Sony Cybershot DSCM1 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom & MPEG4 Video

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Product Details

Product Manual [4.02mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 7.5 x 4.8 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000673Z4A
• Item model number: DSC-M1
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,774 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 18, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Sony's DSCM1 interestingly designed 5-megapixel digital camera is easy to use right out of the box--and extremely fast, too. The M1 is ready to shoot about as quickly as you can fold out its free-angle LCD, and its unique form factor--the camera looks like a winged robot or a small boomerang--captures subjects' attention immediately.

The M1's Twilight Portrait mode creates interesting effects. (See larger image.)

The M1's great features don't end with its fast start-up time, though; the pictures and video this camera takes are amazing. We put it through its paces in a variety of situations, from indoor evening parties to snowy outdoor activities and all sorts of cafes and museums in between, and almost without fail, the results were gorgeous. The camera's Twilight Portrait mode creates great effects by combining a flash with a long exposure time, and the Auto setting could be relied on to deal with even backlit or low-light scenes.

One of the M1's crisp, colorful images from the NYC installation of Christo's The Gates. (See larger image.)

The free-angle LCD, in addition to wowing photo subjects and passersby, is also useful for taking overhead or low-to-the-ground images, or for composing self-portraits. After swinging out the LCD to turn the camera on, the screen can be rotated approximately 270 degrees, making complex shooting situations a snap. In addition, at 2.5 inches, the LCD screen makes viewing images a real pleasure, and we were amazed at how often we found ourselves taking a friend's picture and then showing the friend every image we had stored on the memory card, or pulling out the camera to review images privately during a few minutes of down time.

The M1's interior shots from the new lobby of New York's Museum of Modern Art. (Click images for larger views.)

It is also worth noting that the M1's autofocus does an excellent job of quickly evaluating a scene and making relatively intelligent assumptions about the image subject. In the rare cases where edges or features in images were slightly fuzzy, it would've taken a poster-size print for the problem to really stand out. In all cases, the autofocus was quite fast, further contributing to an impressive recycle time between shots.

The areas in which the camera could have done slightly better were in a couple of the scene modes-- Landscape, for example, produced less stunning sunset images than the camera's Auto setting--and in transferring images to a computer. We found that images were less vibrant on the computer than on the M1's screen when transferred to a PC, using either the supplied Picture Package software or treating the camera as an external hard drive. However, it's easy to adjust them slightly using imaging software, and the muddiness did not occur at all when downloading the images to a Mac using iPhoto.

One further drawback is that while the camera body is quite sturdy, the memory card slot is exposed, meaning that taking photographs in inclement weather is an iffy proposition. Also, because the camera comprises three segments joined by hinges, it's got more seams for water and gunk to seep into than would a camera with a simpler construction. (It was not unusual for us to transport the camera in a pocket and pull it out to find that a stray piece of paper had lodged between the LCD and body.) A case would go a long way toward clearing this up, though. --Sarah Sternau

Pros

• It's fast
• Movie mode creates impressive MPEG4 video (with crisp audio) at a length limited only by available memory
• Unique form factor makes complex picture-taking situations easier

Cons

• Bulkier than many compact cameras currently available
• Memory card slot is exposed, making wet weather a concern
• Some downloading methods caused the images to lose vibrancy, necessitating simple touch-ups

Product Description

Take stunning still images and capture Hi8-quality digital video with the DSC-M1 Cyber-shot digital camera.. With its one-touch Photo and Video record buttons, the DSC-M1 can capture high resolution digital photos up to 5.1 Megapixel or 640 x 480 digital video at 30 frames per second with stereo sound. It also features a hybrid recording mode that captures both a still image and five seconds of video before you press the shutter and three seconds after. The DSC-M1's unique rotating 2.5-in hybrid LCD screen makes complicated shots a snap. The LCD screen folds in securely for protection, and slides out for easy recording. Its ultra-slim design makes it ideal for carrying in a pocket or purse. Other features include a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 3x optical zoom for razor sharp imagery and Sonys high speed Real Imaging Processor LSI for fast start-up and quick shutter response. The camera comes with the Cyber-shot Station so you can easily transfer images to a USB-equipped personal computer2 while simultaneously charging your cameras battery.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

146 of 150 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christmas came early, December 17, 2004

By	Tim Mouradian (North Shore, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great little camera; it takes high quality stills and
amazingly good videos. I got this gadget as a replacement for my
old sony, and so far have been very hapy with both the
new functionality and the quality of output.

My only comment is that the software included with the camera is
largely useless. The video produced is in the MP4 format (which is
basically QuickTime on steroids) so you will need to get a decent
MP4 player.

I've downloaded a MP4 player called 'mpegable', which comes as a
standalone 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 writing
it 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 work
with MP4's produced by this camera.

The video produced (at highest settings) is:

Size: 640x480
Frame Rate: 29.97 fps
Bitrate: 2734 kb/s
Audio: 2 channels
Sample rate: 24000 Hz
Depth: 16 bit
Bitrate: 123 Kb/sec

On a close inspection of the video, compression artifacts are
visible, but overall the quality is very good. The low light
performance is adequate, keeping in mind that a 3CCD camcorder
it is not. The camera does not have image stabilization, so try
to 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 gig
duo pro from ebuyer which the camera recognized with no problems.

The quality of stills is very good, there are many new menu
options to play with. What stands out immideately is the new
'magnifying glass' mode, and the 'hybrid' mode. The latter allows
you to shoot 'hybrid' video/still combinations. Not sure of how
useful is that.

--- 1 week update:

I had opportunity to take more pictures and video with this
camera. I am still upbeat on the video capabilities, pictures
are not that simple. First off, it is my conclusion that taking
great pictures with this camera is possible, but it requires some
serious tweaking with the menus, reading the manual and
understanding the basics of photografy.

If everything is left in 'auto' mode the pictures will come out
blury, default flash is simply inadequate, every single picture
taken indoors will have red-eye problem. There is also sporadic
'purpling' problem, when the background turns feverish
yellow/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 focus
3) Switch ON Red Eye reduction function
4) Switch OFF AF illumination
5) 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 shoot

This results in nice, crisp pictures. However, I feel the vendor
should have programed the auto mode so the users don't need to go
through menus/setup all the time. The last thing I needed is to
learn the importance of histogram and shutter speeds.

To conclude, an automatic, forgiving camera it is not. You
will not be able to take pictures at a party (or anywhere else
for that matter) without changing a menu setting or two.

However, understanding the way the camera works and reading the
manual once (or twice) will improve the quality of the pictures.

I would deduct a couple of stars from my original 5 star
assesment, but I don't think Amazon allows you to do so on once
the rating is assigned.

71 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wait for the M2, December 27, 2004

By	Richard R. Harman (Elkridge, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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 size
is small enough to store over 50 minutes on a 1 GB duo memory
stick.
2. The LCD is large, bright, and can be rotated in such a way to
take self portraits (NOTE: There is no view finder on the
camera).
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 MegaPixel
Kodak.
2. Most of my shots were blurry.
3. The shot to shot time was not satisfatory (2+ seconds and
some 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.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Capture all your memories with this beauty..., January 3, 2005

By	photograddict - See all my reviews

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.