Yes, technically this is a HiDef camcorder. No, its video output is not on par with traditional HDV camcorders such as those from Sony, Canon, etc. But, it is important to understand that this is a hybrid device with a unique feature set and good performance with a cost point that is about half of what a low-end HDV camcorder would cost. The video quality (in HD mode) is superior to regular DV camcorders and the stills are better than my 5-year old Sony 4MP camera. If I'm going to shoot critical production video or capture stills for color-separated print work, I going to use the proper tools. But, I'm not going to haul pro gear to a high school soccer game or a family BBQ. I can throw this thing into my pocket, shoot for hours and have fun doing it. For me, the unique packaging, versatile operation and efficient battery life means I will shoot more memories. Sometimes, that's more important than the compression scheme or low-light performance. Highly recommended.
Now the bad news. You have to be careful to get the best quality from it. It has to be tripod mounted. You must keep ISO at 50 or 100. Keep the shutter speed below 1/100 or it produces very grainy images. Lower shutter speed seems to enable noise reduction.
It experiences blooming when shooting bright objects or the Sun. Don't bother using the still picture support. Get a digital SLR for still pictures.
The lens is cockeyed. You have to angle your tripod down to shoot level and you can't use the docking station for shooting. It won't stand up on its own without a tripod because it's top heavy.
The tripod mount occupies the same space as the power connector. You have to remove it from the tripod to run it on AC and download movies off it.
The tripod mount is plastic. Sooner or later it's going to strip. Be prepared to fabricate an alternate tripod mount for it and glue it on or try the restripping compound at OSH.
The biggest problem is there's no exposure lock function and no lightmeter function. The settings it says it's using in auto exposure are not correct, and it only applies manual exposure settings during recording.
The only way to lock exposure is to try different settings in manual mode and record test clips.
For auto exposure, keep it in "measure multi". The spot modes don't work.
For focusing, keep it in 5 point auto focus. The spot focusing doesn't work and the screen is too small for manual focusing. Locking the focus tends to lock it just out of focus most of the time.
Buy Sanyo Xacti HD1A 5.1MP MPEG4 High-Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Now
The HD1 is a wonderful, amazing camera. And it is small enough that you can always have it with you -I've carried mine for months in my front pants pocket in its protective case, and been able to capture family and work stills and video that would otherwise have been lost. Even if the quality were not up to par, I would have something instead of nothing. But the quality is great! I'll expand on the quality below.This camera is genuinely high definition, more than three times the resolution of NTSC. This is best shown by comparing a DV image captured with firewire (no NTSC modulation artifacts) on a computer monitor, to the HD1 image transferred from its SD card. Notice that this comparison should favor the DV -but instead, it makes the increased resolution of the HD1 clear.
HD televisons and monitors are already commonplace, and video captured at less than HD quality will not be as highly valued (like 8mm, good for historical content). Capturing now in HD preserves the value of your video. And this camera fits in your pocket! My bet is anyone who thinks the video from this camera is not significantly better than DV is looking at its output downconverted to letterboxed NTSC, probably on an old TV.
The HD1 records in 720p30 format for an hour on a 4GB sd card (about $70). There is no transport noise picked up by the on-board microphones, as there is no tape transport! Even lens and finger noises are attenuated by the intelligent placement of the microphones on the back of the fold-out screen, where unlike other cameras, they are pointed at the subject! It also has an external microphone jack, missing in other cameras.
Once the camera is turned on, folding the viewfinder puts it in standby mode with no apparent impact on battery life. This way, the camera is ready to go in a couple of seconds after the viewfinder is opened. Mine stays in standby, sometimes for days between uses. Battery life is very good (but keep a charged spare with you, just like you keep a second SD memory card).
The still shots from this camera are as good as or better than most dedicated still cameras. I would rate it just below the Sony DSC-T7. However, the HD1 has a 10x optical zoom, which reduces the need for cropping, thereby preserving resolution. Look at the stills and video from the HD1 on steves- (different Steve), which is a blowaway excellent web site for comparing cameras.
The output of the HD1 is not as clean as the output from the Sony HC3 or the Canon HV10 HDV comcorders, both of which capture at a higher resolution. Ironically both use CMOS sensors which have historically been much noisier than CCDs like the HD1's. I suspect that this is due to better post capture processing, so I'm eager to try something like Noise Ninja or NeatImage on the HD1 output. However, as is, it is easy to mix the video from all three using Vegas Video (and I'm sure other editors), especially when the HDV cameras have been used for tripod shots and the HD1 for handheld, more casual shots. Of course, the HV10 and HC3 each cost about twice the HD1, and as wonderfully compact as they are, neither fits in your pocket.
The program Jet Audio is the best I've found for playing the MPEG-4 video directly from the HD1 SD card on a PC. Even the free version does a great job.
Two other general purpose digital imaging notes: Always make two copies of your image files on different media before erasing the original! And rent some Internet space from a web host somewhere across the country (or world) and copy your image files to a non-public area on your web server space. This costs as little as $6 / month for 150 GB or so somewhere in a secured, backed up facility. And you can still use the public part of the space to create a web site. If there is a tornado, hurricane, earthquake, fire, etc. your "irreplacable family photos" (including any old ones you've scanned or reshot on your digital camera and uploaded) will still be safe. I understand at this point there are folks offering this sort of a service directly, although typically at a higher cost.
Another review mentions the "drawback" of the video freezing briefly when a still is captured while shooting video. On the other hand, this camera in video mode is shooting 30 1MP stills each second! Take your pick and always get the right moment.
Did I mention that the HD1 is a genuine High Definition video camera / recorder that fits in your pocket so you can always have it with you? What an outrageous step forward! I hope you like yours and find it as useful as I do mine.
Aloha,
SteveAfter vigorous research and investigation, I decided on this camera because of portability with quality. Bigger cameras may provide better HD picture quality but I believe you may lose lots of opportunities since the camera is not in your pocket.
I used 4GB SD card to take about 1 hour of HD video. With two 2GB SD cards, I am pretty much covered in most occasions. With recent purchase of an 80GB portable hard drive that I can dump SD card to, I don't have to worry about running out of storage.
Battery life is also reasonable: I didn't measure the actual hours but I used all three SD cards with one charge.
Flash is also relatively powerful, but like other digital camera the built-in flash is not effective once it passes 10 ft or further.
Ergonomical design is the best of all like-kind portable video camera. I can control the button with one hand without too much worry about dropping the camera.
High Definition quality is not as nearly good as bulky ones such as Sony HDR-HC1, but much better than average among the same level of pocket size cameras. With a little adjustment on ISO, you will capture better images that you want. However, ISO 400 presents noticeable grain. 5 MP still camera image is not as good as my Canon digital camera but is good enough to print and share with friends and family.
Overall, I finally settled down with my seemingly endless research and enjoy this camera.
Want Sanyo Xacti HD1A 5.1MP MPEG4 High-Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Discount?
For the size and compactibility you can't get any better. Takes great digital stills and good video. Looks great up on my plasma better than my old dv camcorder. If I wanted something large to carry around, then I would go for the Sony HD camcorder with 5.1 sound; but I just want something you can place in your pocket and run out with. Great for travel and for taking to parties places where you don't want to be carrying a lot of equipment.
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