I guess I’ve heard worse names for products than this one, but if you can look past the idiotic name of the new Sony Bloggie line of digital MP4 cameras, you’ll actually find a very nice bit of technology for the price.
The Sony Bloggie series offers two new compact digital camcorders, each capable of grabbing gorgeous 1080p video at 30fps, and can also shoot 5-megapixel stills. The MHS-CM5 (MSRP $200 USD) features a 5x optical zoom lens and a pistol grip body with a flip out 2.5″ LCD viewfinder.
The MHS-PM5 (MSRP $170) forgoes the optical zoom, and instead provides 4x digital zoom and a fixed 2.4″ viewfinder. Personall, I’d spend the extra 30 bucks for the real zoom lens. However, the cheaper model sports a funky 270-degree reversable lens that lets you shoot yourself, as well as a $189 version which includes a lens add-on that lets you shoot 360-degree panoramic videos and bundles a 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo card.
Both Bloggie cams are available now over at the Sony Store, with the MHS-CM5 shipping now, and the MHS-PM5 models shipping early in February.
