Is it correct to say this woot doesn't come with an HDMI cable?

How much does it cost to buy one? Where?

Refurb Sony Bloggie HD 1080p Memory Stick Camcorder for $50 + $5 s&h
Sony Style offers the factory-refurbished Sony Bloggie HD Memory Stick Camcorder in White, model no. MHSPM5/W, for $127.49 Coupon code "OUTLETPM5W" cuts it to $49.99. With $5 for shipping, that's tied with our mention from four weeks ago and is the lowest total price we've ever seen for a 1080p camcorder. (It's also $121 less than the lowest total price we could find for a new unit.) Sales tax is added where applicable. This 4.5-oz. camcorder shoots video in H.264 format at 1920x1080 (1080p) resolution and takes 5-megapixel still images on Memory Stick PRO Duo media. It features a 2.4" LCD, 4x digital zoom lens, and more. A 90-day Sony warranty applies. Deal ends April 9.per dealnews

DonFief wrote:This thing is junk, besides the fact that it feels like it's from the dollar store in quality, the pictures aren't great - don't waste your money.

I disagree - but maybe expectations are way different. I bought mine for $120 and am quite pleased with it. It is what it is advertised to be. Takes EXCELLENT pictures - better than snapshots, not quite SLR quality (I've done head-to-head comparison with Canon EOS) but it compares amazingly well in focus, sharpness, color, contrast.

Video is decent. Gets a little dark maybe in low light (duh).

Size is great. Controls are a little clunky (it is ~$100). Battery is excellent. Zoom is noisy. Sound (stereo) is fantastic.

Perfect for travel.

ebender1 wrote:Is it correct to say this woot doesn't come with an HDMI cable?

How much does it cost to buy one? Where?

Mine did not come with the necessary MINI HDMI cable. Can pick that up for $6 on Amazon. Looks fantastic on 42-in HD screen. Video is amazing, actually. (Note that many PCs do not render HD video well.)

The biggest problem is that you will NEVER find another Sanyo battery for this when the first one goes...so as good as it might be, it will end up being a paper weight eventually.

"3X" Optical Zoom? No thanks.

for starters I had to type ssestor 100.

I own the Sanyo PD2 love it Explosive sound. I wanted to grab it again, and kinda did nottake the signs that I had trouble signing in, and finally bought it. Wanted to cancel. asnd hope it went through to refund my purchase. If not then its ment to be. loved it the 1st time. and will love it again if WOOT forces me to purchse. Wentto paypal they are useless LOL emailed WOOT, nd awaiting. I rather investtoday in a Sony or canon (sony part) 200.00 no more BS

Kacia wrote:Got it on Woot when it was about 120. Used it a couple times, and the lens wouldn't retract.. and it refused to operate. Finally it retracted then refused to come back out. I need to get it in for warranty, but I'm not real thrilled with it at this point.

It takes decent pictures, but distance video really starts losing quality. It's great for relatively close up vid though.

Just to let everyone know I had very similar issues with this camera with the lens not retracting. I also had it corrupt a memory card beyond repair and now I get a lovely system error message every time I start it up. It also feels very cheaply made (compared to a Flip cam). You shouldn't expect much from a $120 camera but I feel this wasn't worth it. For $89 it may be.

phacopida wrote:Anybody have this? How's the picture quality?

I bought one a few months ago off Woot. I have been disappointed with the picture quality, especially in low light conditions. It's a bit better than a cell phone, but not great. The video quality is decent and the compact size of the camera makes it easy to slip in a pocket, purse, or backpack.

I bought this one last September I believe. The video and sound quality were good considering the size. It is cheaply made. The plastic coverings pop off easily.
I took it sledding a month or so ago and it DID NOT like the cold. The lens would not retract fully and it ended up stripping the gears. This could be a rare occurrence but I do not feel good suggesting it as a purchase. Put the money towards a better built camera.

Have one. Like it for what it is, a cheap HD camera. The stills are fairly worthless unless lighting is ideal or you don't mind cell-phone-quality pictures with a much higher megapixel count.

Dislike: doesn't recharge while turned on.

Also, if you're one to watch a video and comment to yourself or to the world, "Why can't anyone hold a bleeping camera steady, fer cryin' out loud?!?!?"... and then you buy this and use it, you'll stop saying that. The built-in image stabilization does quite a bit to de-shake what you think is your steady hand, though.

And, unless your tripod is absolutely stationary on land with no wind or it's welded to the vehicle, having a tripod mount on the very bottom in the very corner with the entire leverage and whims of physics at hand is going to result in shaking. It is possible an MP3-slash-iPhone-holder-type-widget that grabs it from the side with spring-loaded arms would be more steady.

How big of a memory card should I get for this? Is 16G SDHC ok? What is average file size for say 720 60fps 1 min clip?

Batman4oz wrote:It does sound fairly impressive...but...I still have my doubts about this particular, and ever-popular, Shape for a camera. Those who have one (any kind, but this shape)...how comfortable is it while using?
Oh..and now I know why CompUSA and Circuit City went out of B&M business...they are trying to sell this camera for $328.99!! Yipes!

They are owned by one company now that had nothing to do with their original Brick & Mortar day...

reluctant wrote:What happens if you leave the last picture on the card? Say you have 100 pictures, but only erase #1-99. Does the next picture you take become #101? or #2?

If you leave the last picture/movie in the memory the numbering continues sequentially. It resets to 1 only when you delete all files.

Jooki wrote:How big of a memory card should I get for this? Is 16G SDHC ok? What is average file size for say 720 60fps 1 min clip?

At 1080p 30fps, a 16GB SDHC stores over 2.5 hours of video, but remember it only records up to 20 minutes clips. A class 6 or class 10 SDHC card is recommended.

MikeRaphone wrote:The biggest problem is that you will NEVER find another Sanyo battery for this when the first one goes...so as good as it might be, it will end up being a paper weight eventually.

Amazon sells OEM batteries for this camera for $39 and non-OEM for around $10...

SenSo wrote:No Time Lapse Video = No Sale

... and I really liked this one/this price.

Anybody out there know of an inexpensive pocket video recorder that does time lapse video?

Not quite pocket size like this deal, but pretty inexpensive; the
JVC GZ-HM320 does a pretty good time lapse - I've had fun with it.

bought one the last time it was up here, and is disappointed with the quality. Feels cheap, bright situations tend to white-out the picture, and seems to have a fairly narrow field of view even at maximum wide-angle setting. Would not recommend.

in for 1. not sure how i could be disappointed with this thing - i mean i'm only spending $90 on a camcorder - i'm not expecting something that's going to take professional quality shots

Impressed: http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B003ZYEKJ0/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_2?ie=UTF8&index=2

Now, when I lived in Guatemala I knew a a professional photographer who used an outdated, banged up camera but still took pictures that ended up in galleries. Anyway, sometimes it's not the price of your tool, but the skill with which you use it. Just sayin'....

dliidlii wrote:Refurb Sony Bloggie HD 1080p Memory Stick Camcorder for $50 + $5 s&h
Sony Style offers the factory-refurbished Sony Bloggie HD Memory Stick Camcorder in White, model no. MHSPM5/W, for $127.49 Coupon code "OUTLETPM5W" cuts it to $49.99. With $5 for shipping, that's tied with our mention from four weeks ago and is the lowest total price we've ever seen for a 1080p camcorder. (It's also $121 less than the lowest total price we could find for a new unit.) Sales tax is added where applicable. This 4.5-oz. camcorder shoots video in H.264 format at 1920x1080 (1080p) resolution and takes 5-megapixel still images on Memory Stick PRO Duo media. It features a 2.4" LCD, 4x digital zoom lens, and more. A 90-day Sony warranty applies. Deal ends April 9.per dealnews

DoNE! Great find, coupon's good to go! On its way tomorrow.
Many Thanks!!

mariobros wrote:Amazon sells OEM batteries for this camera for $39 and non-OEM for around $10...

That's today....try to find them in a year or 2...

dandaddy wrote:DoNE! Great find, coupon's good to go! On its way tomorrow.
Many Thanks!!

Agreed, I bought one too.

MikeRaphone wrote:That's today....try to find them in a year or 2...

You're right, but I think it's similar to trying to find a replacement battery for a 2 years old cell phone (as if somebody still had one that old), when you get to that point, just replace the whole thing...
In 2 years you'll find today's $1000 devices for the same $90, so what's the point of worrying about batteries for this one?

mfassett wrote:Or you can have a DSLR that takes much better video.

My Rebel T1i does indeed take better video -- but it can't do full HD at 30 fps, and more fundamentally it's focus is so very not meant for video.

If you (auto) focus while taking video, it goes way out of focus, then way out the other way, then it zeros in on correct focus. This happens in a fraction of a second, but it totally ruins the video.

At least with a dedicated camcorder, even a cheap one, the focus is handled in a much more video friendly manner.

ajcline wrote:Agreed, I bought one too.

Ditto.

I was testing it at Best Buy two weeks ago, definitely had the most Apple like sleekness and 'feel' of all the competitors. Will test side by side with the Zi8.

The people who are claiming that the video quality is great are the same people that own a HD television feeding the input with standard definition sources and think they are watching HD because the TV is. 30 frames per second will never be considered HD by anyone other than by the marketing people who say so. The flicker and jitter is intolerable. These cameras will only give somewhat acceptable results at 60 fps at 720P. They are just like a simple point and shoot and will provide very similar results of most new cell phone video recordings.
As for the Sony mentioned earlier, a 4x digital zoom lens is an oxymoron.

ipmark wrote:Yea, I can't believe this dire prediction will come true anytime soon. The sensor in these things is tiny, the PQ isn't nearly comparable with an entry level SLR or even a point n shoot. Lets not even talk about low light performance (and by low light, I mean a brightly lit kitchen). Also, a 1080p frame is only 2 megapixels.

For video, anything greater than 1080p is mostly wasted since it isn't much more noticeable to the naked eye on even a 100" screen since there's inherent motion blur and the storage required to save a video at 2160p or whatever would be astronomical and wasteful. For photos, blowing something up that large you need significantly more pixels, especially if you plan to crop. Its simply 2 different applications.

You took the words right out of my keyboard! I was gonna say the same thing. Not to mention the skill it takes to take a single shot rather than sort through thousands of frames is completely different mentally when it comes to framing a single photo versus a video shot.

I've been evaluating these little camcorders that pop up on Woot (and other places) for a number of months and finally drank the Kool-Aid - I'm in at this price.

There is a thoughtful and comprehensive review on this model at Amazon where the reviewer (who actually owns and uses the camera unlike some 'expert' opinions bandied about on Woot) discusses its strengths and weaknesses in detail.

My intended use for this camera is to record 4-wheeling adventures (and it is essentially a throw-away when it breaks.) Its size will be great and it will be very suitable for my intended purpose.

I also own one of the very first prosumer three-chip video cameras, the most excellent Sony VX1000 which set me back about $4k maybe ten years ago. It is a superb camera but way too bulky to hustle in and out of the Jeep when we're doing trails and obstacles (rock-crawling) - already tried that.

BTW - I used to use Adobe Premiere for video editing, but my copy isn't compatible with Win7, so I've been using Windows Live Movie Maker. It is free, surprisingly good, and it is an extremely simple editor to learn. It lacks a lot of features, but for sticking together a bunch of video clips (complete with animated transitions if you want) for a home movie, it can't be beat.

dliidlii wrote:Refurb Sony Bloggie HD 1080p Memory Stick Camcorder for $50 + $5 s&h
Sony Style offers the factory-refurbished Sony Bloggie HD Memory Stick Camcorder in White, model no. MHSPM5/W, for $127.49 Coupon code "OUTLETPM5W" cuts it to $49.99. With $5 for shipping, that's tied with our mention from four weeks ago and is the lowest total price we've ever seen for a 1080p camcorder. (It's also $121 less than the lowest total price we could find for a new unit.) Sales tax is added where applicable. This 4.5-oz. camcorder shoots video in H.264 format at 1920x1080 (1080p) resolution and takes 5-megapixel still images on Memory Stick PRO Duo media. It features a 2.4" LCD, 4x digital zoom lens, and more. A 90-day Sony warranty applies. Deal ends April 9.per dealnews

Bought - coupon worked perfectly, $59.74 delivered. Thanks!

I checked out that sony one and it seems to have an inferior lens, and video quality tests appear to indicate that this sanyo one is superior.

also, I saw an Amazon review saying you can take up to 30 minutes a clip (rather than 20); I wonder which is correct.

Neat trick to record stereo with ONE microphone!

Anyone know how this is accomplished and is this a Chinese product?

I did this video, sound and all, with this camera.

DC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNkTN0rBBDU

I bought one of these 6 weeks ago in Glendale, CA. NEVER AGAIN, on play back you can hear changing while zooming. Then it stopped working on the third day.

I got another one and then same sounds except they were louder.
Then the quality changed on the colors.
So for me, NEVER AGAIN

Really you d/l from it?? Who knew??
I did hook it to the USB port, yes there is one on the puter, in fact a couple plus a CD drive, sorry no floppy though. I followed the instructions as written in the manual(I do read those little books that are sent, sometimes they are even quite helpful)and yes even opened the "MY COMPUTER" folder. The video would not work. I am not an human, I am able to fix most issues or problems with computers but the laptop unit sure doesnt love this cam. Oh and I never saw anything the first time this was offered that said you needed a card reader.

LastApeMan wrote:You download from it with the computer. You don't download with it.

If you don't have a sd card reader they are pretty cheap. I mean , I have seen them for around 5 dollars.

might think about getting a new tower if yours is so old it only has a A Drive ( Floppy )

but - tell her to hook the USB to the thing and then look in "MY COMPUTER" It will see it as a drive. click that drive open and find your videos.

You do have USB right?

I too bought one in the fall at $130 and was totally pleased with it. Best zoom I've seen, best image stablization. Only 3x optical, then the digital zoom kicks in, but no cheap cam has ANY optical zoom, making this way better than anything at the price. Yes, you can hear the zoom mechanism if you use it while recording. But your own breathing is also recorded by the amazingly good stereo mics. Which do auto-gain control, making concert audio sound in fact TOO LOW in volume as it is overwhelmed. But it beats everything at even twice its price. I'm buying again, since my first one was stolen on a trip to Pompeii. I was going to spend a lot more and get a better one, but at $90 I can't help myself. GREAT video. Tiny. Yes.

stephenjng wrote:Pretty sure it could be because of the April fools Big o' Cosmos... Heard a lot of people were upset about the game being fl.ash and not being able to play on ipod/iphone/ipad. Dumb flesh

Ironically, all those people who bought a Viewsonic gTablet last week could have been merrily playing away...

I wonder what makes South Dakota the leader in purchasing these things?

By the way, on the same trip, I used it a lot in the catacombs of Paris... very dark down there, and the video is grainy but quite viewable. I was impressed about everything about this camera EXCEPT for NO MIC JACK so I can't -ever- use an external mic. The internals are GREAT, but for interviews a hand-held mic is much better. But there's no camera at even 3X this price that has a mic jack AND does HD video. And from my foray into looking for a better one to replace my loss, I found nothing under $500 that I could clearly feel would do a better job for my needs. So I'm buying another.

I did buy what purported to be a higher capacity battery just as someone else did here, with the same result. The original "lower" capacity battery lasted longer. But the extra battery was $6 delivered, so still better to have it, as you will not get 30 minutes recording time before it runs out. And the charge is painful as you must use a USB port or charger.... and no you can't record while charging. SO charge several batteries and carry them with you if you are a recording junkie.

I was also disappointed to find you could not record for more than 30 minutes per FILE until I realized the battery would be the limiter if not the recording technology.

I see several reports here that it's a 20 minute limit... my manual said 30, never tried it.

A very cool feature, you can TAKE A STILL PICTURE at any time from within a recorded video... yeah, pause, CLICK, get a nice clean still at full resolution.

PCWorld review


Dear Woot community,

I have decided to move on to other pursuits, and no longer post here. I have enjoyed interacting with many of you, and I've taken satisfaction in trying to be as informative as I can.

Good luck to all, and may the crap be with you.


Sincerely,

NightGhost