Sanyo is not a brand that can be immediately associated with a clever HD camcorder. But when one is on the outside of the pack and you want to get into an already crowded market, the logical solution is to design a better device which is exactly what Sanyo has done with their new Xacti VPC-CS1.
Research shows that by majority it is women who go out and buy a handheld camcorder, it is also women who can be the most picky when it comes to features and functionality.
So what Sanyo did was empower a female design team to come up with their latest handheld HD camcorder, which is not only thin and stylish but records at 1080p.
Out of the pack the first thing you notice is the design and form factor, that’s more pistol grip than clunky box.
The Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1 fits easily into a bag or pocket or even the side pocket of a car.
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Measuring, 63 x 27 x 124mm this device delivered exceptional quality with its 10X zoom and 8MP still functionality.
The VPC-CS1 captures in MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 and is currently undergoing official certification to support iFrame which allows the device to be easily used with an Apple Mac.
Unlike the Cisco Flip storage with this device is via an SDXC card, this allows a user to install a card from 8GB to 64GB depending on how much storage one needs.
The current Flip is only 4GB and very limiting. Another big advantage with the Sanyo offering is the large LCD screen which can be swivelled in several directions as you shoot.
Because the device is designed to fit into a pocket the size and weight of the camera a real bonus with another big benefit being the ease of use with all of the key buttons located on the top side of the camcorder for easy access.
Weighing in at 159g complete with battery and storage card, the Xacti VPC-CS1 is not heavy and by adding an Eye-fi SD card, you can easily get additional storage and wireless functionality to the camera, allowing users to upload their images or videos over a wireless network.
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The CS1 records in the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video format which is a single-file format, similar to that used for still photos.
This format is fully supported by the latest Windows 7. Video files are displayed in the same thumbnail format as still image files. They can be played back directly with Windows Media Player; can be edited with Windows Live Movie Maker 4 and are device stage compatible. This makes the files even more convenient for use on computers.
The Xacti CS1 offers three microphone modes for recording clear audio that matches the shooting scene and follows your creative intentions.
For full specifications go to the Sanyo web site.
Retail Price $499
