Tagged Products - 4mp

Sanyo HD1010 Xacti Digital Media Camera/Camcorder - Black

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Sanyo HD1010 Xacti Digital Media Camera/Camcorder - Black

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Sanyo VPC-HD1000 Xacti Camcorder

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mention is the 1080i is not compatible with the latest version of Quicktime. Sanyo doesnt seem to care either. On the other hand the 720P works terrific with iMovie 6 (and iMovie '08 if you are so inclined) and will even work with Final Cut Express and Pro. The 720p edits and displays beautiful and burning the HD files to iDVD are crisp and clean. There are ways to get the 1080i to work such as converting the files using MPEG streamclip. The bad news as with any 1080i/p file is editing them is a nightmare as the H264/AVCHD file is a processor hog and you must wait for everything. I have the latest 20" iMac and the 1080i won't even fit on the screen and crawls and jerks during playback. As with most 1080/AVCHD formats a Mac Pro is a must.In other words--stick with 720P. The progressive scanning, small file size and HD quality will make you very happy. Bottom line, the loss of 1080i to edit isnt a real loss. When processors eventually catch up to where H264 1080 HD is (for example putting an MPEG4 co-processor on the graphics card) hopefully Sanyo would have resolved the problem. You can see the 1080i on an HD wide screen TV.

I highly recommend this camera for easy of use, portability and very good video and still picture quality. One caveat, stay away from the holster case accessory--the camera easily falls out of it unless you add a velcor strap to keep it closed.

Sony 2.0MP Handycam High-Definition Camcorder with 40GB Hard Drive and 2.7" LCD - Black

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mention is the 1080i is not compatible with the latest version of Quicktime. Sanyo doesnt seem to care either. On the other hand the 720P works terrific with iMovie 6 (and iMovie '08 if you are so inclined) and will even work with Final Cut Express and Pro. The 720p edits and displays beautiful and burning the HD files to iDVD are crisp and clean. There are ways to get the 1080i to work such as converting the files using MPEG streamclip. The bad news as with any 1080i/p file is editing them is a nightmare as the H264/AVCHD file is a processor hog and you must wait for everything. I have the latest 20" iMac and the 1080i won't even fit on the screen and crawls and jerks during playback. As with most 1080/AVCHD formats a Mac Pro is a must.In other words--stick with 720P. The progressive scanning, small file size and HD quality will make you very happy. Bottom line, the loss of 1080i to edit isnt a real loss. When processors eventually catch up to where H264 1080 HD is (for example putting an MPEG4 co-processor on the graphics card) hopefully Sanyo would have resolved the problem. You can see the 1080i on an HD wide screen TV.



I highly recommend this camera for easy of use, portability and very good video and still picture quality. One caveat, stay away from the holster case accessory--the camera easily falls out of it unless you add a velcor strap to keep it closed.

Sanyo HD1010 Xacti Digital Media Camera/Camcorder - Black

...

mention is the 1080i is not compatible with the latest version of Quicktime. Sanyo doesnt seem to care either. On the other hand the 720P works terrific with iMovie 6 (and iMovie '08 if you are so inclined) and will even work with Final Cut Express and Pro. The 720p edits and displays beautiful and burning the HD files to iDVD are crisp and clean. There are ways to get the 1080i to work such as converting the files using MPEG streamclip. The bad news as with any 1080i/p file is editing them is a nightmare as the H264/AVCHD file is a processor hog and you must wait for everything. I have the latest 20" iMac and the 1080i won't even fit on the screen and crawls and jerks during playback. As with most 1080/AVCHD formats a Mac Pro is a must.In other words--stick with 720P. The progressive scanning, small file size and HD quality will make you very happy. Bottom line, the loss of 1080i to edit isnt a real loss. When processors eventually catch up to where H264 1080 HD is (for example putting an MPEG4 co-processor on the graphics card) hopefully Sanyo would have resolved the problem. You can see the 1080i on an HD wide screen TV.





I highly recommend this camera for easy of use, portability and very good video and still picture quality. One caveat, stay away from the holster case accessory--the camera easily falls out of it unless you add a velcor strap to keep it closed.

Sony 4.0MP Handycam High-Definition Camcorder with 2.7" Widescreen LCD - Silver

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about it - this machine is roughly 30% smaller than its nearest competition, and Sony brought the price point for such exquisite miniaturization down to a level competitive with the other premium flash-memory camcorders. Every extra button or dial would have driven up the price of the unit. Design simplicity may have been a motivator as well - the camera's native point-and-shoot capability is just fine for about 75% of the moments most of us are trying to capture, and more buttons would make the unit a bit more geeky.

BTW, I have not had any trouble importing and manipulating AVCHD on my Lenovo T61 Thinkpad. The video editor is certainly meager - one can divide and trim the videos, and that's about it. But the DVD-AVCHD burning utility is fantastic. I had about twenty minutes of video from my first week with the camera. It took about 15 minutes to burn them onto a 25-cent DVD-R, and watch it on my Blu-Ray player (BDP-S350), and the daylight images were beautiful and sharp, even on a big screen.

From shooting my kids for the past week indoors and out, I have one other thought about the TG1's low-light drawbacks - they are more than outweighed by what I call 'form-factor-comfort'. It's not just the delay in getting out my big HDV unit that lets those little moments get away - the size of the tape units is inherently conspicuous and inhibiting, and my kids become self-conscious. The TG1 is roughly the size of my iPod, and its small size makes it much less intrusive in real-time. The little goofy moments when my 15, 13, and 8 year old kids all act like they're three years old are not perturbed by the TG1. This kid-comfort factor is of inestimable importance, in my opinion.

There might be two diametrically opposite subsets of first-time buyers who might consider this unit as their primary camcorder. First are tech-savvy young parents who are aware of the camera's limitations, but want to be able to grab a video with one hand while holding their baby with the other. The second would be techno-challenged people who happen to already own a blu-ray player (this may, admittedly, be a very small group).

Is there an early-adoption penalty? There is, always. Future cameras will be incrementally smaller, or slightly better in low light. But you only want an LCD so small, and the most critical limiter of low-light ability is the light-gathering ability - namely the size - of the lens. So until there is some great new video codec or a new chip technology, low-light performance won't be improved significantly without having a thicker unit. The most realistic expectation one might realize by waiting is having true 1080p resolution. But my kids get older, and less goofy, every day - 'damn good' now trumps 'even better' a year from now.

So do your research, read all the subjective and technical reviews you can, and remember the compromises inherent in the very smallness you seek. You won't find the best image quality and low-light performance unless you go HDV. But for a great second camera, you won't go wrong with the TG1.

Sanyo HD1010 Xacti Digital Media Camera/Camcorder - Black

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448x336 /300

Sanyo HD1010 Xacti Digital Media Camera/Camcorder - Black

...

the Canon HF 100 and the Samsung HMX20C and they are also small, but the 1010 just feels smaller to me and more portable. I own a Sony PC9 which was a great camcorder in its day, but it has stayed at home the last five years. (I like to have a camera that I can put on my belt clip or is light enough to dangle from my neck.) The video's that I've used have come from point and shoot cameras that took decent video clips. The image quality (from the point and shoot cameras) is certainly not as good as mini DV, which the PC9 is, but it was always there for the taking. I only recently became interested in shooting better quality video as the size of these new camcorders have come down recently. Understand that I am not replacing my still camera (the Canon G7 is my travel camera) and don't recommend anyone to replace their still camera with this all in one camcorder. However, the 1010 does take nice stills (a little oversaturated, but quite acceptable). You obviously can only use one camera at a time, so when you are using the 1010 and want to snap a quick photo while you're shooting video or you stop shooting video, it's nice to know you can get a decent photo with this camcorder.
The reason this camcorder is not for everyone is the poor image stabilization. If the 1010 had optical image stabilization, it would be hands down perfect! Does this ruin it for me? NO. Most people have a tendency to overuse the zoom lens and pan too quickly. Most of my videos are taken at wide or mid range (travel, scenic footage and family gatherings). When I do pan, I hold the camcorder as steady as possible and SLOWLY pan, almost exaggerated. I do this whether or not the camcorder has image stabilization. You shouldn't rely on the image stabilization as a crutch. If you use good techniques for average subjects your videos will be fine. I shot 12 minutes of a family birthday party using the techniques I described and my videos were fine, no "motion sickness videos". However, if plan on buying the 1010 to videotape your young children or children's sports, I don't recommend this camera. That's where a good optical image stabilizer will shine.
Ok, my observations:
* As I said, I love this product. It produces beautiful videos, better than any camcorder I've ever owned. I tried all the different quality settings and decided to stick with the 1080i 60fps as my permanent setting. On this setting, I didn't see any artifacts, or lagging, when panning with image stabilization (IS) off. I really need to do some more comparisons with IS on, but this is my initial impression. I looked at my brother in law's HI Def Sony with him. He's a computer/techie expert and we looked together and both agreed on the same things. The 60fps settings on both the 1080i and 720i were better than the 1080p 30fps and 720p 30fps settings. I know everyone makes a big deal about the 1080p setting, but 60fps LOOKS better. It's smoother. The 1080i and 720i at 60fps are very close in quality on the High Def set, but on my 36 inch Sony, the 720i when panned had some artifacts (don't know why; didn't happen on the Hi-def set. I'm sure you techies know). But the reason I'm going to leave it on the highest quality is two reasons: 1.) You should always record at the best setting. You can always down convert, but you can't upconvert. 2. ) With the software(Nero 8) that comes packaged with the product, I am able to burn a standard DVD taken from 1080i 60fps footage. As others have said, I cannot view the footage at normal speed (views jerky) on my PC(windows XP, laptop, dual core), but I can still burn it un-edited to a DVD which plays beautifully. I don't have time anyway to edit videos on a PC. What I CAN do, is splice the mpeg 4 clips together in the camera (very easy to do!) and/or edit them in camera, and then burn to the DVD. It's not Hi-def quality, but it's DVD quality and still better than any other home video that I have ever produced. I plan on getting a separate USB drive to keep my "albums" in Hi-def and play them back on Hi-def TV, and use the DVD's as a lower quality (but still good) back up and/or to share with family/friends. FYI, the 12 minutes of footage took roughly 50 minutes to burn. Not bad! I haven't researched recording on to a Blu-Ray in Hi-def, but even if it's not till next year, the hi-def footage will be there when I'm ready to.
* I love the size. Not really pocketable as some people claim (a jacket yes, pants, no), but small enough to put on your hip or dangle from your neck (I use a Canon neckstrap made for their Elph camera's).
* You can "pull" high quality jpegs from your video footage. I was really amazed at how good the images are when you do this! Very clean and smooth.
* The holster case from Sanyo is so-so. It's ok for a house party or short term use, but the clip is not tight on the belt and there is nothing to prevent the camera from falling out if you snag the case on something or have excessive movement. I bought a UV filter to protect the lens and the lens cap does not fit very snug on the filter. The filter falls off EVERY time I put the camera in the holster. I will look around for an aftermarket case to use instead. I would not use the holster outside of the house.
* The controls/menus, etc, are GREAT. I have never had a camera that navigates so easily and quickly when looking to change settings. This is a big plus and not to be overlooked.
* I use a Transcend 8gb class 6 card and it works fine. Did not seem to take a long time to write the file to the card, but my longest clip was only 3 minutes. Maybe if I shot longer footage, a faster card would make a difference.
* Low light footage is FINE. People have complained about the grain in the low light footage. I don't have an issue with this. In very, very low light you are going to get grain. Of course! Here's my experience. I took my family footage at night at a well lit house (lighting from the ceiling, high-caps) and there was no grain. When we went to the dining room for the birthday cake singing, the lights went off, and a single candle lit the room. I had the camera ISO set to AUTO, which appears to me to set the lowest ISO that will take an acceptable video. That's the way it should be. Anyway, when the lights went off, the video went black for a split second until the ISO adjusted to the candle, and the video had some grain but was fine. It's not a professional camera. This low light problem that reviewers are complaining about is a non-issue. When the lights went back on, everything shifted back to normal.
* I had no problem with focus hunting. There was very little of it and it was not noticeable. There was one time when the camcorder shifted completely out of focus but only for a split second. It seemed no different from any other camcorder that I've owned.
* I'm thinking of getting the wide angle converter (for the travel usage), but don't really have an issue with the widest angle of view. Yes, I would have loved a 28mm equivalent, but the 38mm is fine.
* Battery life seems fine, not an issue. Again, haven't used it too much, but I did get two equivalent batteries on Amazon for twenty bucks.
* I find the pistol grip to be quite comfortable and easier to hold than the more common "palmcorders". Also, I use two hands to hold the camera and keep it steady. I keep my left hand on the LCD screen. This helps steady the camera and keep down the jerkiness when zooming in tight and also panning.
* The flash is pretty good. I was very surprised. However, I found that when I used the flash, it seem to oversaturate the image vs. when I turned the flash off and used natural light.

Conclusion: Great camcorder, great video results. Don't let the image stabilization issue stop you from buying this product unless your primary purpose is taking video of your young children and sports action.

Sony 2.0MP Handycam High-Definition Camcorder with 40GB Hard Drive and 2.7" LCD - Black

...

the Canon HF 100 and the Samsung HMX20C and they are also small, but the 1010 just feels smaller to me and more portable. I own a Sony PC9 which was a great camcorder in its day, but it has stayed at home the last five years. (I like to have a camera that I can put on my belt clip or is light enough to dangle from my neck.) The video's that I've used have come from point and shoot cameras that took decent video clips. The image quality (from the point and shoot cameras) is certainly not as good as mini DV, which the PC9 is, but it was always there for the taking. I only recently became interested in shooting better quality video as the size of these new camcorders have come down recently. Understand that I am not replacing my still camera (the Canon G7 is my travel camera) and don't recommend anyone to replace their still camera with this all in one camcorder. However, the 1010 does take nice stills (a little oversaturated, but quite acceptable). You obviously can only use one camera at a time, so when you are using the 1010 and want to snap a quick photo while you're shooting video or you stop shooting video, it's nice to know you can get a decent photo with this camcorder.

The reason this camcorder is not for everyone is the poor image stabilization. If the 1010 had optical image stabilization, it would be hands down perfect! Does this ruin it for me? NO. Most people have a tendency to overuse the zoom lens and pan too quickly. Most of my videos are taken at wide or mid range (travel, scenic footage and family gatherings). When I do pan, I hold the camcorder as steady as possible and SLOWLY pan, almost exaggerated. I do this whether or not the camcorder has image stabilization. You shouldn't rely on the image stabilization as a crutch. If you use good techniques for average subjects your videos will be fine. I shot 12 minutes of a family birthday party using the techniques I described and my videos were fine, no "motion sickness videos". However, if plan on buying the 1010 to videotape your young children or children's sports, I don't recommend this camera. That's where a good optical image stabilizer will shine.

Ok, my observations:

* As I said, I love this product. It produces beautiful videos, better than any camcorder I've ever owned. I tried all the different quality settings and decided to stick with the 1080i 60fps as my permanent setting. On this setting, I didn't see any artifacts, or lagging, when panning with image stabilization (IS) off. I really need to do some more comparisons with IS on, but this is my initial impression. I looked at my brother in law's HI Def Sony with him. He's a computer/techie expert and we looked together and both agreed on the same things. The 60fps settings on both the 1080i and 720i were better than the 1080p 30fps and 720p 30fps settings. I know everyone makes a big deal about the 1080p setting, but 60fps LOOKS better. It's smoother. The 1080i and 720i at 60fps are very close in quality on the High Def set, but on my 36 inch Sony, the 720i when panned had some artifacts (don't know why; didn't happen on the Hi-def set. I'm sure you techies know). But the reason I'm going to leave it on the highest quality is two reasons: 1.) You should always record at the best setting. You can always down convert, but you can't upconvert. 2. ) With the software(Nero 8) that comes packaged with the product, I am able to burn a standard DVD taken from 1080i 60fps footage. As others have said, I cannot view the footage at normal speed (views jerky) on my PC(windows XP, laptop, dual core), but I can still burn it un-edited to a DVD which plays beautifully. I don't have time anyway to edit videos on a PC. What I CAN do, is splice the mpeg 4 clips together in the camera (very easy to do!) and/or edit them in camera, and then burn to the DVD. It's not Hi-def quality, but it's DVD quality and still better than any other home video that I have ever produced. I plan on getting a separate USB drive to keep my "albums" in Hi-def and play them back on Hi-def TV, and use the DVD's as a lower quality (but still good) back up and/or to share with family/friends. FYI, the 12 minutes of footage took roughly 50 minutes to burn. Not bad! I haven't researched recording on to a Blu-Ray in Hi-def, but even if it's not till next year, the hi-def footage will be there when I'm ready to.

* I love the size. Not really pocketable as some people claim (a jacket yes, pants, no), but small enough to put on your hip or dangle from your neck (I use a Canon neckstrap made for their Elph camera's).

* You can "pull" high quality jpegs from your video footage. I was really amazed at how good the images are when you do this! Very clean and smooth.

* The holster case from Sanyo is so-so. It's ok for a house party or short term use, but the clip is not tight on the belt and there is nothing to prevent the camera from falling out if you snag the case on something or have excessive movement. I bought a UV filter to protect the lens and the lens cap does not fit very snug on the filter. The filter falls off EVERY time I put the camera in the holster. I will look around for an aftermarket case to use instead. I would not use the holster outside of the house.

* The controls/menus, etc, are GREAT. I have never had a camera that navigates so easily and quickly when looking to change settings. This is a big plus and not to be overlooked.

* I use a Transcend 8gb class 6 card and it works fine. Did not seem to take a long time to write the file to the card, but my longest clip was only 3 minutes. Maybe if I shot longer footage, a faster card would make a difference.

* Low light footage is FINE. People have complained about the grain in the low light footage. I don't have an issue with this. In very, very low light you are going to get grain. Of course! Here's my experience. I took my family footage at night at a well lit house (lighting from the ceiling, high-caps) and there was no grain. When we went to the dining room for the birthday cake singing, the lights went off, and a single candle lit the room. I had the camera ISO set to AUTO, which appears to me to set the lowest ISO that will take an acceptable video. That's the way it should be. Anyway, when the lights went off, the video went black for a split second until the ISO adjusted to the candle, and the video had some grain but was fine. It's not a professional camera. This low light problem that reviewers are complaining about is a non-issue. When the lights went back on, everything shifted back to normal.

* I had no problem with focus hunting. There was very little of it and it was not noticeable. There was one time when the camcorder shifted completely out of focus but only for a split second. It seemed no different from any other camcorder that I've owned.

* I'm thinking of getting the wide angle converter (for the travel usage), but don't really have an issue with the widest angle of view. Yes, I would have loved a 28mm equivalent, but the 38mm is fine.

* Battery life seems fine, not an issue. Again, haven't used it too much, but I did get two equivalent batteries on Amazon for twenty bucks.

* I find the pistol grip to be quite comfortable and easier to hold than the more common "palmcorders". Also, I use two hands to hold the camera and keep it steady. I keep my left hand on the LCD screen. This helps steady the camera and keep down the jerkiness when zooming in tight and also panning.

* The flash is pretty good. I was very surprised. However, I found that when I used the flash, it seem to oversaturate the image vs. when I turned the flash off and used natural light.



Conclusion: Great camcorder, great video results. Don't let the image stabilization issue stop you from buying this product unless your primary purpose is taking video of your young children and sports action.

Sony 4.0MP Handycam High-Definition Camcorder with 2.7" Widescreen LCD - Silver

...

the Canon HF 100 and the Samsung HMX20C and they are also small, but the 1010 just feels smaller to me and more portable. I own a Sony PC9 which was a great camcorder in its day, but it has stayed at home the last five years. (I like to have a camera that I can put on my belt clip or is light enough to dangle from my neck.) The video's that I've used have come from point and shoot cameras that took decent video clips. The image quality (from the point and shoot cameras) is certainly not as good as mini DV, which the PC9 is, but it was always there for the taking. I only recently became interested in shooting better quality video as the size of these new camcorders have come down recently. Understand that I am not replacing my still camera (the Canon G7 is my travel camera) and don't recommend anyone to replace their still camera with this all in one camcorder. However, the 1010 does take nice stills (a little oversaturated, but quite acceptable). You obviously can only use one camera at a time, so when you are using the 1010 and want to snap a quick photo while you're shooting video or you stop shooting video, it's nice to know you can get a decent photo with this camcorder.


The reason this camcorder is not for everyone is the poor image stabilization. If the 1010 had optical image stabilization, it would be hands down perfect! Does this ruin it for me? NO. Most people have a tendency to overuse the zoom lens and pan too quickly. Most of my videos are taken at wide or mid range (travel, scenic footage and family gatherings). When I do pan, I hold the camcorder as steady as possible and SLOWLY pan, almost exaggerated. I do this whether or not the camcorder has image stabilization. You shouldn't rely on the image stabilization as a crutch. If you use good techniques for average subjects your videos will be fine. I shot 12 minutes of a family birthday party using the techniques I described and my videos were fine, no "motion sickness videos". However, if plan on buying the 1010 to videotape your young children or children's sports, I don't recommend this camera. That's where a good optical image stabilizer will shine.


Ok, my observations:


* As I said, I love this product. It produces beautiful videos, better than any camcorder I've ever owned. I tried all the different quality settings and decided to stick with the 1080i 60fps as my permanent setting. On this setting, I didn't see any artifacts, or lagging, when panning with image stabilization (IS) off. I really need to do some more comparisons with IS on, but this is my initial impression. I looked at my brother in law's HI Def Sony with him. He's a computer/techie expert and we looked together and both agreed on the same things. The 60fps settings on both the 1080i and 720i were better than the 1080p 30fps and 720p 30fps settings. I know everyone makes a big deal about the 1080p setting, but 60fps LOOKS better. It's smoother. The 1080i and 720i at 60fps are very close in quality on the High Def set, but on my 36 inch Sony, the 720i when panned had some artifacts (don't know why; didn't happen on the Hi-def set. I'm sure you techies know). But the reason I'm going to leave it on the highest quality is two reasons: 1.) You should always record at the best setting. You can always down convert, but you can't upconvert. 2. ) With the software(Nero 8) that comes packaged with the product, I am able to burn a standard DVD taken from 1080i 60fps footage. As others have said, I cannot view the footage at normal speed (views jerky) on my PC(windows XP, laptop, dual core), but I can still burn it un-edited to a DVD which plays beautifully. I don't have time anyway to edit videos on a PC. What I CAN do, is splice the mpeg 4 clips together in the camera (very easy to do!) and/or edit them in camera, and then burn to the DVD. It's not Hi-def quality, but it's DVD quality and still better than any other home video that I have ever produced. I plan on getting a separate USB drive to keep my "albums" in Hi-def and play them back on Hi-def TV, and use the DVD's as a lower quality (but still good) back up and/or to share with family/friends. FYI, the 12 minutes of footage took roughly 50 minutes to burn. Not bad! I haven't researched recording on to a Blu-Ray in Hi-def, but even if it's not till next year, the hi-def footage will be there when I'm ready to.


* I love the size. Not really pocketable as some people claim (a jacket yes, pants, no), but small enough to put on your hip or dangle from your neck (I use a Canon neckstrap made for their Elph camera's).


* You can "pull" high quality jpegs from your video footage. I was really amazed at how good the images are when you do this! Very clean and smooth.


* The holster case from Sanyo is so-so. It's ok for a house party or short term use, but the clip is not tight on the belt and there is nothing to prevent the camera from falling out if you snag the case on something or have excessive movement. I bought a UV filter to protect the lens and the lens cap does not fit very snug on the filter. The filter falls off EVERY time I put the camera in the holster. I will look around for an aftermarket case to use instead. I would not use the holster outside of the house.


* The controls/menus, etc, are GREAT. I have never had a camera that navigates so easily and quickly when looking to change settings. This is a big plus and not to be overlooked.


* I use a Transcend 8gb class 6 card and it works fine. Did not seem to take a long time to write the file to the card, but my longest clip was only 3 minutes. Maybe if I shot longer footage, a faster card would make a difference.


* Low light footage is FINE. People have complained about the grain in the low light footage. I don't have an issue with this. In very, very low light you are going to get grain. Of course! Here's my experience. I took my family footage at night at a well lit house (lighting from the ceiling, high-caps) and there was no grain. When we went to the dining room for the birthday cake singing, the lights went off, and a single candle lit the room. I had the camera ISO set to AUTO, which appears to me to set the lowest ISO that will take an acceptable video. That's the way it should be. Anyway, when the lights went off, the video went black for a split second until the ISO adjusted to the candle, and the video had some grain but was fine. It's not a professional camera. This low light problem that reviewers are complaining about is a non-issue. When the lights went back on, everything shifted back to normal.


* I had no problem with focus hunting. There was very little of it and it was not noticeable. There was one time when the camcorder shifted completely out of focus but only for a split second. It seemed no different from any other camcorder that I've owned.


* I'm thinking of getting the wide angle converter (for the travel usage), but don't really have an issue with the widest angle of view. Yes, I would have loved a 28mm equivalent, but the 38mm is fine.


* Battery life seems fine, not an issue. Again, haven't used it too much, but I did get two equivalent batteries on Amazon for twenty bucks.


* I find the pistol grip to be quite comfortable and easier to hold than the more common "palmcorders". Also, I use two hands to hold the camera and keep it steady. I keep my left hand on the LCD screen. This helps steady the camera and keep down the jerkiness when zooming in tight and also panning.


* The flash is pretty good. I was very surprised. However, I found that when I used the flash, it seem to oversaturate the image vs. when I turned the flash off and used natural light.





Conclusion: Great camcorder, great video results. Don't let the image stabilization issue stop you from buying this product unless your primary purpose is taking video of your young children and sports action.

Sony 4.0MP Handycam High-Definition Camcorder with 2.7" Widescreen LCD - Silver

...

tried.
In general it's the smallest solution with good video I can find.

Sony 2.3MP Handycam Digital Camcorder with 60GB Hard Drive and 2.7" Touch-Panel LCD - Silver

...

tried.

In general it's the smallest solution with good video I can find.

Sanyo HD1010 Xacti Digital Media Camera/Camcorder - Black

...

because HDR-HC1 is tape based, which means a time-consuming process is needed to transfer the movie and to encode to H.264 MP4 format. So I purchased an Xacti HD1010 hoping to repeat my success with the old Xacti C4 but in HD this time.

My first impression when I got the HD1010 was that it is larger and heavier than I expected. This is not a big camera by any means, but my expectations were set by the tiny Xacti C4, and compared to that camera the HD1010 seems big and heavy. It won't fit in my jeans pocket either (unlike the Sony HDR-TG1, the smallest HD camcorder available today.)

What about image quality? I shot a test footage in low light. I was not impressed with the image quality. Fine details seemed to be missing apparently due to heavy noise-reduction. I then decided to compare the HD1010 with my old Sony HDR-HC1. I held the Sony in one hand and the Sanyo in the other and simultaneously shot test footages using both cameras, in a semi-lowlight situation. Initially the Sony appeared to have much better image quality. But that was the raw uncompressed footage. I encoded the Sony footage into H.264 and adjusted the bitrate so that the resulting file is about the same size as the one from Sanyo. Now the Sony and Sanyo quality seemed comparable. In fact the Sanyo seemed to have more accurate color. But the big difference was in image stabilization. I didn't know how good Sony's image stabilization was until I compared it to the Sanyo. The Sanyo movie is very jittery. This is with Sanyo's image stabilization on, and with zoom set to 1x. For HD camcorders stabilization is important, and the HD1010 disappoints in this department.

Another disappointment was that although the MP4 files from the Sanyo are compatible with QuickTime they are not compatible with AppleTV. AppleTV expects 720p 24 fps (frames per second). Sanyo supports 720p but it uses 30 fps, not 24 fps. As a result the file has to be converted before being streamed to AppleTV. It is easy enough to convert using iTunes, but it takes a long time. The resulting file is 960x540 not 1280x720 because iTunes gives priority to preserving the fps and at 30 fps AppleTV only supports 960x540.

I like the fact that this camera comes with a soft case. For comparison Sony charges $50 extra for a soft case for their competing HDR-TG1.

An annoyance with the HD1010 worth mentioning is that the file names restart from SANYO0001.MP4 every time you erase existing files on the memory card. This is annoying because you get file name conflicts with older movies when you copy new movies to the same folder on your computer. Other cameras such as Canon remember the last number even if you erase existing files, so you don't have to manually rename files.

Bottom line: I am a little disappointed because the camera is bigger and heavier than the Xacti C4, the files are not immediately compatible with AppleTV, and most importantly the image stabilization is poor, which means you have to use a tripod. For comparison the Canon HF10 has optical image stabilization and it has a 24 fps mode, both of which would have helped me. The Canon is more expensive but it has 16GB of internal memory which HD1010 doesn't.

Sanyo HD1010 Xacti Digital Media Camera/Camcorder - Black

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on. One weird thing is when i place it in the docking station and play it on my HDTV all the settings play fine except the audio falls out of sync on 1080p (my tv's highest is 1080i). This is annoying as i want to shoot in 1080p on my trip.

Test the image stabilization, and this is where I start to have problems. When zoomed out it's fine. When zoomed in the CMOS (wiggle) starts to give me headaches on my 50 inch tv. So i turn the IS off and the slightest camera shake that my hand/arm do is very difficult to keep out of any telephoto shot. I don't have the steadiest hand, but i'm only 30 so not an old man either. Shake isn't too bad on a wide angle shot & when the W/Angle lens is on you'd have to look hard to see it.

This has me a little worried as i will be mostly on foot, wandering down cobble stone streets of greece. I just don't want to come home and not be a fan of watching all the beautiful footage i expect to get.

I find myself really wanting to love this camera. I really do. The editing feature is nice. Love the thumb stick. Stable footage is un matched in its price point. With the form factor, i don't have a hard time tracking someone without staring hard at the screen.. it's more natural.
I'm not thinking of sending the camera back or anything, just disappointed that Sanyo didn't include OPTICAL STABILIZATION! I just know they will release a camera this holiday with one. I might cry if that happens.
I'm hoping i'm just worrying too much and i'll be able to come back up here in 4 weeks and rave, rave, rave!
I hope this is helpful for people who fell in love with this camera online, as i did.

Sanyo HD1010 Xacti Digital Media Camera/Camcorder - Black

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say, a plastic extender maybe that you could put on the bottom it would be great. I have put the camera in 6 different peoples hands and they all said it felt nice after holding it for a few minutes. You just have to find a way that it is comfy for your hand size.

screen rotation - the one and only thing , if I were the designers of the HD1010 that I would change (and now you'll see how nitpicky I am being). If the viewing screen would rotate to the front I could hold the camera in front of me, look at the screen and know I'm in focus / in the shot, and make a quickie recording. Sort of a looking at the camera, blair witch kinda shot. It only rotates to the top and bottom, not to the front. just a wishlist thing. thats the absolute worst thing about the camera so far.

Comparing it to all of the complaints of the HD1000, I can say everything that was complained about in the HD1000 has been fixed. Sanyo even admitted that this is not supposed to be a whole new model, only a upgrade to the HD1000. By that I mean all of the autofocus issues I read about with the HD1000 have been resolved. as a matter of fact I couldnt MAKE it have a focusing problem. I've tried low light, bright light, moving subjects, even the fan in my living room. everything focused perfectly.

The camera takes great pictures also. They turned out better than any digital camera I have ever used, albeit I have always used more of the personal point and shoot olympus / nikon type. Dark rooms, outdoors, inside with fluorescent bulbs, you name it the pictures have been better than what I expected.

Like I said, I have had 6 other people try using it, from my girlfriend with really small hands to a guy I work with who is 6'7" and has Andre the giant hands and they have all loved it. I have not told anyone how to use it. Just handed it to them and said 'I just got a new camera, try it out and see what you think.' With no instructions everyone has taken both movies, pictures, and had smiles while doing it. Its rare to find something electronic that anyone can use with no instructions given and the HD1010 is something you can use straight out of the box. It really is fun to use.

bottom line, if you are looking at getting a camcorder, this one deserves a close look. I am very picky when it comes to electronics, and I am amazed at what they have done with this camcorder/camera. Everything I expected when I ordered it has been greatly exceeded. Great camera, ease of use, quality of the product overall, and in the end quality of the movies it makes... you cant go wrong.

Sony 4.0MP Handycam High-Definition Camcorder with 2.7" Widescreen LCD - Silver

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printed manual / comes on CD, I couldn't even find it online. My Macbook Air has no CD drive.
-It sometimes does not save the setting changes if allowed to power down on it's own. You have to press the power button after you are done making setting changes.
-No remote control included. Makes it difficult to watch clips on the TV unless you have a Sony Bravia TV which can control the camera.
-HDMI cable not included. It uses a mini HDMI cable as well.
-HDMI port is not on docking station, Mini HDMI on camera, so you have to plug it in every time instead of just docking it.
-No ability to change volume while playing a video on the camera. You have to exit out and go into a menu to adjust the playback volume.
-Playback screen only shows three thumbnails at a time, I couldn't figure out how to show many thumbnails at once.

Sanyo HD1010 Xacti Digital Media Camera/Camcorder - Black

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printed manual / comes on CD, I couldn't even find it online. My Macbook Air has no CD drive.

-It sometimes does not save the setting changes if allowed to power down on it's own. You have to press the power button after you are done making setting changes.

-No remote control included. Makes it difficult to watch clips on the TV unless you have a Sony Bravia TV which can control the camera.

-HDMI cable not included. It uses a mini HDMI cable as well.

-HDMI port is not on docking station, Mini HDMI on camera, so you have to plug it in every time instead of just docking it.

-No ability to change volume while playing a video on the camera. You have to exit out and go into a menu to adjust the playback volume.

-Playback screen only shows three thumbnails at a time, I couldn't figure out how to show many thumbnails at once.

Sanyo VPC-HD1000 Xacti Camcorder

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Canon. The HD1000 fits in my pants pocket (albeit a bit bulky) or comfortably in a jacket pocket.

The camera is easy to use generally and has a "simple" mode which makes it virtually idiot-proof. It takes still photos at up to 8MP, the specs say 4MP but you can set it to 8MP in the menus and the actual output files are 3264x2448 resolution. The 10x optical zoom is great though image stablization for video is mediocre (seems to work better for still shots). The F1.8 lens does a very respectible job capturing in low light situations. But optically the camera has a pretty narrow field of view even on the base zoom (1.0x) setting. I'd recommend the wide-angle adapter lens Sanyo sells if you plan to shoot a lot close up, though this makes the camera a bit more bulky.

So overall I'm very happy with the Xacti HD1000. Bottom line... if you want the absolute best video or feature set in the

Sanyo VPC-HD1000 Xacti Camcorder

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have to go into the menu to switch it to video (as I said, this is a TRUE hybrid camera).

And the still photos are just as good as those I've taken with any of my still photo digital cameras (I've had a Panasonic with 10x optical, the Kodak with the two lenses, and several others). Oh yes, I LOVE that in this tiny camera you get a 10X optical lens.

AND as for editing: there is a very nice, easy-to-use, basic editing function within the camera. With a little learning you can crop your videos inside the camera, without mucking around with a video editor.

OKAY now here are some negatives:

Editing with a video editor is very difficult, and there are a whole bunch of forums that I'm on now that are discussing this. Most people have trouble with this, because the format that this camera generates does not edit easily. So people are experimenting with various video editors, and if you're on a PC, Sony Vegas seems to be (I think) the only true video editing software than easily edits these files. BUT I still can't see the videos well in my preview window in Sony Vegas, because it seems that this type of mp4 file takes up a tremendous amount of space and processor power.

However (1) with some tinkering, people seem to be able to do some editing, and (2) you might not care about this, because you CAN do basic editing inside the camera. However, if you buy this camera, don't expect to be able to put your video into your computer very easily and start editing, as you might be used to with DV tape.

Now another negative might be that the image stabilization function isn't that great. However, I've only read that in other reviews. The truth is that I don't have a great basis for comparison, because (1) I'm just not as attuned as I might be to what is possible re: image stabilization in a camera like that, vs. what this camera offers. What I mean is: are there cameras that do what the HD1000 does with better image stabilization? and are they really as small, as compact, and as easy to use? I just don't know, and (2) I am not great at holding the camera steady (or any camera, not just this one), so maybe I would be needing more image stabilization than any little consumer camera like this would reasonably provide (?).

THEREFORE I haven't let these issues compromise my 5-star rating of this camera. One thing I find, reading reviews of cameras like this, is that people seem to expect almost professional-level equipment for their money, but I don't. For a camera I paid six hundred something dollars for, I am very very satisfied; more than satisfied. I've had a lot of cameras, and this is the first video camera that's light enough to throw in my bag and take with me EVERYWHERE (my JVC is small enough but is heavier), and I get FANTASTIC (consumer-level) videos and stills from one camera, and then I go home and stick the memory card in my laptop and voila, there are my pictures. And it's great!

(Oh I forgot to say -- about that --- if you select a format to shoot in that is SMALL, for example, forget about HD, forget about big files, and just, say set it on the tiniest, "web" resolution, you can shoot video and put it, for example, on You Tube or a blog or e-mail it or whatever immediately without any fuss whatsoever -- so that speaks to the flexibility of this camera -- there's a whole list (maybe 8, I can't remember) resolutions/formats that you can choose, for your purposes)

So -- highly recommended