Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1 review

What you need to know

Reviewed by: David English

Reviewed on: 28 April 2006

Tags: Sanyo, Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1, HD, low light, zoom range

We like:

Records 720p high-definition video; small, lightweight and attractive; 10x optical zoom; rotating OLED screen

We don't like:

Hard-to-manoeuvre joystick controller; very sluggish autofocus; video and photos look overly processed

CNET UK judgement:

If you want the latest in cool toys, the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1 certainly has the right gadget quotient. Once you look at the image quality, however, its allure dims quite a bit

Full review:

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 56mm (2.2-inch) OLED screen and it crams a 10x zoom lens into a device that fits into your palm. But once you factor in its slow focus and overly high-contrast, artefact-ridden photos and videos, that glass begins to look emptier by the minute. Still, the HD1 is an important technical milestone, even if it has some limitations. Continue Reading...