Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 5.1 Megapixel Compact Camera - PC PhotoMag

Product Details

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.

Quick Glance

Memory Type: Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo

LCD Screen Size: 2.5 in

Camera Type: Compact Camera

Megapixels: 5.1 Megapixel

Lens Mount: Fixed

Optical Zoom: 3

Weight: 7.5

Summary

Product Title: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 5.1 Megapixel Compact Camera

Manufacturer: Sony

Power Score: 3.9 | 30 Reviews

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Product Reviews (16)

Good Combo Unit

Strengths: Takes excellent stills, excellent video (for a combo unit), big and bright LCD, small form factor, stylish design

Weakness: Only 3x optical zoom, zooming is slow, steep learning curve, tripod needed to keep from blurring

Before i say anything, keep in mind that i am NOT a professional photographer, and that this review is from the perspective of an average consumer.

I originally looked into this camera after buying over $100 worth of memory sticks for my PSP. I thought, if these things are so expensive, i might as well have something else that uses them. You can remove the memory stick directly from the camera and view the pictures right away on your PSP. I was disappointed to find that the mpeg4 (video) format was not the same mpeg4 format supported by my PSP (although i hear that the soon-to-come version 2.0 firmware supports more formats).

Despite what some people seem to think, the DSC-M1 is very small and easily pocketable- a little smaller than most digital cameras actually. The LCD screen is big and easy to read. The menus are easy to navigate, even if you don't quite understand what all the options mean yet. The focus modes are a bit odd, but just hit the button and let the camera figure out what to do- the results are usually acceptable. The flash seems powerful enough to me. Some people have called it "weak", and i hope they realize that the DSC-M1 has a deafult flash setting of "normal" (you can still increase the power) when it comes out of the box.

Pictures are crisp and correctly colored. I took an amazing close-up shot of my thumb for testing- it looked excellent and suffered from absolutly no blurriness. The video is huge (640x480) and while it doesn't match the quality of a camcorder, i could see someone using this as a worthy substitute for one (in short bursts, a 512MB can only hold about 22 mins). You can also bring down the quality if you need to capture lots of video (a 512MB can hold about 4 hours of low-quality video).

My only problem with this camera is that some shots are hard to steady. It feels kinda stupid to whip out a tripod for this little camera, but you may have to if you want a great shot.

I paid $399 for my DSC-M1 and i am not regreating my purchase. This camera is for people that want loads of features compressed into a small package. If you want a really excellent still camera, or a really excellent camcorder, you won't find either here. But you will find a camera that takes very good pictures and very good video.

By fougie - Jul 28, 2005

I couldn't wait to get this camera...

Strengths: Good video quality, great pictures, excellent viewer/screen.

Weakness: Expensive memory cards, pretty big unit compared to current digital cameras, expensive.

I couldn't wait to get this camera but I was a little disapointed once I received it. First, you can't carry it in your pocket. way too big for that. But, what you give-up with the size, you gain with the functionality. Second, it needs lots of memory for pictures and videos and memory stick duo's are not cheap. Finally, I fumbled with it for a few days before getting used to the form factor. I...
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By Anonymous - Dec 15, 2004

I love this camera. The innovative...

Strengths: Great all round camera. Shoots excellent high-rez stills, and DVD quality video. Color, clarity and exposure are all excellent without manual intervention. Excellent form factor.

Weakness: MPEG 4 converter software should provide ability to convert to DV codec, not just MPEG 2. Video mode requires decent lighting. Small size makes video shaky at 3X zoom even with image stabilization.

I love this camera. The innovative design, twisting half the body to a 90% angle to shoot stills or video, allows a much larger display and well placed, easily manipulated buttons. I shot pictures with gloves on! If you want DVD quality video and high quality (5M) stills in one package, this is an excellent choice. The only negatives are, I think, unavoidable; the small lens requires decent...
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By katedickie - Jan 4, 2005

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1

Strengths: Large 2.5 inch viewer screen size, 3X zoomable on the fly during video captured with great stereo sound, great still picture.

Weakness: Required moderatly bright light for good video capture.

Its form factor is very stylist about half of the thickness of my old digital camera. It is a great camcorder for all out door activities thanks to MPEG4 technology, you can get 1hr50min of video recording out of 1GB memory with an excellent resolution of 320x240 at 30 frame per second. The battery wasn't last long, but I bought another higher capacity battery to make the recording last. Overall,...
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By buyer_hopper - Jul 7, 2005

Bought this camera to replace my...

Strengths: very stylish, lots of features, great picture and video quality

Weakness: a bit bulky, only comes with 32MB memory, hard to find a case for,

Bought this camera to replace my Sony DSC-T1. I must say, I was quite anxious to get this new camera. The camera seems to be the exact same as the T1, with a few added features. ALl of the menu settings are the same, which I like, since I was already used to them. My only real complaint is that the camera is a bit bigger than I expected. The pictures make it appear to be about the same size of...
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By sdcaboi22 - Jan 28, 2005

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