Sony Bloggie Duo Camera (Violet)

I am a 60+ guy trying to learn how to use the Internet effectively for small business marketing and am a trainer for an e-mail marketing solutions provider. The way I see the Internet it is moving toward engagement marketing as a way to build on a positive customer serice experience and video is the way to do it. I got the Bloggie video and just shot my first segment for my blog that will be in an e-mail newsletter next week. The bloggie is good technology at a good price and with the dual viewfinders you can see yourself as you take the video. Excellent feature. If you are looking to grow a business, organiation, or charity, this is good technology to consider. Handy and lightweight I can carry it to capture testimonials, referals, and other good things said about my company.

I've been using the Duo for a few months now and I've notice some faults with it and how to avoid them. I've notice when I first got the Duo that the 1080p recording setting seemed to have video skipping issues. When I switched to 720p @ 60 fps it didn't happen for a long time. But then there would be cases that I'd have the video skip/freeze and I finally figured out the problem. When the Duo gets warm from the light being turned on, held in hand for long period of time, or just in a hot climate (95-100 degrees), the recording function can't keep up with the intense recording process. So basically while in 1080p mode or in 720p @ 60 fps mode you'll have faulty recording if the Duo gets hot. Though I did find out that if I set it to 720p @ 30 fps mode I didn't have any video freezing/skipping issues. Though I think if you got the Duo hot enough it would even have problems with that, say in Iraq during the middle of the day during the Summer. So basically don't expect to shot 1080p unless your outside and it's like 40 degrees or less I suspect. Even at room temperature if you have the light on while holding the Duo the video will start to freeze/skip after 10 mins or so. And you can definitely feel when it gets to hot. It's amazing how much heat this little camera is capable of putting out which is the big problem. Any time you heat up an electronic device it will slow down it's processing speed and potentially cook it self dead. Other than the skipping problem I think it's a great little pocket video camera to take youtube videos with while on the go or at home with a tripod. You get what you pay for and honestly is a great for amateur video recording. 720p @ 30 fps is actually a very nice setting and I don't notice the difference in the 60 fps setting if I'm just walking and talking. Though when in a car and shotting video outside while going fast does show a difference. But honestly not too many cases where you need 60 fps of video footage anyways. As far as software goes I use Linux so I didn't use any of the software that came with it. I use OpenShot Video Editor and haven't had any issues with the Duo not working with Linux or the my video editor. Overall I'd still recommend this camera, just know it does have some faults. Hopefully they'll fix the over heating problem in the next version. Then it would be perfect!

I purchased TWO Bloggies so my wife and I would have a "matching set." (yeah, I know, his/hers is so 1985, but... it was a fun idea). We used them for about a week (recorded our daughters Xmas Band concert and took random photos and videos). Here are my PROs and CONs based upon personal experience: PROS: These are very easy to use and VERY portable and convienient. You can actually toss it into your breast pocket! The camera plugs into your computer via USB. A folder opens up on your screen and you simply drag and drop photos and video your camera's folder into the screen for the software (that comes with the camera). VIDEO recording: The sound of all of the videos were good. I didn't expect good sound resolution from this camera, but it captured the band performance very well (I am also a music teacher, so take my word on this...). The FOOTAGE of the video was also good. So, if you need a VIDEO RECORDER that is portable, you'll be happy with this. UNLESS.. you need to zoom in and out.. then you're screwed. The screen options were very user-friendly. Overall, the camera was very easy to use, had very logical menus, and was a joy to USE. CONS: The still shots are SO bad. They are shockingly grainy and low-quality. I read review about "It's ok with the right light"... uh... no. Just ... no. We ended up using all of the still shots that were taken from our 15 year old camera (that we were smart enough to take as a backup in case the Bloggies were garbage). Still Shots are a NO-NO! You simply do NOT want to take a bloggie to an event and expect to use it to take picutres. It will let you down HARD! I can't emphasize how dissapointed you will be if you plan on using this for still-shots. Video is unspectacular compared to handheld camcorders in same price range (or $30 higher). OVERALL ... If you want a still-shoot camera, don't get a Bloggie. If you want a Video recorder, spend $20 to $30 more and get a GOOD Camcorder; don't get a Bloggie. We returned BOTH Bloggies within a week of purchase. Amazon was Johnny-on-the-spot with the no questions asked Refund. (we paid for UPS shipping).

I wanted a camera with a front facing screen or front facing lens for blogging. This does the job just like I'd hoped. The sound quality is much better than my phone. I've read that the sound isn't as good as other cameras, but for the money I paid, it's great. My youtube videos improved in sound quality dramatically. I love how easy it is to operate, and having the built in/pop out usb plug is handy...no cords to keep up with. All in all, the best thing I can say is that it does what I'd hoped it would do, and I'd buy it again.