Hey! You should know that this product has been discontinued. Here are our current recommended cameras in the Point and Shoot Digital Cameras category.
Sony CyberShot M2
Editor's Review
The Sony Cybershot M2 replaces the M1 and further blends the worlds of digital still photography and digital video. The Sony M2 has a sleek design, and looks a little more like a cell phone than a camera. Once it swings open, however, you'll quickly see why the M2 is so intriguing. The M2 won't just take a photo when you click away, it'll also take five seconds of video before and three seconds after for total coverage. With a 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, the M2 can shoot up to 1.5 hours of video in the TV-quality MPEG4 format.
Specifications
- 5 megapixels
- 2x digital zoom
- autofocus
- auto and manual exposure
- JPEG file format
- ISO 64-400
- NP-FT1 Lithium Ion battery
- movie mode with sound
- 2.5" LCD screen
- Part Number: DSC-M2
- UPC: 3355830016583
- Release Date: Jan 09, 2006
Shop for M2 Accessories
Sony CyberShot M2 Comments & Questions (write your own!)
Thanks, Ben
Andrew
But I find the best buy would be the Panasonic Lumix LX2 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ). It has a great zoom, it is very compact, and it takes good video (in 16:9 aspect ratio none-the-less, which is wide screen!) for around $250.
Unfortunately none of these cameras are sand proof so buy a protective case.
Good Luck
Not sure I understand the question, but "yes", many people have had problems with the lag between when you start focusing and when the camera shoots. This used to be especially bad with older digital cameras, and has improved recently. Still, a camera needs to focus and set the exposure before it's ready to shoot, and this can take a long time.
The idea of taking a movie makes great sense except that until recently, digital camcorders took lousy digital pictures, and digital cameras took lousy movies. Two products are changing things: a digital camera from Sony is a pretty decent camcorder -- check the Sony M2 at digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... our camcorder site (digitalcamera-hq.com/camcor... in the next few days for news about a new camcorder/camera that seems to be good at both.
Tom
Len
This is an interesting question because you can approach it from either direction.
For Camcorders, the Sony DVD405 has a pretty good still-photo mode, similar to a 3 megapixel digital camera. This might be a little pricy. For most camcorders however, it's hard to find sensors capable of capturing images with a quality higher than 640x480, which isn't exactly great for still photos.
The DVD405 also requires a separate Memory Stick to store still photos.
On the other hand, you could also go with the Sony Cybershot M2 digital camera, which takes 5 megapixel still photos and also has a really amazing video/camcorder mode as well. With a 2GB Sony Memory Stick, you can capture up to 1.5 hours of video with an adequate video resolution of 640x480 (VGA quality) at 30 frams per second. Value-wise, it's a good option, considering you get a high-quality (and stylish) digital camera with a satisfactory camcorder-like video option that will look good on most televisions sets. Provided you have a CD or DVD burner, you can put the M2's videos onto discs and easily edit it on your computer.
Sony M2 Digital Camera:
digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... DVD 405 Camcorder: digitalcamera-hq.com/camcor...
If you can compromise on camcorder-mode quality, the Cybershot would be a good option because it's still-photos are simply extraordinary. If you lean more on the side of better motion-recording, then you want to purchase a camcorder. I recommend the 405. But I've also heard good things about the Panasonic D300. You do the research!
Sony CyberShot M2 Reviews
Sony CyberShot M2 Reviews by Digital Camera-HQ Users
- 3.0 out of 5
It's excellent camera !! Looks great! Handy !! easy to operate with multi-function. The photos turn up greatest!! 5 stars camera which is nothing better than that as well as for travelling. Won't regret choosing this right camera.
- 4.0 out of 5
Its a shame this camera doesn't open to a full vertical position or record when the LCD screen is closed...that's my only disappointment.
- 5.0 out of 5
in a nut shell the pictures are clear and bright. the veiwing of pictures is wel organized and the screen is durable. its not to large and the zoom is good quality. i love this camera. and i love the way it flips up and twists around!!!
- 4.0 out of 5
I was overwhelmed with covetousnes when a Taiwanese student of mine produced an M1 at a farewell party, and went straight to Internet to find out where I could get one for myself. Here I discovered that it had mixed reviews on the American websites, ranging from wild pride of ownership to complete rubbishing, and anyhow it was being phased out and replaced by the M2. I figured that maybe Sony had got it right second time, and ordered one from Best Cameras. I had to wait a while, it was much in demand: when it finally arrived I admit to feeling a mite disappointed. The side panel that flips out felt a shade loose, not the feeling of fine engineering. And pulling it out of my pocket triggered the panel to flip out, and I nearly dropped it. I went straight out to buy a case for it, this is essential for peace of mind. Okay, that over, this is wonderful toy that you just can't stop yourself from admiring and caressing, and wonderful for flipping out in public to reel off shots or videos, and have the dudes around going green with envy, edging up and asking for a look, when you can cooly play back slide-shows complete with fade-ins and background music, and have them drooling. It seems the ideal combination of still and video camera, all combined in a drop-dead design with a host of bells-and-whistle features. Unfortunately its performance doesn't come up to the best: it's an average still camera combined with an average camcorder. With only a 3.5 minimum stop aperture it's too dependent on flash and no good for low-light videos. The movie feature is good in that you can use full optical zoom, but there's no image stabilisation, giving you jerky pictures. Even still pictures can blur using zoom, and landscapes taken in winter light have a distinctly bluish tinge.
All the same, I still keep fingering and stroking it, and supress its drawbacks. It's not for serious photography, but if you are prepared to lash out the cash, it's a brilliant fashion item and toy.
