Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1 Review

The HD1 features an internal 10x optical zoom lens with a 38mm-380mm (35mm equivalent) focal length and a maximum aperture of f3.5 from Wide to Telephoto. This is an all-glass lens constructed of 12 lenses in 9 groups with 3 aspheric elements. The aperture is adjustable from f/3.5 to f/8.0 and it has an internal ND (neutral density) filter. There is a 10x digital zoom that extends the range to a total of 100x.

The optional Sanyo VCP-AL49 lens adapter allows you to use 49mm filters such as polarizers, special effects, U/V or clear to protect the lens.

The TTL contrast detection autofocus system automatically selects one of five focus areas with a selectable Spot (center only) focus mode. It features continuous area focus with a manual focus option with 22 steps.

The focus mode can be selected from:

• Total - automatically covers normal and macro range / 3.94 inches (10cm) to infinity in Wide, 3.28 ft. (1m) to infinity in Telephoto
• Standard - 31.5 inches (80cm) to infinity
• MF - 22 steps from 0.39 inches (1cm) to 26.25 ft. (8m) infinity
• Super Macro - covers 0.39 in. to 3.28 ft. (1cm to 1m) in Wide only.

The Motion Compensation (image stabilizer) has two modes of operation; Mode A and Mode B. as selected in the menu and indicated onscreen by the "shaking hand" icon. Both modes are digital, what this means is that a certain portion of the outer edge of the image is lost during the image stabilization process.

Mode A (movie mode) does not have an onscreen indication, during still image mode you will notice the live view shows less than when the shutter is half-pressed. The live view represents the actual frame area that will be captured.

Mode B (photo mode) displays a visible border on the screen to indicate the active capture area as shown above.

The manual popup speedlight has modes for: Auto, Forced Fill-in, Forced Off and Red-Eye reduction (Slow synchro in Night View mode.) The working range is:

35cm - 2.5m (13.7 in. - 8.2 ft.) [Wide], 1 - 2.5m (3.3 - 8.2 ft.) [Tele]

Also shown is the external stereo microphone jack (2.5mm).

On the back of the OLED is the speaker and the stereo microphones.

Controls on the back: Two shutter releases, the left one is for taking still pictures, the right one is for recording movies. Between them is the zoom lens control which functions as the magnify and index buttons in review mode. The 4-way controller is for navigating menus and selecting images in review mode. Press it straight in to accept menu selections. In record mode press "up" to activate AF Lock, press "down" to change focus mode, press "left" to change flash mode and press "right" to adjust exposure compensation. The MENU button calls up and dismisses the menu system. The REC / PLAY switch controls the operational mode of the camera.

Controls on the side: The main power on/off button, the HD/NORM button for video quality and the Single/Sequential button for still image mode.

On the bottom is the docking port for the cradle which can be fitted with the cable adapter that allows connection of the composite A-V output cable (L-R stereo audio, S-Video and RCA video) and the input jack for the AC adapter used with the cradle.

The Component Audio-Video cable must be plugged into the docking cradle and allows the output of high resolution 720p video to HDTV-capable displays with separate RGB video and L-R stereo audio connections.

The Composite AV, USB, Component AV cables and AC power adapter can also be plugged into the back of the cradle. The high-speed USB 2.0 cable can be connected to Windows or Mac computers for fast downloads or directly to any PictBridge compatible photo printer.

The supplied infrared remote control can be used when the camera is in the docking cradle or on a tripod as the receiver is built into the camera. The remote has a maximum range of 7 meters and must be used within 15° of the centerline of the front of the camera. It controls both record and playback functions.

The Xacti HD1 stores its data on removable Secure Digital cards. The user manual only shows a capacity of up to 2GB however we tested the HD1 with the speedy 150x and spacious PQI 4GB SD card and it worked fine.  Sanyo specifies the use of SD cards only. The camera has no internal memory and does not come with an SD card.

Storage Capacities (approx.)

The HD1 is powered by a proprietary DB-L40 3.7v 1200mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery. A fully charged battery can capture up to 130 still images (CIPA standard), and record up to 60 minutes of HD-SHQ (80 minutes of TV-SHQ) video with a total playback time of up to 150 minutes.

The HD1's internal battery is automatically charged whenever the camera is placed in the included docking cradle.