360º Video and the Sony Bloggie Touch
Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 11:00AM To sum this review up, this camera is beautifully constructed but has focussing issues together with an unresponsive and frustrating touchscreen. The digital zoom is too easy to accidentally engage and cannot be deactivated. This is one of the last of the pocket Bloggie cameras. Cameras like this have now been superseded by smartphones. Smartphones offer a number of advantages when it comes to sharing, accessories and post-processing. This Bloggie MHS-TS20 was first introduced in early 2011 can now be picked up at a fraction of its original intended selling price.
360º Video 
To save me responding to multiple comments regarding the same things, I'll explain a little more about what I expected from my 360º video, what I am not interested in and what I've found out in the six months I've owned this camera.
I am aware of the existence of unwrapping software for the 360 video that stretches the video out to one long thin strip. However I am not interested in unwrapping the 360º video. Viewing things that happen in front of, and behind the camera at the same time, is both confusing and unnatural. I only wanted to view the video as a scene that could be interacted with by moving the 'camera' window to view different segments of the action, just like the iPad app that I demonstrated. That iPad app by the way is called '360 video' and is just a player for a few set scenes that are included with the app.
I use an Apple Mac, and the options for playing the 360 video clips on a Mac are very limited.
There is an OSX app called ThreeSixZero however it doesn't work with the files created by this camera.
I am also aware that there is a way to play the 360º in flash…but this kind of thing is way beyond my abilities or the amount of effort or time that I want to spend to play back a few 360 clips.
I'm also aware of work done to hack the Bloggie 360 attachment to improve the quality of the video by increasing the resolution it records in up to 1080p (apparently it normally records 360º video in 720p). However if I were to do this, I'd have no way at all of playing back the video, because the 1080p 360º files wouldn't be recognisable by the Sony Bloggie software. I also believe the quality of the optics mean that the overall video quality would look poor whatever the resolution.
What Sony needed to provide alongside the 360 attachment was an online gallery where users could upload their 360º video. The clips could then be played in a browser by anyone and shared or embedded on a website. There's really no point in being able to record video that can't be shared or played back anywhere.
Kogeto with their 360º Dot and GoPano with their GoPano micro iPhone attachments understand this and provide all the sharing and embedding features that a user would expect.
As I mentioned in the review, I'm not convinced that 360º video adds anything to the experience, so I won't be pursuing this idea any more. I am however interested in 360º photos. I don't want to create 360º panoramas by using iPhone apps. I want a camera that records a 360º view in an instant and offers a way to share, view and inteact with those photos.
I was therefore very interested in the Tamaggo camera that was announced about 8 months ago at CES. Unfortunately maybe this product was a bit too good to be true as there has been very little seen or heard from this company since.
If you want to grab a cheap last gen bloggie there are plenty on Amazon
MHS-TS20 SAMPLE CLIPS AND PHOTOS - recorded by myself. Hosted on Dumptruck.
Reader Comments (11)
The 360 lens option has been around for prior bloggies from Sony. Also the video once saved will become a very wide 360 degree "wide screen" that can be viewed normally. I own the older bloggie with the swivel head that is very useful for my job.
Love the reviews.. Keep up the great work...
From sunny Florida
A
I too have been waiting patiently for an emerging technology in 360 photography, the camera ball was announced as a development on http://jonaspfeil.de/ballcamera last year sometime, the shutter release is based on an accelerometer system capturing the image at the apex of the throw giving an aerial 360 view of a scene.
So far it also appears to be a pipedream, but I would love to see it go into production
hey there,
just want to let you know that your reviews are very good! I watch them even if im not interested in the product.
so i think this is the best proof that your work here is really good!
keep it up!
greetings from GER
Dear Techmoan,
This camera includes: motion detection, lcd, gps and battery for portable use outside.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Camera cost around $ 80 excl. sending.
• Could you please inform me for the specifications I have to becareful with?
Kind regards Ronald
(specifications) http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/625107736/180P_Ambarella_HDMI_Motion_detect_Loop.html
(streetview) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NivP9XssIr8
Ronald, looks like a good one to me...I don't think you need my help. I'd order it if I were you.
Hi again, I've been thinking of maybe one day posting a few videos to Youtube. That Sony Bloggie looks very attractive for the job (without the 360 attachment of course). Well a few days after your review an online retailer that I buy from sent me a sale notice for a Sony Bloggie MHS-FS1. I think thats the first one. I could'n't pass it up. It was $39.99 once two rebates kick in. Its a Referb though. Funny thing is it looks like it was never used. It seems to work fine. I do have a few questions. I've downloaded Sonys Bloggie Editing Software and it only seems to be able to trim the beginning and the end of a scene. How do you import what you shoot into iMovie so you can do a more professional job of editing and adding subtitles and such? Should I record at 1080P or 720P? I plan on using" HD Sports 720-60P". I get from you to use 4:3 (5M) and not 16:9 (3M). I'd appreciate any insight you can give me, remember I bought this to make Youtube Videos and not much else. Thanks again for doing such thoughtful and through reviews.
@billib I'd record at 1080p because its sharper. When you edit 720p60 in iMovie it changes it to 30fps anyway and YouTube can only display 30fps as well. As far as importing the video...just forget about the Sony software and drag and drop the files from the camera into a temp folder on your computer and then import these into iMovie using the Import files option. The only other tip if to point the camera at the subject you want to record for a couple of seconds before you press the record button...to give it time to focus.
Hey Techmoan!
I've been looking for dashboard cams but couldn't find anything worth buying really. This might be a bit silly, but do you think I would be able to use a bloggie as a dashboard cam?
Thanks so much for all your reviews, they've been really helpful!
Katie
Car cams have two special features. They automatically start and stop when they receive power and loop over the video when the memory is full. The bloggie doesn't do either of these things
How about giving us a true review of the soon to be released Sony action cam. To be honest. Reviews by others pale in comparison to yours that are ever so detailed and entertaining. Give it a go... And remember that old beisball saying from the movies... If you build it, they will come... Well, if you review it, we will watch!
From sunny Florida
A
Unfortunately at £259GBP or $422 USD I'll have to wait for a significant price drop before I could pick one up.