Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2

...with many products that the Sanyo company have sent me in the past and when it was time to update my video camera my attention was immediately drawn to this product as it is considered to be the worlds smallest high definition video camera to date. My first look at this camera came in my local electrical goods store where I was amazed at its quality and lightness. All cameras such as this that are featured in Sanyo's Xacti range all record videos ...
...As I have dealt with Sanyo many times in the past I know that they would not release a product unless it was up to their very high standard. The majority of the controls are placed together behind the lens of the camera for easy access to the cameras user. All the mainly used buttons sit conveniently on the top of the control panel in clear view for the user.

As well as the obvious zoom and play functions there is also a joystick ... more

Introduction
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I would like to start this review explaining why I chose to buy this product over the many other video camera choices out there. the first reason I chose to buy this product was because I have fallen in love with many products that the Sanyo company have sent me in the past and when it was time to update my video camera my attention was immediately drawn to this product as it is considered to be the worlds smallest high definition video camera to date. My first look at this camera came in my local electrical goods store where I was amazed at its quality and lightness. All cameras such as this that are featured in Sanyo's Xacti range all record videos and images to a SD memory card saving the need for a pile up of tapes or DVDs.

Overview
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The first thing you will notice about this camera is obviously its design. This very small video camera is even smaller than some digital cameras and is possibly the lightest video camera I have ever used. This extreme lightness of this camera makes it the smoothest camera I have ever filmed with. The cameras many functions are organized in a way that you can tell lots of thought has been put into. As I have dealt with Sanyo many times in the past I know that they would not release a product unless it was up to their very high standard. The majority of the controls are placed together behind the lens of the camera for easy access to the cameras user. All the mainly used buttons sit conveniently on the top of the control panel in clear view for the user.

As well as the obvious zoom and play functions there is also a joystick which allows you access to the rest of the vast features that this device features. These features include all the slideshow and playback options as well as the option to select different views for your image taking. The camcorders screen is kept neatly hidden away so that you can have more room to maneuver when you’re filming or taking images and don’t want the use of the screen. The camera has a 10x digital zoom lens and you can even shoot all your High definition videos. The Camera can also take 7 megapixel stills while recording, a feature I found very useful as I only own a 5 megapixel Digital camera at the moment.

Obviously as is standard on digital cameras such as this you can connect this device to your PC via USB. You can also however via the use of a HDMI cable connect this device to you TV. This option is great for viewing your HD videos strait out of the camera. A remote control is also included so that you can watch your videos and pause and rewind from the comfort of your sofa.

Disadvantages
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I had to major problems with this device. The first of which being that even though the quality for shooting HD video is good in your standard lighting, In Low lighting however the image quality for this device seemed to take a major blow. The recordings I took in low light were shown with fuzziness and dull colors. I feel that the developers of this device should have tested this device more for use in low lighting as the quality of HD video in low lighting is some of the poorest I have seen. Also users of this camera must plug this device into their TV to get the best quality from their HD images.

The second Major problem I had came with the zoom. Although zooming in is obviously very useful for a camera to have, the zoom on this camera does not perform as well as it perhaps should. When I zoomed into say two thirds of the cameras full zoom capability their was a noticeable loss in the quality of the image. I have used many digital cameras and most of which have kept the same quality while making full use of the zoom function so I do not see why this camera has to be so different. Most camera users will not notice or even care about this problem, its just u thought this was something that was worth noting.

Price
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I bought this camera for around £700 but now you should be able to pick up this product for a few less hundred than what I paid.

Specification
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16:9 Recording Format
CCD Chip type
35.5mm depth
10 digital zoom ratio
Vertical Handheld Position
119mm Height
380mm Highest Focal Length
Digital Image Stabilizer
2.2 inch LCD Screen
38mm Lowest Focal Length
7.38 Megapixels
10 Optical zoom ratio
Photo Resolution Height in Pixel: 2304
Photo Resolution Width in Pixel: 3072
High Definition resolution
Secure Digital Card
USB Interface
Memory Card Video system
210g weight
78.7 Width (mm)

Final Thoughts
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This is a great little camera that I would recommend to anyone who has the budget to spend on one of these. However if you would find the disadvantages I have talked about a problem then you may want to shop around for another option. If you do like the idea of recording all your video data onto a memory card then you should look past this cameras flaws and buy it. 

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