Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black) by SANYO
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Digital camera reviews of Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black)
Digital camera Review: Bad Amazon Customer Service.
Summary: 1 Stars
I just want to say that I am unhappy with Amazon.com's service regarding this purchase.
It is better to buy from stores/vendors with 90-day return policies.
Digital camera Review: Best Camera for the money
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me preface this by saying I am not a Professional. I do however take pride in my work as a hobbyist. I have had several cameras, and my specialty is dSLR's and still photography.
I was looking for a decent camera to shoot sports and this is it: 1080p at 60fps is perfect.
Yes the image quality is very good as good as if not better than anything I have seen under 1000.
Low-light is very good, although it has some trouble focusing while zooming in low-light.
Image Stabilizing is pretty good for a camera at this price, obviously its digital.
The camera is fast to turn on and start video/pics.
The camera is very small and portable, I can put it in cargo pants pockets
I love the fact that it is SD card with no hard drive
You can put the pics directly onto a flash drive w/o a computer (cam must be plugged in) This is great option to have
HDMI out is awesome as well.
Macro is very good for a camera this price.
I actually have no remorse in buying this camera and would have done it for 200 dollars more as well.
The 240fps is just a cool feature to have.
I use a monopod often, which, coupled with the digital image stabilization, works great.
Highly recommend this camera to anyone looking for anything under 1000.
Digital camera Review: Best HD camcorder for the money
Summary: 5 Stars
* Questions from the comments (I can't reply the post for some reason so I have to update the review here): No. An adaptor cable comes with the camcorder (one end goes to the camcorder, the other end connect the USB cable of your external drive). The drive has to be in FAT32 format (not NTFS, which is the current format standard for vista and win7 system). FAT32 is format for older windows. The limitation is file on it can not be larger than 4GB (this is why the sanyo camcorder can not record file larger than 4GB, though I don't know why you would have one file that large, not reliable at the first place). Also a note by a comment that the harddrive may have to be self-powered, according to the manual.
I have not actually used the Xacti library feature myself so please refer to the manual (a pdf file you can google) before you make up your mind.
I believe the FH1A is just the FH1 with the additional Apple iFrame video format (an odd format, smaller then 720p, so I doubt anyone would use it). So my review applies to the FH1 model as well. Btw, most of the camcorderinfo review on the VPC-HD2000 model applies to this one as well.
When this camcorder is on sale for $400 or below, it is certainly the best HD camcorder for the money.
Pros: -Many video resolution options, covering 1080p, 1080i, 720p, vga, and ultra-slow motion video. The 1080p (60fps progressive) is really detailed and smooth. I have read that someone may have problem playing back the 1080p video smoothly on an even quad-core windows (can be solved by choosing the right software). But video play back is quite good on my quad-core Mac (well it's an HP hackintosh).
-H.264 mp4 video format makes it very easy to work with, especially on Mac platform. Just copy the video onto the computer and you can start editing it in iMovie natively without converting, transcoding, etc. Saves tons of time. I have worked with 720p Motion Jpeg (MJPG) videos. Their quality is good but they waste too much disk space. The mp4 video from the sanyo has good compression without visible quality loss. Therefore, this camcorder should be at the top of one's shopping list if you are a Mac user.
-Excellent low light performance. Many camcorders/cameras suffer big time when shooting video at low light (such as in door at night with usual lighting). I have compared to 720p video my other camera, the video from the Sanyo is much cleaner.
-Comes with a lot of accessories (but as the video can be easily copied onto computer, one don't really need the video cables). Good build quality. Small but with large screen. Can be operated with just the thumb. Great battery life.
-Comes with remote controller, which is hard to find on even much more expensive camcorders.
-Great stereo sound quality.
-Can store video onto portable hard disk without using computers (Xacti library). This is a great feature as you can just bring a portable hard drive and the camcorder when traveling, off-load the videos when the card is full, and continue shooting. Portable HDD is cheap and can hold hours of videos. Without this feature, you either have to prepare multiple SD cards for the trip, or you have to pull out laptop from time to time.
-Ultra slow motion video, though at low resolution. It may be a gimmick for many but can be very useful and fun if you want to capture a special action.
-8M still photo. The quality is on par with most consumer level digital cameras (but a little over sharpened, nothing close to prosumer or DSLR quality).
Cons:-The only real complain I have is the lack of Optical Image Stabilization. It only has Electronic IS, which works a little when you are not moving the camera (the natural shaking of the hand can be countered). But as soon as you start walking, panning, anything involve intentional camera movement, the EIS has no use. For Optical IS, even some of those movement can be countered to certain degree so the end results are not as shaky. Anyway, good shooting techniques are always useful, and iMovie has a image stabilization function that can be applied on shaky video, and the results are pretty good (but time-consuming). I wish Sanyo could bring OIS to their next generation camcorders.
-The menu is just OK. Not really up to current standard. I've seen much better executed animated menus on other cameras. Well they all do the similar thing but make you feel better. I don't think processing power of this camcorder is the problem, it's a lack of development in this regard. Due to a lock of buttons, one has to remember lots of settings if you want to make quick change. Good thing is that some frequently used function can be set as shortcut to the joystick.
-Only provided software for windows, not for Mac; However I doubt there are good alternative to iMovie on Mac (at this price point) so it's OK forgivable.
-Lack of parameter adjustments for video and photo quality. Just three options (normal, vivid, soft) and don't really make a difference. On my computer when playing back, just a tiny bit of increase in saturation brings the video to a better level. I wish I can shoot the video like that at the first place.
-I find it too dark to my taste when left as automatic exposure, especially indoor night shot. Therefore I customized the exposure compensation on the 4-way toggle, and raise the exposure by 0.3 or 0.6 before shooting.
Digital camera Review: Best HD camcorder for the money
Summary: 5 Stars
Forget all the negative reviews of this camera. For the money this camera can't be beat. It is easy to use and the HD and HR movies have incredible detail. Also, you only have to carry one camera since it takes pictures. Don't let the image fool you, this camera is very small! Also, the battery life is excellent. My dad has two newer HD Cannons and he said mine is better. Lastly, it works very well indoors. I would recommend a 16 GB chip as well, but an 8 GB chip will be sufficient for most people and will save money if your budget is tight.Digital camera Review: Best Performance for Price - Very Impressed
Summary: 5 Stars
For the price of this camera, you will not find a comparable camera that has all of these features:
Large LCD (3")
-60 frames per second, High Definition
-240 frames per second, Standard Definition (basically)
-16x Optical Zoom (basically an operator limit for typical hand-held camcorder use); higher zoom would require a tripod, which I usually don't have the luxury of using
-can take 2Mpixel still images (at least) WHILE recording video
-8Mpixel Photos with Flash, Exposure Adjustment, Macro and Manual Focus
If all of these features aren't enough for a low $300 camera, your perception of reality is severely distorted. If you are a professional photographer/video guy, you probably won't be happy with this. If you are someone who wants to be able to view reasonably high speed action like shooting archery, martial arts, golf, baseball, etc. in addition to normal home video this is the perfect compromise between price, utility and ranges of functions and control. It also has a 'dumbed down' set of menus to prevent the unit from giving computer-challenged people a coronary.
Now that I have had a few days to work with it I have already had a number of requests for using it to take video of many different things, as well as pictures (the macro capability is impressive). For anyone with autofocus troubles, it has a focus lock that you can easily program into the quick-key control. You can also review video and take specific frames as pictures, so you have on-board editing which takes much more effort on a PC. It also has full resolution 12 frame per second images for high resolution, large field of view images under somewhat high speed events you might be capturing. You can adjust the exposure, aperture, and many other controls that advanced users usually complain about with automatic cameras. Nobody believes me when I tell them how much I paid for it ($316); even at full retail it is a great deal.
I would recommend a 32Gb SDHC card, also on Amazon that are $79. It will cover plenty of time for recording in High Definition. It also interfaces with a USB, where you can access the card like a card reader and dump the files to any computer, not just computers that have the camera software installed. The 240fps has been badgered by many reviewers that don't use it properly. You need to have light, you need a tripod or steady surface and you should lock the focus (not required, but a good idea). High speed cameras require lots of light. A $60,000 camera takes very poor pictures when using its higher frame rates if lighting is inadequate.
I've never owned a Sanyo, but I am beyond impressed for the functionality and performance at this pricepoint. It has far outperformed any of our work camcorders, is easier to operate, control and communicate with, interfaces as an external drive so you don't have to carry software around to a computer you want to download to, and takes better pictures than higher MegaPixel cameras we have just purchased a few months ago at work. You need to read the manual (not because it is difficult to use) to get all of the use out of it you may want. It will work for many advanced users, as well as simpletons. Most of what I know it can do now came from just playing with it (not reading the manual). It also fits in my pocket.