.My only comment is that the software included with the camera islargely useless. The video produced is in the MP4 format (which isbasically QuickTime on steroids) so you will need to get a decentMP4 player.I've downloaded a MP4 player called 'mpegable', which comes as astandalone application or a plugin for Microsoft Media Player.It works very well in both configurations.If you plan on converting video to other formats (such as writingit to DVD) you will need to invest into a decent converter,I've used QuickTime Pro with much success.As a side note, my favorite DVDSource Creator will not workwith MP4's produced by this camera.The video produced (at highest settings) is:Size: 640x480Frame Rate: 29.97 fpsBitrate: 2734 kb/sAudio: 2 channelsSample rate: 24000 HzDepth: 16 bitBitrate: 123 Kb/secOn a close inspection of the video, compression artifacts arevisible, but overall the quality is very good. The low lightperformance is adequate, keeping in mind that a 3CCD camcorderit is not. The camera does not have image stabilization, so tryto minimize or otherwise smooth your hand movements.I had to throw away my old memory sticks and related hardware(adapters, etc) because this camera takes a new format memory,called memory stick duo and duo pro. I've purchased half a gigduo pro from ebuyer which the camera recognized with no problems.The quality of stills is very good, there are many new menuoptions to play with. What stands out immideately is the new'magnifying glass' mode, and the 'hybrid' mode. The latter allowsyou to shoot 'hybrid' video/still combinations. Not sure of howuseful is that.--- 1 week update:I had opportunity to take more pictures and video with thiscamera. I am still upbeat on the video capabilities, picturesare not that simple. First off, it is my conclusion that takinggreat pictures with this camera is possible, but it requires someserious tweaking with the menus, reading the manual andunderstanding the basics of photografy.If everything is left in 'auto' mode the pictures will come outblury, default flash is simply inadequate, every single picturetaken indoors will have red-eye problem. There is also sporadic'purpling' problem, when the background turns feverishyellow/purple for no particular reason.This is what I did to workaround the problem:1) Switch OFF auto-mode (i.e. keep Program mode ON)2) Switch OFF multi-spot nonsense back to regular spot focus3) Switch ON Red Eye reduction function4) Switch OFF AF illumination5) Increase flash from normal to flash+6) Picked 3 megapixel format (this is arbitrary, I have no use for 5 megapixel pictures)7) Try to pick a correct ISO (100/200/400) and light balance by hand before shooting.8) Try to hold the hand absolutely steady during the shootThis results in nice, crisp pictures. However, I feel the vendorshould have programed the auto mode so the users don't need to gothrough menus/setup all the time. The last thing I needed is tolearn the importance of histogram and shutter speeds.To conclude, an automatic, forgiving camera it is not. Youwill not be able to take pictures at a party (or anywhere elsefor that matter) without changing a menu setting or two.However, understanding the way the camera works and reading themanual once (or twice) will improve the quality of the pictures.I would deduct a couple of stars from my original 5 starassesment, but I don't think Amazon allows you to do so on oncethe rating is assigned.
71 of 73 people found the following review helpful.
Wait for the M2
By Richard
The shot to shot time of my old 3 Mega Pixel camera could not keep up with my toddler son and my digital camcorder was to large and bulky to conveniently use. The Sony DSC-M1 seemed to be exactly what I needed. It could take quick 5 Mega Pixel shots and movies with stereo sound in the same package. Against my better judgement, I decided to take a chance on the camera before it was thoroughly reviewed by the experts. After picking up the camera from Sony directly, I realized this camera had design flaws. Namely, the camera shots tended to be blurry. I used the auto mode for all those shots. Initially, I thought the problem was due to the camera's interesting ergonomics (L-shape when in use). However even when being extra careful in taking the pictures, they still tended to be blurry. Mr. Mouradian's excellent Amazon review indicated the same problem and he actually went as far suggesting setting tweaks to correct the problem. I also noticed that the shot to shot time was still too long (2+ seconds). The few images that seemed to be less blurry did not look any better than those taken with my old camera. The movie quality is actually pretty good though not as good as my digital camcorder (that's expected though). However, the convenience was good enough to offset the drop in movie quality. So let me sum up the PROs and CONs of this camera:PROs:1. Movie quality is pretty good, convenient, and the file sizeis small enough to store over 50 minutes on a 1 GB duo memorystick.2. The LCD is large, bright, and can be rotated in such a way totake self portraits (NOTE: There is no view finder on thecamera).3. The size is small enough to carry in your pocket.CONs (in AUTO mode):1. Picture quality is not noticably better than my 3 MegaPixelKodak.2. Most of my shots were blurry.3. The shot to shot time was not satisfatory (2+ seconds andsome shots took far longer for some reason).CONCLUSION:This camera needs another iteration before being worth the asking price. I would wait for the DSC-M2.
41 of 41 people found the following review helpful.
Capture all your memories with this beauty...
By photograddict
First off I'm using a Mac with iphoto so I won't be reviewing the included Windows software. For Mac owners, iphoto works great with this camera and the camera also loads as an external disk for manual transfer of pictures and movies through USB.Pros:- small size- fits nicely in my jean pocket.- excellent video quality at very reasonable file sizes- full motion video w/ stereo sound. There will be some artifacts on playback on a tv with fast jerky motions with the camera or low light situations. I'd say the playback is VHS quality or slightly better, but don't expect DV quality. I get about 22 minutes of video off of my 512mb memory stick which isn't bad at all when considering the quality of the video. -MPEG4 playback works perfectly well on my Mac without any extra software installed.- excellent sized lcd screen. The screen is very large and makes sharing freshly taken videos or pictures a pleasure- excellent camera options- almost every option you need is there in the camera, however I just stick to "auto" unless I'm getting really fancy.- Picture quality- great 5 megapixel quality, nice lens. Honestly, I prefer Canon to any other digital camera brand, but the output of this Sony definitely is beautiful.- hybrid mode- a gimick? actually it isn't. I find this function quite usefull and powerful. with the camera in this mode the camera always records 5 seconds before hand so whenever you take a picture the camera will save the already recorded 5 seconds before the shot and 3 seconds after the shot. So you get a photograph sandwiched between two short video clips.- swivel LCD screen- makes taking shots from any angle a breeze, including shots of yourself. Also it is very nice to have a swiveling LCD when taking movies.- charging base- the design of the base is very nice. It has a sliding mechanism that pretty much guarantees that you will always plug in the camera correctly and smoothly.-3x zoom- a lot of comapct digital cameras have a 3x optical zoom... but they don't allow you to zoom while recording video. With the Cybershot DSCM1, you can zoom while taking video! This option really makes a difference between a having a neat movie function on your photo camera and having a photo/movie camera. You can also use the digital zoom for even closer shots.- stereo mic and speaker- this camera not only comes with stereo sound recording capapbilities but it also has a speaker so you here audio playback with the video you just shot. This is a function that is missing in most digital cameras that play movies.Cons:- size- yeah I know, it was a pro too. But this camera is larger when compared to the many, many small 4-5 megapixel cameras out there now. If compact is your main concern, then there are quite a few smaller cameras with the same resolution and full motion video (although the quality of the video is another matter).- battery life- A full day of picture taking and movie making will drain this battery. Photos themselves don't seem to drain the battery badly, but movies do seem to drain the battery quickly. To be safe I'd invest in a back-up battery.- Inputs- to connect this camera to your computer or a tv you need to hook it up to the camera base. That means you have to take along the base with you when you are traveling. A minor annoyance, but worth mentioning.-flash- I have a smaller Canon with a stronger flash than this camera. The flash on this camera is indeed weak, but that is to be expected with a small camera. The weak flash does cause blurry pictures if you focus on something outside the flash range. To remedy this I change the mode to night mode, but then the picture becomes blurry because I don't have a tripod on me 24/7. So pick your poison. I find the flash works well at about 3-5 meters.-badly placed AF light- fingers will sometimes block this light if not careful, took me about a day to get use to it.- busy design- really not even a real con, but also worth mentioning that there are a lot of buttons on this camera. I found the use of this camera very easy, but don't expect the button layout to be like other generic cameras.- price- expensive for 5 MP camera and expensive Sony Memory Stick media.- Swivel design- again a pro, but a con also. Try giving this camera to someone else and then try not having a heart attack when they try to pry the camera open the wrong way. I recommend to ALWAYS open the camera first before handing it to another person to play with.Conclusion- If you can handle the price, I definitely recommend this camera. It is perfect for family outings, trips, or just everyday memory saving. Great quality video that is unmatched by any other digital camera out currently whenever you need it and great pictures at the spur of the moment... all of this tucked nicely in your pocket. I take this camera everywhere with me and it so far has been well worth it.
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