Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2

CNET Editors' Rating

3.0 stars
    Overall score: 6.8 (3.0 stars)

Good

Average User Rating

7 reviews

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  • Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2 - Video
  • Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2 - overview
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CNET Editors' Review

CNET Editors' Rating

3.0 stars Good
    Overall score: 6.8 (3.0 stars)
  • Design: 7.0
  • Features: 8.0
  • Performance: 6.0
  • Image quality: 6.0
  • Reviewed by: Will Greenwald
  • Reviewed on:

The good: Small and light design; can shoot stills and video at the same time

The bad: Soft, bland video quality; slow to focus; irritating control stick

The bottom line: The Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2 fits high-def video and 7-megapixel stills into a very small package, but its image quality disappoints.

Review:

Sanyo claims its Xacti VPC-HD2 is the smallest high-def camcorder on the market. While I can't quite confirm the superlative, it certainly is a very small, light camcorder that can fit almost an hour of 720p footage into a single 4GB SD memory card. The VPC-HD2 shares the same slender, vaguely gun-shaped design as Sanyo's other Xacti camcorders. The 10x, 38mm- to 380mm-equivalent lens sits on the top of the camcorder, with the bulk of the device's controls right behind it. Below the lens, the camcorder's slim, rectangular body houses the battery, SD card slot, and ... Expand full review

Sanyo claims its Xacti VPC-HD2 is the smallest high-def camcorder on the market. While I can't quite confirm the superlative, it certainly is a very small, light camcorder that can fit almost an hour of 720p footage into a single 4GB SD memory card. The VPC-HD2 shares the same slender, vaguely gun-shaped design as Sanyo's other Xacti camcorders. The 10x, 38mm- to 380mm-equivalent lens sits on the top of the camcorder, with the bulk of the device's controls right behind it. Below the lens, the camcorder's slim, rectangular body houses the battery, SD card slot, and flip-out 2.2-inch LCD screen, while offering a comfortable grip. The VPC-HD2 sat comfortably even in my large hand, though I still recommend using a wrist strap.

Despite its comfortable design, The VPC-HD2's control scheme suffers from a persistent, irritating flaw. Users can navigate the camcorder's menus and settings with a small, wiggly joystick just under the zoom switch. Besides tilting horizontally and vertically, the joystick presses straight down to act as a confirmation button. Unfortunately, the camcorder often mistakes the joystick's button functions and tilt functions, making menu navigation a frustrating exercise in precision.

The VPC-HD2's biggest draw is its ability to record high-def MPEG-4 footage at 1,280 x 720 pixel resolution and 30 frames per second, but it keeps a few other tricks up its sleeve. While shooting video, the camcorder also can take 7-megapixel still pictures. Most camcorders with still photo capabilities can't shoot at the same time. The screen blanks out and the camcorder freezes for about six seconds when you shoot photos while recording video, but it's still better than nothing and you don't lose any video as it's happening.

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Average User Rating

3.5 stars out of 7 user reviews

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star: 4
  • 4 star: 2
  • 3 star: 0
  • 2 star: 1
  • 1 star: 0

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Most Helpful User Review

4.5 stars 26 of 26 users found this review helpful

"THE camera to get if you're not shooting weddings for money." By gw400404

Pros Ultra small and portable, with fast startup and great dual purpose video/still camera design.

Cons Some minor shake issues. Video is grainy in low light.

Summary Before laying out big bucks for your new video camera, ask yourself these fundamental questions - what are you planning on using it for, and honestly, how often are you going to watch those videos after they've been shot?

I bought a great Sony mini-DV about 6 years ago

... Expand full review

Most Recent User Reviews (Showing 2 of 7 reviews)

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Specifications

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Quick Specs

  • Optical sensor type: CCD
  • Effective sensor resolution: 7.38 megapixels
  • Flash type: Pop-up flash

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