Review on Sony Bloggie Sport Waterproof Video Camera MHSTS22/B with 📷 4x Digital Zoom and 2.7-Inch Touchscreen LCD - Black (New Model) by Mike Ken

I bought the Flip Slide about a year ago but returned it after (1) it had an issue with the HDMI port and (2) found out Cisco was discontinuing the product has and will discontinue there is support next year. Chose the new Bloggie Sport as a replacement and received it a few days ago. I have both good and bad things to say about my experience with him. The good first: (1) With the recording capability in Full HD resolution (1080), the Sony beats the Flip, which didn't go any higher. than 720. I watched my bloggie videos on a 46 inch screen and the quality was excellent. I took some underwater videos of my 6 year old daughter in the pool (she is a great swimmer) and was again amazed by the results (as she was!). Bloggie has a very cool underwater mode that adjusts color based on depth. The results were impressive. (The camera is said to be waterproof to a depth of 15 feet. I didn't get half that, but there were no signs of leakage. I had to use the Aquapac case - essentially a clear vinyl sleeve - to take the Flip underwater It was much less awkward to photograph.) (2) There were some complaints about the layout of the buttons on Bloggie; Yes, they take a while to get used to, but I actually found the placement more intuitive than they did. The flip has a trigger. (3) Bloggie is a "Flip" as Flip was; That means the USB connector slides out of the case and plugs directly into your computer. If this is difficult due to the location of the USB port, the short USB extension cable that is included will solve the problem. (4) Bloggie has a selectable "HD Sports" mode that records 720p at 60 fps. That means you'll get less blur in fast-moving sequences, and you'll be able to 'capture' amazingly sharp footage later, too. (The on-camera demo video highlights this feature more than any other.) Shooting at 60 fps means playback is HD slow-mo at the standard 30 fps. However, so far I haven't found a way to do this. (5) Bloggie saves videos as MP4 files, which means they can be streamed straight to iTunes and then to all your Apple devices. That's not the case with my Sony handcam, whose videos need to be converted before they're ready for Apple. Now the complaints: (1) I don't think the LCD screen is bright enough to shoot outdoors on a sunny day. For example, on the beach, it was a real struggle to figure out if I was getting the right shots. The most important thing I saw was my own reflection. As far as I remember, I could adjust the screen brightness on my Flip; Sony had to add this feature as well. (2) The delay between pressing the photo button and the digital "click" is almost a second, making it almost impossible to capture that special moment, especially with young children. Not a problem for staged photos, but when you count to three, be sure to press the shutter button for "two." (You always have the option, of course, to shoot in video mode and then use the software to find the perfect shot; I'll probably do that with this camera.) (3) While I found the button layout unremarkable, the proximity of the lens is very close on the left edge of the camera meant that I saw a lot of fingers in my shots, at least initially. Again, it's not hard to teach yourself to hold the camera "just like that"; but it's still annoying. (4) Like another reviewer, I'm having some trouble downloading Sony's organization and editing software. (5) As others have noted, microphone placement tends to pick up camera noise unless you're holding the camera firmly with no superficial movements. I didn't find it as much of a problem as others. Conclusion: This is a powerful camera that shoots excellent videos thanks to its size and convenience. Its strength and waterproofness are real assets. With a brighter screen, faster shutter release, better microphone placement, and less troublesome software, Sony would be a clear winner.