Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (Blue) by SANYO
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Digital camera reviews of Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (Blue)
Digital camera Review: Does a fairly good job at what is supposed to.
Summary: 4 Stars
Okay I've been using Flips for a few years. Loved the Ultra and the Mino, but I swapped up to the MinoHD. Bad move on my part. The video on the MinoHD is amazing as long as you are holding the cam still or on a tripod. I needed something for a snowboarding vacation that could handle the bumps and jolts down the slope. Sure the video isn't the best ever but compared to the MinoHD inability to be walked with this thing does pretty good. I do like the multiple settles so I can tweak the way I want. Used my Roxio DVD software and burned a few movies, playing on our 50" Panasonic plasma they look pretty good. Actually better than on the PC monitor. Wouldn't have paid $200+ for this cam, but the gold box $150 wasn't bad. BTW the terrible time with the 8gb transcend card I bought with it. I switch to Lexmar with better results. Overall a fun cam that does tons of stuff. 4.5 stars for effort.Digital camera Review: Does what it promises
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought it for the purpose of taking fun outdoor videos and this camera is meant to do that and do it pretty well. When reviewing this product I read many of the comments compaining of the not so high quality of the images and videos, specifically under poor light environment.
This camera delivers excellent quality, though I haven't tried it in poor light, but I believe it's not about quality as much as it's a waterproof fun camera. If you want a professional camera, go get one.
Functionality:
1) I was surprise by the number of options available in this camera in both video and still picture modes. For basic to intermidiate use, this camera is more than what I needed.
2) Menu and operation is quiet easy, I recommend one goes through the options and refer to the user manual and set the camera defaults to suit his usage before going out to the trip.
3) I bought a 16GB SDHC Class 6 flash memory card and it only require me to plug it in.
4) The higher the quality the bigger the file size. Recording only few minutes of video resulted in a 20MB MP4 file using the 30fps SHQ video recording mode.
I am very happy with this product and would recommend it to anyone who wants to keep memories of some outdoor fun times with the family and friends. Not to mention at the pool or IN the pool times as well :)
I'll reply to comments and questions if required.
Digital camera Review: Drop in your Pocket...Great Little Unit!
Summary: 4 Stars
Having owned camcorder's since they first came around years ago, I've gone through the purchase of "updating" every 5-7 years and each time, they've gotten smaller and promote themselves as mobile and bring anywhere. Problem is that by and large, they get left behind. The beauty of the Sanyo Xacti is that it is so easy to drop in your pocket and go, that there is no longer an excuse not to have the camcorder with you. Even the charger is small and mobile and takes up no room in your luggage. Sure, it's not HD but the price is great, the quality for recording those fun moments with the kids or whatever you choose, this camcorder was the one that stood out in all the reviews I read prior to purchasing. I'm very happy with it, it's a breeze to use and the transfer of your video over to your computer (I'm on a Mac) couldn't be simpler or quicker. I highly recommend the Xacti E2 for anyone looking for a great fun camcorder at a very affordable price.Digital camera Review: E-1 to E-2, and back to E-1
Summary: 3 Stars
When my E-1 broke I immediately started searching for a replacement, as it was such a handy and useful gadget for documenting my family and I felt I couldn't live without it. By that time E-2's were already out and when Amazon gave me a good price on it, I pulled the trigger.
I must say I was disappointed after evaluating it, and decided to return it, and look for a used E-1 on fleabay, which I did. Here is why I don't think it's a worthy upgrade.
I guess I can go right into the cons, because I honestly don't see what is better in E-2 over E-1. Maybe the battery/memory door is sturdier and seems to lock more securely right away. In E-1 one had to make sure it sealed correctly.
My main beef with E-2 is image quality. In daylight is not that bad, but the moment you go indoors you see this is not E-1. The image is much nosier from E-2. That goes for photos, but especially for video (which is my primary use). Filming in low light is no longer possible, it this was the forte of the previous model compared to other manufacturers in the price range. 60 fps in low light is out of the question altogether. Noise becomes all you can see in the video then. It is very apparent even in the viewfinder screen. It is just bad.
White balance is my other issue. In artificial lighting (which again is all you get indoors) it is way too cool, almost blue in most cases. E-1 was on the warmer side, but it was closer to what actually the lighting was. E-2 looks completely unnatural. This is more pronounced indoors again, but is also visible outdoors, in daylight. For photos is not as bad, but there isn't a quick way to adjust white balance after the fact on video. The only way here is to manually adjust it prior to filming, but that kind of defeats the point-and-shoot-ness of the camera.
I think the prices on fleabay also said something about which one is better. When I looked E-2s new hovered around 150-170, whereas E-1s were more than double the price.
So, I'm back to E-1.
Digital camera Review: E2 - a worthy update to E1
Summary: 5 Stars
Before purchasing E2 I was torn between E1 and E2 but decided to go with a new model. There were no reviews on E2 other than a single one for Euro/Japanese/Canadian version of E2 called CA8 and that review blasted the camera's new sensor. Nevertheless, with Amazon's liberal return policy, I decided to take my chance and to get E2 instead of E1. After all, it is a second generation of this waterproof camera, and I thought the second generation is typically better.
If you are trying to decide between E1 and E2, here are the major differences:
The most obvious is a change of sensor.
E1 uses 6MP CCD 1/2.5 sensor
E2 uses 8MP CMOS 1/2.5 sensor.
E2 adds a 60 frames per second movie option (E1 was limited to 30 frames per second)
E2 adds face recognition mode. E1 has no such face detection mode
E2 adds a dedicated 'underwater' mode among several others. E1 did not have a specific 'underwater' mode.
First, I tried both the new 60 frames per second mode and the old 30 frames per second mode and I decided that I will be using 30 frames per second, I actually like the quality of 30fps mode better.
I then tried the photography mode. I took most photographs inside in tricky low-light incandescent and florescent light conditions, because I know these give ANY camera, including DSLRs such as my Canon 40D $1300 camera, the most problems. I upped the ISO to 200 and then to 400. You can see samples I posted here. BTW the macro mode on this baby goes to 1 cm!!!! I don't know if E1 had such super-macro to 1 cm. I found the photo quality acceptable and similar to that of other point-and-shoots using the same 1/2.5 and similar sensors. I felt that ISO400 was acceptable. I have not tried ISO 800 and 1600 yet.
E2 has following ISO range: in photo mode 50-1600
in video mode: 100-3200 in high sensitivity mode (3200 I don't believe you can select, but it does it).
The image stabilization feature is tricky, it is EIS, Electronic Image Stabilization, not Optical Image Stabilization, so when you use it, it crops a little bit on sides of your video and photographs, depending on which mode of EIS you use.
The sound is stereo and the quality is acceptable. The camera is tiny btw, I fit mine in case logic case I had from my Canon A75 camera.
I tried this camera underwater in my pool, both video and photographs. All worked fine, even shoots photographs with flash underwater, which makes for very freaky results.
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Finally, some people complained that Sanyo has their own unique USB cable which is a pain if you lose it or don't have it with you, and cannot read it in ordinary card reader. WRONG. I did not even bother taking the proprietary Sanyo USB cable from camera packaging. The card works easily in my HP (windows vista) desktop's card reader. I downloaded PICASA 3 which I recommend. Picasa 3 will find, download, and play all photos and every video you shoot with this camera easily and quickly, just take the SD card, put it in your card reader and Picasa will do the rest. Very easy, so don't need to bother with this cable that comes with it.
Problems: Battery life is not impressive. Battery is tiny. I am used to Fuji F30's 500 shots per charge. This battery sucks. I charged the battery fully. I then took 80 photographs (some with flash), 4 or 5 2-minute videos and my battery showed 70% gone. You need a second battery, and hopefully there are some with more juice in it that the Sanyo one that comes with the camera.
I also wish the lens would start at 28mm and not 38mm as it would make easier to take pictures/videos of oneself without need to stretch your body away from the camera. Also my belief is that the flash only operates in photo mode and not in video mode. However, it is much better than its only competitor, Panasonic SW20, which does not have any flash at all
I will add more photos later.