Strong points:

-Extremely fast turn on and turn off. Ready to take pictures in a second.

-Protects LCD. I have dropped on Pavement more then once.

-Easy to use and the swivel LCD is a great design, especially for strange angles.

-Great picture quality and excellent videos.

Negatives

-Should be able to use camera in closed position.
-Could be a quicker for the next picture. Slight delay after each picture.

Review:

Seriously this is hands down the best compact camera I have used and I Still don't see any "new" cameras that match it's features. I have abused the crap out of this camera and it has lasted many years. I wish they would make a new version. Swivel lcd is the BEST!

I have been using this camera like a work horse. must have taken more than 5Kto6K photos. It has travelled with me all over the globe and still going great. Only recently CCD display had gone bad which Sony replaced without any charge. I shall strongly recommend this to all who love photography and who can afford this price it is worth it.
Keep it up SONY.

very disappointed with your 5 megapix picture quality, it's only like my 2 megapixel nokia camerafone picture quality... not worth the $750.00... i hate it! used it for less than a year and it broke, the pictures i took melt on screen and the flash broke too... juz been fooled with its nice design...

I also have a bad flash, does anyone know how i can fix it. thanks

I am thinking about replacing my Sony DSC-M1 right now but am having a hard time finding a replacement. The only reason i want to is my battery times are horrid, but I do have 2 batteries and always keep them charged. The movies are impressive & the stills are equally impressive. The flash is awful.

I can't even believe what just happend with my stepdad's camera, which i use as if was mine. As soon as he got it.. it was love at first site. Yet I had no clue what it first was. It was so cool looking.. just the way it opened. I am pleased with the video and the pictures.. yet the software like someone else said is a mess. I would upload the pics yet the videos wouldnt upload.. eventually it would but I would have to do so many things on the comp.. not even knowing what i was doing; but to the point.. I took a picture using one of the flashes.. there's too many to think which one i used but as i was taking pictures I heard some strange crack .. confused as I was.. I remain to take pictures when I noticed that the flash didn't work no longer..(go ahead and laugh.. I litterally broke the camera..) My heart dropped not because I loved the camera but my step dad's going to kill me when he finds out.. I didn't even drop it.. I'm not even ugly!! lol i need to know the price to replace the flash.. if you know pleae let me know - thank you

I recently purchased a DSC-M1 and upgraded to a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo. I planned to use this with a Vaio Desktop PCV-RX762 and at varying times, as many as four different Vaio laptops ranging in age from 3 years to 1. I also have a Sony Ericsson 910 phone that uses Memory Stick Pro Duo as well.

To make a long story short, when the Pro Duo stick did not work when inserted into its adapter, I spent the morning searching for what I assumed would be a software or driver upgrade that would allow the Vaios to read the Pro Duo stick. I then paid $20 for Sony telephone help only to be told Memory Stick Pro Duo does not work with these �old� Vaio devices. (Note: the agent said that part of the problem was the size of the 1 GB device but the 32 Mb one does not work either.)

I understand the need to move on in terms of new technologies and at some point there is an end to what will be backwards compatible. However, Sony has not come even close to making clear the fact that their brand new devices that use Memory Stick Pro Duo will not work with their existing computers. In fact, they are dangerously close to appearing to purposely mislead consumers, which is easily the basis for class action suit.

I have only owned Sony digital cameras (5 still and 4 camcorders including 2 DV CAM used at work) and for the past 10 years only Vaio computers both for home and work. That stops today. What was an �elegant� if not expensive solution to compatibility between all them obviously is not any longer. I am upgrading all the PC�s when Vista comes out later this year and while I do not know what I will buy I do know it will not be Sony. Nor will I any longer buy Sony digital image products. They got me but never again.

I recently purchased a DSC-M1 and upgraded to a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo. I planned to use this with a Vaio Desktop PCV-RX762 and at varying times, as many as four different Vaio laptops ranging in age from 3 years to 1. I also have a Sony Ericsson 910 phone that uses Memory Stick Pro Duo as well.

To make a long story short, when the Pro Duo stick did not work when inserted into its adapter, I spent the morning searching for what I assumed would be a software or driver upgrade that would allow the Vaios to read the Pro Duo stick. I then paid $20 for Sony telephone help only to be told Memory Stick Pro Duo does not work with these “old” Vaio devices. (Note: the agent said that part of the problem was the size of the 1 GB device but the 32 Mb one does not work either.)

I understand the need to move on in terms of new technologies and at some point there is an end to what will be backwards compatible. However, Sony has not come even close to making clear the fact that their brand new devices that use Memory Stick Pro Duo will not work with their existing computers. In fact, they are dangerously close to appearing to purposely mislead consumers, which is easily the basis for class action suit.

I have only owned Sony digital cameras (5 still and 4 camcorders including 2 DV CAM used at work) and for the past 10 years only Vaio computers both for home and work. That stops today. What was an “elegant” if not expensive solution to compatibility between all them obviously is not any longer. I am upgrading all the PC’s when Vista comes out later this year and while I do not know what I will buy I do know it will not be Sony. Nor will I any longer buy Sony digital image products. They got me but never again.

I bought this Sony because I was so pleased with my other Sony camera. And this one takes up to 40 minutes of non-stop video, which is amazing. I also carry this smaller camera in my purse and have it at the ready. I've taken night shots, Xmas tree and Xmas light shots, sunset shots, etc. - except for my own operator error while testing, the photos have been great.

I am quite pleased with my M1. The still and the video are pretty good. Not a bad deal for the price. I own other digital cameras and this has been the most fun. I keep it handy in my purse everywhere I go. I bought this for my trip to Italy next month and I am sure I will come back with amazing travel photos and video.

The camera is great. I've got a shoddy canon i250 printer and the pictures I took with the M1 came out better than any picture I've got on my computer. The only thing I don't like about the M1 is how expensive the memory sticks are. I paid $90 for the 512mb version of the memory card. But you can't argue with it holding up to 7259 pictures in standard mode and up to four hours of video.

I've used it for 3 months to document my blog. Because I need to carry the camera everywhere I go, I need to have one that's as robust as it is compact. The M1 fulfills both needs. Taking self-shots is also easy due to the swivel screen and the vertical holding position. Many of the shots of my children are candid, and the M1's fast processor makes it a breeze because I don't have to wait a long time before taking the next picture. As an automatic camera, it's great, though I would have loved an easier way to manually override the settings.

One big drawback is it's impossible to mount it on a mini tripod when the camera is in a horizontal position. With the screen opened, the camera easily loses its balance and fall over.

I have owned 6 digital cameras and multiple video cameras in the past and this is by far the best product for the money. You get the best of both worlds. The still pictures are excellent and the video mode is fantastic. I would highly recommend this product to anyone.

I sold my Sony CD500 to buy this camera. I never used the SLR features, and I wanted something that took better movies. The M1 is small enough to fit in my purse--about the size of a deck of cards. The movie/photo buttons make it tons easier to quickly switch between stills and movies--no more jog dials to mess with. The rotating screen is excellent, and helps when you are trying to hold up your camera to take high pictures over a crowd, or to take pictures low to the ground. The lens is inset and a little bit hard to clean, but not a big deal. The software isn't perfect... but what software is? Its best feature is the ability to plug your camera into the cradle, and BAM--the pictures are on your computer, and even deleted off your camera if you want. I have a 512MB card, and have yet to fill up the whole thing in one day--and I tape and take shots of lots of soccer games. Well worth the price for the amateur who wants something easy to work with.

I have owned my DSC-M1 for 3 months and tried most functions. Photo quality is good I find movie quality good for a camera if left in automatic mode and footage is taken in daylight. This camera for some reason takes under exposed movie footage indoors when lighting level is lower. If one of the manual modes is selected to improve movie exposure the footage is very jerky when panning across the scenery it's OK if the camera is kept in one position and not panned. Whilst Pro duo memory sticks are more pricey for some reason, must be the Sony name, you can get them cheaper on EBay. I bought a second battery + charger for £22.00 which wasn't bad. The movie exposure and jerkiness issue bugs me especially from a company like Sony but all in all this is an excellent camera, you will get used to the weird shape and slotting it into the charging cradle. Make sure you use the wrist strap as the shape of the camera can lead to fumbles and you may drop the camera.