Sony MHS-PM1

Colour (7.83)

The MHS-PM1 measured a colour error of 4.47 in our bright light testing. Its colours looked quite strong, with the image saturation coming in at 93.88%, and the camcorder appeared to white balance very well under our 3000 lux light set-up. (More on how we test colour.)

Colour Accuracy Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The Sony MHS-PM1 produced a colour error of 4.47 and a saturation level of 93.88% in our bright light colour testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the colour error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular colour.)

In the Colour Error Map above you can see exactly what colours gave the MHS-PM1 the most trouble. The camcorder did well with reds, yellows, and greens, but with blues and purples it produced some inaccurate results. The camcorder also had trouble with darker skin tones. Of course, there are no colour modes or picture options on the MHS-PM1, but below we have a sample image from our colour testing to give you a better idea of the camcorder's colour performance.

Sony MHS-PM1 Colour Sample
Auto	100% Crop

Looking at the MHS-PM1 and Sanyo CG10 side-by-side (below), shows how much better the colours of the Sanyo are. The camcorder produced a sharper image and more accurate colours, which can compete with high-end camcorders. The other camcorders in this set, particularly the Kodak Zx1, had trouble white balancing for our bright light tests. The Kodak gave everything a bright, orange hue when we shot our colour test, while the Flip UltraHD had a slight green-yellow tint to its image. Both Sony Webbie HD camcorders didn't show any signs of poor white balance.

Sony MHS-PM1 Colour Comparisons
Sony MHS-PM1	Sanyo VPC-CG10
Kodak Zx1	Flip UltraHD

The close-up colour comparisons below offer an even more in-depth look at how each camcorder in this set produces colour. Again, you can see how much better the colours of the Sanyo VPC-CG10 are compare to the MHS-PM1. You can really see how orange the Kodak Zx1 rendered colour in these patches as well.

	Close-Up Colour Comparisons
	Ideal	Sony MHS-PM1	Sanyo VPC-CG10	Kodak Zx1	Flip UltraHD
Red
	Ideal	Sony MHS-PM1	Sanyo VPC-CG10	Kodak Zx1	Flip UltraHD
Green
	Ideal	Sony MHS-PM1	Sanyo VPC-CG10	Kodak Zx1	Flip UltraHD
Blue
	Ideal	Sony MHS-PM1	Sanyo VPC-CG10	Kodak Zx1	Flip UltraHD
Skin Tone 1
	Ideal	Sony MHS-PM1	Sanyo VPC-CG10	Kodak Zx1	Flip UltraHD
Skin Tone 2

Sony's Webbie HD PM1 is not as good as the Sanyo VPC-CG10. However, the PM1 offered crisp, saturated colours without the white balance issues present on the Flip UltraHD and Kodak Zx1.

Colour Performance Scores

Noise (7.77)

The MHS-PM1 had pretty low noise levels in bright light. The camcorder averaged 0.765% noise in this test, which is slightly more than the MHS-PM1 had. The Flip UltraHD measured a lot less noise, however, with only around 0.51% in our bright light testing. Still, these are all good scores for an ultra-compact budget camcorder. (More on how we test noise.)

Noise Comparisons
Sony MHS-PM1 100% Crop	Sanyo VPC-CG10 100% Crop	Kodak Zx1 100% Crop	Flip UltraHD 100% Crop

In addition to showing you noise presence, the crops above should give you a good idea of each camcorder's sharpness. The Sony camcorder records at a maximum video resolution of 1440 x 1080, which is a good deal larger than the Kodak Zx1 and Flip UltraHD—both of which top out at 1280 x 720. This higher resolution on the MHS-PM1 is definitely noticeable above. The Sony camcorder appears much crisper and captures finer details than the other two models. Continue onto the next section of this review for complete results of our video sharpness test.

Noise Score Comparisons