Sanyo xact3/28/2023 ![]() The 10X optical zoom is a welcome addition to the Xacti line. Most perform equally well with video and photo captures. The camera also has a collection of scene modes: Sports, Portrait, Landscape, Night View, Fireworks, and Lamp (low light). For example, if you use the built-in neutral-density filter with any of the exposure modes, the camera will automatically enable the filter when you return to that mode. Not only does it have the full array of program, shutter-speed, aperture-priority, and manual modes, but the system is fairly intelligent as well. If you equate small size with a lack of manual adjustments, the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1 will surprise you. In order to charge the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1's battery, you have to park it in the bundled docking station. As with the VPC-C6, when you choose an item, it automatically moves to the front of the group, which breaks the otherwise logical arrangement of the icons. The settings are divided somewhat arbitrarily onto three pages: Basic, Advanced, and Options. The VPC-HD1's onscreen menus are bright and easy to read. There's little room for error with this too-sensitive controller, and it may prove a continuing source of frustration when using some of the camcorder's more advanced features. Likewise, I occasionally selected the center setting when I wanted up or down. I repeatedly triggered the right or left options when I wanted the center setting. While all the buttons felt solid and durable, the small five-way joystick with which you navigate the menus is hard to maneuver. Most of the controls are clustered together for simple thumb access. The control layout is very good (top), but the five-way joystick (bottom) is too difficult to operate precisely. The VPC-HD1's screen rotates 285 degrees, allowing for convenient self-portrait, overhead, and low-angle shots. OLED technology also consumes power more efficiently and can render a wider contrast range. OLED pixels self-illuminate to provide more uniform brightness than do most LCDs. The 2.2-inch OLED (organic light emitting diode) screen is one of the best I've ever seen on a digital camera or camcorder. Plus, compared to the VPC-C6, the VPC-HD1's extra weight makes it easier to steady with one hand. Most of the surface is made of metal, and there was no bending or creaking when we twisted it strongly. ![]() Furthermore, the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1's outer case feels very sturdy. It still fits comfortably into a coat pocket, a purse, or a briefcase, just more tightly. It has the same overall shape, upward tilting lens, and back-mounted controls, though now it's a bit larger and heavier-4.7 by 3.1 by 1.4 inches (HWD) and 8.3 ounces, to be specific. If you're familiar with Sanyo's previous palm-size Xacti camcorders, such as the VPC-C5 or VPC-C6, the VPC-HD1 will feel like an old friend. Still, the HD1 is an important technical milestone, even if it has some limitations. But once you factor in its slow focus and overly high-contrast, artifact-ridden photos and videos, that glass begins to look emptier by the minute. If you're a glass-half-full kind of person, it may be enough that the 5-megapixel Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1's feature list contains several first-to-market wins: it records and outputs progressive-scan video at 720p, it incorporates a dazzling 2.2-inch OLED screen, and it crams a 10X zoom lens into a device that fits into your palm.
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