This is a great little camera is many ways. It also has some shortcomings, but they are few and minor, so I am very happy with my purchase. I'll review both my likes and dislikes about the camera.Let me state first that I work as a film editor (using Final Cut Pro), videographer, compositor, photographer and anything multimedia related for the largest county in the US. I am fortunate to have access to the latest and greatest equipment and have a ton of fun doing my job! On occasion, though, I have wished I had a camera like the Xacti with me particularly when I wanted to take some personal photos or video during an event I was covering, or if I had some kind of video or photographic equipment failure and needed a quick stand-in. The Xacti is not a pro-series camera, but in a pinch it can do a pretty good job of standing-in. It is a 6-megapixal camera, so the photos are clear and sharp, you will find many adjustments, filters, focusing options available in its easy-to-use menu. Same goes for the video. Easy to adjust, set it the way you want, and it's ready when you are. It is incredibly easy to use can't say this enough there are only three buttons one to take a picture, one to start video and one for zoom. Because the Xacti uses flash media, all you have to do is open the viewfinder and the camera is ready to shoot. There is no tape to spool, nothing to wait for instant shooting, and no shot to miss. Transferring to your computer for editing is just as easy either use the included USB cable and attach the Xacti to your computer, or use a card adapter. I purchased two 4GB flash cards and have been pretty amazed by how much they will hold. The flash cards came with a USB card adapter, and I remove the flash card from the camera, insert it into the card adapter and plug the adapter into my Mac. The batteries, however, are not as robust. I ordered a couple from a vendor here on Amazon and paid about $10 each a great deal for camcorder batteries. Don't worry about finding batteries to mach the VPC-E1 I think the camera is too new to cross reference any battery for any Sanyo Xacti will do just fine. Sanyo has a steady-cam feature be sure to use it while videotaping. While it does a pretty good job, you'll probably want to come beck home and run it through your smoothcam editor if you have one to really make your video shine. Of course, there is the waterproof feature of this Xacti. I have seen footage shot underwater with this cam, but have not actually had the opportunity to do so myself. However, in my job we do end up in some pretty dusty, dirty, abusive situations for our cameras. This is why I was excited about the Xacti VPC-E1 6MP Waterproof. I probably won't get a chance to try it in the pool until next summer, but i have already washed it off several times in the sink after days of filming in the desert. So it is not just the underwater feature, but the easy-clean feature I enjoy as well. On last note: I really like its size it is really small, as in "easy to fit in your pocket" small. For me this is great because when I am called to shoot I have to leave very quickly, and I can easily grab my Sanyo and pop it in to my pocket and head out the door.
What do I dislike? Not much. I'm not crazy about the MPEG4 codec that Sanyo uses. I tend to use Apple's Macs more than PCs in my editing at work and probably would have preferred a more robust codec. I have read, after purchasing my Xacti, that Sanyo is coming out with an HD Xacti, which would be nice but the model I read about is not waterproof. Would it be worth the tradeoff? Not for me right now. I also find the zoom extremely touchy. I have looked relentlessly for settings to adjust this and cannot seem to find any. If you use a feather-light touch it gets better, but this is an issue with me. Another minor issue is that the camera does not give much warning as to when you will be running out of memory while you are shooting. There is some warning, I would just like more. And finally, if I was in Sanyo's design department, I think I would make this underwater camera less slippery. The black strip down the center of the camera is ridged with a zigzag pattern, but the rest of the camera is very slick and slippery. I would think that for any underwater camera, additional rubberized or grip zones might be in order.
As you can see, I am very pleased with my Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 6MP Waterproof MPEG4 Camcorder. When Sanyo's HD model comes out in the near future I may look at that model as well. The few minor gripes I have with the camera are minor in comparison with the outstanding features and performance.
There are basically 3 options on the market: DVD based, hard disk based and flash memory based. I think among these three options, flash memory based is the true future solution for all the camcorder products out there since it the smallest, lightest, and fastest to load. You don't have to hook up you camcorder to the computer to download the clips like what you would do with a hard disk based camcorder. And with a 2GB, you can shoot high quality video for 1.25 hr. Which is essentially more than a mini DV tape can offer. Plus, you can get 8GB SD HC card these days. Means you can shoot 5 hrs of video without swapping. (Of course swapping in additional cards is no-brainer anyway.) I appreciate the large storage of a hard disk camcorder. But hey, who is going to shoot over 5 hours of boring family video on a single trip?? Beside, even if you need to shoot over 5 hours, you can always buy/bring more SD cards. But that's not the case for a hard disk camcorder. Once it ran out of space, you are doomed. Also don't forget that you are putting all the eggs in one basket if you think storing all the clips in a 40GB in-camera-hard-drive is a convenience. I think majority of us have experienced the capital punishment of hard drive crashes.
Enough words with the reason to buy, let's talk about my experience with this product after using it for one week. First of all the color of this product is blue on the side you see from all the pictures you can find on the web. However, on the opposite side, it is actually plastic-white. I kind of dislike this color combination. But it's not a big issue.
The build quality is quite solid. The flip screen is even more solid than the sony I used. The button feels a bit "spongee" to touch. It doesn't give you a firm feeling. I think it's due to the reason that it's a water proof camcorder and the buttons are actually pressing on a gasket instead of a solid circuit board. Again, once you get used to it, it's no big deal.
The handling is quite comfortable for a vertical-holding camcorder. The tilted angle of the lens and slim body let you hold the camera without too much stress. But since I'm coming from a horizontal-holding world, it took me some time to get use to it. I found that the best way to hold it is putting your index finger above the top of the lens and your midde finger below the bottom of the lens. That way you use these two fingers to firmly hold the camcorder while you use your thumb to control the shutter and zoom. The down side is you will have some camera shake when you push the zoom since the key is "gasketed" and it takes stronger than normal force to push.
The video quality may be many people's concern since it's a "Sanyo". That was my biggest concern too. But to my surprise, I can truely say that it is very good. It's much better than my 3-year-old sony which always give wrong white balance and grany picture when shooting in low light condition. I didn't compare it to the latest generation of sony/canon. But I think it is very acceptable for family videos. The still photo function is so so. The shutter is kind of hard to control since you need to half-press it to focus. But then again the button is not very firm so you need to get used to the half-pressed-spongee-button feel.
One more good thing about this cam is the fast startup time. Remember the time when your wife screaming at you to shoot the babie's once-in-a-life-time moment and you missed it because it took 10 seconds plus to turn on your tape driven camcorder? This camcorder can be put in sleep mode. As soon as your flip open the screen, it will be ready to shoot in about 3-4 seconds. A small difference in seconds, a giant leap for mankind.
I didn't have a chance to test the under water capability. But I guess it will be okay for pool parties, etc. It's either water-proof or water-leak. There isn't much to talk about.
I did compare this product to the latest Canon TX-1 before I bought the E1. But the awkward handling and inefficient data compression ratio have pushed me back.
I would have given it 4 stars because of the spongee buttons. But since it's a Sanyo and it is forgiven and rewarded for a extra star.
DT
Buy Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 6MP Waterproof MPEG4 Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom (Blue) Now
This is not your average camcorder. We recently purchased a new Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black) to replace our old point and shoot and realized that we missed the "Video" features of the point and shoot. We have owned an older Canon camcorder but really hate lugging around tapes and getting the video to the computer is not fun. So we purchased the Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 and have been very impressed. I have never seen such a small lightweight waterproof camera anywhere. If you are looking for a great easy to use camcorder and you aren't worried as much about video quality, the Xacti VPC-E1 is the way to go.Good:
small
light
Easy to use.
Very nice zoom for a small design.
Convenient waterproof design.
Creating video starts very quickly so you won't miss that shot.
Seems to be well constructed. Some people seemed to be worried that the buttons where mushy, but that is just so they can make it waterproof.
Bad:
The menu can be a little bit confusing at times.
You have to have the screen open and the battery hatch open to sync to your computer.
No matter which front color you get the back is white, don't be fooled.
I read that you need to replace the "seals" on the camera after around a year of use, but I can't figure out how to order them.I recently visited the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and took a whirlpool jet boat tour. If you want more details on the tour then google it. Basically, the tour involves a high speed / open air jet boat that takes you through category 5 rapids of Niagara Falls. You don't just get soaked or drenched...you get hit with 8 to 10 ft waves. I was shooting for almost 45 mins of non stop water spray and this unit held up flawlessly. If you film in wet conditions then this is a very inexpensive unit. OK, enough about the waterproofing. What about the rest?
Pros:
1. WaterproofingI don't know of any other camcorders that compare or even exist in this price range.
2. Overall good pic qualityOverall quality is roughly mini dv quality. Sometimes slightly worse / slightly better. Very impressive considering the small footprint of this unit.
3. Very easy to use. I don't know why other reviews over the web knock the usability. This this is super simple to use. Just point and record.
4. Build qualityCompares favorably with Sony, Panasonic, etc. This is very well built and even though it is made in Indonesia it has typical "Japanese" fit and finish.
5. Lightning quick boot times.
Cons
1. Seems to be incompatible with Apple tv. I will have to try and reencode the stock videos. I think the bit rate is simply too high at the highest quality setting for Apple TV to support. However, the videos play perfectly using Quicktime.
2. Slippery when wet. My advice to Sanyo...the included wrist lanyard should offer the ability to be velcroed. However this is an easy fix with an after market lanyard.
3. It would be nice if an extended life battery were offered. However, aftermarket batteries are dirt cheap (around $10 per battery).
Bottom Line
It is very easy to over look this product because of the lack of pizzaz about the Sanyo name. If you can get over that then you will have one heck of a camcorder. It is up to you: Would you rather have good video quality and shoot a ton of video or would you have HD quality, but shoot much less video because you don't want to lug around a bulky cam corder. Heck, I like this camcorder so much that I will now use it for most of my shooting and use my Sony HD cam only for very special events.
Want Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 6MP Waterproof MPEG4 Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom (Blue) Discount?
I purchased the camera right before leaving on a family cruise. It was used for taking stills as well as video. There was plenty of water activity such as snorkling and swimming with dolphins and the waterproof camera came along for all the activities. The underwater video came out great..although it was challenging to see the view screen under water. I also liked the feature of not having to switch modes, being able to take a still while continuing to video.
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