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(More customer reviews)I got my camera today and I was excited to take it for a test drive. My initial impression while unboxing it was how sleek & well packaged it was (the heavy thick internal box was very much like iphone and ipod). You get the camera, a usb extender cable, a camera tether/strap and the documents. The software is built into the camera so don't be shocked when you don't see it. The battery was fully charged when I got mine so I was instantly able to power it on and check it out. I started to read some documents and they told me to register and install the software before getting stated. Below I will breakdown the following process step by step.
>> Registration/Software/Setup:
When you get the camera out of the box you can plug it into your USB port on your machine. (Remember to have the power turned on when you plug it into the USB or it wont get detected) Two new folders show up on your drive list.."Bloggie" & "Bloggie Software". You then run the camera software called "Setup_Bloggie" (for windows or mac) located in the "Bloggie Software" folder. You can now register your camera online via their software (in which it plugs in all the serial number data for you which makes it easy), then the software sets up somewhat quickly (few minutes).
*Firmware Update: (Not required, but I did it... skip this step if you're not interested.)
After full install...I noticed upon software start up it told me to update the firmware on the camera (being that I am a techy sort, I went right for that. Others can easily avoid this step if you don't wanna deal with it right away.) The method to update the firmware is not obvious anywhere, but I found some videos online that helped me sort that out... basically you copy the firmware.bin you get off Sony's site and copy it into the "Bloggie" folder and reboot the camera and it updates itself... easy and quick. The camera is then ready to go.>> Video Recording & Quality:
This couldn't be easier to use. Remember to turn the camera side ways. Always hold this camera long ways to the ground...otherwise the 16:9 footage flips vertical and squeezes the wrong way.
You click the little center red dot button on the thumb pad below the screen to start recording and to stop recording. You can zoom in and out with the little thumb pad. The camera does a decent job auto focusing, just try to keep a steady hand to speed that up. The audio is surprisingly clear, which I was shocked with most due to its small size (usually small mics don't pick up audio well). Once I got back on my PC after shooting I saw that the video shoots in clear 1080p HD, very impressive quality.
*Video Resolution Settings:
If you click menu button, on the camera, you can select (1080 30p, 720 60p, 720 30p, 270 30p)... for those that don't know the 30p and 60p refers to frame rate... higher is better for fast motion recording (think cars or sports). 1080 30p of coarse is the highest full HD resolution and one I personally will be using all the time.)
*Low Light Performance:
I tested the camera out under low light settings to see how well it handles and I was surprised it didn't do too bad. Low light is a problem for ALL cameras though (as you need light to shoot :), but I was happy to see this performed relatively well. Just be sure if you want good quality recordings to not stumble into low light areas, try to make sure they are artificially lit.
*Image Stabilization:
I did notice a bit of heavy screen vibration while moving quickly, so try to keep steady with your movements and not stomp or jog around (which means the image stabilization isn't the best of the best, but at this price range it does a good job in my opinion).
*Audio:
Quick note on audio...be sure you watch where your fingers are located on the camera, as to not block the microphone holes or it can muffle the audio level. The microphone holes are located right next to the word "bloggie" on the phones side... further down that panel near the on/off button are another set of holes, but those are for the speaker playback. Just commit to memory "the ones to avoid covering are near the bloggie logo!" :)
*Technique for clear footage:
Good hand placement and a steady set of hands are key for any videographer or photo-tog. If you want good footage, learning how to steady your hands is one of the early things you need to practice. Particularly if you are not using a tripod or resting the camera on solid objects to shoot footage. Practice makes perfect! >> Sharing:
The software that comes with the camera allows you to upload via Facebook, Flickr, Youtube accounts really quickly and easily. The part that surprised me was Sony has something called "Personal Space by Sony" which they allow you to upload 1 GB of video footage to privately or publicly share with friends/family/colleagues. This is a 100% free service as far as I can tell. I uploaded my 1st batch of videos to my family right after getting the camera and the process was simple. You can add comments and rate each video too via their service (similar to Youtube). The only negative I didnt like is they appear to downsize the resolution of your video as to more easily fit in their servers. I suppose with only 1 GB of space full 1080p footage would get filled up quickly.
*Directly Access the Videos:
If you want to extract your footage out of the camera and bypass the Sony software it is possible too. This is ideal if you want to edit the footage in full-fledged video suite (like Adobe Premier, Sony Vegas or Final Cut Pro) or upload to your own website. There are 2 ways to do this.
The easiest way is after you plug your camera into your computer navigate to the "Bloggie" folder and look for a folder called "MP_ROOT" .. inside this folder your will find another folder, inside that will be your video footage in *.MP4 format. You will also find a *.THM file with the same name, I believe this is a sony proprietary thumbnail format, just to display the thumbnail of your video or photo. Therefore, you only need to copy over the *.MP4 video file to your computer for video editing or uploading to your own website.
WARNING: Just be sure not to delete any folders just to be safe.
The other way to get to this data is by using the sony software and click "show in explorer" this opens up the folder in explorer with the footage located in it. (Same effect, but the original way bypasses the software to locate it)>> Final Thoughts:
Overall this is the perfect "world from my perspective" kinda camera. Great for Blogs, Vlogs, Youtubers or just people who want to share quick easy to make videos with family/friends. The size of this camera is literally so tiny it will slip in your back pocket if your a guy or your purse if your a gal, no camera bags needed if you don't want one. What is amazing to me is being able to get 1080p HD this good looking at this price.
After using this camera a while now and having fun with it I can easily say for the price and quality I would highly recommend it to others. I also love that a camera like this is so easy to just pick up and shoot footage without the hassle of battery packs, lenses DV tapes or DVD's, etc... it's just painlessly easy to use, point and shoot video.
If you are in the market for this class of camera, put this on your radar. Have fun making videos!
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