Sanyo Xacti HD1 Review
Published by Digital Video Camera / Camcorder Review Staff February 1st, 2006 in Camcorder Reviews, Sanyo
The world’s smallest and lightest movie camera, to beautifully capture your day-to-day impressions. Features include: 720p HD, Video Scanning, Advanced MPEG-4 Compression Technology, Super-fast 9Mbs Frame Rate, 2.2 Inch OLED Screen. Shooting with this won’t win you an oscar, but let’s get to the review roundup.
LetsGoDigital has a story on the Sanyo Xacti HD1 and says: “Sanyo Xacti HD1 : Making its debut at the CES 2006, the Sanyo Xacti HD1 is the world’s first high-definition compact digital media camera (among commercially available high-definition media cameras, as of January 2006). Offering advanced, next-generation video performance, the Sanyo HD1 is the world’s smallest and lightest high-definition digital media camera, ideal for recording today with the future in mind. Sanyo, the world’s leading manufacturer of digital cameras and components, designed the Sanyo Xacti VPC HD1 to easily record both 720p high-definition video and 5.1 Megapixel digital still images to a standard SD flash memory card. The Sanyo Xacti HD1 will be available in the U.S. in late March at an MSRP of $799.99.
Sanyo HD1 - OLED display
The Sanyo Xacti HD1 features an ultra-clear 2.2-inch Sanyo-developed OLED display with 210,000 total pixels for exceptional viewability. The display flips out from the camera and rotates up to 285 degrees on axis for taking great video or still images in otherwise difficult locations. Trademark features of OLED display technology are expanded viewing angles and up to 5,000 times faster response speed when compared with conventional display technologies, enabling smooth playback of rapid movements.”
T3 has news on the Sanyo Xacti HD1 and writes - “The Sanyo Xacti HD1 is the world’s smallest HD camcorder. It records 720p video (the basic High-Def format), and features a super-bright OLED display that flips out from the side.
Your footage is recorded to SD card, with a 2GB card holding around 42 minutes of High-Def footage. “That all?!�? you shout. Well, yes, but as the first of its kind you can’t help but be impressed. Especially when you hear it can also take five-megapixel photos – while you’re recording. Simply controlled using the “photo�? and “video�? buttons which are within easy thumb-reach, the HD1 manages to rip up the rule book and ram it down your throat. Now that’s the kind of gadget we like.”
CNET has an editor’s initial take on the Sanyo Xacti HD1 and writes - “Sanyo melds several of the hottest trends in video today in its Xacti HD1 camcorder: HD video, flash-media recording, and an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display. The ultracompact device records 720p MPEG-4 video to an SD card, shoots 5-megapixel stills, uses a 2.2-inch OLED display, and does it all for a relatively reasonable price: $800. And, unlike many of its similarly designed competitors, the HD1 sports a 10X zoom lens.
Additional specs include:
• 16:9 wide-screen format
• 60fps VGA-resolution capture
• Continuous still shooting
• On-camera flash with red-eye reduction
• Digital image stabilizer
• Talking navigation guide for first-time users
• Macro shooting down to 0.4 inch
• A self-timer
• Voice-recorder capability”
Further Sanyo specs here
Thank you for your objective review. I have just purchased one of these cameras, which became availabe in Canada on March 8th. After a few hours of recording, here are my findings:
Positives:
The size. It fits in my shirt pocket and is smaller than my closed fist.
Video quality. I have played with numerous DV and mini-DVD cameras; none of the video was even half as good as this. I can find no cameras in this price range that produce similar or better quality video.
Fun. This camera sports voice prompts in a sexy female voice… I love it! And when I no longer do, I can turn this feature off.
Versitile. It can take pictures while ercording video, and it doesn’t stop the recording!
Pictures. The 5MP images won’t blow the doors off a dSLR, but they are as good as my 5MP Point&Shoot.
Navigation. It is easy to learn; I’d say I knew the in’s and out’s within 15 minutes.
Editability. I pop the SD into my laptop and voila, I’m in full control. I think it has in-camera editing, but I’ll never use it.
Mic jack. The internal mic isn’t as powerful as some, but the placement of the jack allows for a high-gain mic to be added so it looks like it belongs.
Unobtrusive. I can use this to video people and they don’t feel intimidated. That’s a HUGE plus for capturing natural scenes.
Battery life. Despite its small size, this camera has a pretty powerful battery. It will record about an hour of video based on my experience, which is as much as most Disc-based low-res cameras.
Convenience. Flip up the display and the camera is ready to record… from opportunity to recording in only a secod or two.
Image quality on HDTV. All I can say is wow. This is as good as my digital cable feed, probably better.
Image quality on computer. Nearly as good as on HDTV.
Printability. Stills make good 4X6 prints.
IR Focus. Effective in relatively low-light.
Negatives
Size. The image stablization on this unit is good, given it’s size. But it’s so small it’s hard to pan easily.
Low-light performance. At it’s auto setting though, the camera doesn’t want to drop below ISO 200. It means that when I’m recording in really low light, I have to choose 400 ISO manually.
The shape. A device that conforms to the shape of my hand would be nice.
The display. The OLED uses little power, but isn’t as bright as LCD displays. It was viewable in direct sunlight, but quite washed out. No problems with it when not in direct sunlight.
Viewfinder. What viewfinder? Have to use OLED, which is not optimal in direct sunlight.
Computer requirements. There is so much data in this video that my Centrino 1.4 w/512MB drops frames. This video takes a lot of processing power to manipulate, assuming you record at max resolution. (800X600 at 60fps is fine; it is only the 720X1080 that is too complex)
No threading on exterior lens. There is a ridge which might serve for mounts in the future, but there is no current way to mount external lenses to this camera.
Internal mic performance on this unit is sufficient, but not exceptional. See note about external mic.
If you have been pondering a HD camera, and can accept this unit’s few limitations, you will be exceedingly pleased. I reviewed over 50 digital video cams and am pleased with my choice. I have a hunch this baby’s got a home for a long, long time.
Small note about my recent review… The 60fps mode I referred to is actually 640X480. Sorry for any confusion this might have caused.
Thank you for the thurough and useful review of the camcorder. I currently own a five year old JVC mini cam and happy with the convenience of seamlessly connect the cam to my pioneer DVR through the firewire connector to view on an analog tv, burn to the DVR harddrive or make copies my recordings without a computer. Well, it does not seem I could do that with the HD1 since the unit’s USB does not “talk” with my DVR’s firewire input connector. What a shame !
Do you share this compromise with your new purchase ? or am I just not up with the times. Please feedback because I really, really want to buy this unit for the kids moments.