Sony MZ-DH10P Hi-MD Walkman Digital Music Player with 1.3 MP Digital Camera
By: Sony Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 6
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 On: 2006-10-03
What a strange combination, a camera and a Hi-MD player! Ignoring the list price for a second, this was obviously a failed project that some "smart" guy at Sony thought would put MD ahead of iPod. The problem comes from the fast decreasing prices of technology OR the increasing functionality. On a different level, what am I supposed to do, keep a spare MD ready for pictures or leave some room on each music MD for pictures? Impractical...
Now, lets talk about the unit itself: In photo mode, one can snap about 100 decently looking photos on a battery charge, without flash. Taking photos with this is a rather slow process, the unit is always writing something slowly on the disc. The music reproduction capabilities are awesome: hi-def digital amplifier, hence hi-fi and loooong battery life. The software that comes with it has made progress, but its still Sony. The body has a funny looking/feeling (magnesium and curved shape) and it charges (fast) only in its docking station. Check this out: To read/transfer pictures, you just connect through the USB cable and the unit powers itself from the computer while showing up as another USB mass-storage device. Do not try to format the mini disc with Windows (2000 professional) for it wont recognize the disc. One would only wish the unit were able to also charge itself through the USB cable...
And now, the $... question: Is it worth it? I got mine refurbished by Amazon Warehouse, for about $two_hundred. I have been an MD fan for a decade now and figured that Sony may soon make MD units only for those who have a strong interest in live recordings.
On: 2006-07-01
I recently bought the DH10P and im very happy with it.
It is very solid build and scratch resistant. The screen is still like new thanks to a special resin coating of the screen (it looks like Glas witch is used for sandblasting cambers, witch keeps its clearity for a long time). I would say it is one of the best made music players there is.
Sound quality is also pretty good and beats most of the players thanks to the equalizer. But what i like the most is the very low noise level at silent parts. If i compare that to an ipod its like day and night and noticeable with even cheap ear plugs.
The camera is also very good. And i compared it to 6.3meg Traveler Camera set to 1.3 meg and the pictures look better!! No blury corners like on cell phone cameras. The dh-10p also nailed the withe balance for almost every type of light conditions. The only downside is the small lens which makes low light pictures somewhat rough (but that cant be any different). Overall it is a great little camera aswell.
Battery live could be a bit better thats wy i just gave 4 stars, but it is not really a downside.
I love it!
 On: 2006-06-16
Though Sony has discontinued this model, I see it is still being sold so I wanted to jot down some thoughts on it. Im not sure why Sony takes all the time it does to come up with new products, to only discontinue making them six months later. Very bizarre.
I own several minidisc players and I must say, the MZ-DH10P is by far the nicest Ive ever seen. The price of it has gone down immensely since it came out. I own an ipod which is nice to just keep at work but I have a fascination for mini discs that most may think makes no sense. I think that maybe its the idea of still holding something in my hand that holds music, yet much more practical than an 8 track, cassette, or cd. You can record and erase a mini disc over a million times before it would lose any quality. For those who really wouldnt be able to tell the difference between the different compression choices, even one 80 minute disc can hold up to 5 or six cds. The 1GB disc can hold 12-13 cds.
What makes the MZDH10P so practical is the picture taking ability. Given that its only 1.2 Megapixels, it really does take excellent pictures. The pictures are saved onto any mini disc in the device, even if theres already music on the MD, the pics are saved separately into its own little folder. Does have zoom capability 4X bigger.
The quality of the MZ DH10P is excellent, feels very expensive, not like its made from some cheap plastic. Someone who reviewed this early talked about the album art, that you can only use pix you take with the camera. Not true, if you have a picture of the album cover saved in your computer as a jpeg, you can add it through the sonic software.
What else? Many have complained before about the Sony Software. Its come a long way since the days of those complaints and I find it much better than Ipod software.
I guess the most important aspect is the SOUND QUALITY. Sony wins by a landslide when it comes to sound quality.
For all the good Ive said, yes, two slight downfalls, but so slight its near irrelevant. First, battery life isnt so hot however, the batteries are so small, buy an extra for $20 and itll be more than enough until you can charge it again.
Second, one must be very careful with the usb cable connection to the cradle, I have no idea why Sony didnt use the standard cable on this one, its their own and much be attached and detached carefully.
Other than that, I love this little device and was worth every penny I spent on it. Not sure why the mini disc didnt take off more in the U.S. Its a great alternative to loading your entire collection onto one device and hoping you dont end up corrupting the hard drive on it.
I recommend this mini disc player to anyone and advise you to buy it soon if your interested because though I still see it at online stores, they will soon be gone!
On: 2006-05-13
I am going away this summer and I bought this product as a way to take pics when I need to and listen to music when I got bored...Plus I hate Ipods. I recently bought another one for someone else (yeah theyre that good and worth it)
-I owned another Sony MP3 which came w/the dreaded Sonic stage. This comes with a Sonic stage program (to transfer your music files from your comp to the device). However, this Sonic Stage program is so simple, easy, and efficient its ridiculous.
-The player is nicely sized (light-weight) and the camera takes EXCELLENT pictures for something so small. I print my pics out at stores and they come out great to, not grainy and blurry like other digital cameras.
-As always, the sound from the player is immensly good (sounds just as good if not better than on a cd).
-There is a wonderful little remote on the headphones that makes it easier to control what youre listening to.
-The Hi-MDs are a great thing as well. It makes this almost like a mini (more useful) CD player. Plus the discs (the 1G) store A LOT of music files/pics.
-At first the controls on the player are a little tricky to get used to, but once you do, its really simple from there.
Overall I gave the player 5 stars because it did everything I wanted and expected , better than I expected it to....In other words it surpassed my expectations and I would recommend it to everyone. Hope this helped anyone who needed it.
On: 2005-10-24
Honestly the product is great at playing music and connectively with the computer but the original reason I bought it was so that when I tagged my music with cover art I would see it on the screen...uh no, thats not what this does.
You can only attach the cover art that you take with this camera...no downloading the images into the player.
I love the mini really and it does a really good job but be warned if youre looking to tag your mp3s and see the details in the player.
On: 2005-08-05
This product is cool and helpfull, cause you can save data, music, pictures, and you only need the USB cord so you can share it to your friends. The bad thing of this product is that you cant record from a line in or microphone, very bad. But i like the product. The battery is not that good when you use the main Walkman, use mor the controler.
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