Have you ever sat in your car for 10 minutes, 20, or even 30 minutes after arriving at your destination because there’s something interesting on NPR (national public radio)? I find myself doing this frequently. The other day it happened while I was going to buy groceries. Fresh Air was interviewing Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park. I ended up sitting in my car at the Hannaford parking lot for a good 15 minutes so I could listen to the whole show.
I have to say I have a new found respect for the show. Although there are quite a few tasteless and quite morbid episodes I don’t much care for, their ability to keep with with current events and sneak them into their shows is astonishing.
“We come in on a Thursday and then that episode airs the next Wednesday. And so in our show what happens that week ends up going on in the show.”
The NPR fresh air interview made me appreciate another thing, the show almost always manages to take a 3rd perspective on any issue. For instance the Terri Shiavo episode; will Kenny continue to live through a feeding tube, or die? The two obvious sides are presented for what they are when near the end a third perspective appears in Kenny’s letter stating something to the effect “If I should be left as a vegetable in a coma, for gods sake don’t show me on national television”. This is fascinating. In the real world, the only perspective taken by the media is the one that will generate the highest ratings; and not often is the south park “third perspective” even realized by a majority of people. Does anyone remember the South ParkBoy Scout episode? Near the end of the episode, a similar third perspective appears.
So you are wondering if you should buy the Sanyo Xacti VPC-WH1 HD Waterproof Camcorder huh? Well there are a few things you should know about this device before taking the plunge. This Camcorder fulfills a small niche; its the best at what it does for certain things, and the worst for other things (considering its price range).
The first obvious choice of why you would pick this HD waterproof camcorder over other HD waterproof camcorders is the price. At the time of writing this review, there are no other HD waterproof camcorders on the market… However there are camcorders on the market that have waterproof case accessories availible. For example, Sony has pretty affordable waterproof cases for a lot of its camcorders (~$300), however its cases don’t let you directly see the LCD screen (you need to use a mirror that doesn’t work so well). Other manufacturers like JVC and Canon have cases that cost over $500! And in these situations, if your case leaks, you have destroyed your expensive camcorder. Since the price of this Sanyo costs the same as most cases for other camcorders, you might as well just get the dedicated Sanyo for your water adventures and have your separate high quality HD camcorder for less risky activities. If the Sanyo leaks, send it in for a warranty repair and continue using your other camcorder. The Sanyo is also much smaller and easier to swim with than a bulky buoyant waterproof case for a regular camcorder.
Other waterproof camcorders in the Sanyo’s price range have inferior image quality (non HD).
OK, so that’s why this is the best water proof camcorder in this price range, but why should I buy a waterproof camcorder over a regular camcorder anyways (will I really need the waterproof feature?)? Well for one thing its waterproof / sand proof / and dust proof. Spend a summer filming stuff anywhere near moving water (the beach, rivers, anywhere moist, with microscopic water droplets in the air), even light rain / fog, kids grabbing the camera with wet hands, dust from filming while outdoors (SAND AT THE BEACH!), and in the winter when you are skiing / snow boarding; more likely than not, you will end up with a deadregular camcorder on your hands, in less than 1 year…. And that’s with no physical abuse, its just mother nature slowly destroying your camcorder over time. (condensation in the circuitry, sand / dust in the zoom mechanism, etc)
HD Waterproof Camcorder
Well this is where the Xacti Shines. You can do all of the above activities with this camera and not have a care in the world about having to go to extra lengths to protect the camera. As long as it doesn’t sit more than 10 feet underwater for more than 60 minutes at a time, you will be fine!
But what are its cons? Well its image sensor is only 1/6″ (one 6th of an inch), which is puny. This thing is not going to like indoors filming unless you have all the lights on full brightness. Its not going to like dusk, and it definitely wont do night shots without extra lighting equipment. You see the larger an image sensor is, the more light it can receive. The smaller it is, the less light gets in. So a camera with a 1/2″ sensor has 9 times more surface area to absorb light than a 1/6″ sensor…. Other regular camcorders in this price range also have 1/6″ sensors, however some also have 1/4″ and 1/3″ sensors. Even a 1/4″ sensor will have a noticeable improvement in picture quality over this camera in low light conditions… But hey this is an outdoors camcorder, and even with a 1/6″ sensor, it is great when its used for its intended purpose.
The image processor… I’m sure in this day in age, we’ve come to learn that Mega Pixels aren’t everything. Why does a $200 6MegaPixel Canon take better pictures than a $75 12MegaPixel Kodak camera? Well it comes down to the quality of the sensor and the image processor; also how well it can focus…. This same concept transfers to digital camcorders. Sure the $800 canon may be the same resolution as the Sanyo Xacti VPC-WH1 (imagine both are 720p HD, this is a 1280 x 720 pixel image), however the canons superior image processor and sensor will produce much superior images. The canon will also focus faster, the picture will be much sharper and smoother.
This is where the Sanyo Xacti makes some sacrifices. Instead of getting the super good image quality, we get a care free waterproof housing. Its a trade off you have to expect, however it is worth noting there are a lot of other camcorders in this price segment, that are NOT water proof, that have equal image qualities to this Sanyo.
What are you using your videos for? If these are just going to be fun action videos for youtube and sharing on the internet, you may find that the Xacti’s picture quality is more than adequate. If you are making a wedding video or recording your child’s first steps you might want a better quality image than what this Sanyo can deliver… But if you have a pool and want to document your kids first swim?? see where I’m going with that one? In the case you REALLY care about getting superior image quality, you might want to get the Xacti as a second camcorder for when you go into situations where you wouldn’t want to destroy your nice camcorder, after all, the Sanyo Xacti costs less than most water proof cases for regular camcorders.
Now, About The Camcorder Itself
Sanyo Xacti VPC-WH1 inside a regular Camera Case
This camcorder is SMALL. You will easily be able to put it into a purse / jacket pocket / cargo pocket (if you have a tight belt) / or even a regular camera’s camera case (see image). In the image to the right, I have a USB cord, the camcorder, and the camcorders charger cable tucked inside my old regular camera’s case. It Fits perfectly!
It feels pretty solid; I mean its not all metal or anything, and its not a shockproof camcorder. I find myself treating it as if its made of glass though when I’m opening the hatches for the power cord and memory card… But this is mostly because I never ever want it to leak, and with water proof devices, you never want to abuse the areas around the gaskets.
I actually read a negative review about this camera because waterproof and shockproof typically go together with electronics (most digital cameras are like this). The person gave it a bad review because they dropped it into the tub to test its waterproof capabilities, and well, the case cracked from the fall into the tub… Well a word of warning, this is NOT a shock proof camera. Don’t drop it. Most camcorders probably wouldn’t fare well from even a 1 foot fall onto a tile floor. I’m not trying to say that I think this camcorder is flimsy or anything, it feels just as strong as any other camcorder, however the fact that it is waterproof suggests that extra care Should be taken to keep it from being physically damaged, because any physical damage to the case could potentially cause leaking (such as a crack or dent near the gaskets).
Anyways… Start up time is fast. Its not great at focusing in auto “9 point autofocus mode”, its a little slow that way. I like to set it to spot focus if possible. Spot focus makes the camcorder focus on whatever is at the center of the screen and i guess it has to do less math in this mode because it focuses much faster. If you are in a situation in which you cant always keep the subject at the center of the screen, auto focus would be perfectly fine.
The digital image stabilizer isn’t amazing, in fact its barely better than having nothing… But digital image stabilizers are never good. I should be able to reduce a lot of the minor trembles afterward in Adobe Premier or After Effects though. Try to bring a tripod if the situation allows.
Shooting Modes
There are a few nice shooting modes available. HD: (high definition) 1280 x 720 at 30FPS; SD: (Standard Definition): 640×480 (~DVD resolution) at 60FPS, and finally SD at 30FPS (to save space on the memory card). 60FPS (frames per second) mode comes in very handy during action scenes when there is a LOT of motion. The image is VERY smooth with almost no blur or ghosting. If you were riding a jet-ski or something, this would definitely be the way to go. HD mode is great for casual filming, the quality is a little better and the image is wide-screen. These are all “progressive scan” recordings, there’s no interlacing or anything.
Battery Time is pretty good at a little over 3.3 hours. It does take ~200 minutes to charge from an empty battery up to full capacity. A 16GB SDHC memory card will hold almost 4 hours of HD footage.
MAKE SURE YOU GET A class 6 “SDHC” memory card. SDHC cards come in 3 different classes. Class 2, 4 and 6… Each respectively with a maximum transfer speed of 2MB per second, 4MBPS, and 6MBPS. Obviously the class 6 allows the fastest transfer speeds. If your camera’s recording data exceeds your SDHC card’s speed, your quality will suffer tremendously.
Here is me unboxing the camera when I first got it.
I cant think of anything else to add at the moment. I enjoy this camera and I think you will too as long as you know what to expect out of it. For a cheap price you get decent image quality and take-anywhere capabilities. It IS the best HD waterproof camcorder on the market at the moment (for less than $1000 anyways). Feel free to add a comment.
Have you ever sat in your car for 10 minutes, 20, or even 30 minutes after arriving at your destination because there’s something interesting on NPR (national public radio)? I find myself doing this frequently. The other day it happened while I was going to buy groceries. Fresh Air was interviewing Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park. I ended up sitting in my car at the Hannaford parking lot for a good 15 minutes so I could listen to the whole show.
