Sony Bloggie Touch MHS-TS20 (Silver)

Pros: + Great video quality
+ Easy to use
+ 12.8MP still camera
+ 1080p supported (as well as 720p)
+ Built-in USB port
+ Built-in mini-HDMI port
+ Attractive appearance
+ SteadyShot image stabilization (not optical)

Cons: - Middling still photo quality
- Hard to grip
- No pouch or case included
- Goofy name

Summary: Sony has introduced an interesting twist to the saturated pocket camcorder market with the new Bloggie Touch (MHS-TS20). Unlike the touch controls of the Flip MinoHD, the Bloggie Touch has a large 3.0 inch widescreen touch screen. Anything to add to the already stale stable of current pocket camcorders is a welcome change. Ultimately though, two main requirements need to be met for this style of video recording device; they must be easy to use and have good video quality. On both counts, the Sony Bloggie delivers.

A couple of years ago, I bought one of the original Flip pocket camcorders from Costco. It was somewhat bulky, took standard definition video and ran on AA batteries. But we loved it as a family for being super simple, fairly cheap, and allowing us to capture spontaneous memories. We then upgraded to a Flip MinoHD but never had the same affection for it the way we did with our original Flip. I also had experience using the Creative Labs Vado and so I had a good sampling of what the pocket camcorder market offered. When I initially ordered the Sony Bloggie through Amazon's Vine Program, I was expecting a toy-like camcorder-- a My First Sony camcorder. I was wrong. The cutesy, youth-oriented name disguised the fact that the Bloggie Touch was a very capable, easy, and fun to use pocket camcorder.

USABILITY
Even if you haven't used a touch screen device before, the Bloggie Touch will be very easy to figure out. Once you get past the initial demo video, you'll be prompted to set the language, date, and time and then you'll be ready to shoot your first video. The large 3.0" widescreen touch screen is fun to use and responsive. The itty bitty screens of the Flip or Vado were a bit of a chore to preview videos with but not so with the Bloggie Touch. There are just three physical buttons on the Bloggie- Power ON/OFF, Movie Button, and the still image shutter. That's it. All other functions and settings are are accessed through the touch screen. Though you can hold and record the Bloggie Touch in portrait or landscape orientations, keep in mind that it will be recorded in those orientations. Unlike the Flip or Vado, the Bloggie Touch is really meant to be used in landscape. The only problem I had with the Bloggie Touch was holding it correctly without it slipping out of my hands. The Bloggie Touch is very svelte and made out of slippery plastic. The front has a brushed finish while the side and back are a matte finish. Since you're supposed to hold it in landscape mode, it can be challenging to hold it with two hands without covering the lens with a finger from your left hand. It can be used with a single hand but since it's so slick, I felt the need to use both hands. Luckily, a wrist strap is provided.

VIDEO QUALITY
The Bloggie Touch has three video recording settings-- 1080/30p, 720/60p, and 720/30p. I found that the 720/60p had the best balance of video quality and size. FYI, there is a 29 minute limit for continuous recording and a 2GB file size limit. The Bloggie Touch uses Variable Bit Rate (VBR) format for video so the size and times of the video can differ depending on the type of video being recorded. Below is the estimated recording times for each recording setting:

1080/30p 1h20m
720/60p 2h40m
720/30p 4h00m

It performed very well outside in daylight. The autofocus actually worked really well. I should note that I immediately upgraded the firmware to v1.05 before I recorded a single video or took a single still. Firmware v1.05 is supposed to improve the format function, touch panel operation, and focusing. As I mentioned, I had no problems with focusing so perhaps some of the focus issues that the Bloggie Touch had initially were addressed in this upgrade. Indoors, it worked well for the most part, but as with most pocket camcorders, it struggled to keep up in low light. I did not expect any different.

PHOTO QUALITY
Outdoors, during daylight, the still shots that I took with the Bloggie Touch were rather good. Indoors, in good light, it was just ok and pretty awful in low light. The problem with still photos is that the Bloggie Touch does not have a flash so it's pretty useless indoors unless you have very good lighting. Except for the shots outdoors, I thought that my Droid X smartphone took as good a photo, if not better, than the Bloggie Touch. I was disappointed overall with the still pictures but still happy to at least have the option. In fact, you can take a still picture while recording a video.

SOFTWARE
I was never a big fan of the FlipShare software for Flip camcorders but did like it for it's ability to export videos and rename the files automatically by date. It was ok. The Sony software however seems to have no real added benefit other than organization and importing the videos from the Bloggie Touch to your computer. Yes, you can tag your videos and photos for automatic uploading but I don't personally find uploading my files to Facebook, Picasa, and others to be troubling to begin with. I suppose it would be decent for the super newbie. One feature I did like was the ability to trim videos, but that was about it.

CONCLUSION
Of all the pocket camcorders I have owned and used, the Sony Bloggie Touch is probably the most fun and versatile. It's a little more challenging to hold because you have to hold it in landscape mode and is a bit slippery, but the nice 3.0" touch screen makes up for it. If you already have a good HD pocket camcorder, I wouldn't say that the Bloggie Touch is worth switching to, but if don't already own one, the Sony Bloggie Touch is definitely worth a look.

Updated on Aug 29, 2011

*** P.S. If you will buy this camcorder I suggest you have compare prices or read more reviews before you decide at: www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0043CYRT6?ie=UTF8&ref_=dp_olp_new&condition=new#?ie=UTF8&tag=***************&********=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957

Updated on Oct 24, 2011

Eidt Link

I suggest you have to compare prices before you decide at: http://beam.to/MHS-TS20