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The Sony Cybershot DSC M1 is a 5.1 megapixel digital camera with a 3x Optical zoom lens that takes digital camera design to a new and rather unconventional place. The DSC-M1 is based upon the DSC-T1 but has a design that resembles a vertical camera phone design with an innovative swivel action. Pictures are the best way to get a handle on this unusual new design (click to enlarge the pictures scattered through this article).
Get the Latest Price on the Sony Cybershot DSC-M1
Steve's Digicams reviews the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-M1 and writes - 'The Cyber-shot DSC-M1 is a compact 5.1-megapixel digital still camera that features VGA resolution MPEG4 motion video capture at 30fps with stereo audio. 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 to for direct access to recording stills and video.'
The Sony Cybershot DSC-M1 is a camera designed to increase the quality of video that digital cameras can offer. It offers MPEG4 (MPEGMOVIE4TV) which means higher quality video (up to 50% more vertical resolution). It also offers not one but two microphones - allowing stereo sound recording.
The innovations don't stop there - this camera has 4 shutter buttons - a capability to set a 5 second limit on video clips - and an interesting hybrid recording mode which allows the recording of a combination of both video and still images with just one press of the shutter button.
This $600 (US ) camera is expected to ship in December 2004.
PC Mag reviews the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 and writes - 'As we said in our preview, the video capabilities and quality of digital still cameras and hybrid cameras still haven't caught up to camcorders, but they've improved so much over the past year that their convenience has us shooting a lot more video with them. Our testing reveals that the M1 is a solid camera, with good capabilities and features, despite a few drawbacks. We think of it as a still camera that consumers will enjoy shooting video on.'
DC Recource has written a hands on preview of the Sony Cybershot DSC-M1 and writes - 'While it looks a heck of a lot like a camera phone, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 ($600) can't make or receive calls. Rather, it's a unique combination of camera and camcorder, though that's not necessarily how Sony wants you to see it. The M1 combines a 5 Megapixel camera (mostly parts from the DSC-T1), enhances its movie recording functionality by using the MPEG4 format, and throwing it into a body unlike anything else on the market.
People probably won't buy the M1 for its picture-taking abilities: they can get that elsewhere for less money. Instead, it's for people who want to take higher quality movie clips with less of a hit on their memory cards. Since the M1 uses MPEG4, you don't need a fast Memory Stick Pro card to record video at the highest quality -- any regular Memory Stick Duo card will work. This new movie feature is called MPEGMovie4TV (versus MPEGMovie VX on other recent Sony cameras).'
CNET writes a good review of the Sony Cyber Shot DSC-M1 and advises - 'At the unveiling of the eye-catching Sony Cyber Shot DSC-M1 in the fall of 2004, it promised hybrid still and video performance to accompany its futuristic, quirky design. We found that the M1 delivers on most counts, delivering decent 5-megapixel images, a solid snapshot feature set with some novel additions, and a video mode that's impressive as long as you can afford the high-capacity Memory Stick Duo Pro media. Indeed, the Sony M1 has two major pluses that separate it from the hybrid pack: superior performance for a point-and-shoot camera and MPEG-4 movie quality that tops any we've seen from a competitor. On the minus side, Sony burdens the device with subpar software.'
AnandTech review the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 and write - "We were generally impressed with the M1's speed. It is quick to start up, showed fast cycle times without the flash, and has incredibly fast shutter lag and auto-focus times. With the flash enabled, the shot-to-shot time increases dramatically, making it a bit slower than average. Of course, what makes or breaks a digital camera in the end is image quality. The M1 performed very well on our resolution test chart. Unfortunately, the results that we saw in the studio did not translate well to the real world."
Buy the Sony Cybershot DSC-M1
Learn more about the Sony Cybershot DSC-M1 from the following press release from Sony and the following links:'Capturing that one special moment in time is, of course, the reason why cameras exist,' said Steve Haber, senior vice president for Sony Electronics' Personal Mobile and Imaging Division. 'But what led up to that moment, and what happened just after is an important story to tell too.'
Enter, the Cyber-shot DSC-M1, a 5.1-megapixel digital still camera that also pays particular attention to the role moving images play in preserving memories, and even more attention to making it easy to use. It will be available in December for about $600.
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 to 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.
A Revolution in Short-Clip Video Capture and Compression
A new hybrid record mode makes the most of the scene being captured by automatically recording five seconds of QVGA video before and three seconds after the still image is snapped, creating a more complete record of the sights and sounds of the moment. The video and still images are stored as two separate files, but played back as one in the camera.
'This hybrid recording mode serves as something of a safety net for unanticipated moments that you'll later be glad you caught,' Haber said. 'Think of what happens immediately before and after the guest of honor walks into a surprise party. A photo may have been taken at just right moment, but the M1 can be a time machine that tells others what it was like to be there.'
The Cyber-shot DSC-M1 camera's enhanced video functions include recording with the new MPEGMovie 4TV feature, the MPEG-4 compression format that significantly increases picture quality and resolution while dramatically reducing file size. Employing a reduced bit rate (from 11Mpbs to 2.5 Mpbs), MPEGMovie 4TV mode enables the recording of up to 27 minutes of VGA-resolution, 30-frames-per-second video with stereo sound on an optional 512 MB Memory Stick PRO Duo media card, or up to 54 minutes with the optional 1GB card, available soon.
The camera uses a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3X optical zoom lens, and the zoom operates even while capturing video. The M1 model also uses Sony's Real Imaging Processor circuit, an ultra-fast processor that enables quick start-up and rapid shot-to-shot times. It also enhances the speed of advanced features that help the user get the picture right the first time, including sophisticated auto-exposure, auto-white balance and five-area, multi-point auto-focus features.
The M1 camera operates using Sony's InfoLithium, rechargeable battery system, displaying approximate to-the-minute remaining battery life on the LCD. It comes bundled with a custom-sized Cyber-shot Station USB cradle for keeping the battery charged and the camera connected to your PC for easy downloading. The Cyber-shot Station also connects to a TV for playing back videos and stills on the big screen.
Bundled software includes the PicturePackage, 1.2 application, which includes a function for converting MPEG-4 video clips into the AVI format, allowing for easy editing.
Posted by Darren in our Sony category on September 09, 2004