Sanyo Xacti HD700 7MP MPEG-4 High Definition 720p Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom (Brown)
by SANYO
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital product summary information
Manufacturer: SANYORelease Date: 2009-11-30
Model: VPC-HD700BR
Color: Brown
Product features:
- Digital media camera combines the functionality of a digital camera with a digital camcorder
- Records high-definition digital video and 7 MP digital still images
- 5x HD zoom lens; 2.7-inch widescreen LCD
- In-camera editing; compatible with iMovie '08
- HDMI high-definition output; compatible with SD/SDHC memory cards
- Adobe Premiere Elements 9 [Old Version]
- AmazonBasics SDHC Class 4 32GB Secure Digital Card
- AmazonBasics SDHC Class 4 16GB Secure Digital Card
- AmazonBasics SDHC Class 10 4 GB Secure Digital Card
- AmazonBasics 8 GB Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card
Digital camera reviews of Sanyo Xacti HD700 7MP MPEG-4 High Definition 720p Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom (Brown)
Digital camera Review: "Is that a camera in your pocket...?"
Summary: 5 Stars
First, a major problem with a lot of reviews is that people with unknown skills buy things with unreasonable expectations and post authoritative sounding reviews. Most don't seem to even look at the manuals, they just try using the equipment at their own intuitive level and then post bad reviews and take advantage of the return policy. I have a good friend that does this.
The people that read the manuals and actually learn to use things and are too busy enjoying them to bother coming back to post. So, we see bad reviews and think that some really cool things are junk.
Personally, I'm no novice. I own three video cameras and a number of digital still cameras that I know and use well, yet I am constantly missing good to even great shots/videos as I don't have a camera with me. I tried, but just got tired of "lugging" them around unless I had a specific purpose in mind. What I wanted was a pocket camera that I'd have with me whether I planned to shoot or not.
I wasn't sure what I wanted so I stared with pocket still cameras that also shot video and, after playing with a few, decided I'd be happier with a pocket video that shot stills. I did a lot of research online looking at web sites with actual still and video samples. Saw some very nice stuff from a Sanyo CG65, CA65 the HD700. The HD700 seemed to suit my needs so I looked at Sanyo's web site and read all the specs, etc. Sanyo seems to have several web site, but one Japan based one, (sanyo-dsc dot com -- click on English on the top) has a "Let's shoot more Movies" which shows some things I didn't know the camera could do and even tells you how to do them. Searched some more and found several user reviews of the HD700 with sample videos and stills that convinced me to try the camera so I ordered from Amazon, in brown.
Camera arrived and I immediately loved the feel of it. It slid into my pocket!!! I read the manual while I charged the battery and ran out to play with it in auto mode. Wow! The still pictures were quite sharp, a bit too sharp for me so I set it to Soft which I really like. The video quality was quite nice. I couldn't get over the fact that I could just pull the camera from my pocket and get that kind of quality! I made a print from one of the still pictures and it looked VERY good. Showed it to a friend who has since ordered a HD700 (red) for himself and he wasn't even in the market for a new camera.
I went out the next day and shot all day with it; indoors and outdoors. I shot in a few stores -- garden departments are great for color and close-up tests, at a park, shot some construction workers, etc. The results were much better than I expected. The only glitches I had were operator errors, new camera, I'm still at the fumbling stage.
I don't shoot low light pictures and knew from the beginning this is not a low light camera, neither are any of my video cameras. Not a problem as I don't tend to shoot in low light, but if I did and wanted to use this camera (or my others) I'd add light, a tripod (there's a tripod mount on the bottom) or both. I did do some quick low light tests by bracing myself against a wall holding the camera with my elbows in and in a two-handed grip, also by setting the camera and my hand on something (shelf, shopping cart, table, etc.) to steady things during the longer exposures and the results were nice. I'd recommend a pocketable tabletop type tripod or one of the flexible ones you can also wrap around things to help get steady shots.
I, also, knew that the 38mm part of the 38-190mm (35mm equiv.) lens isn't considered wide, however, it's wider than I'd thought and works fine for me. Found a Phoenix Magnetic Mount 0.45x lens here on Amazon that works WELL with this camera giving you 17mm, now that's wide! Search vimeo dot com for this camera and see the test videos.
My suggestions: Step one, download the PDF version of the manual (or use the printed one -- I like PDFs as I can search them) and go through it. Most of the "problems" I've seen posted here and elsewhere are covered in the manual. Step two, check out the Sanyo HD700 tip site. Step three, play and experiment with it. Read up on how to do things (the shortcuts features is really cool) and take it with you and see what you and it can do. Step four, search for some Sanyo HD700 related forums and ask questions.
I LOVE this camera and its new home is in my pockets. Mission accomplished.
More Sanyo Xacti HD700 7MP MPEG-4 High Definition 720p Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom (Brown) reviews:
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Summary of Sanyo Xacti HD700 7MP MPEG-4 High Definition 720p Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom (Brown)
1280 x 720p hi-def video at 30fps7.0MP still images Records directly to a standard SD or SDHC memory card Records video in advanced MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format Image Stabilizer compensates for distracting up-and-down or side-to-side camera movement during video shooting Docking station provides instant HDMI component composite or S-Video connection to a TV and a USB connection for a PC Superfast startup; record in as little as 1.3 secondsHDMI hi-def outputPlayback directly onto a HD or standard TV screenUses SDHC or SD memory cards up to 8GBIncludes USB cable component cable S-AV cable docking station Li-Ion battery lens cap soft case and hand strapCamcorders
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