Sony DSC-M1: Good Video, Disappointing Pictures
by Stephen Caston on June 20, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
Final Words
The DSC-M1 is Sony's attempt to make a true hybrid digicam offering both extended high quality video recording and all the still camera features that you have come to expect from a modern digicam. As with all cameras, we have found some positives and negative points throughout our review. To start, 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. Our sample images are all characterized by soft/fuzzy details. In addition, we spotted JPEG artifacts throughout several images during our testing. The M1 isn't the best in terms of noise either. Even at ISO 100, we were surprised by the level of noise that we saw in the images. We noticed a strong yellowish cast when using Auto white balance under tungsten light (which is fairly normal compared to other digicams). However, we didn't expect to see a slight bluish cast when using Auto WB under direct sunlight.Other than taking still images, the other main selling point of the M1 is its MPEG-4 video capability. We were very impressed with the quality of the video files. The M1 can record stereo audio and video at 640x480 and 30 fps. Thanks to the M1's MPEG-4 compression, the video file sizes are much smaller than those of comparable quality from other digicams using MPEG-1 compression. The M1 allows the use of the optical zoom during video recording as well as image adjustments such as white balance, exposure compensation, etc. Overall, the video mode is very impressive. It is unfortunate that the still image quality suffers from so many problems. If the M1 were priced under $400, it might be a decent buy for someone who shoots a lot of video and is looking for a compact dual-function camera. As long as they don't plan on making still prints larger than 8x10" or doing any heavy cropping, the M1 would fit the task. However, considering the $500 price tag, it doesn't seem worth it. The M1 was a good start by Sony, but more work needs to be done to improve the still image quality. We are excited by the future of MPEG-4 video modes in newer digicams by companies such as Casio, Pentax, Samsung, and Sony. Hopefully, newer cameras will have a better balance between the video and still image functionality.
| Pros | Cons |
| - Good resolution - Very fast startup time - Very fast cycle times w/o flash - Excellent movie mode - Live histogram - Decent battery life - AF-assist lamp - Very good movie mode - Excellent macro (magnifying glass) mode |
- Fuzzy/Muddy details - JPEG artifacts - Noise in images (even at ISO 100) - Slow cycle time w/flash - Recessed option buttons - Auto WB produces yellowish cast under tungsten light - Auto WB produces slightly cool cast in direct sunlight |
Thanks again to Newegg.com for loaning us the Sony DSC-M1 for review.
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Gatak - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
The video is 29.97 FPS. This seem to be rather odd to me. Is it the raw video or did someone convert it? Why would a camera record at 29.94 instead of 30? Makes no sense at all. It would also be nice if it was possible to choose FPS from 1 per x minute up to 30fps. That could make it really useful.yacoub - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
It's amazing how obnoxious society is becoming. Just use a phone as a phone, or a communication device as a communication device (phone, email, txt msg'ing). All this camera and video stuff is ugh.PrinceGaz - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
#7- I think some people just look at the pictures and don't bother reading the article.Personally I like products that use AA batteries because you don't have to buy an expensive proprietary battery as a backup or when the included one fails. NiMH AA cells have capacities of as much as 2300mAh so battery life isn't a problem-- if anything products using AA cells normally have a longer battery life than those using small proprietary batteries (such as the 680mAh capacity of the DSC-M1's battery). The other advantage of AA cells is that in an emergency you can always buy a couple of alkalines and use them, though that should only be as a last resort.
I think the main problem of the DSC-M1 is it uses Sony's Memory Stick for storage rather than the cheap and industry standard SD cards. Stupid Sony.
sxr7171 - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
Far from me to defend an all in one Sony product but has anyone actually read the article or looked at some of the pictures at least? The AA battery was just for size comparison, it uses a Li-Ion battery. I knew this thing was a piece of crap regardless of "Carl-Zeiss" being written on the lens. It's all a stupid marketing gimmick like having a so-called Mark Levinson stereo in your car. Most Mark Levinson systems cost more than the stupid Toyota.stephencaston - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
Thanks for the comments guys. I think I've fixed the link problems.Johnmcl7 - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
Yeah, the image links are messed up, they include the paragraphs below.Interesting read, I'm not much of a video fanatic but I do like to recored the occasional clip, I'm currently using a Fuji S7000 which records at 640x480 and 30 frames per second, but as mentioned in the article it's mpeg-1 so it takes vast amounts of space, something like a meg per second, giving me only 15 minutes recording on a 1GB card. I look forward to mpeg4 recording becoming standard.
I use the camera attachment for my Archos AV340 which records straight to mpeg4, more than happy with the quality and there's plenty of room for the recorded movie. Unfortunately the device is in for repair, very much missing this ability on my digital cameras.
John
JustAnAverageGuy - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
Kind of messed up the image links on the first, second, and ninth pages. No?sprockkets - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
either that or use proprietary batteries. At least you can use ni-mh but they won't last long probably in digital cameras.Locut0s - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
I'm always wary of products that try to be all things to all people, or simply integrate a number of different functions together. More often than not you end up with a product that does everything OK but no one thing great. Or does one thing great but the rest of the stuff feels like an afterthought. I also dislike products that use AA batteries, my experience is that they eat them for lunch. I also hate wasting them.Still I suppose there is a place for these types of products for those for whom owning an ALL-IN-ONE product trumps quality issues.
Boonesmi - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
i want one